Thursday, June 03, 2010
The deepest cut of all
It is most probably unfair to say that having spent the General Election whinging Plaid Cymru are continuing in the same vein, but there is certainly a case for them to change the record, if only because their narrow and blinkered view of the UK economy is both trite and misleading.
Today's South Wales Evening Post carries a non-story from the newly elected Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr in which he criticises Nick Clegg for saying that plans ware being put in place to protect certain areas of the UK, those heavily dependent on public sector jobs, from the impact of Government cuts.
Mr. Edwards is upset that Nick Clegg referred to parts of the North East, North West, South Yorkshire and London as being earmarked for protection, but did not mention Wales. He sees this as an admission that the cuts will have a disproportionate impact on areas that depend on public-sector employment. The Plaid Cymru MP wants to know what support will be given to the Welsh Government to deal with the cuts being inflicted upon us 'because of decisions made in Westminster'and concludes:
"With unemployment, debt problems and mortgage repossessions on the rise, cuts such as these could not come at a worse time."
Well, yes, but Plaid Cymru have never put forward an alternative. All they have done is to argue that Wales should be treated as a special case from the rest of the UK and suggested that the cuts are not needed at all. Considering the well-earned reputation of their chief economic advisor, Eurfyl ap Gwilym that is a surprisingly unsustainable position to take.
It is a statement of the bleeding obvious that cuts in public funding will hit the public sector the hardest. However, the coalition has stated that it will be ring-fencing and increasing the health budget in real terms, that it will be putting more money into education and that it will do all it can to protect front-line services. That was evident from the first round of cuts.
It is also likely that Nick Clegg did not mention Wales because unlike the regions of England he did single out, our funding is formula-driven and therefore any special protection will involve pre-empting reviews promised in the coalition document.
And yes, it is a bad time to make these cuts. Is there ever a good time? But, if we did not do it now then there would be a very real threat to the UK's credit rating and the resultant run on the pound could have an even more drastic impact on unemployment, debt and mortgage repossessions. It does not help that Gordon Brown sold off our gold reserve cheaply, meaning that we have less protection from currency speculators.
And if Plaid Cymru are so concerned about these issues then why did their Housing Minister suspend the mortgage rescue scheme in Wales last week?
What really rankles though is Plaid Cymru's position on these cuts. The Welsh economy is not a separate entity. Public spending here is roughly twice the total Welsh tax take. It is not feasible to ring fence the country whilst imposing further cuts on poorer parts of England. Nor do Plaid Cymru offer any other view as to how we might get the UK economy back on track.
Like Militant Tendancy newspaper sellers they are content to shout meaningless slogans from the sidelines. They may be in government in Wales but they are increasingly sounding less and less like a party of government. No wonder they did so badly in the General Election.
Today's South Wales Evening Post carries a non-story from the newly elected Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr in which he criticises Nick Clegg for saying that plans ware being put in place to protect certain areas of the UK, those heavily dependent on public sector jobs, from the impact of Government cuts.
Mr. Edwards is upset that Nick Clegg referred to parts of the North East, North West, South Yorkshire and London as being earmarked for protection, but did not mention Wales. He sees this as an admission that the cuts will have a disproportionate impact on areas that depend on public-sector employment. The Plaid Cymru MP wants to know what support will be given to the Welsh Government to deal with the cuts being inflicted upon us 'because of decisions made in Westminster'and concludes:
"With unemployment, debt problems and mortgage repossessions on the rise, cuts such as these could not come at a worse time."
Well, yes, but Plaid Cymru have never put forward an alternative. All they have done is to argue that Wales should be treated as a special case from the rest of the UK and suggested that the cuts are not needed at all. Considering the well-earned reputation of their chief economic advisor, Eurfyl ap Gwilym that is a surprisingly unsustainable position to take.
It is a statement of the bleeding obvious that cuts in public funding will hit the public sector the hardest. However, the coalition has stated that it will be ring-fencing and increasing the health budget in real terms, that it will be putting more money into education and that it will do all it can to protect front-line services. That was evident from the first round of cuts.
It is also likely that Nick Clegg did not mention Wales because unlike the regions of England he did single out, our funding is formula-driven and therefore any special protection will involve pre-empting reviews promised in the coalition document.
And yes, it is a bad time to make these cuts. Is there ever a good time? But, if we did not do it now then there would be a very real threat to the UK's credit rating and the resultant run on the pound could have an even more drastic impact on unemployment, debt and mortgage repossessions. It does not help that Gordon Brown sold off our gold reserve cheaply, meaning that we have less protection from currency speculators.
And if Plaid Cymru are so concerned about these issues then why did their Housing Minister suspend the mortgage rescue scheme in Wales last week?
What really rankles though is Plaid Cymru's position on these cuts. The Welsh economy is not a separate entity. Public spending here is roughly twice the total Welsh tax take. It is not feasible to ring fence the country whilst imposing further cuts on poorer parts of England. Nor do Plaid Cymru offer any other view as to how we might get the UK economy back on track.
Like Militant Tendancy newspaper sellers they are content to shout meaningless slogans from the sidelines. They may be in government in Wales but they are increasingly sounding less and less like a party of government. No wonder they did so badly in the General Election.
Comments:
<< Home
"Well, yes, but Plaid Cymru have never put forward an alternative. All they have done is to argue that Wales should be treated as a special case from the rest of the UK and suggested that the cuts are not needed at all. Considering the well-earned reputation of their chief economic advisor, Eurfyl ap Gwilym that is a surprisingly unsustainable position to take."
