Labour pledges to freeze Welsh income tax in bid to tackle cost of living
The Labour Party will freeze Welsh rates of income tax if the party leads the next Welsh government, it has been revealed.
The pledge forms the centrepiece of Welsh Labour’s manifesto, which is due to be launched on Monday in Swansea, ahead of May’s Senedd elections.
Labour has led Wales since the Senedd was first established as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, but, if opinion polls are to be believed, the vote in May could see its electoral dominance brought to an end.
An MRP poll published last week, conducted by YouGov for ITV Cymru Wales, suggests Plaid Cymru remains on course to be the biggest party in May, with Reform the second largest and Labour third.
Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan, the current First Minister, is expected to say the income tax freeze was part of a focus on tackling the cost of living.
“Today, I make a clear promise to the people of Wales: in the next Senedd term, a Welsh Labour Government will not raise income tax,” Baroness Morgan will say.
“Fairness starts with understanding the pressure families face, but fairness also means action.
“This manifesto delivers real help with the cost of living.
“We will cap single bus fares at £2 across Wales, we will keep the £1 fares for young people and free travel for over-60s, and we will create 20,000 new childcare places, expanding provision from nine months old so families can work and get on.
“Because fairness means making everyday life that little bit easier.”
In addition to tackling the cost of living, Welsh Labour is pledging a £4 billion investment in the NHS, improving the environment by cleaning up rivers and cracking down on fly-tipping and ending homelessness.
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Too little too late baroness. Welsh people wont fall for your false promises any more. You could hsve done any of this in the last twenty five years but didnt. And no mention of getting thd money Wastemonster owes us? Really
Correct and she knows by now that her party are not even going to come second in this election. If she carries on trying to split the Plaid vote, she will deliver Cymru into the jaws of evil. Country before party Eluned? Stand candidates down and get with the programme.
An absurd sop to Reform and Tory voters. Income Tax should rise together with the re-banding of the highest rate. How on earth would a tax reduction help public services already on their knees.