In the Senedd today, during questions to the Finance Secretary, Mark Drakeford’s podcast comments were put to him, specifically the line where he said that “We [Wales] have too many hospitals and too many beds.”
Since 1999, under successive Labour Welsh Governments, Labour has overseen a reduction in NHS beds of over 4,000.
In response, Mark Drakeford failed to rule out further reductions in bed numbers, saying that the “facts speak for themselves” in reference to the draft budget.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Sam Rowlands MS said:
“Mark Drakeford’s response to my questions today were unsurprising. He is, after all, a dyed in the wool socialist.
“I have fundamental disagreements with the former First Minister over Labour’s high-tax approach, with real terms cuts to health and millions wasted on frivolous pet projects like the creation of more politicians.
“He failed to put forward an unequivocal denial that we will see further cuts to bed numbers from Labour in the future. It’s clear that only the Welsh Conservatives can be trusted to deliver more beds for the NHS.”
