Labour and Tories meet for talks on Welsh budget deal

Darren Millar offered budget talks to the Welsh government last week

The Tories' leader in the Senedd met the first minister on Tuesday for initial talks on whether they can do a deal on the Welsh government's budget.

Eluned Morgan needs help from the opposition in the Welsh Parliament to get £27bn worth of spending plans through the Senedd next January.

The Conservatives have called for stamp duty to be scrapped. Their approach is an unusual move, with the party not typically involved in budget talks in the Senedd.

The party's Darren Millar said the talks were "constructive" and that they have agreed to meet again for "more detailed" discussions in coming weeks.

Morgan told first minister's questions that she had also written to Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru's leader, offering a meeting to discuss the budget.

A Plaid Cymru spokeswoman confirmed the party had received a letter and added they would respond "in due course".

On Tuesday afternoon BBC Wales learned the Welsh government's Finance Secretary, Mark Drakeford, had held discussions with the Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd member, Jane Dodds, earlier in the day.

Dodds had helped this year's Welsh government's spending plans, for 2025-26, pass after a deal was agreed that included a ban on greyhound racing.

Her spokesman said Dodds "has made it clear in the past that she is willing to put party politics aside and do what's best for the people of Wales".

Last week the Welsh government warned of disastrous cuts, including "mass redundancies", if it is unable to pass the budget for the next financial year.

That is because the law that governs the Senedd mandates automatic cuts if the parliament cannot agree.

Both the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru say they want to avoid that but the Tories are the first to publicly talk about any discussions taking place.

On Monday Plaid Cymru said it had not been involved in any discussions.

Prior to the death of Caerphilly Labour MS Hefin David, when Labour was only one seat short of a majority, it relied on a single extra vote to get key business through the Senedd.

The arithmetic will become more difficult should the party lose the Caerphilly by-election on Thursday, forcing Labour to look further than just the Lib Dems.

'Pleased'

So far the Welsh government has only published an outline draft of what it intends to do next year, and has left aside £380m before any talks with opposition parties.

Millar has called for the Welsh version of stamp duty, land transaction tax, to be abolished.

Mark Drakeford, who as finance secretary is in charge of the budget process, ruled out totally scrapping the tax but is open to amending it.

The first minister and the Conservative leader exchanged letters after Millar's initial offer last week. In her letter to Millar, Morgan asked the Tory Senedd leader to speak to Drakeford.

She said: "I would be pleased to meet you to discuss the ideas you have set out.

"However, I would be keen for the finance secretary and your party's finance spokesperson [Sam Rowlands] to have more detailed discussions."

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, Darren Millar, said: "I am grateful to the first minister for a constructive first meeting on next year's budget.

"We have agreed to meet again to engage in more detailed budget discussions in the coming weeks.

"I will continue to work hard to seek a budget deal that puts the people of Wales first and gets our economy moving again."

A Welsh government source said on Monday: "The door is open to all parties who feel they can put their values into practice in setting the Welsh government budget for 2026-27."

Full list of Caerphilly by-election candidates

The full list of candidates for the Caerphilly by-election are:

• Liberal Democrats: Steve Aicheler

• Gwlad: Anthony Cook

• Greens: Gareth Hughes

• Conservatives: Gareth Potter

• Reform: Llyr Powell

• UKIP: Roger Quilliam

• Labour: Richard Tunnicliffe

• Plaid Cymru: Lindsay Whittle

You can find out more about the candidates here.