Sir Keir Starmer faces the spectre of a rival 'real Labour' party led by Jeremy Corbyn, friends of the ex-party leader claimed last night.

[JamesWales]

Wales has very limited additional tax raising powers.

It can only vary income tax rates via a referendum and you and I know how the public would vote in such a plebiscite.

It can vary stamp duty (which it does) and landfill tax but neither do, or would, bring in substantial sums.

All other tax and welfare rates are set in Westminster.

More than 80% of the Welsh budget is decided in Westminster.

Unlike Westminster, Wales has no powers to borrow money apart from up to £1bn for very specific reasons and certainly not for day-to-day expenditure. Oh and we have to borrow that from Westminster.

So not really a "combination of the two" James.

Well, it is a combination of the two. And Drakeford considered raising them here not long ago. You also have stamp tax, business rates etc, so it is a mix.

The bulk comes from a block grant from Westminster, that is true, but the WG can raise extra money if they wish, and they have 100% control over how the block grant is spent.

They should be scrutinized by us in Wales far more than they should, given we underperform at almost every level nowadays unfortunately.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...ncome-25844092

[the other bob wilson]

Well, it is a combination of the two. And Drakeford considered raising them here not long ago. You also have stamp tax, business rates etc, so it is a mix.

The bulk comes from a block grant from Westminster, that is true, but the WG can raise extra money if they wish, and they have 100% control over how the block grant is spent.

They should be scrutinized by us in Wales far more than they should, given we underperform at almost every level nowadays unfortunately.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...ncome-25844092

You Tories, understandably I suppose, seem to have given up on trying to back the Westminster Government and are now trying to tell people that it’s really the Welsh Government that is to blame for the shambles of the last fourteen years.

Picture the scene at the annual meeting between the leaders of the Welsh and UK Governments where the former tells the latter how big the budget they will receive for the upcoming year is going to be. The UK Government feebly tries to reduce how much they have to give to the Welsh, but are given short shrift and told to stop bleating and pay up.

If that really were the case, then maybe you and the multis in this thread may have a point, but we all know it isn’t. You seem to have a problem with the concept of the partial independence Wales has - as I keep saying, any Welsh Government representing any party cannot be wholly blamed for our standard of living (worse than in 2010 according to plenty of studies I’ve posted links to on here in recent months) in Wales if they are not wholly independent from the UK.