:01:22. > :01:32.tackling from team captain Andrew RT Davies as the Welsh Conservatives
:01:32. > :01:32.
:01:32. > :39:52.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2299 seconds
:39:52. > :39:55.met for their Spring conference at Wales, we'll hear conservative
:39:55. > :39:59.Assembly leader Andrew RT Davies and the prime minister as we discuss the
:39:59. > :40:02.economy and where next on powers for the Assembly. And I've been to
:40:02. > :40:09.Beaumaris on Anglesey to speak to some of the candidates ahead of the
:40:09. > :40:15.council elections on Thursday. Joining me are to MPs - for the
:40:15. > :40:19.Conservatives, Glyn Davies, and Plaid Cymru's Jonathan Edwards. Just
:40:19. > :40:22.looking at this story in the Telegraph - Iain Duncan Smith
:40:22. > :40:27.talking about wealthy pensioners handing back some of their
:40:27. > :40:31.provisions, like free bus passes. What is your thinking on that? I
:40:31. > :40:34.don't think I agree with that. I think there is a big debate to be
:40:34. > :40:43.had about benefits for the better off and I think that'll feature a
:40:43. > :40:53.lot in the manifestoes at the next general election. If people feel
:40:53. > :40:59.
:40:59. > :41:06.they want to give away the money they have, because they don't need
:41:06. > :41:10.need it. Maybe some of them will be giving it back when actually they
:41:10. > :41:17.should be taking it. I don't think it's a particularly well thought out
:41:17. > :41:21.intervention. Is he proposing that when the pensioner use the bus, they
:41:21. > :41:28.send a cheque to the Department of work and pensions? I'm a supporter
:41:28. > :41:30.of universal benefits. If you are going to means test, you have to
:41:30. > :41:37.means test to start you can't just leave it to people to decide for
:41:37. > :41:40.themselves? It's not the first time we've had this debate. A lot of
:41:40. > :41:46.people are receiving benefits who clearly don't need them because of
:41:46. > :41:49.university of benefit principle. There are different ways of doing
:41:49. > :41:56.that. I just don't think the idea of going back to the government, apart
:41:56. > :42:00.from the distinct difficulties, is a good one. I think it's far better to
:42:00. > :42:03.go to local charities who are under pressure. We'll be talking about
:42:03. > :42:07.that much more in the future. In the meantime, the Welsh Conservatives
:42:07. > :42:11.have gathered for their conference yesterday in Swansea's Liberty
:42:11. > :42:15.Stadium. Over the past few weeks, we've heard from the Assembly
:42:15. > :42:18.leaders of the other main parties are for our final conference
:42:18. > :42:24.interview it's the turn of Andrew RT Davies, the Welsh Conservative
:42:24. > :42:27.leader in the Assembly. He taught about a clause four moment for the
:42:27. > :42:33.Conservatives when it came to accepting devolution. Afterwards,
:42:33. > :42:36.our political editor asked what he meant by that. It's more than the
:42:36. > :42:40.Welsh Conservatives. It's the centre-right in politics that want
:42:41. > :42:45.to turn the clock back to 1987. That can't happen. The Welsh people are
:42:45. > :42:49.talking positively about devolution. They don't necessarily like the
:42:49. > :42:59.politicians involved in the process but they do like decisions being
:42:59. > :42:59.
:42:59. > :43:07.made taken here in Wales. Do you really need still to tell people in
:43:07. > :43:12.your party that you don't go back to 1997 to fight devolution? I think
:43:12. > :43:15.it's wider than the Conservative Party. Party has been successful in
:43:15. > :43:19.adopting devolution but there are plenty in the centre-right who still
:43:19. > :43:23.want to continue that discussion. But if you look at the landscape we
:43:23. > :43:29.operate in now, it's the Labour Party who we have to focus our fire
:43:29. > :43:32.on and show them there is a real alternative. Show them you can
:43:32. > :43:35.improve education attainment levels and offer teachers hope in the
:43:35. > :43:38.classroom and, above all, you can get an economy moving to offer
:43:38. > :43:43.chances for communities to regenerate themselves and create
:43:43. > :43:46.prosperity. He said we need to look at what the Conservatives can do
:43:46. > :43:49.with devolution. The Labour government say they know what they
:43:49. > :43:55.are doing with things in government ASH, cutting, slashing, devastating
:43:55. > :44:00.damaging. Well, all the Labour government is doing in Cardiff Bay
:44:00. > :44:10.is sitting on their big, fat, lazy answers. We got to make sure the
:44:10. > :44:12.
