The Final Election Eve Interview : The Leader of the Welsh Conservative Party

Attached is our interview with SamGibs

Lets start at the top. You have been in and out of Wales for a while now. What brought you back?

"You're right that I've been in and out of Wales for a long time. I think one member of the Senned called me a 'revolving door',  But Wales was where I got my start in politics. I had a taste of things as an MS when Brain was leader of the Welsh Tory's, and from there I went on to Westminster where I served first as Secretary of Wales, then Health minister, and then back to Wales. I was the first Tory to win my Welsh Westminster seat, and I'm very proud of those two elections. Suffice this all to say that Wales is a place I have a deep passion for. This passion doesn't just come from my home roots here, it comes from the experiences I had after I left Wales for university as a student. I got to see the world in all it's diversity, and it frustrated me then, still frustrates me now, that Wales doesn't enjoy the level of success and prosperity  other similar places enjoy. There's no reason it shouldn't, aside from poor leadership. What motivated me to enter politics was that I wanted to provide better leadership, I wanted to help build a stronger Wales. I'm so dedicated to this mission that when the opportunity opened up for me to move from Health back to Wales, I practically begged Prime Minister Yukub to move me. I think I'm probably the first minister to beg for what some in Westminster view as a 'demotion'. I saw it as a promotion.

This fall, I had to leave Westminster because of personal reasons. My husband suffers from a rare form of cancer that has changed both of our lives. This fall he underwent harsher treatment that, while ultimately successful, put a great strain on us. As such, I didn't feel I could be the supportive husband he needed me to be, and the advocate Wales demands of me. Family has always come first for me, so it was with a heaviness that I resigned from my seat. At the end of October, my husband's treatment ended and the cancer now looks to be in remission. That change in personal life coincided with the promotion of my mentor Brain to the position of Prime Minister and the resignation of the Welsh leader before me. It was like the stars strangely aligning. When the Conservative Party contacted me and offered me the opportunity to come back to Wales, I was honored and excited by the prospect. I consulted with my husband, and when he gave me the greenlight, I proudly accepted. I soon after realized that I had an opportunity not help bring Wales back to health, as I had just helped bring my husband back to health."

You mention Prime Minister Brain. He was your predecessors predecessor. He himself was preceded by the person who led your party in the last election. Both that man and his predecessor have since joined the liberal democrats. I asked this of RhysDallen last election, three leaders have come since then, why should the Welsh people trust the Conservative Party to be stable enough to govern?

"On that I'd like to be clear that I have great respect for all four of my immediate predecessors. Especially my colleagues who are now members of the Liberal Democrats. Both Willem and RhysDallen had a tremendously positive impact on my development as a politician and even now I consider them good friends. There are many areas of policy agreement we hold. I think it's also important to be mindful of the timeline. Brain first left this position because of the merger between our party and the Classical Liberals, of which Willem and RhysDallen were notable members and leaders. Many of the later changes have only happened recently, and reflect not any instability on the part of the Conservative Party, but the larger adjustments our entire political system has made in the past three months. Under my leadership, the Welsh Conservatives are united, motivated, and have a bold vision for how we want to improve Wales. We will make our case to the Welsh people, and I am confident that given the deep sense of trust that exists between the people of Wales and myself, that we will be successful in our endeavor."

How can a party claim to be united when two of its past leaders have deemed another party preferable?

"I couldn't possibly comment on why two of our past leaders found another party preferable. I worked well with them while they were members of my party, and I maintain a friendly relationship with them now. I'm someone who likes to find areas where people can come together and do good work. I've done that in our party since becoming leader. It makes me proud to say that our party is united around a common vision for how to improve Wales. This vision is built on a desire to strengthen Welsh communities, diversify the Welsh economy, improve Welsh infrastructure, and address the housing crisis that is currently preventing younger Welsh citizens from gaining access to the property ladder."

How do you move forward after losing the justice devolution referendum?

"I am proud of our campaign during that referendum. We made a strong case to the Welsh public, and we improved by nearly 20+ points from what pre-referendum polls showed the no campaign having] This shows that there is still a strong desire to maintain national unity, and a hesitation to devolve any further powers. While we are disappointed we were not able to convince a majority of the public to vote against justice devolution, we respect the decision made by the Welsh people. Our party, and my team, will work hard to build in Wales the finest justice system in the world."

How precisely does 55% of Wales voting to devolve the largest single set of powers since the assemblies inception show hesitation for further devolution?

