After examining the ‘steady as she goes’ approach of the Welsh Labour Party and the blue sky thinking of Plaid Cymru’s approach to economic development in their respective manifestos, this week looks in detail at the plans from the Welsh Conservatives to improve the economy in Wales.
Whilst drawing on the closer relationship that a Welsh Conservative Government would have with Westminster especially in terms of funding, some of the manifesto remains consistent with the traditional mantra of lower taxes for business and greater investment in upgrading the road network in Wales.
For example, there is a promise yet again to abolish business rates for small firms, a key pledge that has been central to the economic plans of every manifesto since 2007. This is supplemented by the idea that Business Rate Free Zones should be created to provide a three-year business rate holiday for firms although little detail is provided as to their location.
And given the stance of the party during the past five years, it is not surprising to see £2bn committed to create a modern infrastructure for Wales including the controversial M4 Relief Road and upgrades to the A55 and A40.
But what is also different to previous election pledges is that transport policy is also focused on ensuring a switch to electric vehicles with a pledge to create 20,000 green charging points across the country.
In fact, the party would argue that this manifesto’s focus on investment in clean energy solutions to reduce carbon emissions and creating 15,000 new green jobs is as far-reaching than that promised by the other two parties.
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Ideas such as mobilising Welsh universities and the private sector to create a centre of excellence and research in energy storage and transportation or establishing a £150m Wales Marine Energy Investment Fund to purchase equity in marine energy projects, should be considered by whatever government is in power after May 6.
Similar to Plaid Cymru’s pledge to support local firms through better procurement from the public sector, the Welsh Conservatives will also support Welsh businesses to bounce back from the pandemic by giving them priority for government contracts by proactively promoting opportunities.
In terms of the key areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and productivity, this is the third manifesto to largely ignore the importance of focusing on these three critical areas for growing the Welsh economy.
Of course, there is yet again an attempt to resurrect the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) through the establishment of “Innovate Wales” as a one stop shop for firms to support new enterprises and encourage existing businesses to grow and export. Yet this seems to be an effort to replicate what is already going on in England rather than developing a distinct Welsh approach to dealing with some of the long-term problems facing the economy.
As the Welsh Government found out when it abolished the WDA back in 2005, trying to establish a new economic development body takes time and, more importantly, removes the focus away from doing the important task of supporting Welsh businesses.
Nevertheless, it’s finally good to see an appreciation that it is not only the public sector that can drive forward economic development in Wales through a call to establish a “National Mission” to grow the Welsh economy with government, businesses, and entrepreneurs all working together to play their part in creating 65,000 new jobs. Given that many businesses have felt left out from the decision making process during the Welsh Government’s response to the pandemic, getting wealth creators involved in the recovery of the Welsh economy should be a priority for all parties.
Whilst there are aspects of this Welsh Conservative manifesto that would not look out of place as Labour or Plaid Cymru pledges, the most significant difference in this manifesto is the specific focus on ensuring that the economy recovers from Covid-19 immediately after the election.
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In fact, there is a direct promise that the first 100 days of the next Welsh Government will need to be focused on implementing a roadmap to recovery which will help businesses to plan their revival. This would be backed up by funding to support the restart of businesses including the establishment of a £2.5bn Rebuild Wales Investment Fund.
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It is disappointing that, unlike the other two main political parties, there is no specific and detailed support measure focused on supporting young people to gain employment or training apart from a vague promise to provide 150,000 apprenticeships.
However, it is worth noting though that it is the only manifesto to have a significant focus on supporting the tourism industry that has been hit hardest during the Covid pandemic. For example, it proposes a range of different initiatives including a Welcome Back to Wales Festival in 2022 to showcase Welsh tourism and a Tourism Towns Fund to enable communities to improve their local economy.
Therefore, whilst there are some priorities which are the same for all of the main political parties in Wales - such as a focus on a green recovery and empowering local communities - it is fair to say that this comes across as the most pragmatic of the three manifestos.
Of course, convincing enough of those businesspeople who suffered financially during the last 12 months to vote for this approach, along with the specific focus on supporting a post Covid economic recovery, may well end up being the difference for the Welsh Conservatives between winning and losing in a number of tightly contested seats next Thursday.