:44:12. > :44:18.public understand that Carwyn Jones is driving down standards in
:44:18. > :44:22.education. Is that kind of language appropriate? Carwyn Jones's talk
:44:22. > :44:25.when he took the mantle of First Minister in 2011 was about a change
:44:25. > :44:30.of attitude, delivering for the people of Wales. What have they
:44:30. > :44:34.delivered? All they have delivered as a continuation of sitting behind
:44:34. > :44:38.their desks, assuming the mantle of a right to rule in Wales.
:44:38. > :44:45.chatting up and using that sort of language isn't convincing people.
:44:45. > :44:48.disagree. We don't just shout at them. We talk about putting money
:44:48. > :44:53.into small businesses, the Housing strategy. We talk of what we would
:44:53. > :44:58.like to do with taxation if the powers arrived in Cardiff Bay. We
:44:58. > :45:02.are offering an alternative. I accepted is up to us to campaign
:45:02. > :45:07.hard and that's what we're doing. David Cameron was asked earlier
:45:07. > :45:10.whether we can now call you a Welsh party be the - do we still have to
:45:10. > :45:15.call you Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Conservatives in the Welsh
:45:15. > :45:19.Assembly? Is that it? Is not as good as it is not as good as going to
:45:19. > :45:24.get? David Cameron told you straight that I was leader of the world
:45:24. > :45:28.Conservatives... The people of Wales no clearly where their priorities
:45:28. > :45:34.lie. It's not discussing the political internal organisation of
:45:34. > :45:38.parties. They want alternatives for health, solutions for education, and
:45:38. > :45:40.they want money in their economy so the villages, towns and cities of
:45:40. > :45:44.this great country of ours can compete with the rest of the UK,
:45:44. > :45:48.Europe and the world. And as was Conservative leader, I will be
:45:48. > :45:54.making sure that message is positive, strong and features all
:45:54. > :45:59.parts of Wales. -- Welsh Conservative. I play on the rugby
:45:59. > :46:06.pitch very often for the veterans team in the Assembly and we beat the
:46:06. > :46:11.House of Commons often. Football may be a bit too far for me! As we
:46:11. > :46:19.heard, the Prime Minister was also at the Liberty Stadium. David
:46:19. > :46:23.Cameron was asked about comments made by Danny Alexander who said
:46:23. > :46:30.Wales should have major powers overborrowing and income tax to
:46:30. > :46:35.vault. Let's look at the evidence, listen to what the people of Wales
:46:35. > :46:43.while stopped let's see what's right for people of Wales. I think what
:46:43. > :46:50.people can see there is proper respect. That's as it should be but
:46:50. > :46:56.for further changes, let's set a bit of a tester - what's going to create
:46:56. > :47:03.more jobs in Wales, more wealth in Wales? Glynn, we heard from Andrew
:47:03. > :47:04.RT Davies that he was going to have a go pitch side and he also had a go
:47:04. > :47:12.at Labour with some colourful language will stop those that
:47:12. > :47:22.useful? I was a bit shocked to see that Sun repeating what he said. I
:47:22. > :47:24.
:47:24. > :47:28.certainly wouldn't have used one of the words that he used. -- Betsan. I
:47:28. > :47:31.think not having that free Assembly days of the important issue. It was
:47:31. > :47:41.good to see him looking pretty confident, pretty natural and, I
:47:41. > :47:47.thought, showing a bit of leadership. That's an -- Betsan was
:47:48. > :47:51.repeating quite a few things. Were you surprised by the language, in
:47:51. > :47:55.from the conference? I don't think there's anything wrong with calling
:47:55. > :48:02.them lazy but I think the second part of the statement was over the
:48:02. > :48:05.mark. The UK government's policies are something that we strongly
:48:05. > :48:11.criticise but if you're not happy with what the UK government are
:48:11. > :48:19.doing, surely you should make the case for assuming responsibility.
:48:19. > :48:23.The Welsh Government, would say they are not lazy. The Prime Minister
:48:23. > :48:30.said they were lifting the income tax threshold to the level where
:48:30. > :48:37.people start paying tax. Big economic policies to try and get
:48:37. > :48:43.growth. It interesting to see the diverging between the Chief
:48:43. > :48:46.Secretary and the Prime Minister. Danny Alexander is in number ten at
:48:46. > :48:51.the Treasury so is it the two coalition parties in dispute? My
:48:51. > :48:56.understanding is that the Treasury are quite keen to implement this
:48:56. > :49:01.because they've just done it for from
:49:01. > :49:04.from the secretary of state for Wales, and from the Labour
:49:04. > :49:12.government in Cardiff. I think the Labour Party are the status quo
:49:12. > :49:16.party. They are the most anti-devolution party. What's going
:49:16. > :49:22.on behind the scenes? We're all hearing the rumours. Danny Alexander
:49:22. > :49:27.said he would not allow the response to the commission that did not
:49:27. > :49:32.include tax powers. You to did later saying MPs don't support that.
