Wales and employment

Andrew Davies AM has a letter in today's Western Mail

Monday, 12 February 2007
Feb 12 2007
Peter Morrell, Western Mail

For more Welsh jobs, only Labour will do

SIR - Alun Cairns, Conservative and Alun Ffred Jones, Plaid Cymru, have recently joined forces on your letters page to attack the achievements of Welsh companies in creating jobs. (Western Mail, Letters, February 2 and February 5). The independent Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey is the definitive account of public and private sector employment. This survey shows that since 1999 the percentage increase in private sector employment in Wales is over twice that for the UK as a whole. Furthermore, Wales is the only part of the UK to have seen a bigger percentage increase in private sector employment than public sector employment since 1999.

This record is a tribute to the skill and talents of Welsh employees. Working in partnership, the Assembly Government and UK Government have created an environment where companies can invest in confidence. Wales provides world-class business support and good transport links in a low inflation, low interest rate environment.

The Tories want to take us back to the bad old days of the 1980s. Plaid Cymru want to shut Wales off from the world economy. Only Labour is standing up for Wales and delivering jobs and prosperity across the country.

ANDREW DAVIES