Bethan Jenkins AC/AM South Wales West

Bethan gave Plaid Cymru’s response to the Tory-brought debate on child poverty. This is what she said:

We have had our moments in this Siambr.

But this latest debate – in which we have heard the Tories lecture this Assembly and the One Wales Government how best to combat child poverty – must rank as the greatest hypocrisy ever heard under this roof or in any session since the National Assembly began.

What makes this particularly incredible is that this motion from the Tories seems to suggest that none of us know what is going on outside of Wales, that none of us receive our news from beyond the Severn Bridge, and that none of us know what their London masters are planning if this country is unfortunate to become landed with a Tory government.

Let me quote you. From the Financial Times – not noted as a left-leaning newspaper – dated January 19 and under the headline ‘Conservatives target child poverty strategy’:

“The Conservatives look set to water down Labour’s commitment to ending child poverty, according to people who have seen late drafts of the party’s election manifesto. They would do this by adopting such broad indicators of deprivation that it would be hard to identify or measure progress.”

Good start.

There is then all kinds of talk about introducing “a matrix of measures” which sounds like something straight out of The Thick of It, while moving towards “a richer picture”, a comment they could have nicked from Yes, Minister.

The piece winds down with an Oliver Letwin pledge from 2006, when he was the party’s policy chief: “David Cameron’s Conservatives are committed to the government target of ending child poverty by 2020.”

The FT report concludes: “Conservative sources say this bold intention is barely mentioned in a draft of the manifesto, beyond a statement that the party shares “the government’s aspiration to end child income-related poverty”.”

In between, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s support for broader measures of poverty is cited as evidence by the Tories that they have got it right.

But let’s view this policy U-turn for what it is:

Cuts. Pure and simple. Nothing else.

I don’t follow this approach from the Tories today. Do they really not know what is being planned on their behalf in London? If this is the case, what kind of regard will a Tory administration have for this Assembly and its powers when it doesn’t even tell its own Welsh representatives what it is planning?

So let’s get back to reality. A reality where the benefits system and the power to truly reform it lies in London. Of course, Plaid would welcome the chance to devolve the matter to Wales – but will the Tories allow it to happen?

To quote Joseph Rowntree back at the Tories, the foundation estimates that while child poverty costs the UK £25bn a year, the Government only needs to invest around £5bn a year to meet Letwin’s target of ending child poverty by 2020.

So here’s my next question: In the interest of saving the public purse, are the Tories prepared to commit to this?

Are the Tories prepared to:

• Uprate the combined value of child tax credits and child benefit?
• Increase adults’ payments within income support in line with those for children?
• Reform administration of tax credits and benefits to ensure they provide the right amount to the right people at the right time?
• Reduce the disproportionate burden of taxation on poorer families?

And are the Tories here prepared to argue with David Cameron if – as he has hinted in a radio interview – he cuts the Welsh budget? How would they expect us to address child poverty then? How do they want us to carry on child poverty programmes after Westminster-initiated cuts have scythed through the Welsh public sector?

Beyond what they have said so far – or, rather, what has been leaked – we know little. But their backers are indulging in some serious right wing kite flying.

The Institute of Directors and the Taxpayers’ Alliance have already put together a £50bn death list. It includes:

• Sure Start
• The educational maintenance allowance
• Grants from the Department of Communities and Local Government
• Freezes on public pay and the state pension
• An end to child benefit and free travel from the old
• And cuts – yes, cuts – to non-frontline NHS staff.

These are the people the Tories run with.

So their scheming is uncovered for what it is – a blatant, opportunistic grab at headlines without any regard for standing up their argument. In the process, they have revealed what respect their masters give their views, and how totally unsuited they are to any sort of government.

And it is irresponsibility. Irresponsibility made 10 times’ worse because, with their minds on the General Election, they have cynically targeted the most deprived people in this country – and not for the first time – with an opportunistic eye and a hardened conscience.