"I'm proud of our campaign during that referendum. We increased the support of the "No" campaign from a pre-referendum of 25% to a final 45%. While it's not a majority, it's not an easy to dismiss and ignore minority either. Like I said earlier, the people of Wales have made their voice heard on the matter of justice. We respect that decision and will tirelessly work to implement it. I believe, however, that there are much more pressing issues facing Wales than simply justice devolution. In conversations I've had with voters, they're ready to move beyond the referendum, maintain the integrity of our union, and rebuild the Welsh economy. Those, and implementing the referendum decision, are the challenges me and my team are interested in tackling."

What is your stance on the transfer of S4C to Senedd control?

"Frankly, I don’t see a policy benefit of that. I’m more interested in focusing on the pressing issues facing Wales like our economy, housing crisis, and infrastructure."

Is language legislation one of those pressing issues? If so what changes would you like to see.

“There are more pressing issues like housing, public services, and taxation, but I do believe more can and should be done in promoting and sustaining the Welsh language. I’d personally like to see more legislation that would bring Wales in line with places like Quebec in terms of promoting our native language. The Welsh language is vital to Welsh culture. As conservatives, we will fight to protect and safeguard both."

Expand on this Quebec comparison, what would that entail?

"I think we should work to make Wales a fully bilingual region in the United Kingdom where both Welsh and English are spoken widely."

How would you increase the housing stock? And how do you feel about right to buy within the context of Wales?

“In line with our ‘Smart Deal for Wales’, we will build 70,000 new affordable homes across Wales. We will achieve this through a series of public-private partnerships through local councils and the Welsh government, along with smarter planning policies, and a new national development strategy that will see Wales subdivided into four regions centered around four new ‘hub cities’.

We believe that all Welsh citizens have a right to buy their own home. That’s why a Conservative Government in Wales will work hard to expand our housing stock, create affordable houses, and lessen the tax burden for first time home buyers and those looking to downsize.”

Could you elaborate on these smarter planning policies?

“Our Smart Plan for Wales has three key planks; housing, infrastructure, and planning. I’ve already explained the bulk of our housing policy, but I can elaborate more on infrastructure and planning.

For infrastructure, we will invest in new transit projects; new rail lines, bus lines, roads, mass transit improvements in general. These projects will link together the regional hub cities with their regions, other hub cities, and English cities like Liverpool, Manchester, and Bath. Additionally, we will invest in expanding rural broadband connection throughout the whole of Wales.

In terms of planning, I’ve previously talked about ‘hub cities’ and ‘regions’. These regions will be similar in design to China’s Special Economic Zones. There will be four across Wales and each will have a planning office in that regions hub city. These regions will come to help guide economic planning, infrastructure planning, technology investment, etc. It’s all very exciting stuff and will truly advance Wales.”

Will these economic zones be subject to tax breaks?

"Right now we're focused on lowering the tax burden across Wales, regardless of their planning region. The goal for the planning regions at this time is to organize infrastructure, housing, and larger economic development."

Would this involve requesting a devolved corporate tax?

"At this point in time, no. However, that is an issue we'd be happy to commission a government report on, if elected."

Would you seek to lower the income tax variance?

"Our manifesto goes into greater detail, but our overall taxation policy is to lower the income tax burden on individuals and families. Additionally, we will seek to lessen the taxation burden on businesses, new home buyers, people downsizing, and entrepreneurs. On the whole, we're going to work hard to build a Wales that works, for all partly through lower taxes."

How do you lower business taxes if you currently don’t support devolving corporate tax? Are there other methods of doing so?

"There are ways to lessen the costs of starting and running a business, beyond just the corporate tax. For example, we will seek to reduce all Welsh based taxes on small and local businesses by 15% in the next term. Additionally, greater investments in infrastructure and housing while also reducing taxes on individuals and families will all be tremendous drivers of greater economic growth. There are ways to improve Wales beyond just "more devolution", you know."

Let’s wrap it up with a summation. What do you want the welsh people to take away most from your campaign?

"I'd like the Welsh people to know that we Conservatives are interested in progress. We believe that the only way to improve Wales is to advance Wales. Our manifesto provides us with a path out of the politics of division that have, for too long, held Wales back from reaching its full potential. This agenda is radical, people centric, a relentlessly focused on improving this country and the lives of its citizens. Together, we can build a Wales ready for tomorrow. We'll begin by building an economy that will offer plenty of new jobs to our citizens. We will expand housing so that no one in Wales is ever homeless and improve our infrastructure so that all of Wales is connected. We will achieve this while still protecting our environment, our NHS, and our Union. I firmly believe that the future of Wales is bright. And I'm confident that if we all work together, we can truly Advance Wales!"