Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:55 pm on 21 June 2022.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:55, 21 June 2022

Well, Llywydd, let me agree with the first part of what the leader of Plaid Cymru said, because in the dispute we see in the rail industry and the ballots we see for strike action in other parts of the public services, we are reaping the whirlwind of 10 years of austerity. I think of the time and time again that Members of the Conservative benches here supported and defended that policy—that policy, which has kept wages down, which has refused to give people pay increases, and which means that, in every street here in Wales, we have families who are worse off today than when his party came into power in 2010. And when you add in rampant inflation and a Chancellor that's lost control of the economy, then there's no doubt at all that these actions are being stimulated by that compound economic failure.

The position in Wales, in relation to pay in the public sector, however, is part of the problem created by the Conservative Government. We get a fixed sum of money each year. If we are to pay some workers more than we are funded to pay them, there is nowhere for us to go. We cannot raise money ourselves to add to that. We cannot raise money ourselves—[Interruption.]

I'm very interested indeed. Llywydd, people listening will not have heard the leader of the opposition advocate putting up the taxes of people here in Wales in order to pay for people's wages because that is what he just did. He said to me that we should put up taxes in order to pay for wage increases. [Interruption.]