Plaid Cymru has warned that ConDem government cuts will threaten the recovery of the Welsh economy. Plaid’s Assembly Finance spokesperson Chris Franks AM said that all the work of Plaid in government in Wales to secure a sustainable recovery for the Welsh economy will be threatened by these Thatcherite cuts. The Plaid AM for South Wales Central it would be wrong to label any cuts to Welsh funding as being our fair share in light of the fact that the Welsh budget is already being cut by at least £300million a year, something that was recognised by both the Tories and Lib Dems in Wales before they formed the government in Westminster.

Plaid’s Assembly Finance spokesperson, Chris Franks AM said:

“These ConDem plans show just how little regard the Tories and Lib Dems have for the people of Wales. Plaid Cymru in government has worked hard to protect the communities of Wales from the economic crisis and to secure a sustainable future for the Welsh economy. This is now being threatened by the ConDem government in London.

“The ConDem government is perfectly aware that much of the Welsh economy is dependent on the public sector, with many small private sector businesses relying on public sector contracts. Wales simply cannot afford to have public spending slashed any further.

“The ConDem government talks about us all being in this together - so why are Welsh communities expected to shoulder such an unfair share of the burden? Why should we have to expect further cuts on the existing cuts of over £300m every single year? Where England is cutting the fat we are being expected to cut into the bone! The only way to ensure that Wales is not unfairly impacted by these cuts would be to reform the Barnett formula – something that was promised by the Lib Dems in their manifesto – but this has been well and truly kicked into the long grass by the ConDem government.

“What matters to us in Plaid Cymru are jobs and keeping people in work. I’m afraid that we are only just starting to see what really matters to the Tories and Lib Dems and that certainly is not the people of Wales.”