Corbyn praises Welsh health and education

Welsh Labour leader Carwyn Jones welcomes Jeremy Corbyn to 'Welsh Night'

From the warmth of the welcome, you'd never know he'd just lost a general election.

But when Carwyn Jones introduced Jeremy Corbyn to delegates at the party's 'Welsh Night' fringe as "the next prime minister" his party's MPs felt able to cheer the prospect with a straight face.

"We didn't sadly quite win the election," he admitted. "But this government is so powerful and so confident in two opposition days just before parliament ended for this conference recess they couldn't even bring themselves to vote against a proposal to lift the NHS pay cap and halt the rise in student fees. They couldn't even defend what is supposed to be flagship policies of a Tory government."

It's true that the NHS pay cap remains in Wales, where Labour are in power, and tuition fees are rising in Wales. Jeremy Corbyn defended the refusal to lift the pay cap in an interview with ITV Wales.

Carwyn Jones told the audience on Sunday night that his government had lived under "the oppression of austerity" for seven years, dealing with a declining budget.

'United'

During his speech at the same event, Mr Corbyn reflected on the campaign that "didn't sadly quite win" the election. He told delegates: "During the election we showed what we can do as a party when we all got out united and when we all go out and change that public conversation.

"Austerity, as Carwyn so rightly said, isn't necessary , isn't inevitable it's a political decision made by the Tories and the Lib Dems in 2010 to essentially say the working class communities across the whole of Britain have got to pay the price of the banking crisis in 2008 I think we offer something very very different in our strategy and our approach."

The Welsh Labour Government may have been criticised for its performance on health and education, but Mr Corbyn highlighted those areas in a positive way.

"The achievements in health and education and the environment and in trade union legislation," he said. "And if I may say so one that doesn't often get discussed in the party, attitudes towards rural Wales and to the rights and needs of farm workers all across Wales.

"That's the difference between a Labour government and a Tory government despite all the under-funding of the government in Wales."

'Retreat'

He said of the Conservatives at Westminster: "They're in disarray, they're in tatters, they're in retreat."

The First Minister delivered his main conference speech on Sunday afternoon, the 'Welsh report' condensed into 15 minutes to allow more time for grass-roots delegates to speak.

Some in Welsh Labour were unhappy about the reduction in time allocated to the Welsh report, which meant Shadow Welsh Secretary Christina Rees (absent with a broken foot) would not have been able to speak anyway.

Other Welsh casualties of the new policy include shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Smith and shadow Defence Secretary Nia Griffith. The policy has raised eyebrows among some senior Labour figures, given the delicate political situation in Northern Ireland and the North Korea situation.