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Second home-owning Tory MS complains about ‘belittling’ of second home-owners  

15 Sep 2021 3 minute read
Janet Finch-Saunders. Picture by the National Assembly (CC BY 2.0)

A second home-owning Tory MS has complained about what she called the “belittling” of second home-owners.

Janet Finch Saunders, who is the Senedd’s most prolific landlord, owning or co-owning 7 properties, suggested that “we should be thanking our holiday-let operators”.

She accused the Welsh Government of “swaying towards Plaid Cymru’s nationalist stance of being anti-tourist, anti-business and anti-ambition” following a debate in the Senedd with the Minister for Finance Rebecca Evans.

The Conservative Senedd member for Aberconwy said she has concerns about the push towards taxation as a means of combatting the country’s housing crisis.

According to the register of interests she jointly owns 2 residential properties, 4 retail properties in Conwy County, as well as jointly owns a holiday-let property in Menai Bridge.

Janet Finch Saunders said: “After one of the busiest seasons ever experienced in Llandudno and North Wales, we should be thanking our holiday-let operators for the immense economic benefit that they bring to our communities and tourism offer.

“I know I am not alone in rejecting the constant flow of negative and belittling comments aimed at our second home and self-catering accommodation owners.

“For too long, this Welsh Government has been swaying towards Plaid Cymru’s nationalist stance of being anti-tourist, anti-business and anti-ambition.

‘Hesitant’ 

She added: “Local Authorities have rightly been hesitant to increase these premiums. This tool was actually intended to bring long-term empty homes back into use but this has not been achieved.

“The current regressive stance taken by the Welsh Government towards taxation and against private landlords is only serving to push them towards the lucrative market of holiday-let accommodation.

“The Welsh Government must come forward with plans to incentivise our private landlords to remain in the private rented sector rather than moving over to the hospitality sector.”

In the Senedd, the Minister for Finance Rebecca Evans said: “Private landlords do have an important part to play in terms of our housing stock in here in Wales.

“It’s a positive choice for people who want to rent, and we’ve done good work in the past years in terms of Rent Smart Wales and the work that we’ve done there to try and ensure that the offer from private landlords is a quality offer for individuals here in Wales and to ensure that that sector does provide a really important and useful part of the housing options for people for whom renting is the right choice, and it is a positive choice for many people, so we need to ensure that it’s a good experience for them.”


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Ieuan Evans
Ieuan Evans
2 years ago

Janet Finch Saunders is totally hopeless with regards to Welsh interest, except when it comes to her own narrow self interest.

SundanceKid
SundanceKid
2 years ago
Reply to  Ieuan Evans

What Welsh interest? She’s not interested in that at all.

Quornby
Quornby
2 years ago

Is she one of the nine tories in Wales likely to lose her seat according to a Tory press poll. Hope so.

Last edited 2 years ago by Quornby
GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
2 years ago

My heart bleeds while I can’t even find anywhere affordable to rent where I live. Poor poor multi millionaire.

Hannergylch
Hannergylch
2 years ago
Reply to  GW Atkinson

I’m lucky enough to live & work in a cheap area, but my good fortune has only sharpened my awareness of how unjust the housing situation is. The process of buying a house made me aware that ALL housing is a social contract. To illustrate what I mean, let’s start with the shirt on your back. Your probably don’t have the receipt from when you bought it, so your ownership of it is purely down to the fact that you’re wearing it. Anyone who wants to dispute your ownership of it (or charge you rent for wearing it) is going… Read more »

Owain Morgan
Owain Morgan
2 years ago
Reply to  Hannergylch

I couldn’t have put it better if I tried. Superb! I constantly feel like shouting and screaming when I see these kind of articles, but you have explained this in a way I hadn’t thought of. Thank you. I appreciate your comment 🙂

GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
2 years ago

Have you ever rented a holiday home? You don’t even need to meet someone for the key so I don’t know where you are getting this “thousands of employees” from because there is absolutely zero need for them. You get texted a keycode which gives you access to a tiny key safe right on the door.You literally meet up with nobody. What wealth into which country as well? Because these holiday homes are owned by English entities not even from Wales. That money goes over the border and counts as English tax while people here can’t even afford to rent… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
2 years ago

How is it anti ambition when Welsh people are being driven out of their home towns because some a-hole from over the border wants to make some quick money? Are we supposed to cater for the “ambition” of someone who doesn’t even live in the same country as us? How would that clown like it if French people were outpricing people in Bolton or wherever the hell she is from? Selfish pig.

kaiskama
kaiskama
2 years ago
Reply to  GW Atkinson

Sorry GW — she is indigenous! Born in Llandudno in 1958.
I agree that she acts like she is from the wrong side of the Dyke, but…..

GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
2 years ago
Reply to  kaiskama

With that accent? There is no way she was brought up here.

GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
2 years ago

Just look at how many properties she owns and she wants sympathy while making herself out to be a victim. The right wing are absolute toddlers.

GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
2 years ago

I really hope Plaid and Labour get their potential political deal agreed. It will be a massive kick in the face of the backstabbing tory judases. They will do anything in their power to hold Wales back while enriching themselves and their English overlords, so this political deal would be a massive boost to Wales and we can finally get some good policies aimed at us without the tory scum putting the breaks on them. Drakeford, Price, please for the love of god get this done.

Mick Tems
Mick Tems
2 years ago

This Tory landlord doesn’t care a flying f*ck for Wales and the local people who cannot even afford the rocketing house prices – all she cares about is her own selfish interest.

Tim
Tim
2 years ago

Second homes are a problem – but don’t forget Mark Drakeford owns one too.

This was confirmed by Simon Hart in an interview.

Owain Morgan
Owain Morgan
2 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Really 😒 Slinging mud around because a Tory got called out for their pathetic behaviour. Grow up boy! Act your age and not your shoe size.

Arwyn
Arwyn
2 years ago

Anti-Welsh Tory radicals happy to eradicate Welsh speaking communities via unregulated rampant capitalist second home ownership.

Never ever be a Tory. Just dont.

O Rob
O Rob
2 years ago
Reply to  Arwyn

‘Welsh’Labour no better, sitting on their hands whilst Cymru is sold under our feet. Been in power for over 20 years and they’re quite happy for Cymru to be turned into a tourism playground, with no strategy for alternative, sustainable economic development

Arwyn
Arwyn
2 years ago
Reply to  O Rob

Never voted for them either. I remember Kinnock and his ilk all too well.

Grayham Jones
2 years ago

Take all second homes of incomers and give them to young welsh people who can’t get on the housing market because of incomers stop being little Englanders and and be proud to be welsh it’s time for a new wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 A Free Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Owain Morgan
Owain Morgan
2 years ago
Reply to  Grayham Jones

How is that any different to what Fascists or Nazis suggest!? We don’t lower ourselves to their level. We put clear and concise laws in place which encourage them to rent to local people or financially contribute to the communities they own homes in. If they don’t wish to comply, they’re free to sell up and go away.

Last edited 2 years ago by Owain Morgan
Owain Morgan
Owain Morgan
2 years ago

She’s welcome to go back to England if she doesn’t like Wales.

Wrexhamian
Wrexhamian
2 years ago
Reply to  Owain Morgan

She was born in Llandudno, which begs the question of why does she have a Lancashire or Cheshire accent? It can only have come about through lack of contact since early childhood, with any actual Welsh people, and a life spent in the rarified atmosphere of the settler community along the North Wales coast.

Mark
Mark
2 years ago

Rent Smart Wales is a waste of space, there are still hundreds of unregistered landlords operating in Wales, and how is English based holiday let businesses helping Wales when they take the earnings out of the country?

Steve George
Steve George
2 years ago

Hmm! Sounds to me like she should have declared an interest. Doesn’t look like she did. That’s a breach of Senedd rules and may even be a criminal offence. I feel a complaint coming on.

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