M4 relief road and income tax cuts in Welsh Tories' election manifesto
Getty ImagesThe Welsh Conservative party says it would save the average working family £450 per year in income tax cuts and would build an M4 relief road if it wins the Senedd election.
On Tuesday the party will become the first to launch a manifesto for May's election, with Senedd Tory leader Darren Millar promising to "put more money into the pockets of hardworking people" when he unveils his plans in Cardiff.
In addition to promising to cut 1p off the basic rate of income tax, the party said it would also demand referendums on council tax increases over 5% and scrap Welsh stamp duty on the purchase of a main home.
Millar is expected to say at the launch that Wales is "crying out for positive change".
Each political party will publish a manifesto - a list of pledges explaining to voters what it would do if elected - ahead of the 7 May election for Wales' parliament.
The Tories have performed poorly in recent opinion polls, suggesting they could come fourth at the election for the Welsh Parliament.
Although publicly the party is saying it could form the next government, privately its politicians acknowledge it could have a smaller role and lose seats in the new, larger Senedd.
It won 16 at the last election in 2021, making it the second largest party at the time, although it has lost Senedd members since then.
At the manifesto launch event in Cardiff, Millar is expected to pitch his manifesto as a "positive plan to unleash economic growth, create jobs, promote home ownership, cut taxes and waste, put more money into the pockets of hardworking people across the country, and fix our public services".
"People in Wales are crying out for positive change, this is our credible and costed plan to deliver just that," he will say, adding that people would be "better off under a Welsh Conservative government".
A vote for Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Liberal Democrats or Welsh Labour is a "vote for more of the same", he will say, calling neither Reform UK or the Green Party "credible or serious".
Costings were not given by the Welsh Conservatives for their policies on Monday night.
However, a Welsh government ready reckoner - a tool which estimates how policy changes would impact finances - estimates that a 1p cut would save individuals about £220 per person, and collect £311m less in tax which the Welsh government would have to find from its budget.
Taxpayers pay the basic rate of 20% on the first £50,270 of earnings, after the personal allowance of £12,570 is taken into account.
The Welsh government is able to vary tax rates, but under Labour has never done so.
The Tories say they would deliver an M4 relief road - a project to bypass the existing M4 by building a new motorway on the Gwent Levels to tackle congestion on the motorway.
The scheme was ditched by the former first minister Mark Drakeford in 2019 because of its cost and environmental impact - at the time it was thought to cost £1.6bn.
Tories also promised to upgrade the A55 and make the A40 to Fishguard in Wales a dual-carriageway.
Other pledges include capping council tax increases and a requirement for a local referendum on hikes over 5%.
The party says it would re-establish the Welsh Development Agency to attract inward investment, promote business growth and create jobs.
A £1,000 tuition fee discount is promised for students studying science, technology, engineering or maths subjects.
Fees for nursing, medicine, teaching and dentistry students who study in Wales and work for five years in the Welsh NHS or the country's schools would also be refunded.
The Tories also promised to boost the farming budget by £100m, and implement a moratorium on large wind and solar farms.
No further powers would be sought for the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, and the Tories promised not spend any money on non-devolved matters, and reverse the increase in the number of Senedd members.
