North Wales MS issues his thoughts ahead of Senedd elections
MS for North Wales
We're now just under a year away from the next Senedd elections, and 7th May 2026 is rapidly approaching.
It feels like a lifetime ago that the last set of elections took place in 2021, which was during the COVID pandemic.
The 2026 election will take place under a new electoral system with thirty-six additional Senedd Members – something that I, along with my Welsh Conservative colleagues, have strongly opposed.
It will be a chance for you to give your verdict on the performance of the Welsh Government, which has been run by Labour in one form or another since the advent of devolution in 1999.
Each party will approach these elections in different ways, and put forward different policy platforms.
Welsh Conservatives have already started this process and we recently announced that a Welsh Conservative Government would cut the basic rate of income tax by 1 pence, which equates to a tax cut for 1.7 million people the length and breadth of Wales.
That would save the average Welsh family £450 per year, putting more money back in your pocket.
I firmly believe that you know how to spend your money best, not the Government.
We will fund this through efficiency savings whilst protecting key areas such as health, education and farming.
The Welsh Labour Government has wasted hundreds of millions on pet projects such as their default 20mph speed limit and numerous overseas offices, all while our public services suffer.
Not only that, but under the UK Labour Government led by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, the tax burden is set to hit an all-time high with taxpayers paying more and more for less.
Welsh taxpayers are being clobbered at both ends of the M4 by Labour-run Governments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay.
That must come to an end.
As our party's spokesman on Finance matters, I am clear that a Welsh Conservative Government will root out waste, drive out inefficiency, and deliver better value for money.
There needs to be a serious change in the way that the Welsh Government operates after more than a quarter-century of one-party rule in Cardiff, and I am confident that the Welsh Conservatives can bring the change that Wales is crying out for.
As ever, if you'd like to get in touch then you can email me at sam.rowlands@senedd.wales
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