Abigail Mainon is Deputy Chairman Membership of the Welsh Conservative Party and is standing as the Conservative Candidate for the seat of Aberafan Maesteg.
This week, Rishi Sunak returned to Wales to launch the Welsh Conservative Manifesto. Addressing myself and fellow party members along with media representatives in Kinmel Bay, North Wales, he was joined by David TC Davies, the Welsh Secretary, and Andrew RT Davies, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd.
The message: that Wales knows what damage a Labour Government can do and we stand as a stark reminder of the reality of what Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘blueprint’ really looks like in practice.
Record NHS waiting lists; the worst educational outcomes in the UK; lowest employment in the UK; higher business rates; blanket 20mph speed limits; and wasting millions on more politicians in Cardiff Bay, with a new proportional representation system to come in the next election, making these politicians less accountable to the public they represent.
The Welsh manifesto lays out some of our key priorities such as cutting tax for workers, a £1 billion commitment to electrify the North Wales Main Line, bringing back nuclear power to North Wales in the form of delivering the UK’s third mega-nuclear power station at Wylfa, and £1 billion pledged in continued levelling-up funding for Welsh communities. This follows on from the already secured freeports projects in both North and South West Wales.
Along with the Celtic Freeport, the national Conservative Government have invested £500 million within the constituency where I am standing as a Candidate, Aberafan Maesteg, to secure a sustainable future for steelmaking in Port Talbot.
This comes after TATA Steel threatened to vacate the Wales based plant, claiming they are losing approximately £1 million a day at the site. This would have resulted in 8,000 direct job losses, plus tens of thousands more in the supply chain.
The HM Government funding is to support the construction of an electric arc furnace to replace the two current blast furnaces in operation, which is a more environmentally-friendly process that works to recycle old steel and produces less carbon emissions per tonne. The process, however, is less labour-intensive than the traditional blast furnaces which unfortunately means less staff, so despite the Government’s intervention not all of the jobs were saved.
As a result, they have secured an additional £100 million to support staff both directly and indirectly impacted, as well as regenerate the local area to provide employment opportunities in the future, with a dedicated board set up to support the process.
By comparison, the Welsh Labour Government have not given a penny to support the transition of the site, to allow steel making to remain in Wales, nor to support the workers they so adamantly claim to represent.
Regrettably, roughly 2,800 TATA Steel workers will lose their jobs when both blast furnaces close in Port Talbot by the end of September, and this week Unite trade union members at the plant have announced an indefinite strike to begin next month on July 8th.
This is the first time in more than 40 years that steel workers in the UK have taken such action. TATA have reportedly said that if the strike affects the safety or stability of its’ operation, it would be forced to accelerate closure plans.
With the support from the Conservative Government, I’m proud to say that steel making will remain in Port Talbot and over 5000 jobs have been saved, as well as tens of thousands more in the supply chain, but the loss of anyone’s livelihood is a bitter pill to swallow even with these support measures put in place. `
The contrast couldn’t be clearer heading towards polling day: the Conservatives have stepped up, whilst Labour yet again say they are the party of the working people, but fail to show it.
The post Abigail Mainon: In Wales, only one party stands behind steelmaking – and it isn’t Labour appeared first on Conservative Home.
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Author: Abigail Mainon
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