During the recent BBC Wales TV general election debate, the leaders of Welsh Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru called on the next UK government to abolish the two-child welfare benefit limit, a policy which was introduced in 2017. Under the policy, child tax credit and universal credit are limited to the first two children in most households, meaning families lose out on around £3,200 a year per extra child. Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds demanded that the cap be abolished to prevent forcing families further into poverty. Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth claimed that the policy was “cruel” while Welsh Labour leader Vaughan Gething pledged that if Labour wins in July, it will “review” the benefits system.
The debate was poorly tempered, as numerous issues were raised and countered with different proposals. While Reform UK’s Oliver Lewis claimed that his party “won’t cut welfare”, David TC Davies, Welsh Secretary and cabinet minister in Rishi Sunak’s government, defended the Conservative party’s plans to cut the UK’s welfare bill by £12bn. He believed that many people claiming sickness benefit were capable of working. “They are not trying to deliberately milk the system” but “the vast majority” of them could be better supported into employment.
Two Tory election candidates, Laura Saunders and Craig Williams, have confirmed that they are being investigated by the Gambling Commission over allegations of betting on the date of the election. Four people linked to the prime minister are also being looked into, including a police officer in Mr Sunak’s close protection team and the Conservative Party’s director of campaigning Tony Lee. In the debate, Mr Davies indicated he was “furious” about the election bets and denied that he had made any bets whatsoever for years.
Apart from the two-child benefit cap, Rhun ap Iorwerth and David TC Davies discussed the controversy regarding Vaughan Gething’s £200,000 acceptance of a Labour leadership campaign donation. During the contest to become first minister, Mr Gething received £200,000 from a company owned by someone who was twice convicted of environmental offences. When asked whether he wished to apologise for what had happened, Mr Gething replied: “I followed all the rules but I recognise there’s real concern.” According to Mr ap Iorwerth, Mr Gething should admit he had made “a mistake” and “digging his heels in, and we deserve better in Wales”
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