Politics
Manifesto Destiny #2: The Conservatives
THE WELSH Conservatives have delayed their Manifesto’s launch for May 6’s elections to the Welsh Parliament.
After the Duke of Edinburgh’s death, the Conservatives delayed their Manifesto’s launch for a week.
The UK Government announced eight days of national mourning leading up to and including the day of Prince Philip’s funeral on Saturday, April 17.
The Manifesto will launch on Wednesday, April 21, in North Wales. In this area, the Conservatives hope to make significant gains at Labour’s expense.
Although political campaigning continued between Tuesday, April 13 and Friday, April 16, the Conservatives’ decision gives the Party the best chance to trail its Manifesto in the period after Saturday the 17th.
It will also give Labour and Plaid Cymru less time to take pot-shots at it before polling day.
WHAT’S IN IT SO FAR?
Before the announcement of the Manifesto’s delay, the Conservatives gave a good idea of some of the policies it is likely to contain.
An underlying thread of the Manifesto, and the Conservative campaign, will be the length of time Labour has been in power in Wales. Either on its own, in combination with others, or propped up by rag-tag and bobtail, Labour has held power in Cardiff Bay for twenty-two years.
Both the Conservatives and Plaid have homed in on Labour’s ever-presence in government. To date, both principal opposition parties suggest Labour is tired and warming over old pledges without any sense of direction.
On policy, the Conservatives’ most significant risk is allowing Labour and Plaid to box them in on the charge of ‘for Wales, see England’. Labour needs to tread carefully on that point. One of the criticisms both Plaid and the Conservatives have made is that the Party has cut and pasted Westminster legislation into its own proposals for the much-talked-about and constantly delayed Agriculture Bill. Agriculture is an area of policy on which both Plaid and the Conservatives call for bespoke Welsh legislation.
On Tuesday (April 13), the Conservatives placed even more clear blue water between their proposals for Wales and those pursued by the Westminster government.
A PLAN FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The Conservatives’ plan for Wales’ young people includes a promise to deliver 150,000 apprenticeships by 2026 and scrapping the Welsh Baccalaureate. Those are long-term ambitions flagged previously; however, the Conservative proposals contain radical changes to higher education and access to training, education and employment.
Those changes include:
- Helping young people access education, training and employment with free bus travel and discounted rail travel for 16-24-year-olds
- Refunding tuition fees for those who choose to work for at least five years as doctors or nurses in the Welsh NHS, or as teachers in Welsh Schools after their studies; and
- Cutting tuition fees in half for Welsh students studying STEM and modern foreign language subjects at Welsh universities in recognition of their value to the Welsh economy
Looking at the lessons learned throughout the pandemic, the Conservatives also plan to ensure all of Wales’ schools, colleges and universities have mental health services for learners to access.
OLDER PEOPLE
At the other end of the age spectrum, Welsh Conservatives will introduce an Older People’s Bill in the next Senedd. That proposal includes a legal requirement for public sector bodies to consult with older people when making decisions that affect their lives.
The Party’s pledges of support for older people in Wales include:
- Maintaining free prescriptions.
- Keeping Free bus travel.
- Promote Free entry to CADW sites for the over 75s.
- Pilot free rail travel for over 75s.
- Run annual national awareness campaigns against elder abuse, age discrimination and scams and swindles; and
- Ensuring older people can access Welsh Government-funded work programmes.
THE WELSH NHS
On the Welsh NHS, the Conservatives announced plans to put into law fundamental guarantees through an NHS Covenant.
The Covenant would ensure that Welsh NHS staff and volunteers are treated with fairness and respect by future Welsh Governments.
The Conservatives say the NHS Covenant would provide guaranteed support in several ways, including:
- Increased investment in the NHS, with at least an extra 2% uplift in the NHS budget each year
- Staff receive the pay as recommended by the independent NHS Pay Review Body
- Guaranteeing the NHS remains in public hands and is free at the point of use
- Improved staff well-being with more flexible working hours, increased holiday, greater access to childcare and mental health provision
- Stamping out abuse of NHS staff
The NHS Covenant Bill would also put an NHS Reservists programme in place to enable public and former healthcare professionals to volunteer at their local NHS team during periods of high demand.
The NHS Reservists would operate on a part-time basis and create a structured environment for people to give back to the NHS, enabling the NHS to call up reservist skills when needed, including non-clinical roles such as drivers, electricians and people to be there to ensure no-one faces the end of their life alone.
COUNCIL TAX
The Conservatives – like Plaid Cymru – have promised to freeze Council Tax for the first two years of the next Senedd term. However, and like Plaid Cymru, the promise of tying Council funding to the headline rate of inflation ignores the fact that costs to Council increase at a compounding rate far beyond the Consumer Price Index.
Freezing Council Tax – unless the whole shortfall is made up by the Welsh Government (unlikely given the NHS spending pledge) – will mean cuts in Council services and a reduction in local authorities’ ability to bankroll the Conservatives’ other pledges.
