Welsh Tories branded ‘opportunistic and hypocritical’ over pledge to axe tree planting in Africa

Emily Price

The Welsh Conservatives have been branded “opportunistic and hypocritical” for pledging to end tree planting schemes in Africa if they win the next Senedd election.

The promise came as part of a raft of “common sense cost-saving measures” announced by the party at the weekend which they say are aimed at saving taxpayers cash.

Announcing the new commitments in Llandudno, Tory leader Darren Millar said: “No more tree-planting schemes in Africa when our farmers at home are struggling.”

The annoucement was despite the fact his group had previously shown enthusiastic support for Wales’ policy on tree planting in Uganda.

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Since 2009, the Mbale Trees Growing Programme has planted millions trees in the heavily deforested region where a combination of climate change and excessive logging has led to fatal landslides.

Experts say the project can help tackle climate change because trees planted in the tropics grow four times faster than in the UK.

It also supports local farmers, especially women to promote sustainable livelihoods.

The project links with the Welsh Government’s ‘Plant!’ scheme which is administered by the charity Size of Wales.

It sees two trees planted for every child born or adopted in Wales – one in Uganda and one in Wales.

On March 12, five Welsh Conservative Senedd Members posed with representatives from Size of Wales as it celebrated hitting its 25 million tree planting target.

The charity posted images to X of Janet Finch Saunders, Natasha Asghar, Peter Fox, Mark Isherwood and Joel James holding tree saplings and a placard which said: “Together we celebrate distributing 25 million trees through communities in Mbale.”

Two days later, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance Sam Rowlands joined in the celebrations by planting at tree alongside charity representatives at Ysgol John Bright in Llandudno.

Labour’s Alun Davies accused the Tories of using the tree planting charity for photo opportunities.

He said: “The hypocrisy and opportunism of the Tories is breathtaking. These are not policies to deliver for people across Wales. They are lazy slogans designed for social media hits.

“They used this charity as a photo opportunity last month and attacked them today. After this no-one standing next to a Tory will trust a word they say ever again.”

The Conservative’s recent support for the Welsh Government’s tree planting programme appears to be longstanding.

In 2023, Shadow Social Partnership Minister Joel James visited Mbale for a week long trip to better “appreciate and understand” the scheme and meet with Size of Wales officials.

Whilst in Uganda, he appeared in a video for Size of Wales explaining the benefits of the programme.

The Senedd’s expenses record shows that Mr James’ visit was funded by the taxpayer.

On his return he published a Senedd report which included photos of the Tory MS smiling beside freshly planted tree saplings.

Mr James later penned a opinion article published on the Welsh Conservative website saying: “Last month, I visited Uganda to see first-hand how the ‘Wales and Africa’ programme – funded through the Welsh Government as part of their commitment to the UN Millennium Development Goals – was delivering on its aims.

“I was warmly welcomed by the organisations and projects I visited, and the positive impacts of the programme were clear to see.”

The Welsh Conservatives new promise to axe tree planting schemes in Africa came following a social media campaign by an anonymous right-wing X account which hit out at MSs who supported the programme.

The Tory Senedd group says it’s new policy pledges come as the party reviews its position on issues ahead of the 2026 election.

A spokesperson said: “As you would expect in advance of a Senedd election, the Welsh Conservatives are reviewing all of our policy positions and making decisions on how we would re-prioritise the Welsh Government’s budget to deliver for the people of Wales.”

The Tories have indicated that the money saved on planting trees in Africa would be funnelled to Welsh farmers instead.

If the £4m spent on the programme over the last 15 years had been allocated to Wales’ 37,000 farmers instead, it would have amounted to less than £10 per year, per farmer.

Size of Wales declined to comment.