Um, no they didn't. They said cuts should be delayed until the economy recovers. Hywel Williams said it in fact. Here's the link-
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/03/17/plaid-wants-to-delay-public-spending-cuts-91466-26047181/
Oh, and here's a link of your party leader saying the same thing 4 days before Hywel.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8565722.stm
As you were.
Um, no they didn't. They said cuts should be delayed until the economy recovers. Hywel Williams said it in fact. Here's the link-
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/03/17/plaid-wants-to-delay-public-spending-cuts-91466-26047181/
Oh, and here's a link of your party leader saying the same thing 4 days before Hywel.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8565722.stm
As you were.
You make my case for me. The point is that delaying cuts is not an appropriate response to changing economic circumstances. Nor does it amount to an alternative. Plaid Cymru will criticise cuts no matter when they are made. That is why the economy is not safe in your hands.
The Greek crisis has changed things. If we are not seen to be doing something to tackle the deficit now then we will be subject to similar pressure. As ususl Plaid is living in the past.
The Greek crisis has changed things. If we are not seen to be doing something to tackle the deficit now then we will be subject to similar pressure. As ususl Plaid is living in the past.
So Nick Clegg got it wrong in March and had a change of heart two months later? Historical revisionism at its finest.
The Greek crisis, the same excuse that Vince Cable used. Why did you not adopt the same position for the Icelandic crisis? After all that had more of a direct impact on UK finances, incidentally, than the Greek crisis. Or perhaps you could have brought up the Irish crisis, seeing as the government there followed your early cuts policy and now has unemployment higher than Wales or the UK.
I can fully see why you wouldn't want to live in the past or even remember the past, seeing as days before you tacked to the right you were holding all sorts of different positions and claiming to be social democrats.
You've attempted a post against Plaid but in doing so have exposed all of the Liberal contradictions and u-turns you've treated us to over the past six weeks.
The Greek crisis, the same excuse that Vince Cable used. Why did you not adopt the same position for the Icelandic crisis? After all that had more of a direct impact on UK finances, incidentally, than the Greek crisis. Or perhaps you could have brought up the Irish crisis, seeing as the government there followed your early cuts policy and now has unemployment higher than Wales or the UK.
I can fully see why you wouldn't want to live in the past or even remember the past, seeing as days before you tacked to the right you were holding all sorts of different positions and claiming to be social democrats.
You've attempted a post against Plaid but in doing so have exposed all of the Liberal contradictions and u-turns you've treated us to over the past six weeks.
Again you illustrate my point about Plaid not being a party of government. In government you have to adapt to changing circumstances and that is what we have done. What Nick Clegg said in March applied then, it does not apply now because we have different economic conditions. It is not an excuse it is the reason.
The Icelandic crisis was in a sense peripheral to our own banking crisis that contributed to our huge debt. Ireland's unemployment is not due to its premature cuts but to its vulnerability as an economy to the economic downturn.
The situation now is that we need to demonstrate to the market that we are serious about keeping spending under control. Failure to do so will lead to loss of credit ratings, attempted runs on the pound and further unemployment.
I have never claimed to be a social democrat by the way. I am and always have been a liberal. Equally, I do not see how the implementation of a huge raft of Liberal Democrat policies in government can be interpreted as a tack to the right.
The Icelandic crisis was in a sense peripheral to our own banking crisis that contributed to our huge debt. Ireland's unemployment is not due to its premature cuts but to its vulnerability as an economy to the economic downturn.
The situation now is that we need to demonstrate to the market that we are serious about keeping spending under control. Failure to do so will lead to loss of credit ratings, attempted runs on the pound and further unemployment.
I have never claimed to be a social democrat by the way. I am and always have been a liberal. Equally, I do not see how the implementation of a huge raft of Liberal Democrat policies in government can be interpreted as a tack to the right.
"Again you illustrate my point about Plaid not being a party of government. In government you have to adapt to changing circumstances and that is what we have done. What Nick Clegg said in March applied then, it does not apply now because we have different economic conditions. It is not an excuse it is the reason."
I accept that Peter, and Plaid Cymru took that very same stance on tuition fees, yet you slated them for it even when Nick Clegg took a similar position.
More holes than Swiss cheese.
"The situation now is that we need to demonstrate to the market that we are serious about keeping spending under control."
I'm sure the markets are grateful for your assistance and will thank your party in time for serving their interests.
I accept that Peter, and Plaid Cymru took that very same stance on tuition fees, yet you slated them for it even when Nick Clegg took a similar position.
More holes than Swiss cheese.
"The situation now is that we need to demonstrate to the market that we are serious about keeping spending under control."
I'm sure the markets are grateful for your assistance and will thank your party in time for serving their interests.
I do not see why Wales should be treated in a special manner, or any UK region for that matter, cuts will be applied all around and who says the Barnett formula is really that much way off?
# posted by 
: 8:17 PM
: 8:17 PM
No Plaid Cymru changed its mind halfway through its coalition government having pledged in its manifesto not to introduce top-up fees and then indicating in the One Wales agreement that it would maintain that stance. What we have done is to say upfront in the coalition agreement what we will do. That is something Plaid failed to do. Also there was no economic imperative for your u-turn as you suggest and that is why you are being criticised.
I am sure the markets will take notice too because we are in Government. But unlike Plaid Cymru we recognise that the markets are important to our future prosperity.
Post a Comment
I am sure the markets will take notice too because we are in Government. But unlike Plaid Cymru we recognise that the markets are important to our future prosperity.
<< Home
