By Paul Dicken
22 April 2010
Wales is the least competitive area of the UK, research has shown, as the election campaign focused on the economy and job creation.
Wales came out badly in the 2010 UK Competitiveness Index, published on April 19 by the Centre for International Competiveness at the University of Wales Institute. Wales dropped to the bottom of the index, behind the Northeast of England.
The index, which looks at factors such as exports, employment rates and research and development expenditure, ranked four areas in South Wales as the least competitive in the UK.
A spokesman for the Welsh Assembly Government said the evidence supporting the index was ‘incomplete at best’. He said other indicators, such as how much employment had increased compared with the UK as a whole, showed a more positive picture.
He added that the WAG’s economic renewal programme would ensure that public spending had the right focus.
This came on the same day as Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said on a visit to Cardiff that his party’s budget plans would divert £3.1bn of public spending to create jobs and protect the environment.
The LibDems have promised to add a one-off £125m to the devolved budget next year to be spent on nurturing the economy. Welsh LibDem leader Kirsty Williams said: ‘We want to see Wales at the forefront of a green and sustainable economy.’
The Conservatives’ Welsh manifesto pledged to end Labour’s ‘poverty of ambition for Wales’. Welsh Tory leader Nick Bourne criticised Labour’s record on the economy. ‘The number of new businesses starting in Wales is lower than almost anywhere else in the UK, and the economic gap between Wales and the rest of the UK has widened,’ he said.
Labour has pledged to create 50,000 Welsh jobs and has recognised that spending per head should be higher.
22 April 2010
Wales is the least competitive area of the UK, research has shown, as the election campaign focused on the economy and job creation.
Wales came out badly in the 2010 UK Competitiveness Index, published on April 19 by the Centre for International Competiveness at the University of Wales Institute. Wales dropped to the bottom of the index, behind the Northeast of England.
The index, which looks at factors such as exports, employment rates and research and development expenditure, ranked four areas in South Wales as the least competitive in the UK.
A spokesman for the Welsh Assembly Government said the evidence supporting the index was ‘incomplete at best’. He said other indicators, such as how much employment had increased compared with the UK as a whole, showed a more positive picture.
He added that the WAG’s economic renewal programme would ensure that public spending had the right focus.
This came on the same day as Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said on a visit to Cardiff that his party’s budget plans would divert £3.1bn of public spending to create jobs and protect the environment.
The LibDems have promised to add a one-off £125m to the devolved budget next year to be spent on nurturing the economy. Welsh LibDem leader Kirsty Williams said: ‘We want to see Wales at the forefront of a green and sustainable economy.’
The Conservatives’ Welsh manifesto pledged to end Labour’s ‘poverty of ambition for Wales’. Welsh Tory leader Nick Bourne criticised Labour’s record on the economy. ‘The number of new businesses starting in Wales is lower than almost anywhere else in the UK, and the economic gap between Wales and the rest of the UK has widened,’ he said.
Labour has pledged to create 50,000 Welsh jobs and has recognised that spending per head should be higher.
