First in a Fusillade of Cuts

Welsh Labour today responded to the £6bn of cuts put forward by the Liberal/Conservative government – saying the cuts were short-sighted, damaging and potentially just the start.

Speaking from Westminster, the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Peter Hain said,

“This is just the opening salvo of fusillade of future cuts aimed at thousands more Welsh jobs and key public services.

“The real tragedy is that instead of this savage cuts programme, Labour’s Deficit Reduction Plan, would have halved the debt but maintained vital public services and jobs.

“The first act of this ConDem coalition government will be to punish young families trying to save for their children’s future and the young long-term unemployed who Labour fought hard to support with the Future Jobs Fund.”

Huw Lewis, Labour’s Children’s Minister in the Assembly Government added,

“In the first major announcement by the Tory Lib Dem government we can see how they plan to run the country – taking the axe to some of the most vulnerable in our society.

“By scrapping Labour’s Child Trust Fund the Tories and their Lib Dem helpers have pulled the rug from underneath thousands of Welsh children.”

Responding to the announcement for the Assembly Government, Labour’s Jane Hutt said there would be no “knee jerk” reaction,

“If these cuts are imposed on us, the UK Government has offered the option to defer them until next year.  But we still need greater clarity on the terms under which we might be able to defer any cuts.  I have been, and will continue to be, pursuing this urgently with Treasury Ministers.   In the meantime, we will not be taking knee jerk action now to cut budgets in Wales.”