Tories can’t complain about tourism tax after Liz Truss tanked the economy, Welsh minister says

The Welsh economy minister has said that Conservatives can’t complain about the “detrimental impact” of a tourism tax in Wales after Liz Truss tanked the UK economy.

Vaughan Gething was responding to Tory economy spokesperson Paul Davies who said that “the proposed tourism tax will have an enormous impact on their businesses” and called on the Welsh Government to scrap it.

But the Economy Minister responded that the impact of a visitor levy, as the Welsh Government is calling it, would not be significant in the context of the doldrums experienced by the UK economy as a whole.

“Well, when it comes to anti-growth measures, the most significant anti-growth intervention, of course, took place in the six weeks of Liz Truss’s premiership,” he said.

“That was a significant intervention that made all of the challenges that exist within the economy much, much worse.

“And it was amusing to hear the anti-growth coalition being talked about and then seeing the hole that was blown by Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss. So, there’s no need for any lectures from any Tory in this Chamber, or anywhere else, on this issue.”

‘Disastrous’

Paul Davies had said that it was “vital that the Welsh Government listens” when businesses were telling them that “your Government policy will have a detrimental impact on the economy”.

“Minister, why haven’t you listened and dropped proposals for a tourism tax, and the 182-day holiday let rule, in light of the fierce opposition the policies have had from Welsh businesses, and what message do you have as economy Minister for those businesses in Wales that will be affected by the Welsh Government’s plans?” he asked.

He added: “Minister, the reality is that, with one hand, you’re trying to offer an olive branch to some businesses via additional rate relief, and, with the other hand, you’re implementing policies that could be fatal for hundreds of Welsh businesses.

“I guess the Deputy Minister for Climate Change was right when he said that the Welsh Government didn’t know what it was doing when it comes to the economy.”

Vaughan Gething responded that it was the UK Government’s record on growth that was making Welsh businesses’ job harder.

“I do say this as gently but as honestly as I can, to the Member: when it comes to talk of anti-growth policies, when it comes to talk of whether you know what you’re doing, actually, you just need to look at what happened in the disastrous six weeks and what it did to tank the economy across the UK,” he said.

“Your party, that many of your own members were celebrating not just the election of Liz Truss, but celebrating the plan that she introduced, now need to look long and hard at themselves, at what actually happened.

“And it’s not just that. If you look at what the CBI are saying, they say the UK Government does not have a plan for growth. And, actually, without a plan for growth across the UK, it will make our challenge much, much harder.”