Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:06 pm on 7 March 2023.
I also welcome the final budget brought by the Welsh Government after much scrutiny and much collaboration, and I thank the Minister, Rebecca Evans. But after a decade of austerity, Brexit and the COVID pandemic, the economy and public services have never been in a more fragile state throughout the United Kingdom. In my view, Britain is breaking. Fundamentally, the Tory UK Government has not provided Wales with adequate funding. The roof does not cover the house and the cloak does not cover the person. And even after some additional funding in the autumn statement, it is not even enough to meet the inflationary pressures Wales is facing, let alone all our priorities in 2023. [Interruption.] No, I'm not going to take an intervention at this stage.
This is due to a fundamental disregard for Wales. It is a fundamental disregard of UK Government incompetence, a starvation of investment—[Interruption.] No, thank you—and UK economic and fiscal mismanagement. I would like you to listen. [Interruption.] In real terms—[Interruption.] I would like you to listen. In real terms, the Welsh Government's capital budget will be cut to 8.1 per cent lower in 2024-25 than in the current year. The UK Government has comprehensively failed to invest in Welsh infrastructure, and it has not met Welsh needs. And as the UK is entering recession, the Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast that gross domestic product will fall by 2 per cent, and unemployment will rise by 1.5 points. And the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Bank of England are deeply concerned.
The Tory UK Government's mismanagement of the UK economy has had a profound impact on the UK and a profound impact on the people of Wales. This is without future ongoing pressures from 1 April—energy prices rising again, mortgages rising again, and food and fuel rises. Indeed, we have seen in the last week, from leaked WhatsApp messages from Matt Hancock, Boris Johnson even trying to nominate his own father for a knighthood. The Tory running of Britain has damaged many and privileged a few, and in the midst of this mayhem the Welsh Government continues to defend the interests of the people of Wales, as is shown in this budget, which still progresses the Welsh people's priorities. I commend this budget to Wales, and I commend this budget to the Senedd.