The Labour Government in Westminster faces a day of reckoning and it is coming soon. Starmer may have won the vote on his proposed welfare reform after a climbdown in the face of a considerable the backbench rebellion but his government does feel like it has been ‘holed’ beneath the water.

Not only is it a bad look to have made three U-turns in the space of a month but it is the subjects that he has changed his mind on that makes the about turns more damaging. Many people up and down the UK voted for change in last year’s General Election – they certainly didn’t vote for more Tory policy that targets the most vulnerable whilst letting the powerful and rich go untouched. This, however, is precisely what they have been served up under Starmer’s 12 months in power.

You could even argue that Starmer has cut deeper and harsher than the Tories would ever have dared to by taking winter fuel payments off pensioners and hitting the disabled in the pocket. The current compromise on the Welfare Bill essentially acknowledges that the proposed cuts are wrong so will protect existing claimants (perhaps only for the short term until PIP eligibility is reviewed) but it will consign future claimants to this cruel policy. I’m not sure this will sit easy with Labour MPs that got into politics to try and make a positive difference to their community and society.

For Plaid Cymru’s part, we have remained steadfast in our opposition to these draconian policies. Taking money off the most vulnerable in society to fill a financial blackhole that was not of their making is not acceptable or fair. Plaid Cymru has said that there are other choices – for example, how about closing tax loopholes that allow City of London lawyers to pay less tax than small business owners in Wales? Eliminating the corporate tax evasion that costs billions every year would also be another good place to start. None of this is being presented by the UK Labour Government however. We know that these draconian policies will hit Wales harder than most as well.

For those looking to Reform for change then think again. Farage recently unveiled a policy that would reinstate non-dom status for wealthy individuals for a £250,000 fee which, for the kind of obscenely rich people who would benefit most from this policy, is chicken feed. Then again, what do you expect from a former City trader who once admitted to setting up a trust fund in an offshore tax haven on the Isle of Man that could well have cut his tax bill?