The Tories’ leader in the Senedd will meet the first minister on Tuesday for initial talks on whether they can do a deal on the Welsh government’s budget.
Eluned Morgan needs help from the opposition in the Welsh Parliament to get £27bn worth of spending plans through the Senedd next January.
The Conservatives have called for stamp duty to be scrapped. Their approach is an unusual move, with the party not usually involved in budget talks in the Senedd.
A Welsh government source said the “door is open for all parties”.
Last week the Welsh government warned of disastrous cuts, including “mass redundancies”, if it is unable to pass the budget for the next financial year.
That is because the law that governs the Senedd mandates automatic cuts if the parliament cannot agree.
Both the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru say they want to avoid that – the Tories are the first to publicly talk about any discussions taking place.
On Monday evening Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Liberal Democrats say no discussions are currently happening between them and Labour.
However Jane Dodds, the Welsh Lib Dems’ leader and only member of the Senedd, said she was “open to see how we can work together to ensure the full full budget is passed”.
Dodds had supported the Welsh government earlier this year in a deal that included a ban on greyhound racing.
That happened prior to the death of Caerphilly Labour MS Hefin David, when Labour was only one seat short of a majority and relied on a single extra vote.
The arithmetic will become more difficult should the party lose the Caerphilly by-election on Thursday, forcing Labour to look further than just the Lib Dems.
It is unlikely that the Tuesday afternoon meeting between Morgan and Millar will result in an immediate deal.
So far the Welsh government has only published an outline draft of what it intends to do next year, and has left aside £380m before any talks with opposition parties.
Millar has called for the Welsh version of stamp duty, land transaction tax, to be abolished.
Mark Drakeford, who as finance secretary is in charge of the budget process, ruled out totally scrapping the tax but is open to amending it.
The first minister and the Conservative leader exchanged letters after Millar’s initial offer last week. In her letter to Millar, Morgan asked the Tory Senedd leader to speak to Drakeford.
She said: “I would be pleased to meet you to discuss the ideas you have set out.
“However, I would be keen for the finance secretary and your party’s finance spokesperson [Sam Rowlands] to have more detailed discussions.”
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar, said he was looking forward “to a constructive meeting”.
He added: “It is essential that the Welsh government’ s budget gets our economy moving and reflects the priorities of the people of Wales, not the priorities of politicians in Cardiff Bay.
“A key part of our plan to fix Wales includes cutting taxes, including stamp duty. This will form part of the discussions which will now take place.”
A Welsh government source said: “The first minister said in the Senedd she was open to talking to all parties to avoid the devastating consequences of no budget deal.
“The Conservatives have taken up the offer to talk. The Lib Dems have frequently been in contact with the Welsh government through their budget deal last year. The door is open to all parties who feel they can put their values into practice in setting the Welsh government budget for 2026-27.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: BBC
