Wales has the lowest employment rate in the United Kingdom, and the highest economic inactivity rate in Great Britain. In the Senedd next week, Welsh Conservatives have brought forward a motion outlining their plan to fix Wales’ economy, by creating more jobs and boosting growth.

This includes delivering an income tax cut, scrapping business rates for small businesses, and axing the tourism tax before it comes into force.

The latest Labour Market Overview, published by the Office for National Statistics, has shown that Wales’s unemployment rate and economic inactivity rate has increased, whist our employment rate has decreased.

The Welsh Conservatives argue that families across Wales who are paying the price of 26 years of Welsh Labour Governments, propped up by Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems.

Commenting ahead of the debate, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Energy, Samuel Kurtz MS, said:

“Under Labour, enabled by Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems, the Welsh economy is broken. It’s clear that only the Welsh Conservatives can be trusted to fix Wales.

“Welsh Conservatives want to see a Wales open for business. As part of our plan to fix the Welsh economy, we would scrap business rates for small businesses, deliver an income tax cut, and ensure the whole of Wales receives investment.”

The motion which will be debated on Wednesday reads:

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes the Labour Market Overview published by the Office for National Statistics on September 16, 2025.

2. Regrets that under the Welsh Government:

  • a) Wales’s unemployment rate has increased;
  • b) Wales’s employment rate has decreased and is the lowest in the United Kingdom;
  • c) Wales’s economic inactivity rate has increased and is the highest in Great Britain; and
  • d) Welsh wage packets are the lowest in the United Kingdom.

3. Calls on the Welsh Government to create more jobs in Wales and boost growth by:

  • a) cutting the basic rate of income tax by 1 pence;
  • b) scrapping business rates for small businesses;
  • c) axing the tourism tax before it comes into force;
  • d) levelling-up the whole of Wales with adequate levels of investment for all parts of the country;
  • e) calling on the UK Government to drop the increase in Employer's National Insurance Contributions and to reverse inheritance tax changes which are adversely impacting Welsh family firms and family farms; and
  • f) scrapping the default 20mph speed limit to get Wales moving.