:49:32. > :49:38.don't figure majority of MPs support that. I do. I'm unusually
:49:38. > :49:43.supportive, perhaps, of tax-raising powers for the Assembly. I think it
:49:43. > :49:47.will transform the Assembly if that happened. But the Prime Minister is.
:49:47. > :49:51.There is not even to had. We're probably going to have to have a
:49:51. > :49:56.referendum because so many people are committed to delivering on that
:49:56. > :49:59.but I hope we get there. I would argue for that and I think it is
:49:59. > :50:03.crucial for development of devolution. The fiscal
:50:03. > :50:08.accountability element, in my view, is far more important than talking
:50:08. > :50:14.about transfer of other powers. They have to be decided on, whether they
:50:14. > :50:24.are right or not, but fiscal accountability has to be an element
:50:24. > :50:24.
:50:24. > :50:27.and it will form the -- transform the debate. One of the things people
:50:27. > :50:30.might be surprised by was that you had both the Welsh Secretary and the
:50:30. > :50:35.Prime Minister talking about the Welsh Government bailing on economic
:50:35. > :50:38.development where is all the major levers with the UK government. If
:50:38. > :50:43.the Welsh economy is stagnating, it's not principally the fault of
:50:44. > :50:51.the Welsh ministers, is it? There is an issue of responsibility between
:50:51. > :50:53.Westminster and Cardiff Bay. Income tax is still with the UK government.
:50:53. > :50:58.The impact of those would apply across Britain. But to the extent
:50:58. > :51:06.that Wales is performing more poorly than that, you've got to give some
:51:06. > :51:14.responsibility to the Welsh Government. It isn't avoid
:51:14. > :51:17.responsibility -- devoid of responsibility. The economy has
:51:17. > :51:20.collapsed down to the lowest levels in Britain. I'm keen on having the
:51:20. > :51:30.Welsh Government and the UK government not really attacking each
:51:30. > :51:33.
:51:33. > :51:36.other. I just take the view that what matters is Wales. There is the
:51:36. > :51:39.accountability issue but the other reason we need the job great images
:51:39. > :51:44.in Wales is that would incentivise the Welsh Government to develop the
:51:44. > :51:48.Welsh economy if it wants to invest in public services. But there been
:51:48. > :51:58.logjams by the Labour government and Parliament. They don't want the
:51:58. > :51:59.
:51:59. > :52:03.complete package, only taxes. The timetable outlined is slipping. We
:52:03. > :52:09.put down amendments in my name and by Parliamentary colleagues, and the
:52:09. > :52:12.Labour Party didn't even bother to turn up for the debate. Barry
:52:13. > :52:16.Alexander was quite clear that the income tax powers unlock powers
:52:16. > :52:21.overborrowing - you don't get one without the other. Do you support
:52:21. > :52:25.that? That's the key point. The greater the fiscal independence you
:52:25. > :52:28.have at your disposal, the greater the borrowing capacity. The one
:52:28. > :52:35.thing really holding that the Welsh economy at the moment is the savage
:52:35. > :52:37.cut to capital budgets - about 40%. Slightly less than the Labour Party
:52:37. > :52:42.had planned under Alistair Darling but that is a huge headwind for the
:52:42. > :52:52.Welsh economy. We have the intergovernment negotiations where
:52:52. > :52:52.
:52:52. > :52:57.both the governments agreed that the leaders were important. We need to
:52:57. > :53:01.start generating some are meant. you agree you can't have one without
:53:01. > :53:06.the other? Yes, I do. For meaningful borrowing powers, minor taxes aren't
:53:06. > :53:09.going to deliver that. For meaningful borrowing powers for the
:53:09. > :53:15.Welsh Government, you've got to have the income tax transferred to the
:53:15. > :53:19.Assembly. Thank you. Voters on Anglesey go to the polls
:53:19. > :53:23.on Thursday to elect a new council, year after the Welsh local
:53:23. > :53:26.authorities were elected. The delay was due to the Welsh Government
:53:26. > :53:29.sending in a team of commissioners to take over the running of the
:53:29. > :53:33.Council amid allegations of political infighting. I've been to
:53:33. > :53:37.Beaumaris to find out whether a new voting system and smaller number of
:53:37. > :53:40.councillors signals a new beginning for this troubled local authority.
