Welsh sec asked if she’ll resign over cuts

Local TV

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens has in the past broken party whip over benefit cuts, but now she’s part of a government implementing similar cuts. Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville-Roberts has asked whether she’ll resign over the issue.

Transcript

00:00Over in Westminster, the Secretary of State for Wales, Joe Stevens, has been facing questions

00:07over a party's recent decision to cut benefits. The UK Labour Party has said it's to encourage

00:12people into work and help them thrive while working. But Liz Saville-Roberts, Plaid Cymru's

00:17Westminster leader, doesn't agree.

00:19Back in 2015, the Secretary of State and I walked through the same voting lobby against

00:25what she then described as despicable Tory welfare cuts, and she dared to break the Labour

00:31whip to do so back then. Given this evidence of her strong convictions on the issue, how

00:37can she justify remaining in a cabinet intent on implementing Tory-style welfare cuts?

00:46We have inherited a Tory welfare system that is the worst of all worlds. It's got the wrong

00:53incentives, it discourages people from working, the people who really need a safety net are

00:57still not getting the dignity and support that they need, and the taxpayer is funding

01:02an ever-spiralling bill. It's unsustainable, it's indefensible and it's unfair. Our principles

01:09for reform are clear. Supporting those who need support, restoring trust and fairness

01:13in the system, fixing that broken assessment process and disincentives, and supporting

01:18people to start, stay and succeed in work. She should support that as well.

01:24Liz Saville-Roberts is a long-standing Plaid MP and says she remembers back almost a decade

01:28ago voting alongside Jo Stevens when the Labour MP went against her party's orders and voted

01:34against similar cuts proposed by the then-Conservative UK government. With Stevens' Labour government

01:38now implementing similar cuts, she asks her whether her resignation is now on the cards.

01:43Elaine's Hair Salon in Llanrug, Pitianpatian Nursery in Llanwnda, care homes and GP surgeries

01:49across Dwyfor Meirionnydd, they tell me that national insurance hikes coming in just a

01:53few weeks will stop them hiring new staff. Her government says they're cutting welfare

01:59to get people into jobs. What jobs?

02:05Plaid Cymru's manifesto for the general election had £5 billion of unfunded commitments. If

02:11her party was in power, we'd be facing the same legacy that we had from the party opposite—a

02:17£22 billion black hole, which has meant we have had to take difficult decisions. But

02:22in her constituency, they will want to have more investment in our NHS, more investment

02:27in our public services, more investment to support businesses. Her party voted against

02:34it all in the Welsh Budget.

02:37If her government agreed with her counterparts in Cardiff, we would have the money from the

02:41Crown Estate as well.

02:43We've seen a clear disconnect between UK and Welsh Labour, with both sides trying to

02:47dismiss issues between the sides. But conversations surrounding Crown Estate devolution, national

02:52insurance and the future of Welsh universities will continue until Labour colleagues in Westminster

02:57and Cardiff Bay can get on the same page on the issues.

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