Nia Griffith MP has exposed confusion amongst Welsh conservatives about what they would do if Wales were given tax- raising powers. Questioning the Secretary of State for Wales David Jones MP when he appeared before the Welsh Affairs Committee, she asked him to explain how it is that he is talking about cutting taxes for all income tax bands, whilst the Leader of the conservatives in Wales Andrew RT Davies AM has pledged to cut only the highest rate of tax… An option which would not even be legally possible in the current Wales bill, as drafted by the Conservatives themselves which only allows for all tax bands to be varied by the same amount.
Commenting on the Secretary of State’s reply in which he said he was not responsible for the comments of Mr Andrew RT Davies, Nia Griffith said,
“The truth is that there seems to be complete confusion amongst the Tories about what they mean about tax-raising powers for Wales and what they would do with them: they are dangling the prospect of tax cuts in front of the electorate, but the key question they refuse to answer is what services they would cut. The health service? Education? other local government services? The reality is that you cannot have tax cuts without cutting services. I am sure the people of Wales will see through this latest Con trick.”‘