Economy, housing, jobs: do Welsh Labour have the answers?

Local TV

With the Welsh economy growing slower than other parts of the UK, Senedd Members want to know what Eluned Morgan and her government are doing to help Welsh people.

Transcript

00:00We all know that the cost of living crisis is hitting all of us, some more than others,

00:06but across the country, people in Wales are struggling more now than they have in years.

00:10Tory leader Darren Miller says that something needs to be done to fix the economy in Wales

00:14as a whole, but is concerned the Labour Party in Westminster and Cardiff Bay aren't giving

00:19the right solutions.

00:20First Minister, economic figures released today show that the Welsh economy is really

00:25struggling. Unemployment is up by a third in Wales since the UK Labour government was

00:30elected back in July 2024. There are 12,000 fewer jobs and pay packets here are still the

00:38lowest in Britain. It's very clear that the national insurance hikes, along with the anti-farming,

00:44anti-business agenda and environment across the UK is now taking its toll. What action are

00:52you and is your government going to take to boost the Welsh economy?

00:57Well, thanks very much. Let's just be clear that there are a lot of people suffering today.

01:04They are struggling with the cost of living crisis and the way to get out of that is to

01:08make sure we can provide them with quality jobs. And I am pleased to see that the unemployment

01:14rate in Wales was lower in March compared to the UK average and that we in the Welsh Government

01:22have supported 43,000 jobs across Wales this Senedd terms. The figures that you quote today,

01:32even the ONS have rejected those figures.

01:36Housing has been an issue for some time too. It's harder now to buy your first home than ever

01:41before, so there's pressure on the Welsh Government to help prospective homebuyers get on the property

01:46ladder.

01:46The demand for housing and the lack of supply on Labour's watch has led to higher property

01:52prices and the collapse in the housing market has been absolutely catastrophic for people,

01:58especially those who aspire to own their own home. Do you accept that those figures are appalling,

02:05that successive Welsh Labour governments have been missing their own housing targets and have

02:10left too many people without the realistic chance of having their keys to their very own front door?

02:17Well housing is critical when it comes to people being able to feel comfortable, to have a base

02:25from which they can participate in communities and societies. But on top of that is a good mechanism

02:33for economic growth. And that is why, where we have the absolute control over this, we are very proud

02:40of the fact that we have the highest annual delivery rates since 2008. So we've had 9,000 new social homes.

02:50When we're talking about the private sector, since 2021, up to 16,000 private sector homes have been built.

02:58We're all done.

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