Mae Sioned Williams AS yn ysgrifennu am Gyllideb y DU a'r hyn y mae'n ei olygu i Gymru
Cyhoeddwyd yr erthygl hon yn y Glamorgan Gazette ddydd Iau 7 Tachwedd 2024 (yn Saesneg).
Gamechanger? Or more of the same?
The first Labour UK budget in a decade and a half was meant to be a gamechanger for Wales after years of Tory neglect. We were told this repeatedly by the Welsh Labour Government during the UK General Election campaign, yet the budget that was unveiled last week did not signal an end to austerity.
Rather, austerity will continue for some of our most vulnerable citizens.
By failing to reverse the decision to withdraw the winter fuel allowance from pensioners, pensioners will foot the bill for spending plans that could and should have been shouldered by billionaires.
By retaining the callous two-child benefit cap that has directly contributed to one in three children in Wales living in poverty, children will continue to be punished for the size of their family.
By proceeding with the cruel Tory proposals to tighten the work capability assessment, the billions of pounds worth of cuts to disability and incapacity benefits will harm disabled people in Wales.
These decisions will not only bake in inequality, but will inevitably increase Welsh Government spending.
If pensioners cannot afford to heat their homes and parents can’t afford to feed their children, then we will see an increase in demand on our NHS as the health of our most vulnerable citizens suffers.
I was also extremely disappointed not to hear the first female Chancellor mention childcare once in her speech, particularly as childcare providers, who are already in a difficult financial position, are warning that the increase to Employers National Insurance Contributions will further endanger people’s access to affordable childcare.
This week in the Senedd I will be asking Welsh Government where they will find the additional funding that will be needed by the childcare sector to make up for the impact of the new NI costs.
The Chancellor had an opportunity to chart a new course but instead, she has blown a gaping hole in the promise that having two Labour governments working together would benefit the people of Wales.
After 14 years of Tory austerity, Wales deserves so much better than this.