CEREDIGION MP Ben Lake has accused the Chancellor of ‘playing politics with Welsh Livelihoods’.

Mr Lake, who is Plaid Cymru’s Treasury spokesperson, today accused the Chancellor Rishi Sunak of “playing politics with Welsh livelihoods” by raising taxes now so that he can “showcase tax cuts ahead of the next election.”

The Chancellor’s speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, comes as working people face historically high taxes, following the 1.25 per cent hike to National Insurance announced last month.

Mr Lake also warned that the speech was a signal for more austerity and criticised Rishi Sunak for his “high praise” for George Osborne’s austerity experiment.

In his speech, Mr Sunak said that we should be “grateful” to previous Conservative Chancellors and their “10 years of sound Conservative management of our economy”, adding that “they believed in fiscal responsibility… I believe in fiscal responsibility.”

Mr Lake warned that this shows that the Conservatives are once again preparing to cut funding from public services, and that they are “willing to inflict further harm on Welsh communities”. He added that this had already started, with the “£1000 annual cut to Universal Credit at a time when families are having to bear the brunt of a cost-of-living crisis.”

Mr Lake said: “The Chancellor’s high praise for George Osborne’s destructive austerity agenda shows that the Conservatives are preparing to once again cut funding for public services and hit the finances of ordinary people.

“Despite the failure of the austerity experiment, the Chancellor appears willing to inflict further harm on Welsh communities, starting with a £1000 annual cut to Universal Credit at a time when families are having to bear the brunt of a cost-of-living crisis – a crisis of the Government’s own making.

“The Chancellor is playing politics with Welsh livelihoods, raising taxes on hard-pressed families and businesses now so that he can showcase tax cuts ahead of the next election. Families and communities in Wales deserve better."