DOING NO EVEL…

Plaid Cymru is in principle in favour of English votes for English laws. But for an EVEL system to work there has to be a real equality of powers amongst the nations or else we risk ending up with a complete constitutional and legislative shambles. We cannot either have a situation whereby Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish MPs are barred from voting on matters that have a direct funding implication for those nations and that's why the Barnett Formula should be scrapped and replaced with a fairer funding settlement. Our family of nations is going through a period of rapid change, and Plaid Cymru wants to see us develop into a family of equals, but with the half-baked proposals outlined by the unionist parties that is just not going happen. The real danger is that Wales gets left behind and the only way we can stop this happening is by having a strong representation of Plaid Cymru MPs making the case for Wales in Westminster. Only Plaid Cymru will look after Wales’ interests no one else.

MANY HANDS IN THE TILL?

The current Tax Gap is scandalous and exposes how much the Westminster elite has completely disregarded any commitment towards fairness and social justice at a time of unprecedented cuts to public services. Beyond the tax evasion, the real problem is that the Westminster based political parties have been fundamentally compromised by the prolonged and unhealthily close relationship with the City.

We are where we are because of the cumulative effect of the legacy of 18 years of Conservative and 13 years of New Labour government. Over recent decades, successive Labour and Tory governments have literally looked the other way, when it comes to tax evasion, allowing the UK's tax gap to grow to an eye-watering £34 billion each year. Total fiscal consolidation over the course of this Parliament amounts to £120 billon pounds, which indicates the scale of the problem.

Labour can cry wolf as much as it likes over this scandal, but these lost billions are as much their legacy as the Tories'.  Back in 2005, the last Labour UK Westminster Government merged Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise and then proceeded to cut almost a third of jobs in five years (99,000 to 68,000).  They also slashed the budget for tackling the tax gap by nearly 50% (£3.6 billon to £1.9 billion) between 2006-10.

Simply relying on ‘business as usual’ to fix this problem just won’t do – despite the bluster and the rhetoric from the usual suspects to expect Westminster to fix the problem is simply naive. Tax evasion needs to be dealt with worldwide – recently the Swiss banks have crumbled in the face a number of court cases in the US (and a few Swiss banks even collapsed) in relation to tax avoidance by US citizens.

If the USA can do it, then why not the UK - clearly there is a lack of any desire to do anything about it (hence Ed Ball’s silence and George Osborne's lack of urgency). The UK’s Crown Dependency Tax havens are based in some of the few remaining (fiscally useful) scattered remnants of Empire lie at the heart of the tax evasion problem.

Plaid Cymru will not compromise on its commitment to tackling tax evasion. Vast sums of money that should have been collected properly and invested in vital public services such as health and education have been lost. Plaid Cymru, while the Westminster parties fall over themselves to appease the City bankers and their wealthy backers, puts Welsh communities first.

PARITY WITH SCOTLAND

It’s not difficult to come to the conclusion; that since the advent of devolution, that the package of powers we have been given in Wales is second rate when compared to both Scotland and Northern Ireland. With the publication of new legislative proposals (Thursday 22^nd January) for further Scottish devolution, a new going-rate for powers has been set and Wales should settle for nothing less that parity with Scotland.

This is a simple matter of basic fairness. Wales is every bit as much a nation as Scotland and we should expect to be treated on the basis of equality. If we settle for second best, then there are also significant consequences for Wales. Scotland will have powers to block fracking for example; Welsh communities will be left to the tender mercy of Westminster. Scotland will have a greater say on how the money it raises is spent while in Wales we will continue to lack the levers to turn around our economy and create jobs.

A recent poll suggested a clear majority agree with Plaid Cymru that our nation should have parity of powers with Scotland. All the other party leaders should join Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru’s Leader to work to secure the will of the people and a devolution package that respects Wales and gives our people the tools that other nations take for granted.

The status quo or doing nothing is not an option. If we choose that course then the gulf between the strength of our self-government and that of other countries within these islands will only continue to widen and to undermine Wales' position and hindering our ability to act in Wales' interests on a wide range of issues.

NORTHERN IRELAND 1 WALES 0

Legislation that should allow Corporation Tax powers to be devolved to Stormont has been published. Corporation tax is levied on the profits made by companies. The current rate paid by businesses in Northern Ireland is 21%, which compares unfavourably with the 12.5% rate in the Republic of Ireland. The Northern Ireland Executive wants to be able to match the tax rate in the Republic. The new powers won't come into effect until 2017.

It is vital that our country has the tools to build a fair and sustainable economy and it is important that power is fairly balanced across the UK, with Wales having parity with the other constituent parts. The Silk Commission recommended that Corporation Tax should be devolved to Wales in the event of it being devolved to other parts of the UK.

The Westminster Con Dem coalition government plans to pass the law before May's general election. All the political parties in Wales agreed to this principle and Plaid Cymru has long argued the case for this important lever to be made available to the Welsh Government. The party, formally known as New Labour, has said that it will not oppose the passage of the Bill. 

THE LEADERSHIP DEBATES

In many ways it is simply a matter of fairness - Plaid Cymru, the SNP and the Green Party should be included in these debates. Any TV debates have to be a full and accurate reflection of the choices facing voters throughout the whole UK in May. Plaid, alongside the SNP and the Green Party, represents a progressive anti-austerity alliance which, which in the event of a TV stitch up could end up voiceless in the TV debates. The Prime Minister's motives in relation to his call for the Greens to be included so that his opponents come under fire from the left might be best described as deeply cynical at best. The Conservatives would probably prefer not to have any debate at all as the format of the last leaders debate probably cost them victory at the last UK Westminster General election. Personally I have little doubt that the party formerly known as New Labour would privately agree although for different ‘Ed’ related reasons. The media has a responsibility to ensure that the voters are fully aware that there is an alternative to the Westminster austerity agenda and in the interests of democracy the compelling case for leadership debates needs to continue to be made.

VSO HUSTINGS

The Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) Hustings in Abergavenny last night was packed out, with literally standing room only, with the candidates from the 4 main parties being present. Naturally everyone present agreed that the UK Government should honour the commitment to delivering 0.7% of GDP as international aid - but in truth recession not withstanding this is not enough.

Plaid has long supported the campaign to cancel developing countries unaffordable debts and has called for more resources to be made available for the UN Adaption Fund which has been set up to help developing countries adapt to the effects of climate change. Plaid has demanded equal representation for developing countries in the decision making process on climate change action and has long supported the international Fair Trade movement.  

As you would expect Fair Trade, Fairness, Equality, Climate Change and Peak oil came up amongst other topics for discussion. VSO, OXFAM and other development agencies have specific programmes that aim to help poor men and women in the developing countries when it comes to health care, growing crops, access to literacy and to affordable credit. As poor education, poor health and lack of access to credit and markets has hit vulnerable groups in developing countries particularly hard. 

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, came in for some criticism - Plaid has long called for essential governance reform such international organisations so that they take into account human rights, the environment and workers rights.  The role of multi-nationals was also discussed along with their impact on the developing world along with how better use of procurement policies here in the UK could benefit both us and food producers, here and in developing countries.