Mims Davies: What price will be paid by the next generation under the shambles that is Welsh Labour?

Mims Davies is the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales. She is member of Parliament for East Grinstead and Uckfield.

For more than a quarter-of-a-century an organisation has been drastically failing to deliver any meaningful change or frankly any real positives – where ineptitude and scandal are both handsomely rewarded with promotion and continued high office.

For a moment, can you imagine a person in a business presiding over a catastrophe in their respective department then, suddenly, being massively rewarded it?

The simple answer is it would not happen because business is driven by results, something this organisation is hell-bent on avoiding no matter the cost.

What makes this case so particularly insulting and, frankly, gratuitous is the organisation described is actually the Labour-run Welsh Government in Cardiff which is responsible for spending large swathes of taxpayers’ money in all devolved fields – hospitals, schools, economic development, transport – in Wales.

And, just this month, incompetent Labour officials in Cardiff Bay triumphantly marked an entire year since yet another Labour First Minister came to the helm of the Welsh Government. Fast forward to one year into the job and the Labour Welsh Government’s track record under First Minister Eluned Morgan, who is also a baroness, has actually become even worse.

For instance, a little while ago the Labour Welsh Government decided to plough ahead with more than £4 million of taxpayers’ money to purchase a farm for “economic purposes”, but for reasons no-one can fathom, did not carry out an initial business plan and failed to spot Ospreys moving onto the site, meaning development is now impossible. The saga gets worse: A revelation this month uncovered the site has now lost a staggering £500,000 in value.

No-one in their right mind would buy a property before actually going inside and inspecting it, so it is deplorable for the Labour Welsh Government to have bought this farm without any due diligence. This is a typical stance by a group which have no regard for taxpayers.

Over in health, the First Minister’s key promise to cut waiting lists of two years or more was missed, as well as the scandal-hit Betsi Cadawaladr University Health Board again being plunged into special measures. Let’s not forget that, hitherto becoming first minister, Baroness Eluned Morgan was the health minister for three years. It was also under her watch the short-sighted decision was made to compel hospitals to make deep cuts of nearly £65 million, whilst simultaneously spending more than £120 million on creating 36 extra politicians in the Senedd.

To date, the Welsh Labour First Minister and her cabinet refuse to issue an apology or explanation for their failures, instead they offer just a whole load of fluff and waffle, written for them no doubt by a clueless press officer who has a bank of key buzz words at their disposal.

Plaid Cymru should also hang its head in shame because they have entered into various formal agreements to support the work of Labour, including most shockingly the £120 million earmarked to create more politicians. That is why it is totally hypocritical for Plaid to now denounce the Welsh Government when, in fact, they have been the Labour enablers.

Their wilful amnesia is a sight to behold.

With the crucial Senedd elections under the new PR system only nine months away, the people of Wales need to get ready for Welsh Labour officials pleading for yet another 5 years in office to fix problems in society.

But every time Labour makes this empty promise, look at what happens:  the previous First Minister, Vaughan Gething, was forced to resign after accepting a £200,000 political donation from a twice-convicted criminal.

Any crucial infrastructure project – including the much-needed M4 Relief Road and the North Wales Mainline – to boost economic growth and connectivity have all been scrapped.

People’s aspirations and ambitions are being hampered by crippling business rates and exceptionally low educational standards.

It has become abundantly clear from the sheer incompetence of the last three first ministers – Mark Drakeford, Vaughan Gething and Eluned Morgan – Welsh Labour has run out of steam and will not deliver for the people of Wales.

Under Welsh Labour, our NHS is broken, our education standards have slipped and our wages are the worst in Britain.

For too long Welsh Labour, ably assisted by their friends Plaid Cymru, have taken advantage of taxpayers’ purses and wallets, and I dread to think what will we be paying the price for next.

And Reform lacks any clear costings or credible policies; it is simply a personality cult, based around one man. In fact, their lack of credibility was demonstrated just last month where the party announced that, somehow, it would re-open the blast furnaces at Port Talbot, despite the fact both have been decommissioned.

Whilst Reform and Labour faltered over Port Talbot, the last Conservative UK Government actually delivered: we ploughed in half a billion pounds to replace the two blast furnaces with a sustainable electric arc furnace, which has safe-guarded the site, and provided almost £100 million to re-train those who regrettably lost their jobs.

At the end of the day, Wales is tired of empty promises and buzzwords from Labour, Plaid Cymru and Reform; what the people of Wales desperately need is action.

Under the Welsh Conservatives we would halt the perpetual drain on taxpayers’ money being funnelled into pointless pet projects and would instead use it to improve the Welsh economy, NHS and schools; abolishing business rates for small businesses and creating academies for our ambitious children would be a very good start, too.

As the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, who is speaking up for Wales in Westminster and challenging an invisible Welsh Secretary, I am also working hand in glove with our Senedd Leader Darren Millar MS and our determined Senedd team. I can assure readers that even more bold and distinctly Conservative policies will be unveiled over the coming months.

We have the ideas, dedication and enthusiasm to make people’s daily lives better. Because that’s what matters.

Only the Welsh Conservatives can – and will – fix Wales.