Plaid Cymru’s Assembly election candidate for Caerphilly Ron Davies has accused Labour MP Wayne David of letting down the public after he abstained on a Commons vote about fuel prices.
The political accusation comes after the MP questioned Mr Davies’ loyalty to Plaid Cymru in a blog post written for Caerphilly Observer.
Mr David was among 25 Labour MPs which did not back back the Plaid Cymru and SNP motion pressing for a fuel duty regulator and help for rural areas. The motion was lost.
Ron Davies, a former Labour Secretary of State for Wales who is now a member of Plaid, said: “Three years ago Labour MPs voted against a similar motion, while Tory MPs abstained.
“This time, Conservatives and Lib Dems voted in favour of inflicting even higher fuel prices – while Labour MPs, including Wayne David, were happy to sit on their hands and watch this vote go through. Only one Labour MP backed the Plaid-SNP motion.
“Soaring fuel prices because of increases in fuel duty and VAT slapped on by Westminster affects tens of thousands of people in Caerphilly. Families, small businesses, farmers, motorists, even public transport operators are struggling, because of it but Wayne David does not want to know. He, like other Labour MPs is playing party politics.
“There is a huge amount of support backing the call for a Fuel Duty Regulator right now with support coming from a number of industry groups such as the Road Haulage Association, the Federation of Small Businesses and farming unions such as the NFU and the FUW.
“People and businesses across Wales struggling with fuel prices have every right to feel betrayed. Wayne David needs to explain clearly why he does not support help for hard-pressed people and why he let down the people of Caerphilly.”
Mr David, who this week questioned Mr Davies’ loyalty to Plaid in a controversial blog post for Caerphilly Observer, hit back at his long-time political rival.
He said: “The Parliamentary Labour Party as a whole did not support the Nationalists’ motion because it focussed on a poorly throughout idea of a discount scheme for rural areas.
“Their opportunist motion offered absolutely nothing to areas like Caerphilly. Labour believes that the focus should have been on the VAT rise which has forced up prices at the pump.”
The people of Caerphilly would have lost out on a carelessly thought out scheme to subsidise rural fuel prices. Wayne David was right to abstain when so many of our residents have to find more, and yet more, money to commute to their places of work, frequently making longer journeys than rural folk.