Wales 'shortchanged' by UK Government, says Plaid Cymru
Heledd Fychan led a debate on June 11 following chancellor Rachel Reeves' announcement on the UK Government's spending review, which sets department budgets.
Calling for fairer funding, Plaid Cymru's shadow finance secretary warned that future governments in Wales will always be constrained by the whims of Westminster.
Ms Fychan said: 'Wales continues to be shortchanged by Westminster and disproportionately affected by many of the decisions taken. How we are funded is fundamentally flawed and does not meet the needs of our population.'
She added: 'I find it frankly insulting that we're supposed to celebrate and be grateful for whatever funding is offered, even when it falls considerably short of what is owed.'
'It's like being owed money and being happy and grateful when you receive only 10% of that money due. You'd say 'Thanks', but you'd also question 'Where's the rest?''
The Plaid Cymru politician called for an economic fairness bill to replace the 'outdated' Barnett formula, the mechanism used to allocate additional funding to Wales.
She called for a wealth tax, greater powers to create new income tax bands – as in Scotland – and an increase to the Welsh Government's borrowing powers.
Ms Fychan also urged the UK Government to end the 'cruel' two-child benefit cap and plug a £72m gap in the Welsh budget from costs associated with national insurance.
She described an announcement of £445m over 10 years for rail as 'nowhere near enough', with Wales still £4.15bn 'short' of the consequential funding due from the HS2 project.
Labour's Joyce Watson said the spending review provides nearly £5bn extra for Wales, with an average of £22.4bn a year allocated to the Welsh Government between 2026/27 and 2028/29.
She warned public services took an 'absolute battering' when the Conservatives were in power, saying she had had enough of moaning from opposition benches.
Turning her ire towards the Plaid Cymru benches, she told the Senedd: 'If I offered my children a few sweets and they didn't feel it was enough, they might have a tantrum. It sounds a bit like that to me…. And that's your attitude all the time: moan, moan, moan.'
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