“Welfare Figures Show Welsh Independence Completely Unviable”

Conservative Senedd member for the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend Andrew RT Davies has warned new figures showing Wales spends almost twice on welfare as its workers pay into the system shows Welsh independence is “completely unviable financially”.

Research by the Adam Smith Institute shows £1.88 is spent on welfare in Wales for every £1 it generates in income tax and national insurance.

The previous Conservative government delivered a record funding settlement for Wales, which amounted to £1.20 of public spending for every £1 spent in England.

Mr Davies said that, while keeping the British nation together is about “far more than just economics”, the figures “blow out of the water any separatist claims that the numbers stack up”.

Mr Davies said:

“I am proud to be British and keeping our nation together and maintaining Wales’ crucial role within it means far more to me than just economics.

“But these figures blow out of the water any separatist claims that Welsh independence is anywhere close to being financially viable.

“Plaid Cymru separatists may have entered a pro-independence pact with Sinn Fein and the SNP, but Rhun ap Iorwerth can’t escape the financial black hole it would cause.”

Kath

I do wonder if the Welsh Government have even read the research by the Adam Smith Institute which shows that £1.88 is spent on welfare in Wales for every £1 it generates in income tax and national insurance. As they proceed to talk to Sinn Fein & the SNP with the intention of breaking up the UK, I am thinking not………..

 Link to the report can be found here: https://www.adamsmith.org/press-releases/england-and-wales-spend-127-in-welfare-for-every-1-they-receive-in-income-tax-and-national-insurance-only-25-of-constituencies-are-net-contributors 

England and Wales spend £1.27 in welfare for every £1 they receive in income tax and National Insurance; only 25% of constituencies are net contributors

• Three quarters of constituencies in England receive more in welfare than their workers’ pay in income tax and National Insurance, finds new research by the Adam Smith Institute (ASI). 
• The ASI’s new Welfare Sustainability Tracker, released today, shows that England spends £1.25 in welfare for every £1 of income tax and National Insurance it receives; for Wales, that number is £1.88.
• That means Wales spends nearly twice as much in welfare as its workers pay into the system. 
• 47% of the welfare bill is the State Pension and Pension Credit; the rest is mainly Universal Credit (28%), Personal Independence Payments (11%), and housing benefits (4%).
• Birmingham spends £2.54 on welfare for every £1 of income tax and NI. Liverpool spends £2.05 and Manchester £1.52, while London, a net contributor, spends 78p.

Reform UK is the major party with the highest proportion of welfare-dependent constituencies: 7 of its 8 seats spend more on welfare than they contribute in income tax.