Labour Releases Partial Costings for Senedd Election Manifesto
Welsh Labour has become the first party to disclose the estimated costs of some of its manifesto policies, following a challenge from Reform to detail the financial implications of their plans.
The party stated that its proposals, which include providing free school meals in secondary schools and expanding childcare services, would amount to £347 million by 2030. This funding is expected to be partially sourced from increased Welsh government allocations from the UK government.
However, Labour has not provided cost estimates for all manifesto commitments. Despite this, Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan urged Plaid Cymru to publish their costings, accusing them of risking a public sector pay freeze.
Plaid Cymru dismissed Labour's move as a "political gimmick" and noted that it was not a comprehensive document. Reform also commented that Labour had not released a complete list of costings.
During an event in Barry Island, where Morgan launched the costings, she inadvertently encouraged voters to support Plaid Cymru while addressing the crowd in Welsh.
Labour asserted that it had published "full costings," though some significant items were excluded.
Notably, the £4 billion plan for new hospital construction, including rebuilding the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff, was not costed. Additionally, extra funding required to increase pay for school support staff was omitted.
Labour clarified that it is the responsibility of Welsh health boards to develop their own hospital plans. The document indicates that the £4 billion hospital plan spans ten years and will be financed through a combination of Welsh government funds and private finance.
"There are all kinds of promises being made and we know that those promises don't add up. We're showing our workings out and we're challenging other parties,"Morgan told BBC Wales.
She estimated that Plaid's proposal to extend childcare to 20 hours per week for babies aged nine months would cost £400 million.
"You need around £360 million to give an uplift to public sector pay workers, that is not accounted for in Plaid's money,"she said, accusing Plaid of not allocating funds for public sector pay rises next year.
"The claims made by other parties are so ludicrous in terms of their ability to deliver on what they're saying. I think we've got to get people to understand the risk here."
When asked why she had not contacted Reform's Welsh leader Dan Thomas, Morgan responded:
"Well, because Dan Thomas has said he will publish costings. I would expect all of the other parties now to follow suit."
Plaid Cymru told BBC Wales it had no intention of implementing a public sector pay freeze, countering Morgan's claim that such a freeze would be necessary to fund its promises.
A Plaid spokesperson described Labour's document as "a political gimmick which smacks of panic and desperation."
"It includes nothing on tackling NHS waiting lists, nothing to address the most glaring legacy of Labour's failures in government,"they said.
"We have already made the costs of our key commitments public - the only plans to have been independently assessed by an eminent economist."
Reform challenged other parties to publish their costings during a BBC leaders debate earlier in the week.
Both the Conservative and Labour leaders committed to publishing the costs of their plans, while Plaid leader Rhun ap Iorwerth and Green leader Anthony Slaughter stated that some of their costings had already been made public.
Only Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds declined to publish her spending plans, citing her expectation that she would not become first minister and expressing a preference to "influence government" instead.
It remains unclear whether Reform will publish the full cost of their manifesto, although they have been consulting with the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
Speaking to the BBC this week, Nigel Farage indicated the party might release their figures if Plaid does so first.
"We're challenging Plaid and saying right - if you release your figures, we will release our figures. At the moment, it's a stalemate. Are we ready? Yes."
On Thursday, after Labour published its figures, Reform's Llyr Powell commented that Labour's disclosure was insufficient.
"It's a step in the right direction what Labour has done today, but it is not the full costed detail that they're claiming it is to be. Where's the money coming from for the big project spends that they're claiming to have? We'd like to see Plaid Cymru in this, putting their cards on the table as well."
The Institute for Fiscal Studies' David Phillips described the specific figures as "reasonable estimates of the cost of policies."
"These figures are lower than the amounts implied by the other parties' plans over the current Senedd term – so there is less of an additional fiscal challenge implied by them,"he said.
However, he noted that the £4 billion hospital construction programme, when completed, "would entail quite significant service charges" in the 2030s.
Phillips warned that current budget plans imply cuts to NHS spending and stated that additional funds from the UK's Spring Statement, which have not yet been allocated, will need to be directed to the NHS to avoid difficulties.
"Delivering this would still require cutting back some other areas – just not as much as delivering the bigger giveaways other parties propose,"he added.
