The pre-election budget, while hyped up by some sections of the media as a step change from the coalition government, was sadly what we have come to expect over the past five years in Wales.
£1.5bn has been slashed from the Welsh block grant since 2010, meaning that for the first time since devolution was established, Welsh public services have faced dire financial circumstances. With the issue of fair funding once again ignored by the coalition, the UK government has, in their last year in office, failed to do right by the people of Wales.
The Tory plan to cut government spending back to 1930s levels would decimate public services and threaten all the good work being done by the Welsh Labour government in Cardiff such as the Jobs Growth Wales scheme, which has put 16,000 young people into work.
The Welsh government through clever financial planning and wise investment, such as encouraging public bodies to participate in the Invest-to-Save scheme, has ensured that our 2011 manifesto commitments have been met and that severely detrimental impacts on service delivery have not been seen. We have managed to shield local government from cuts on the scale that some authorities in England have had to make. We have managed to protect school spending and not burden our students with a lifetime of debt.
All of this is in jeopardy if George Osborne is given the chance to produce the next budget.
Criticism is often levied at Wales for its over-reliance on the public sector and some of that is justified. However, in spite of the Tories’ cuts to our resources, the creative industries are blossoming with Pinewood Studios making a significant investment and bringing new jobs to Wales. Seemingly not a week goes by where the minister for economy, science and transport, Edwina Hart, is not announcing that due to Welsh government action new jobs being created. These new jobs often come in the technology sector and other highly skilled areas, which will help to sustain economic growth.
Through direct intervention and ministers actively going out to speak to potential investors, we have seen some very pleasing news on the Welsh economy with record levels of inward investment and reductions in unemployment over the past few months.
But what is really holding back the Welsh economy is the unrelenting cost of living crisis that this Tory-led Government has failed to tackle. Wales has been one of the hardest hit parts of the UK. In the Vale of Glamorgan, over the past five years average earnings for men are down by £2,300. That is almost double the average national figure.
Changes to benefits, rising costs and pay freezes have created a perfect storm for some families, with demand for emergency aid from food banks outstripping the pace at which support can be delivered. There are food banks the length and breadth of Wales, a damning indictment of the UK government’s failure to act on the side of ordinary Welsh families, pushing more and more to despair. Independent research carried out by Sheffield Hallam university has calculated that by the election £1bn will have been taken out of the Welsh economy solely due to the welfare reform programme.
There were some mildly encouraging announcements from the budget. The reduction in the Severn Bridge tolls will help businesses and commuters in south Wales, but we will have to wait until 2018 to see the benefits. Furthermore, the powers to set the tolls will be retained by the Department for Transport, effectively shutting out the Welsh government from taking action to help businesses by vastly reducing or even scrapping the tolls once the bridge is fully paid for and returned to public ownership, which will come mid way through the next parliament.
It is pleasing that the UK government will finally be looking at a city deal for our capital city and major investment in the Swansea Bay area with the proposed tidal lagoon. However, the UK government has once again failed to recognise the need for infrastructure improvements in north Wales, despite repeated calls from the minister for finance, Jane Hutt, that the whole of Wales should benefit from investment – especially in the light of record spending on HS2 and HS3.
It is clear that what Wales needs is a government in Westminster that cares about its communities and improving its economic performance. We need a government that cares about public services and is not only interested in denigrating them.
Following Tory prime minister after Tory prime minister before him, David Cameron has failed to stand up for Wales. This is hardly surprising given his party’s legacy, where the Tory brand in parts of Wales is still toxic.
With the Institute for Fiscal Studies warning that cuts on a colossal scale will come if the Tories are re-elected in May, it is becoming ever more evident that we need a Labour government in Westminster to complement our Welsh Labour government in Cardiff, in order to ensure that the people of Wales have access to high quality public services and that the Welsh economy can continue to develop.
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Dan Walsh is chair of Welsh Young Labour. He tweets at @DanWalshie
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