Latest news with #WelshConservative
4 days ago
- Politics
Welsh language housing plan ‘risks division,' says Tory MS
Government proposals under fire amid concerns over bureaucracy and exclusion THE WELSH Labour Government's response to a key report on the future of Welsh-speaking communities has come under fire from the Conservatives, who claim its new language-based planning proposals risk fostering division and exclusion. Plans published in response to the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities include stronger restrictions on second home ownership, measures to prioritise housing for Welsh speakers in heartland areas, and changes to the planning system that would incorporate linguistic impact assessments into applications. While ministers say the approach is vital to protect and strengthen the Welsh language in areas where it is most at risk, critics argue the proposals are vague, heavy-handed, and likely to cause bureaucratic delays and resentment. Speaking on Thursday (May 29), Tom Giffard MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Welsh Language, said: 'While we welcome efforts to promote the Welsh language, the Welsh Labour Government must take a balanced approach, ensuring the needs of all Welsh residents are met. 'Policies prioritising specific areas or communities based on linguistic criteria could unintentionally exclude or disadvantage others, add bureaucracy, and create unintended consequences for residents and businesses. Such an approach risks fostering division instead of cohesion.' The Labour Government's plans follow recommendations made by the Commission earlier this year to prevent the ongoing erosion of Welsh as a community language, particularly in rural and coastal areas where house prices have surged and the number of fluent Welsh speakers has fallen. But the Conservative Party says the response fails to address underlying issues such as poor housing supply, limited economic opportunity, and a lack of transparency in the planning system. 'Labour's track record on housing is weak,' said Mr Giffard. 'They've missed house-building targets repeatedly and left thousands on waiting lists. We have serious doubts about their ability to deliver these new policies effectively.' Welsh Labour has defended its stance, saying the Welsh language is part of the nation's shared cultural inheritance and that urgent action is needed to secure its future. A government spokesperson said the policies would be subject to consultation and that local authorities would retain flexibility in implementation. The Welsh Conservatives have called for a full impact assessment and greater clarity on how the measures would affect residents, developers, and small businesses. A public consultation is expected to launch later this year, with draft guidance and legislative changes potentially following in 2026. Background The Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities, chaired by academic Dr Simon Brooks, was tasked with identifying strategies to strengthen the use of the language in everyday life. Its final report warned that Welsh may 'disappear as a community language' from parts of Wales unless targeted intervention takes place. Key recommendations included linguistic impact assessments for housing developments, expanded language requirements for public services, and greater community control over land use. While supported by Plaid Cymru and Welsh language campaigners, the proposals have been labelled 'discriminatory' by some opposition politicians and property groups.
Rhyl Journal
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
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
North Wales Chronicle
23-05-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
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
Leader Live
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
North Wales MS issues his thoughts ahead of next year's 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
Wales Online
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
'It's time to bring home economics lessons back in schools'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar MS When I became leader of my party, I promised to present a credible plan to the people of Wales ahead of the election in 2026. It is clear that after 26 years of Labour, Wales is broken. We have seen waiting lists in our NHS hit record levels, with the equivalent of 1-in-4 people languishing, often in pain, waiting for treatment. Despite England's population being eighteen times that of Wales', we have over 15,000 waiting two years or more, yet they have less than 200. That simply isn't good enough. