Joyce Watson MS’s Mid Wales Journal column

With the Senedd in recess, and ahead of New Year, it’s a good time to reflect on 2023. At the end of term, Mark Drakeford announced that he will step down as Wales’ First Minister in March. He has led Wales through extraordinary times, from austerity and Brexit to Covid – always with integrity and dignity. The right man at the right time.

I am backing Vaughan Gething to be Wales’ next First Minister. He has huge experience at the top of politics, as economy minister and health minister during the pandemic. He has the energy and ambition to take Wales forward, hopefully alongside a newly elected Labour Government in London.

We certainly need one. The Conservatives have left the UK much worse off after 13 years. Households will, on average, be £1,900 poorer at the end of this parliament than at its start. Disposable income per person is expected to fall by 1.5% next year. 2024 will begin with an average 5% increase in energy bills. The biggest challenge facing the new Welsh Labour leader – and the people of Wales – remains the cost-of-living crisis.

The Welsh Government is doing everything it can to help, with policies and schemes that put money back in people’s pockets. Around three quarters of households are expected to be supported in some way – but nearly twice as much will go to households in the bottom half of income distribution than those in the top half, and three times as much to those in the bottom fifth than those in the top fifth. At the same time, every primary school pupil in Wales will receive a free school meal by 2024. Helping most those who need it most. Meanwhile, the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement was the same old Tory story: tax cuts for the rich paid for by cuts to public services for everybody else.

But a new year brings new hope. A new leader in Wales and, as the Prime Minister has confirmed, a general election. My resolution is to campaign for politicians and policies that will deliver a fairer, healthier, happier country. Bring on 2024!