Senedd Tories offer to open budget discussions with First Minister
Emily Price
The leader of the Welsh Conservatives has written to the First Minister of Wales offering a discussion on the Welsh Government’s budget.
The Welsh Labour Government is short of a majority in the Senedd and will require additional votes to pass spending plans worth £27 billion in January.
In a letter to Eluned Morgan, the leader of the opposition, Darren Millar, said he cannot support a “more of the same” approach to the Welsh Government’s spending plans, but that a budget agreement “may be possible”.
Stamp duty
Mr Millar has called on the Welsh Government to consider some of his party’s key priorities such as the scrapping of Welsh stamp duty for all primary residential properties.
The outline of the Welsh Government’s draft budget for 2026 – 2027 will be laid before the Senedd on Tuesday (October 14).
Throughout the rest of October and November there will be several evidence sessions with various ministers, Senedd committees and key organisations.
On December 16, Senedd Members from all parties will debate the draft budget before the final budget is laid on January 20th.
On January 27th, Senedd Member will vote on whether to pass the Welsh Government’s final spending plans.
Consequences
Baroness Eluned Morgan has warned of cuts to frontline services if the devolved Labour administration does not succeed in passing its budget.
When passing its last budget in March, the Welsh Government needed the help of the Senedd’s only Liberal Democrat politician, Jane Dodds, to get it through by a tight margin.
While Labour is the largest party in the Senedd, it does not have a majority.
An upcoming by-election in the Caerphilly constituency following the sudden death of Hefin David could make the next budget vote even more difficult if the party loses the seat.
The leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar said: “I have written in good faith to the First Minister to offer an opportunity to discuss next year’s Welsh Government budget.
“While the Welsh Conservatives fundamentally disagree with the Welsh Labour Government on many things, we are a responsible opposition that will always strive to put the people of Wales first.
“Our ambition to scrap Stamp Duty in Wales as part of our plan to fix Wales, will help people get onto the housing ladder, improve mobility in the housing market, and boost the economy. It will be central to any discussions which may now take place.”
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I wouldn’t rule this out. After all, they are of the same ilk-unionist whose loyalty is to London not Cymru. We have seen this play out in Scotland. In the INDY referendum and then in councils to stop the SNP forming administrations
“Our ambition to scrap Stamp Duty in Wales”
Since it doesn’t exist, job done.
That’s because it’s called “Land Transaction Tax” not Stamp Duty any more. That’s the “Red Welsh Way” ,same meaning, different words.
So why is Darren Truss promising unfunded tax cuts that don’t apply in Wales? The only plausible explanation is he’s laying the ground for a Refcon alliance in 2029 that will see Wales abolished and merged with Birmingham. Then, of course, Stamp Duty will apply.
The average house price in Wales in July 2025 was £209,00 according to Welsh government. The equivalent of stamp duty in Wales comes in at £225,000. In England they start to pay tax on properties that cost £125,000 and more. That means that the average house in Wales is zero rated and no tax is paid. Under the Tory proposal it is only those with expensive houses that will be liable for this charge. The charge is only made when a house is sold and people move. The vast majority of people will not be impacted by this suggested policy… Read more »
There is quite a bit of variation for the average figure as Principality says it is £238,000. There is also quite a bit of variation between areas; Cardiff has an average price of £290,000 and Monmouthshire is £340,000. I think that needs to be considered in the debate.
I’ve read that it would cost £160m to abolish Land Transaction Tax.
To be fair, that’s not that much in the grand scheme of the overall budget, so I wouldn’t completely dismiss the abolition of Land Transaction Tax out of hand.
It’s £1.6bn over ten years and does nothing to grow the economy while taking £1.6bn out of public services.
The odds on a LabCon budget deal must be a million to one. That has to be worth a flutter.