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Educational standards continue to fall, with PISA results remaining the lowest in the UK and experiencing the steepest decline with a fifth of pupils leaving primary school are functionally illiterate. And Labour's economic record is no better. We have the lowest employment levels in the UK here in Wales, economic inactivity remains stubbornly high, Welsh workers experience some of the smallest pay packets and unemployment has been the highest in the UK for eight months in a row. Wales deserves so much better than Labour's shameful record of failure. So I have made it my mission, to lead a team to deliver a plan to fix Wales. Last weekend marked our annual conference. It took place in beautiful and sunny Llangollen in North Wales. The mood was electric, as members enjoyed keynote addresses from political heavyweights from across the UK, including Kemi Badenoch, as well as a plethora of speakers from outside of politics, such as Cathy Larkman of the Women's Rights Network; NHS campaigner, David Jones; and celebrity farmer and campaigner, Gareth Wyn Jones. Optimism was in the air as members of my shadow cabinet team presented a vast array of policy proposals with one central aim in mind, to fix Wales. Our shadow cabinet secretary for health, James Evans detailed our plans to fix the Welsh NHS. We would declare, not a climate emergency, not a nature emergency or a biodiversity emergency, but a health emergency so that we can focus resources and the entire apparatus of Government on driving down excessive waiting times for tests and treatment, much like was the case during the Covid-19 pandemic. A Welsh Conservative government would also guarantee that no patient will have to wait over twelve months for treatment or longer than seven days to access a GP appointment. We have also pledged to expand patient choice and let you decide if you'd like to seek treatment further afield to achieve a shorter wait time, removing restrictions to cross-community, cross-border and cross-sector capacity sharing. And we would commission a public inquiry into failings at the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, and establish an NHS Leadership Register to prevent sacked NHS managers from being rehired in other parts of the health service. Natasha Asghar, our shadow education secretary, announced plans for a new discipline drive in our schools. With immediate expulsions for pupils who bring weapons such as knives into school, a zero tolerance approach to violence, a crackdown on poor behaviour and a ban on mobile phones to improve learners' concentration. The Welsh Conservatives would also reintroduce home economics in our schools, to teach all of our young people essential life skills such as how to cook a nutritious meal, and manage a household budget. We would also back businesses to create new jobs here in Wales. It is unacceptable that firms here face the highest business rates in Britain. That's why we would cut business rates in our town centres, eliminating them altogether for small businesses, and axe Labour's toxic tourism tax. Putting more money into the pockets of hardworking people is also a key priority. That's why a Welsh Conservative government would cut the basic rate of tax by 1p, saving the average hardworking family £450 per year, paid for by bearing down on waste and inefficiency in the Welsh Government. Wasting taxpayers' money on non-devolved areas like 'justice delivery', 'international relations' and 'constitutional commissions' will come to an end. Under the Welsh Conservatives, the Unions wouldn't be getting handouts, we wouldn't be spending millions on Senedd expansion and we wouldn't be wasting millions heating, lighting and leasing lavish near-empty Welsh Government buildings across Wales. We will also protect our pensioners who have been let down by Keir Starmer, by introducing a Welsh Winter Fuel Allowance, paid for by using some of the savings gleaned from cutting Labour's ballooning bureaucracy budgets to levels seen just two years ago, because in that time it has risen by a third, an astonishing £114 million. On transport, Sam Rowlands was clear that we will also scrap the default 20mph speed limit, returning it to 30mph. We will also invest in our infrastructure, unfreezing all road projects and deliver an M4 relief road. There will be no more spending on cycle paths until we fix Wales' roads. I reiterated our calls for a full public inquiry into sexual exploitation by grooming gangs in Wales, because we know there is evidence of gang activity in Wales but the full extent of this is unknown. Only the Welsh Conservatives can be trusted to deliver this policy agenda. Unlike Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats, we have not allowed Labour budgets and legislation to pass here in the Senedd, enabling Mark Drakeford's plans for more politicians and 20mph speed limits, Vaughan Gething's behaviour in bringing the office of First Minister into disrepute and Eluned Morgan's woeful mismanagement of the health service. And unlike Reform, we don't view spending £120 million on 36 more politicians as an 'exciting opportunity', we saw it as a colossal waste of your money and voted against it at every opportunity. The Welsh Conservatives will go even further. We would reverse Senedd expansion, saving the taxpayer tens of millions each and every year. We would also say no to the devolution of more powers, in contrast with Reform, which has joined Labour and Plaid Cymru by flirting with the devolution of justice. The Welsh Conservatives are the only credible alternative to a clapped-out Welsh Labour Government, with a clear plan to fix Wales.
