UKIP Wales Senedd Manifesto 2021 2021 Senedd Election www.ukip.wales Page 1 CONTENTS Page Topic 1 Introduction 2 Devolution 6 Immigration 8 Health & Social Care 14 Education 18 Transport & Economic Development 20 Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs 23 Welsh Language 25 The Family 27 Veterans’ Issues 29 Culture & Communities 31 Contact Details www.ukip.wales INTRODUCTION Neil Hamilton MS Leader, UKIP Wales Today, devolution is a one-way revenue amounting to only 25% process. Despite Government with the funding gap being filled of Wales Acts in 1998, 2006, by the English taxpayer. 2014 and 2017, the train keeps on moving in only one direction The time has come to stop - towards independence. The this runaway train to the Welsh Government always disintegration of the UK and demands more power – just institutionalised poverty and like the Euro-federalists of decline for Wales. the European Commission. The Welsh Government now Only UKIP has a full manifesto wants the devolution of justice of policies to put Wales back on and to remove limits on Welsh the UK political map, reverse Government borrowing. institutional economic decline, transfer power in health and Fearful of failing to win an education from Cardiff Bay outright majority in these and directly to the people who elections, First Minister use these vital services, to Drakeford has been cosying up to support strict controls on mass “Only UKIP has Plaid Cymru to get their support immigration and end bogus for continuing the permanent asylum-seeking, and defend a full manifesto Labour Government either as full British history and culture from coalition partners or through a leftist, anti-British attacks. of policies to re- ‘confidence and supply’ deal. Recently, he announced that the WALES FOREVER, invigorate and UK is ‘over’ and a federal future BRITAIN TOGETHER beckons. How this would work is revive Wales anyone’s guess, as (i) England has CYMRU AM BYTH, 85% of the UK population and (ii) PRYDAIN YN UN after decades of government spending in Wales is nearly 40% of national income neglect” but the Welsh tax base produces www.ukip.wales Page 1 TRANSPORT DEVOLUTION& ECONOMIC “We are the only party with a plan for Wales to prosper DEVELOPMENTpost-devolution. UKIP would deliver a referendum to Scrap the Senedd immediately.” “The current Welsh Labour Health Minister has suggested that it will take five years to return services to where they were pre-COVID-19. For UKIP, Welsh Labour’s lack of ambition and dampening of expectations is unacceptable.” DEVOLUTION Devolution promised the people of Wales so much, but after 21 years of the Senedd it is clear that it has been a good deal for politicians, but a bad deal for Wales. By nearly all measures, devolution has failed. Devolution has Not did the reverse and legislated Brown’s Labour Governments from Delivered More Democracy to devolve all powers unless 1997-2010. The Barnett Formula, specifically reserved. which significantly under-estimates For 22 years Wales has been effectively Wales’s needs in public spending, a One Party State, with a permanent The referendum also ‘guaranteed’ remained unchanged since 1978, Labour Government, propped up as voters that tax-raising powers would as Wales needs increased relative to necessary by Plaid Cymru and the Lib- not be devolved without a further the rest of the UK. Dems. referendum — a position that was enshrined in law. The ballot paper Wales needs more muscle at In 2016, Labour won nearly 48% of specifically stated: Westminster – which will only the Assembly seats on just 34% of happen if the ‘old gang’ legacy the vote. Labour was able to form “The Assembly cannot make parties are rejected. a Government only by a backroom laws on...tax...whatever the deal with Kirsty Williams (the result of this vote.” Devolution has Taken Wales only Lib-Dem AM). Kirsty joined Backwards the Labour Government within Yet, the Senedd passed a law days of her Brecon & Radnorshire giving power to raise income tax as Since the Welsh Assembly/Senedd was constituency rejecting the Labour much as it wants. It did this without created, Wales has gone backwards Party by 92% to 8%. requiring a further vote by the compared with the rest of the UK. people, whom they then redefined Wales has moved down, below In 2016, Wales voted to leave the to include potential devolution Northern Ireland, in the UK league European Union. First Ministers supporters, 16-year-olds and tables of prosperity. Carwyn Jones and Mark Drakeford foreign nationals resident in Wales. promised to respect the result. This The terms of the 2011 referendum Wales remains very poor. Incomes was a barefaced lie and they spent have been disrespected. are a dismal 75% of the UK over 4 years trying to block Brexit. average. West Wales and the 53% of the Welsh people