The Welsh Conservatives are set to launch their Senedd election manifesto today. They are the first party to publish their plans ahead of polling day in May.
Unveiling the manifesto at the St David's Hotel in Cardiff, Welsh Conservative Leader Darren Millar MS is expected to say:
"Today, I'm launching 'Fix Wales' our Welsh Conservative plan to get Wales working.
"It's a positive plan to unleash economic growth, create jobs, promote home ownership, cut taxes and waste, put more money into the pockets of hardworking people across the country, and fix our public services.
"People in Wales are crying out for positive change, this is our credible and costed plan to deliver just that.
"Our message to the people of Wales is this: no matter where you live, or what your circumstances are, you'll be better off under a Welsh Conservative Government."
The Welsh Conservatives have already made a number of key announcements and published a detailed health manifesto in February, announcing plans to declare a health emergency and boost hospital bed numbers.
Manifesto commitments expected to be unveiled today include:
- A 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax to save the average working family £450 per year
- Caps on council tax increases and a requirement for referendums on hikes of over 5%
- Scrapping Welsh Stamp Duty on main homes and restoring the Right to Buy to boost home ownership
- Re-establishing a Welsh Development Agency to attract inward investment, promote business growth and create jobs
- Backing nuclear power to support UK energy security, and implement a moratorium on large scale wind and solar farms
- Delivering an M4 relief road, upgrades on the A55, and the dualling of the A40 to Fishguard in West Wales
- Piloting an effective 5% rate of VAT on tourism accommodation businesses
- Introducing a £1,000 tuition fee discount for students studying STEM subjects
- Refunding University tuition fees for nursing, medicine, teaching and dentistry students who study in Wales and go on to work for at least five years in the Welsh NHS or Welsh schools
- An ambitious target to deliver 125,000 apprenticeships over the next Senedd term to meet the skills Wales needs to drive economic growth
- Boosting the farming budget by £100m
- No more powers for the Senedd, and no more spending on non-devolved matters
- And reversing the increase in the number of Members of the Senedd
On his political opponents, Mr Millar will say:
"Labour has failed Wales. But they wouldn't have been able to do it without the support of Plaid and the Liberal Democrats. A vote for any of those parties, is a vote for more of the same.
"And neither Reform nor the Greens are credible or serious political parties. They pose a risk to our security, and lack the experience, passion and solutions that Wales needs."
ENDS
Note to editors:
- The Manifesto can be found here.
