Welsh Government passes budget in tight vote

The Welsh Parliament has approved its budget for the next year, following a fierce debate which saw ministers accuse opponents of “being against everything”.

The Welsh Government’s £26 billion budget, which includes an extra £1.6 billion for public services, was approved in a narrow vote in the Senedd on Tuesday.

Labour politicians needed the help of an opposition member to get the budget through, with a promised ban on greyhound racing in Wales and a £1 cap on bus fares for those aged under 21 winning over Liberal Democrat MS Jane Dodds.

Also included in the plans are an extra £600 million in revenue and capital funding for health and social care, £81 million extra to build social housing to tackle homelessness and a £100 million boost for education.

The debate was often raucous, with frequent shouting across the Siambr (Senedd debating chamber).

Mark Drakeford, the Finance Secretary, accused the Tories and Plaid of “being against everything and in favour of nothing”.

However, opposition members insisted that the budget did not go far enough.

Addressing the Senedd, Mr Drakeford said: “With this budget, we turn the corner, moving beyond austerity to investment and to growth.

“And while we cannot undo all the damage inflicted on Wales during the austerity years, we can begin to rebuild our services and create an economy that truly offers prosperity for all.”

He added: “A vote against this budget is not a vote for something else, it is a vote against the thousands of extra treatments that the NHS will now be able to provide next year because of this budget; it’s a vote against the employment of those teachers and teaching assistants whose jobs are secured by this budget; it’s a vote against the childcare places that families will now have available as a result of this budget.”

Rhun ap Iorwerth, the leader of Plaid, accused the Finance Secretary of making a “spurious argument” and Labour of “scaremongering”, insisting it was a “flawed budget” and that was why his party would vote against.

While Plaid’s Heledd Fychan said she accepted that “undoing 14 years of damage caused by the Conservatives is not going to be possible overnight”, she argued the budget “falls short”.

She said: “Whilst the Conservatives have gone, austerity hasn’t gone with them, and Wales continues to be short-changed – hardly the brighter future for Wales promised when the draft budget was announced.”

Sam Rowlands, the Conservatives’ finance spokesman, said the budget was “ploughing on with the same old failed orthodoxy”, branding it a “sticking plaster” for the problems people in Wales face.

He said: “The budget before us today won’t chart a new course, it won’t fix the deep-seated problems that 26 years of Labour have given us, it won’t lead to greater prosperity for our people, it won’t put more money in people’s pockets and it won’t give us the public services that the people of Wales are crying out for.”

Darren Millar, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said: “If the Welsh Government lost this vote today, it would effectively bring to an end 26 years of a failing, tired, clapped-out Labour Government that’s devoid of the right ideas to fix the problems and the challenges that Wales faces.

“That is a good thing, and that is why all of us on these benches will be voting against this budget today.”

The vote passed with 29 members in support, 28 against, with Ms Dodds abstaining.