voted to One major consequence Valleys are amongst the poorest leave the EU. 100% of Labour, Plaid of devolution is the further places in Western Europe. In the and Lib-Dem AMs defied this vote marginalisation of Wales at 1950s Wales’s GDP was twice and did their damnedest to keep Westminster. Thanks to devolution, as big as Ireland’s. By 2020, the us in then EU. They rejected the we will see our representation economy of the Irish Republic was decisive will of the people in the reduced from 40 MPs to 32. No four times the size of Wales. UK’s largest democratic exercise Conservative Government at and tried every trick in the book Westminster is going to give more More than 20% of Welsh people live to try and reverse it. Thankfully, money to a permanent Labour in poverty, according to the Public they failed. But their contempt for Government in Wales, which Policy Institute for Wales. the referendum result proved that constantly criticises and undermines devolution is a sham. UK Government policy even in The Welsh Government boasted non-devolved areas. It is a case of that, by 2018, it would abolish The pro-devolution Establishment ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Unlike fuel poverty (spending more called for the 2011 Welsh Northern Ireland’s DUP, which got than 10% of income on heating). referendum which devolved more an extra £1 billion for sustaining Today, 1 in 4 still have to choose powers to Cardiff to be respected. Theresa May’s government for between heating and eating. But they haven’t respected it 2 years, Labour got nothing by Rather than do something about themselves. The referendum thumbing their nose at the UK it, Welsh Government changed called for law-making powers to Government over Brexit. the definitions to hide these be devolved in 20 specific areas. embarrassing numbers. The Welsh Government and Plaid Nor were things much different under Tony Blair and Gordon www.ukip.wales Page 3 The Senedd has Not Brought that devolution itself has failed. In vaccination. Politics Closer to the People practice, things are even worse than • Was disadvantaged by the that. apparent administrative For most, especially in North Wales, lethargy of our devolved NHS. Cardiff Bay is as remote as Westminster. North Wales’s Betsi Cadwaladr • We also lose out because Before the Covid pandemic, 50% of Health Board has been one of the powers to define priority groups people still didn’t know that the NHS is worst in the entire UK. It was in for vaccination are devolved. devolved to Cardiff. Special Measures for over 5 years, The Welsh Government before being removed for political decides how to distribute a The Welsh Government pays reasons in the run-up to this year’s population share of vaccine lip service to democracy and elections. It was put under direct but we are getting the vaccine consultation but ignores public ministerial control in 2015, after the into people’s arms less quickly. opinion if it goes against their Tawel Fan dementia ward scandal. If the UK Government were ‘woke’ obsessions. The so-called An inquiry reported patients in charge in Wales as well ‘smacking ban’ (removing parents’ forcefully restrained using furniture, as in England, with the same right of reasonable discipline of assaults by staff, people left lying in vaccine categories, we would children) had little public support their own urine and others allowed benefit not just from their faster and was overwhelmingly rejected by to wander naked and unsupervised roll-out, but a greater-than- consultees. But Welsh Government around the ward. population share, because we bull-dozed it through anyway. have a higher proportion of The last 5 years have seen many older people. Mid Wales’s majestic landscapes other scandals of incompetence, and seascapes are being wrecked waste and neglect A Referendum is Long by forests of windmills in the Welsh Overdue Government’s pointless virtue- Half a million people in Wales are signalling on global warming, currently on an NHS waiting list. When Wales voted against devolution despite Wales producing a minute That’s 20% of the adult population. in 1979, it was asked to vote again in fraction of 1% of the world’s CO2. In North Wales, the typical wait for 1997. Despite voting for it then by the Local opposition is ignored, as at an orthopaedic operation is 2 years. narrowest possible margin in a very low Hendy (near Llandrindod Wells). poll, we are now told that devolution is Planning consent was rejected Before the pandemic: the ‘settled view’ of the Welsh people by local opinion, Powys County and no chance has ever been given to Council and even the independent • Waiting times had trebled for reconsider the decision. Inspector appointed by the Minister, those waiting more than 36 who imposed her pre-ordained weeks for treatment.