THE CLEAREST OF BLUE WATER
The one element of any Conservative Manifesto upon which the clearest blue water will be evident relates to the Senedd, its powers, its make-up, and the question of further or total Welsh autonomy. In a speech delivered on April 7, the Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies could not have been clearer. He pledged, ‘no more powers, no more politicians, no more taxes, no more constitutional chaos’.
He continued: ‘Independence would put our recovery after coronavirus at risk.
‘A strong economic recovery is dependent on being part of one strong United Kingdom.
‘And home rule is just another excuse to mask Labour’s failings.
‘A referendum would plunge Wales into chaos at a time when we need to focus on recovery.
‘We already have the tools to change course and build a better Wales.
‘After the devastation of covid to our economy and people’s livelihoods we can’t afford to focus on the constitution’.
That’s not only turning his Party’s back on any change to the current constitutional arrangements; it hits at Labour’s windy wish to renegotiate Wales’ status within the UK and a rejection of a critical element of Plaid’s appeal to voters. As a proposition, it’s carefully calibrated to suggest that Cardiff Bay’s parties’ priorities don’t match voters’ needs. It’s an either/or line: concentrate on rebooting the Welsh economy or focus on Wales’ and the UK’s constitutional settlement.
The water couldn’t be clearer or bluer. The open question is how many voters are prepared to take the plunge and whether Labour – on the hottest political issue in Wales – will end up stranded on a shrinking and increasingly untenable middle ground between Plaid and the Conservatives.
Politics
Welsh ministers to introduce fire safety bill eight years after Grenfell
WALES’ housing secretary confirmed plans to bring forward a building safety bill in 2025, eight years after 72 people died in the Grenfell Tower tragedy in London.
Jayne Bryant told the Senedd that accountability will be at the heart of the bill, which will reform the regulation of safety risks in multi-occupied residential buildings.
Ms Bryant, who was appointed in July, said the new system will include all buildings containing two or more homes, with some exceptions, not only those of 18m or above.
The housing secretary described progress on fire safety in Wales as comparable to England, with Scotland and Northern Ireland both significantly behind.
Ms Bryant promised to emphasise the urgency of remediating fire safety issues during a meeting with developers this week.
The Conservatives’ Janet Finch-Saunders said only 2% of buildings have completed the required safety work despite many promises by the Welsh Government.
The Aberconwy Senedd Member pointed out that ministers’ plans to pass a building safety bill by 2026 will come more than eight years after the Grenfell Tower disaster.
She said those affected feel completely despondent: “Let’s not forget, these people are living in unsafe, at-risk-of-fire properties, and they’re unsellable – they are stuck in that situation.”
Mark Isherwood, the Tory shadow housing secretary, warned delays and gaps persist despite claims progress is being made on building safety reforms.
Mr Isherwood, who chairs the Senedd’s public accounts committee, said people’s safety concerns should be prioritised rather than sidelined in bureaucracy.
Siân Gwenllian, Plaid Cymru’s shadow housing secretary, raised concerns about many tenants and residents living under clouds of uncertainty and risk for too long.
She said: “We need to ensure that developers keep to their commitments but also that the government has clear outcomes for any developers that fail to reach the standards.”
Ms Gwenllian called for clarity on consequential funding for Wales after the UK Government budget, with investment in remediation set to rise to more than £1bn in 2025/26.
She stressed that funding will be central to success, saying: “We have to avoid any situation where financial deficit leaves some buildings unsafe.”
She tentatively welcomed news that developer Watkin Jones has “at last” signed a deal to make properties safe at Victoria Dock in Caernarfon.
Jane Dodds, the Liberal Democrats’ leader in Wales, said it is unacceptable that addressing fire safety has taken so long following the Grenfell tragedy.
John Griffiths, who chairs the Senedd’s housing committee, raised the disproportionate impact of the building safety crisis on disabled leaseholders.
Mr Griffiths also expressed concerns about remediation work at the nearby Celestia complex in Cardiff Bay being behind schedule and expected to take three years.
His Labour colleague Mike Hedges similarly raised constituents’ concerns about delays to work at the Altamar building in Swansea.
Rhys ab Owen, an independent who represents South Wales Central, said accountability and transparency are chief among leaseholders’ concerns.
Politics
Plan for gender-balanced Senedd ‘lacks teeth’
VOLUNTARY guidance aimed at making the Welsh Parliament more representative of the population lacks any real teeth, Senedd Members warned.
Sioned Williams described new draft guidance for political parties on diversity and inclusion as “too little, too late”, with the next Senedd election less than 18 months away.
Plaid Cymru’s shadow social justice secretary said the voluntary guidance has no teeth after the Welsh Government scrapped a proposed law on gender quotas in September.
She said: “Although any and all steps to try to increase diversity in politics are very welcome, I am deeply disappointed at the rolling back by the Welsh Government.”
Ms Williams suggested a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure a 50:50 gender split may have been missed, given the current progressive majority in the Senedd.
She said: “Candidates are already declaring their intention to stand.
