‘A good day for Wales’: First Minister upbeat as Welsh Government set to unveil draft budget

Eluned Morgan is the First Minister of Wales, and leader of Welsh Labour.

Today, the Welsh Government will publish our draft budget for 2025/26.

This is a good day for Wales – it will put us firmly back on the path to growth and allow us to invest in the things that matter most to you.

In the NHS, in jobs, in your local communities, and in opportunities for all – this is what you told me was important when I met you over the summer.

I’ve listened and I’m making it happen.

Today is a real opportunity. After 14 long, difficult years of the Tories underfunding public services and working against Wales, we are finally able to unlock the potential and power of the partnership of two Labour governments – in Wales and Westminster – working together, to deliver for the people of Wales.

And that means delivering for all parts of Wales.

I am proud of our great nation and I have been fighting my whole life to make it better.

I grew up on an inner-city estate and throughout my political career I have represented a rural constituency. My experiences have helped me to understand every part of Wales.

This draft budget will support the issues which are important to you, reflecting what I heard on the streets of our cities and in the hearts of our rural communities.

Your message was clear: you want accessible healthcare, better housing, good jobs, opportunity for all, a connected transport system.

It can be easy to take some of the things which we’ve had for many years for granted – they’ve become part of our normal life in Wales. Things like free prescriptions; free hospital parking; free school meals; renters’ reform and railway investment.

I‘m really proud that Welsh Labour made these a reality in Wales and continues to deliver these for Wales.

In my first 100 days as First Minister, I’m building on that Welsh Labour legacy by:

• Providing an extra £50m to cut the longest waiting lists.
• Delivering free school lunches for all primary school children – good for their health and concentration and removing the stigma of free school meals.
• Awarding inflation-busting pay rises for public sector workers in Wales.
• Securing £250m to help older people to be cared for at home and avoid thousands of unnecessary hospital stays.
• Committing £1.5m in extra support for warm places for communities.

But there’s still more to do.

Whether that’s supporting communities living in the shadow of disused coal tips – which the recent storms have once again brought into sharp focus – or helping our arts and culture organisations survive and thrive.

This is what we can do by harnessing that power in partnership, with a Labour government in Westminster that respects Wales and respects devolution.

This is a Welsh Labour government which reaches into every community. That’s why we’re already investing in key priorities across Wales, from Ynys Môn to Ystrad Mynach.

Since September, Newport has already seen a boost to the green energy sector, with a £51 million investment and skilled jobs being created; North Wales is already benefitting from the opening of a new medical school in Bangor and we have funded 16 new Coetiroedd Bach (tiny forests) such as the one in Llangors.

I believe the future for Wales is bright.