Co-chair says members ‘very happy to look over deals that would span a number of years’
Vaughan Gething, economy minister in the Welsh Labour government and favourite in the contest to succeed Mark Drakeford as first minister, has criticised the council tax system as “broadly regressive”.
He made the comment in an interview with the Financial Times in which he defended the Welsh government’s plan to reform how the tax operates in the UK. It is consulting on three options, one of which would just involve a property revaluation, but two of which would involve getting the owners of valuable homes to pay more, and cheaper homes to pay less, possibly with the creation of new bands.
The council tax consultation is not about trying to raise the average council tax or hit people in the middle or lower scale, it’s about how can you rebalance how that works.
You could have people at the top end paying more and people at the bottom paying less.
In the future local authorities would decide what to do, it wouldn’t be a Wales-wide measure, the tourism levy would be a choice for different authorities to make.
If I am elected Welsh Labour leader and First Minister in 2024, here are 5 things I will do in my first week as FM:
1. Appoint a government where at least half of all ministers are women
2. Kick start the setting up of a new Delivery Unit in the Welsh Government – we will look at everything we do with an absolutely relentless focus on practical delivery
3. Get the review of 20 mph underway, it will be 6 months from introduction, so as I said on day one of my campaign – there’s no need to delay
4. Initiate fresh discussions with patients, health bodies and health unions about how we help the NHS adapt to respond to current and future pressures
5. Direct the establishment of a new National Economic Council to advise the government on strategic policies to deliver sustainable economic prosperity and solidarity
I will be announcing policy priorities in the coming weeks. Today’s 5 actions point to kind of government I want to lead – reflecting our communities, focused on the economy, relentless in protecting and improving public services, and open to scrutiny. Let’s get on with it!