Tory accuses Labour’s plans for Wales of being ‘a blank sheet of paper’

Martin Shipton
Shadow Welsh Secretary Mims Davies has clashed with Secretary of State Jo Stevens after referring to Labour’s current plans for Wales as “merely a blank sheet of paper”.
During a fiery Westminster Wales Questions session, Ms Davies raised the fact that there had been 28 prevention of future death reports over a 16-month period in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, as well as evidence emerging of grooming gangs sexually exploiting young children in Wales. She mentioned Nation.Cymru’s recent interview with a Welsh victim of a grooming gang who was trafficked to Telford.
Ms Davies called on Ms Stevens to work with the Welsh Government to launch Wales-wide inquiries into the two issues.
Waiting lists
Speaking afterwards, Ms Davies said “ Her flat refusal to create the necessary process to enable the inquiries means justice will not prevail for the victims and communities remain at risk.”
Ms Davies also called on the Labour UK Government to outline whether the Welsh Government actually has a credible plan to cut waiting lists which are now at a record high in Wales.
She added: “The people of Wales desperately want to know the specifics surrounding First Minister Baroness Morgan’s recent remarks, where she spoke of an ‘injection of money’ to bring down waiting lists. But the Welsh Secretary’s refusal to help answer this question – as well as her refusal to hold two inquiries – shows that Labour’s whole plan for Wales is merely a blank piece of paper.
“Labour needs to stop the mentality of ‘devolve and forget’ because, under their watch, there are now more than 24,000 people in chronic pain who have been stuck on a waiting list for two years or more.
“We need to see credible action and answers from both governments on either side of the M4.
‘In pain’
Everyone knows someone who is stuck waiting in pain. That’s not good enough. Labour have run the health service badly in Wales since Tony Blair was PM. That’s the truth.”
Ms Stevens said: “The honourable lady will be aware that, unlike the previous government – her party – we are determined to give the victims of child sexual exploitation the long overdue justice they deserve by enacting the recommendations of the Jay Review [into child sexual exploitation]. On January 16 the Home Secretary announced victims will be given more power to have their cases re-examined, and we’ve also unveiled a rapid national audit to be led by Baroness Louise Casey to uncover the scale and profile of group-based offending in the UK today, including ethnicity.
”The £600m that the Welsh Government is to invest in the Welsh NHS can only happen if her [Tory] colleagues in the Senedd vote for the Budget. If they don’t vote for it, the money doesn’t happen.”
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“Ms Davies also called on the Labour UK Government to outline whether the Welsh Government actually has a credible plan to cut waiting lists which are now at a record high in Wales.”
None of her f’ing business!!! None of the UK Government’s either!
I know she’s an English MP for an English constituency, but is it too much to ask for a basic understanding of home rule?!
Why they still have SoS for Wales and Welsh questions is beyond me!
Why shouldn’t she ask intelligent questions about Welsh affairs ? The Bay regime and its chronically underperforming Opposition seldom get around to discussing rationally any of our major cases of underperformance. Don’t kid yourself that what we have is “home rule” we are in a fairly limited form of devolution and the politicians aren’t even up to delivering in that narrow space.
Were we able to motivate our passive nation to get off its collective backside and elect a party that really wants to deliver change…… then you could tell all sorts of busy bodies to keep their snouts out.