“Voluntary guidance, which won’t be ready for months, really isn’t going to achieve that change for the Senedd elections in 2026.”
Her Plaid Cymru colleague Heledd Fychan pointed out there will be no penalties nor repercussions if political parties do not implement the guidance.
The Conservatives’ Darren Millar criticised a lack of engagement from the Welsh Government since legislation on gender quotas was withdrawn.
He questioned a “limited” focus on other aspects of equality such as age, faith and disability.
Mr Millar, who represents Clwyd West, said: “We very much hope when the final guidance is published it will be reflective of that broader range of characteristics.”
Jane Dodds, the Liberal Democrats’ leader in Wales, raised the Electoral Reform Society’s warning of a “sizeable risk” the next Senedd could be the least gender-balanced in history.
She told the debating chamber or Siambr: “The evidence is clear: legislative gender quotas are the only way to achieve gender-balanced Senedds.”
Ms Dodds, who represents Mid and West Wales, suggested political expediency and party interests were prioritised over women’s representation and democratic reform.
Hannah Blythyn, a Labour backbencher who represents Delyn, said making the Senedd more representative not only changes the face of politics but its focus too.
Ms Blythyn said: “We’ve talked about other protected characteristics and as an out lesbian, I’m very much in the minority in this place still and I’d like to see that diversity grow.”
In a statement to the Senedd on November 12, Jane Hutt recognised “huge disappointment” that gender quotas will not be underpinned by law.
Describing the draft guidance as a catalyst for change, the social justice secretary stressed that the Welsh Government remains committed to a gender-balanced Senedd.
Ms Hutt explained the final guidance, which is also aimed at council elections, will be published in spring following confirmation of new boundaries for the 2026 Senedd poll.
Pointing to measures under the Elections and Elected Bodies Act passed in July, she said: “We all know the guidance alone is not enough to ensure we achieve diversity in politics.”
She added: “Women are an under-represented majority in this Senedd. By including the section on voluntary gender quotas in the guidance, I want all parties to recognise the importance of considering what action they may take to increase women’s representation.”
A consultation on the draft guidance closes on January 7.
Education
Concern over ‘highest-ever’ school bullying rates
RATES of bullying in Welsh schools have reached record levels, with more than one in three children and young people reporting being bullied, the Senedd heard.
Gareth Davies raised concerns about a 6% increase in bullying between 2021 and 2023, according to a survey of more than 130,000 pupils in 200 secondary schools.
The Conservatives’ shadow mental health minister told the Senedd: “These results are higher than ever previously reported in the survey, which is deeply troubling.”
He said the latest survey showed regression on “just about every metric of pupil wellbeing”, including growing social isolation and a rise in behavioural issues.
Mr Davies, who worked in the NHS in north Wales for more than a decade, pointed to a 2021 legal duty to have regard to the mental health of children and young people.
He said: “The mental health of pupils has declined and reports of bullying in schools have only increased, so the Welsh Government have failed in that duty, unfortunately.”
Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell called for an update to 2019 anti-bullying guidance for school governing bodies following a commitment from the Welsh Government eight months ago.
The shadow education secretary focused on the impact of poverty, warning the high cost of school uniforms can cause stress and lead to bullying.
Mr Campbell, a former lecturer, expressed concerns about penalties, such as detention, for pupils over non-compliance with uniform policies.
Raising a report on “horrific” experiences of racism in Welsh schools, he said one pupil was told a classmate did not want to sit next to them due to the colour of their skin.
“That’s entirely unacceptable in our schools,” said Mr Campbell.
Labour’s Carolyn Thomas warned children’s mental health is at an all-time low, pointing to smartphones and social media as major contributing factors.
She said: “They can be used to bully, manipulate and control, sending young people into an isolated world of despair, not thinking they can get out of it or go to somebody for help.”
The North Wales politician highlighted a petition calling for a ban on phones in schools.
Rhys ab Owen, an independent who represents South Wales Central, stressed that bullying can impact people for decades to come after school.
“But it’s an issue that doesn’t affect learners equally,” he said. “In Cardiff, around a third of learners come from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
“And I was staggered to read a survey from 2020, which said that 61.5% of learners had expressed stereotypes over skin colour, religion and nationality.”
In a statement on November 12 to mark anti-bullying week, Lynne Neagle accepted that bullying continues to be an issue in Welsh schools.
Pledging to prioritise the problem, Wales’ education secretary said new statutory anti-bullying guidance will be published for consultation after Christmas.
Ms Neagle pointed to concerning trends, including 42% of girls scoring high or very high in a questionnaire on psychological problems compared with 27% of boys.
She told the Senedd: “I wouldn’t want to be a teenager growing up today.”
Ms Neagle stated the Welsh Government provided more than £800,000 this year for one of the biggest surveys of children and young people in the UK.
She said: “The link between bullying and mental health is well known. At its most extreme, young people have taken their own lives as a result of being bullied. This is a tragedy for the young life lost, for their family and friends and for whole communities.”
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