Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services – in the Senedd at 2:24 pm on 13 June 2018.
Presiding Officer, sometimes, this debate can be extraordinarily repetitive rather than illuminating. I've answered the question that the Member's asked on a number of occasions. I have to say that if we offered local government the same stability as local government in England is being offered, which is the stability of knowledge that there will be fewer resources next year than last year, fewer resources the following year than next year, that we will remove the revenue support grant, that we will ensure that local government has powers removed from them, is emasculated and sees significant reductions in their ability to shape the future of their local communities, I'm not sure that that's the stability that they would want. Do you know, I listen to Conservative Members time and time again in this Chamber, coming to me and telling me that they disagree with the approach taken by successive Welsh Governments, but I have yet to hear a Conservative councillor contact me, come to me, meet me, write to me and say to me, 'Please introduce Conservative policies in local government'? Not one local councillor from any part of Wales wants to see a Conservative-led policy to support, sustain and strangle local government.