Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I do move amendments 2 to 5 in the name of Paul Davies AM. Tomorrow, on 4 May, voters will go to the polls to elect their members in our local authorities, town and community councils. Legislation, policy and settlement distribution, of course, have been the responsibility of Welsh Labour for the past 18 years. Over this time, our residents have seen council tax increased in Wales by 187 per cent. They’ve also felt severe cuts to our bin collections, and the closure of public toilets, our libraries and our local community centres. Those living in our rural communities are blighted by the many cuts imposed by this Welsh Labour Government, especially the swingeing cuts to community transport, leaving many feeling isolated and in despair. So, it is clear that voters will be looking for change and for representatives who will fight their corner, speaking up against such imposing cuts and a lack of efficiency in the delivery of their services.

Our first amendment highlights the disproportionate cuts to rural authorities: 10 per cent, Monmouthshire; 9 per cent, Vale of Glamorgan; and nearly 8 per cent in Conwy. Council tax remains Wales’s biggest debt burden according to the citizens advice bureau, with residents now facing an increase of 187 per cent since Labour came to power. In Conwy though it’s 230 per cent, yet this hasn’t prevented Plaid Cymru, Labour, Lib Dems and the independents from supporting and voting in further increases. Street cleaning and bin collections, noted in Plaid’s motion as important functions of local government, have been slashed like never before. Yes, by Plaid Cymru and Labour. In Conwy, four-weekly bin collections and fly-tipping—now at its highest level in five years—are causing huge misery to my constituents, impacting the most on our families, our pensioners and our most vulnerable.

The Welsh Conservatives are working to protect and safeguard these vital services, pledging to restore bin collections to at least fortnightly, fundamentally opposing further and unnecessary council tax increases.