:53:40. > :53:44.The picturesque scenes belie the political problems that have plagued
:53:44. > :53:49.this island for years. It's a big area. It's a beautiful part of the
:53:49. > :53:54.country. That beauty does belie some of the problems. We need jobs for
:53:54. > :53:59.young people. There are tourists and local residents. There are areas of
:53:59. > :54:05.social deprivation. How Anglesey council is elected is changing.
:54:05. > :54:10.Individual wards have got, replaced by a 11 new multimember wards. 107
:54:10. > :54:13.candidates are vying for the 30 seats on the council. Nine of the
:54:14. > :54:17.candidates are fighting for three seats here. I came to Beaumaris in
:54:17. > :54:21.the heart of the new water to speak to some of them about what they are
:54:21. > :54:27.offering voters. Independents have always featured heavily in Anglesey
:54:27. > :54:33.politics. My priorities are fighting for services - frontline services.
:54:33. > :54:43.I'm also saying that I think in this month county should be investing in
:54:43. > :54:47.
:54:47. > :54:50.what it's got. -- Ynys Mon. We got to start rebuilding the communities.
:54:50. > :54:57.But the political parties believe the organisation required for
:54:57. > :55:00.fighting the new larger multimember wards favours them. We're not going
:55:00. > :55:06.to beat one group one week and another group the next week. We need
:55:06. > :55:13.discipline among the councillors. It's not going to be easy. We're
:55:13. > :55:17.going to end up saying no to more people than we'd like but it's about
:55:17. > :55:22.priorities and essential services. The luxuries, although very worthy,
:55:22. > :55:27.will probably not get the help they deserve. Our main priority is the
:55:27. > :55:30.49% of people of Anglesey and all the people, not just the minority of
:55:30. > :55:34.people. There's no point going on the past. Now was the time for
:55:34. > :55:40.improvements. The future is in our hands and we must grab hold of this
:55:40. > :55:44.opportunity as an island altogether. We must really work hard so that
:55:44. > :55:49.we're caring for our elderly people, which mean the world to us, looking
:55:49. > :55:53.after our young people. The local Liberal Democrat and
:55:53. > :55:56.Conservative candidates weren't available for interview themselves.
:55:56. > :56:04.We need a clear-cut consensus as to where where going to go after the
:56:04. > :56:07.election. It's about, together for the best interests of the island
:56:07. > :56:12.after the election rather than infighting and party political
:56:12. > :56:19.debates. Our aim would be to set out an overall strategy of developing
:56:19. > :56:22.for the island. That's never been done. Nobody is looked at the island
:56:22. > :56:27.in total and looked at what needs to be done. Once you've got that
:56:27. > :56:33.strategy in place, other issues like employment, education and transport
:56:33. > :56:37.can fit into that strategy. So we'll get a plan in place for the island.
:56:37. > :56:42.That needs to be our first priority. The message across the board from
:56:42. > :56:46.candidates seems remarkably similar - Anglesey needs a new direction.
:56:46. > :56:49.Anglesey needs a change of that's the message that it will really
:56:49. > :56:58.grasping because people on the island are fed up with the status
:56:58. > :57:01.quo. Maybe we do want a new council, infused with new ideas.
:57:01. > :57:05.These have been turbulent times in Anglesey politics. The commissioners
:57:05. > :57:11.who been responsible for the Council believe that they have steadied the
:57:11. > :57:14.ship. On Thursday it will be up to voters to decide the course ahead.
:57:14. > :57:17.As they journey forward, residents will be forgiven for hoping the mist
:57:17. > :57:20.might finally be lifting from Anglesey politics.
:57:20. > :57:26.It's a lot warmer in the studio than it was during those pieces to
:57:26. > :57:31.camera. You can see a full list of candidates across Anglesey on our
:57:31. > :57:39.website, bbc.co.uk/Walesnews. Time for a quick look back at the
:57:39. > :57:44.political stories of the week in 60 seconds.
:57:44. > :57:47.Health Minister announced measures aimed at reducing pressure on
:57:47. > :57:50.emergency health services. He said he was taking action to prevent
:57:50. > :57:55.hospital beds being taken up by patients who could be care for
:57:55. > :58:00.elsewhere. The charity Age company was concerned that older patients
:58:00. > :58:05.would be at the pressure to leave hospital prematurely.
