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‘Levelled down’: UK Government accused of giving Wales £329m less this year than EU would have

03 Nov 2021 3 minute read
Michael Gove. Picture by Richard Townshend (CC BY 3.0).

The Welsh Government has accused the UK Government of “levelling down” Wales as it was revealed that the country would get £329m less this year than it would have received from the EU if it was still a member.

The Community Renewal Fund – announced by Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove MP today – announced earlier today its new scheme to replace EU funds post-Brexit.

Wales will receive £46m this year. Had Wales and the UK remained in the EU, we’d have received £375m.

A Welsh Government source said that the announcement showed that Wales had been led up the garden path by the UK Government’s post-Brexit promises.

“Throughout the Brexit debate, the UK Government gave repeated assurances Wales would not lose ‘a single penny’ of EU funding should the UK exit the EU,” the spokesperson said.

“Today’s announcement by the UK Government shows they are short-changing Wales by cutting the replacement funding we were promised. Instead of Wales receiving at least £375m annually in new money to invest from January this year, it confirms Wales will receive just £46m. This is not “levelling up”, it’s levelling down.

“The UK Government also promised devolved powers would be respected. The unconstitutional Internal Market Act undermines democratic devolution by stopping decisions about Wales being taken in Wales.

“It is yet another clear demonstration the people of Wales have been misled by the UK Government.”

‘Fantastic’

The Welsh Conservatives however said that the £46 million was another example of the UK Government’s commitment to levelling up Wales.

Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Culture and Tourism, Tom Giffard MS, said that thefantastic new fund just goes to show how committed the UK Conservative Government is to helping people in Wales”.

“As we start working to help our economy bounce back from the pandemic, it is vital that we boost people’s skills to help them into employment and support local businesses,” he said.

“This fund builds on the success of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget last week when he announced an investment of more than £121 million directly into communities in Wales and an extra £2.5 billion a year for the Welsh Government budget.”

Projects being funded in Wales include:

  • £197,122 to support unemployed and disadvantaged people in Carmarthenshire to start their own businesses by investing in digital, employability and entrepreneurial skills. It will also fund a bootcamp for female entrepreneurs, creating a networking group for women in business.
  • £45,900 to upgrade trails in the Dinas Mawddwy area of Gwynedd. A key part of improvements will make the trails more accessible to those with disabilities, helping to protect community networks and ensure the outdoors is open to all.
  • £629,341 to support and fund manufacturers in Denbighshire to implement new or improved digital manufacturing strategies.
  • £66,300 to deliver deaf awareness training and basic British Sign Language to customer facing staff at range of businesses and organisations throughout Rhondda Cynon Taf.
  • £61,342 to fund a full feasibility study to improve visitor access to Freshwater West in Pembrokeshire which will benefit local businesses and ensure the environment is protected while increasing tourism.
  • £1 million to establish a Creative Industry Training Programme (CITP) which will provide a collaborative way of working, supporting training and learning opportunities in venues across Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff.

A combined total of 160 projects across every Welsh local authority will receive a share of £46 million.


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Gareth W
Gareth W
3 years ago

Never trust a Tory – or Westminster come to think of it !

Erisian
Erisian
3 years ago

And you are suprised because ….?
They lie.
They break their own rules and then change the rules.
Or sometimes their “PrifWhinyDog”, just says they don’t apply to his special friend (e.g. Priti Vacant.)
Once the party of law and order they have stripped the police and courts of funds and are set to limit judicial power to make it clear we can no longer hold them to account except through the ballot box, and they are planning to remove that loop-hole as soon as possible.

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
3 years ago

The Welsh nation has been lied to once again. We were promised not only that we would not lose one penny of our EU structural funding, but in fact would receive more money in our block thanks to Brexit. Where the poorest communities in Wales had a share of £375m per annum of EU structural funding, yes £375m , which was once administrated by our Welsh Government , will now only receive a pittance being £46m and it’s Whitehall not Wales who will administer the funds. Still think leaving the EU was right? Not once during the Brexit debate and… Read more »

j humphrys
j humphrys
3 years ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

No, the “Welsh Consevatives” said that.
In reality, Cymru gets 325million less than if we were still in the EU.

Dale McElwee
3 years ago
Reply to  j humphrys

OK. I will read it a second time for you :

“This fund builds on the success of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget last week when he announced an investment of more than £121 million directly into communities in Wales and an extra £2.5 billion a year for the Welsh Government budget.””

It is published in the budget.

Dale McElwee
3 years ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

It says Wales is getting an extra 2.5 billion here? According to her official budget in Parliament records.

“This fund builds on the success of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget last week when he announced an investment of more than £121 million directly into communities in Wales and an extra £2.5 billion a year for the Welsh Government budget.”

Mr Williams
Mr Williams
3 years ago

Shameful, but sadly not surprising. I am so upset that a majority in Wales decided to trust the disgraceful liars (and racists – remember the lies they told about Turkish people – our friends!) who ran the Leave campaign and vote to leave the EU. However, despite some fantastic campaigners within its ranks, the Remain campaign was also lacking in honest leadership. David Cameron, George Osborne et al were basically threatening people (using Barak Obama too – remember his ‘back of the queue’ threat, doing David Cameron’s dirty work for him). This pushed several people to vote leave too. I… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by Mr Williams
Gareth
Gareth
3 years ago

All you need to remember the next time you go to vote, are two Boris Johnson statements. “let the bodies pile high” and ” f**k business”. It says all you need to know .
Did anybody expect anything off this lot.

Raymond Taylor
Raymond Taylor
3 years ago
Reply to  Gareth

I told so many people that this would happen but few actually believed me. Obviously many were too young to remember Thatcher and the mine closures with nothing to help anyone in those areas once the money stopped flowing from wages.

Steve Duggan
Steve Duggan
3 years ago

Welsh Labour you knew this was going to be the case, we all knew. Stop bleating and support independence it’s our only way out of poverty.

Raymond Taylor
Raymond Taylor
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve Duggan

Strange you say this as no one I spoke to even considered the loss of the £2.5 billion as being an issue. Most commented we would still get it from UK Govt. None so blind eh.

Josy
Josy
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve Duggan

You mean rejoin the EU?

R W
R W
3 years ago

Yet another Brexit con trick that was played on us. What a surprise!! It’s time for Labour to stop whining and actually do something positive about it. However, I’m not holding my breath!!

Kerry Davies
Kerry Davies
3 years ago

I apologise to all Tories. I had written that the thieving gits were going to defund Wales by £330m and it is only £329m. They have still broken every single manifesto pledge, some of them twice.

hdavies15
hdavies15
3 years ago

“levelling up” was always a piece of rhetoric aimed at the soft bits of the UK that switched sides for the last GE. As insincere as all those other soundbites we get from Johnson and his crew.

j humphrys
j humphrys
3 years ago

We can huff and puff, but Mr Piggy is secure in his Westminster House. Good luck to him.
Suggest we leave him there and build our own, smaller, Independent House? Yes Cymru!

Raymond Taylor
Raymond Taylor
3 years ago
Reply to  j humphrys

Yes and join the EU TO GET REAL FUNDING

Josy
Josy
3 years ago
Reply to  Raymond Taylor

But then we are ruled by unelected bureaucrats who we can’t be voted out and we don’t know what is coming down the line and they build the world government which overrules the public.

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