Darren Millar
Leader of the Opposition in WalesLeader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd
Labour has been in power in Wales for 27 years, propped up for much of that time by Plaid Cymru, the pro-independence Welsh nationalists. It has overseen a period of stagnation and decline in the Welsh economy and the public services that matter most to the people of Wales.
Economic Growth
The Welsh economy has suffered from Labour’s lack of ambition. Labour Ministers have openly admitted that they don’t know what they’re doing on the economy and have no interest in it. Small businesses have faced crippling business rates and have been undermined by excessive regulation, inconsistent policy and a failure to create the conditions for economic growth. Instead of focusing on jobs, growth and prosperity, Labour and Plaid Cymru have been distracted by constitutional debates and vanity projects that do nothing to improve the lives of working people. The result is a weaker economy, lower wages and cost of living pressures for families across Wales. Welsh Conservatives would scrap business rates for small businesses, pubs and post offices, and cut a penny off the basic rate of income tax to save hardworking families £450 per year, because we trust people to spend their money better than any government.
Under Labour, Wales has the longest waiting times in the UK, with one in four of the Welsh population stuck on a waiting list. Staff on the frontline do an incredible job, but the leadership was been poor with health boards repeatedly placed in special measures and outcomes consistently failing to meet Welsh Government targets. Last month, over 11,000 patients waited over 12 hours to be seen in A&E.
Welsh NHS
The day after the election, Welsh Conservatives would declare a health emergency to get the entire government machine focussed on delivering improvements to waiting times. We would immediately expand capacity in our hospitals, increasing bed numbers to end the scandal of corridor care. We need an unrelenting focus on driving down waiting times, improvements in staff recruitment and retention, and action to tackle the capacity challenges in social care settings.
Welsh pupils and teachers have endured years of policy drift, constant changes and a lack of clear vision. Wales is the UK’s lowest performing nation in the international PISA tests in reading, maths and science. Welsh Conservatives would drive up standards and remove distractions in the classroom by banning mobile phones in school and banning under 16s from social media.
Darren Millar: A Detailed Plan
Welsh Conservatives have detailed plans to fix the damage caused by 27 years of Labour and Plaid Cymru rule. We will reverse Labour’s ban on road building and build a stronger economy by getting Wales working. We will end the waste and vanity projects and reverse the expansion of the Senedd, which is set to create another 36 politicians in Cardiff Bay. In this new proportional voting system, if residents vote Welsh Conservative, they will get Welsh Conservative representatives. After 27 years of Labour decline, families deserve a government with a plan to fix our public services, grow our economy and get Wales working.
This article features in the new edition of ChamberUK. Our parliamentary journal.
Photo Credit: Office of Darren Millar