A new approach is needed to stimulate the Welsh economy if the problems that blight communities are to resolved, Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood told the party’s conference in Llandudno.
Leanne Wood, who represents South Wales Central in the Assembly, was speaking on a Rhondda motion on the economy.
Conference agreed to the production of a long-term plan aimed at solving the problems that blight communities such as unemployment, poor housing and food and fuel price increases.
The plan would aim to plug the wealth gap between Wales and the UK average. Proposals in Leanne Wood’s A Greenprint for the Valleys will be worked up into a set of proposals that can be implemented by Plaid-run local authorities throughout Wales.
Leanne Wood told conference: “It’s clear that we can’t go on in the old way. Capitalism is broke. The market has failed spectacularly and new thinking is needed if we are to get out of what really is a big mess.
“The Tories answer is for drastic and savage public spending cuts – and they plough ahead despite the warnings. Their strategy is for the market to provide private sector jobs to replace public sector jobs. We all know that that strategy won’t work in Wales – the market failed to provide jobs in too many places in the boom years. It would be naive to believe it’s going to deliver now.
“The Greenprint was put together to offer proposals to turn around those local economies where the market has failed. But the basic principles can be applied to any community.”
Leanne Wood said what was needed was the creation of a home market where people consume products that come from Wales or the home community. “Of course, it couldn’t be done for everything, but if a home market can be created for the basics – renewable energy and food, then we could only improve our economic position but we could build up resilience as well to food and energy price hikes, which are pretty much inevitable.”
She said that local authorities were in a good position to keep money in local communities by procuring locally, supporting budding co-operatives and making attractive loan finance available, prioritising jobs and then taking steps to keep the money local.
“This new, post-crash world needs new and different thinking. This motion is asking that as a party we prioritise job creation and the economy and we use our strength and influence at local authority level to contribute to that aim.”
