‘The attack on our rural way of life has been accelerated here in Wales’

Laura Anne Jones, of the Conservatives, is one of four regional Senedd Members serving the South Wales East region.

Earlier this month marked the one year anniversary of the UK Labour Government coming to power.

It is, of course, very easy to criticise every difficult decision any government makes. There are deep rooted problems in our system, there are external, international factors at play, and there are huge, generational challenges that make governing difficult no matter who is in charge.

Fundamentally, to govern is to choose. Unfortunately, this Labour UK Government has made all the wrong choices.

It was a devastating blow when Rachel Reeves removed winter fuel payments from so many pensioners last winter. It is part of our social contract that you work hard all your life, and you can retire in dignity, so it was unforgivable that the government felt they could balance their books on the backs of pensioners. They, eventually, u-turned on that decision, but not before many pensioners had gone cold over the winter. In the end, it was political pressure, not compassion, which forced Labour to change tack.

Another heartless decision that came down the M4 was the move to place inheritance tax on family farms. Inheritance tax is egregious enough: People work that extra bit harder in life so they can pass on more to their children. But in the case of farming, where machinery and the other tools of the trade are expensive, and profits are slim, this decision will be calamitous. It will be particularly felt here in South Wales East where so many of us are farmers, or are closely related to farmers (I’m a proud daughter of a farmer). For the sake of our family farms, and of our food security, it’s imperative that Labour reverse this tax, and support our farmers in feeding our nation because no farmers means no food.

On the economy, the rise in employers’ national insurance has been a disaster. Just this month the Office for National Statistics revealed that since that tax rise took effect, the UK hospitality industry has shed a whopping 69,000 jobs. To put that in perspective, these figures mark the steepest peacetime job losses for the sector since records began outside the pandemic. I look around at our pubs and restaurants in South Wales East, all of which are community hubs, loved institutions and, importantly, employers of local people, and I worry about their futures under this UK Labour Government.

All of this has, of course, been aided and abetted by the Welsh Labour Government in the Senedd. In fact, the attack on our rural way of life has been accelerated here in Wales, with the Welsh Government putting further strain on livestock farmers and auctioneers with their restrictions on livestock movement which came in at the start of July. It is little wonder, with decisions like this, that many farmers and indeed people across our county look at the Welsh Government and ask what it is they are paying for.

So, one year in, there is little to compliment this Labour Government for. All we can hope is that, by the time of the next election, our pubs, restaurants and farms are not so badly damaged by this government’s policies that they are beyond saving.

I will continue to champion their voices in my role.