8. Welsh Conservatives debate: 'Prosperity for All'

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:15 pm on 24 January 2018.

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Photo of Suzy Davies Suzy Davies Conservative 6:15, 24 January 2018

Well, what about private enterprise? There's more than one option. That's the point I'm making here. What I'm seeing in this Government is that one option is the only way at the moment. 

I just wanted to finish off briefly on the tourism tax because, actually, that's a bed tax, a visitor bed tax. And I don't think it's—. If you're attempting to attract business to Wales, I don't think your primary message should be, 'Oh great, we can get an extra fiver out of you while we're talking.' Can you at least today tell us when the Cabinet's going to be making a decision on the tax proposals it's taking forward, and how that decision is reached? I think that would bring some certainty to this. 

Janet Finch-Saunders has already covered the point that I wanted to make on business rates. I think you're fooling yourselves if you think businesses thought that your offer was a tax cut, and I really hope, just for constituents' sake, that you'll reconsider the position of the multiplier and how all Welsh businesses are likely to lose out on that. 

I do want to finish on a point of agreement, though. Economic growth isn't an end in itself, but neither is consequent well-being a passively received consequence of economic growth. Good jobs, well-funded public services, safe neighbourhoods, faith in our care system—these all require a confident and capable citizenry empowered through education, freedom and encouragement for individuals to be primary actors in their collective future, connecting participation in economic growth with the benefits of that. Our people should be our greatest asset—they’ll bring Wales great returns. Use the economic strategy to invest in emboldening civil society, because social capital also pays impressive dividends. Thank you.