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Wales faces a new era of austerity, a Welsh Government minister has warned as Rishi Sunak becomes the third Conservative Prime Minister in the space of two months.

Wales’ Finance Minister, Rebecca Evans, has blamed the UK Government’s handling of the economy for soaring inflation and spending cuts proposed by current chancellor Jeremy Hunt – and has warned the Welsh Government’s budget will be hit as a result.

Ms Evans has also expressed fears public services could be starved of funding, economic growth stifled and jobs as a result.

The Welsh Government has said its budget is now worth £4bn less in real terms than it was when the three-year funding settlement was set last year.

The Welsh Government will publish its draft budget on December 31, with the UK Chancellor set to publish his medium-term plan on October 31.

Speaking at a Welsh Government press conference, Ms Evans warned against more austerity and outlined alternatives she believes Mr Hunt could take to support public services.

She also hit out at the mini budget unveiled by Kwasi Kwarteng while he was chancellor during Liz Truss’ ill-fated tenure in Number 10.

She said: “By announcing reckless un-costed tax cuts for the rich, the UK Government lost control of the economy. Now the new Chancellor wants us all to pay for its failures with deep spending cuts.

“We are facing a new damaging era of austerity, which would threaten jobs, businesses and public services.

“The Chancellor could protect public services by using his tax levers more fairly and increase investment to get the economy moving in the right direction. He could help people pay their bills by increasing benefits in line with inflation.”

Ms Evans continued: “As we look ahead to our budget, we need the UK Government to take action to avoid the type of destructive austerity that will further damage our economy and the public services so many of us rely on.”