Speaking in today’s Welsh Conservative Debate on Economic Policy, North Wales MS Mark Isherwood warned that decades of Labour mismanagement have left Wales lagging behind the rest of the UK in prosperity and opportunity.
He delivered a powerful message on the necessity of fiscal responsibility and credible economic management and stressed that “Wales does not lack potential, it lacks a pro-growth strategy”.
He said:
“This Debate forces us to confront an uncomfortable but unavoidable truth: economic credibility matters.
“It matters to Welsh families facing rising costs, to Welsh businesses struggling to survive, and to communities across Wales waiting for real regeneration.”
Drawing a sharp contrast with Labour’s economic record, Mr Isherwood highlighted how the financial irresponsibility of the Blair-Brown years left the UK vulnerable before the 2008 global financial crisis, resulting in one of the largest peacetime deficits in modern history.
He added:
“By 2010, the UK had the highest deficit as a proportion of GDP in the G20 and one of the largest peacetime deficits in modern history — borrowing £1 for every £4 the government spent. Fiscal squandering masked as prudent spending.
“That was the reality inherited by the Conservative-led UK Government. Austerity was not ideological. It was arithmetic.”
Mr Isherwood stressed that it was the Conservatives' fiscal discipline “that rebuilt our credibility, reduced inflationary pressures, supported steady employment growth, and ultimately steadied the ship”.
He added:
“And that credibility proved vital. When the pandemic struck, the UK Conservative Government acted decisively — protecting millions of jobs through furlough, supporting businesses through emergency loans, and preventing economic scarring on a scale not seen for generations.
“Those interventions were only possible because markets trusted our ability to be fiscally responsible.
“Contrast that with where we stand today under Labour Governments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay.
“Nowhere are the consequences of concern about current fiscal direction and long-term growth prospects more clear than in Wales.
“After nearly three decades of Labour-led, Plaid-propped, Welsh Government, Wales has the highest poverty and lowest employment rates in the UK, with the lowest wages and the highest levels of economic inactivity in Britain.
“Too many working-age adults remain outside of employment and seeking state benefits, and too many of our young people see little or no way into stable employment. So much for Social Justice!
“These are not abstract figures. They represent lost opportunities, mounting pressure on public services, struggling communities, and desperate small businesses.
“Rising National Insurance contributions, higher wages and crippling business rates are forcing local businesses to halt recruitment, delay investment and cancel growth plans.
He added:
“But let me be clear; Wales does not lack potential, it lacks a pro-growth strategy.
“That is the choice before us. An economy weighed down by higher taxes, rising inactivity and declining confidence — or one built on fiscal responsibility, opportunity and growth.
“This is our Conservative case: economic credibility, sustainable growth, opportunity, and a fixed Welsh economy.”