:58:05. > :58:09.David Cameron said the Labour Welsh Government were cutting spending,
:58:09. > :58:12.with waiting times up, waiting lists up and quality down. Ed Miliband
:58:12. > :58:20.said Mr Cameron was out of touch and that hospitals in England were full
:58:20. > :58:24.to bursting. MP Nick Smith urged David Cameron to
:58:24. > :58:28.update the law on negligence after the collapse of operating jasmine,
:58:28. > :58:33.the biggest care home investigation ever in the UK. He said a new
:58:33. > :58:36.investigation into care home abuse in south-east Wales can clear a high
:58:36. > :58:39.bar for a criminal conviction. And Colin Davies held a Commons
:58:39. > :58:49.debate on the effect of the recent bad weather conditions on up with
:58:49. > :58:49.
:58:49. > :58:54.cheap farmers. -- Glyn Davies. -- upland sheep farmers.
:58:54. > :58:58.What was the main message you were trying to get across their? My aim
:58:58. > :59:05.was to address what I see as a growing disconnect between the wider
:59:05. > :59:09.British population and what happens in the uplands. I think people are
:59:09. > :59:13.less and less understanding and the recent snowfalls did cause a huge
:59:13. > :59:17.disaster. I don't think the people of Britain understood it. Very large
:59:17. > :59:22.numbers of members of Parliament joined in that debate and we kept it
:59:22. > :59:27.is quite a consensual debate and it actually serve the purpose - exactly
:59:27. > :59:32.the purpose that I wanted to address what I see as a growing disconnect.
:59:32. > :59:37.You represent a roll constituency as well. What is your take on this?
:59:37. > :59:43.During the cold weather, I visited farmers in North Carmarthenshire and
:59:43. > :59:49.about 50 miles to the north, the area had escaped the weather. It was
:59:49. > :59:55.the luck of the draw. We're aware that the environment committee with
:59:55. > :59:59.Dafydd Ellis Thomas is now looking at this issue. This could impact the
:59:59. > :00:03.industry for nine, ten years. It'll be interesting to see what that
:00:03. > :00:09.committee comes up with in terms of recommendations. Let's focus on the
:00:09. > :00:18.ruble economy. In terms of small and medium enterprises, they really are
:00:18. > :00:23.the blood of the rule communities. -- roll. How important is it to get
:00:23. > :00:26.the strategy right for supporting small to medium enterprises? The key
:00:26. > :00:31.thing to remember about the Welsh economy is that the private sector
:00:31. > :00:35.is very reliant on the public sector so if you're cutting back on one
:00:35. > :00:38.public investment, that impacts on the private sector. The rhetoric we
:00:38. > :00:45.see from the UK government doesn't apply in terms of the Welsh
:00:45. > :00:49.Government. SMEs are hugely important to Wales. The tourism
:00:49. > :00:55.industry is massively important. We have to do what we can to help
:00:55. > :00:59.them. The Welsh Government is doing a very good job. I think the UK
:00:59. > :01:03.government is doing a very good job. I'm having a series of meetings
:01:03. > :01:07.with banks. I think banks are changing their attitude. They've
:01:07. > :01:10.been much more positive than they were. The Welsh economy depends on
:01:10. > :01:18.the success of SMEs, particularly when public sector jobs are being
:01:18. > :01:23.reduced. We do everything we can to help them. Getting the finance
:01:23. > :01:27.structure is key. The Conservatives have come up with a policy. We come
:01:27. > :01:31.up with a policy with a bank focus. That's the sort of policy we need to
:01:31. > :01:36.be having - how do we create liquidity for small businesses to
:01:36. > :01:39.allow them to expand. infrastructure is important because
:01:39. > :01:46.there is superfast broadband, which whether you are in agriculture or a
:01:46. > :01:49.small business, is essential. just have enquiry into this issue.
:01:49. > :01:51.We're seeing superfast broadband developing in Cardiff and Swansea
:01:52. > :01:58.but in many of the areas that we represent, they are broadband
:01:58. > :02:01.blackspots. We need to be looking at those issues. If you are going to
:02:01. > :02:07.have a future in the global economy, when the world is developing, you
:02:08. > :02:11.have to have those key structures in place. I agree. Broadband is
:02:11. > :02:15.absolutely crucial. We're going to see a position when even property
:02:15. > :02:18.prices where there was an access to broadband are going to collapse will
:02:18. > :02:22.stop people will bring children weather is no broadband because it
:02:22. > :02:26.would damage the education opportunities. You won't be able to
:02:26. > :02:32.claim benefits without broadband before long! We will leave it
:02:32. > :02:36.there. You can watch more tonight with Huw Edwards on the Wales Report