Tories pledge tax cut if they win Senedd election

The Conservatives would take 1p off the basic rate of income tax in Wales if they take power in next year's Senedd election, the party's leader in the Welsh Parliament has pledged.

Darren Millar made the promise to reduce the rate to 19p in every £1 to mark exactly a year to go to the vote.

Calling it a tax cut for 1.7 million people, he said that under his plans the "average working family" would be "£450 per year better off, giving them the choice of where to spend more of their hard-earned money".

The Liberal Democrats said such a move would mean "sweeping cuts to our already struggling public services".

Reform indicated over the weekend that it aimed to go further and take either 1p or 2p off all income tax rates in Wales.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth called the May 2026 election a "golden opportunity" to vote for the "only credible pro-Wales government".

In a major speech on Tuesday, Labour First Minister Eluned Morgan said she would "call out" her colleagues in Westminster when they "get it wrong for Wales".

The Senedd has been able to adjust the basic rate, higher rate and additional rate of income tax by up to 10p since 2019 but has not done so.

Millar said his party would take "immediate action to cut taxes and put more money into the pockets of hardworking people across the country".

The party said the tax cut would shrink the Welsh government's budget by 1.15%, but efficiency savings would be made in all government departments while protecting funding for health, schools and farming.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds accused the Tories of "not being honest with the Welsh public".

"The only way they could afford these tax cuts would be to make sweeping cuts to our already struggling public services," she said.

The Conservatives previously promised a 1p tax cut before the 2021 Senedd election, if a target to create 65,000 new jobs was met.

Millar's announcement follows the release of a YouGov opinion poll on Tuesday suggesting the Conservatives were trailing in fourth place in Wales.

ITV Wales/Cardiff University's Barn Cymru Senedd election poll indicated the Tories have the backing of just 13% of the Welsh public, with Labour on an all-time low of 18%.

The survey put Plaid Cymru in the lead on 30%, with Reform on 25%, the Liberal Democrats polled 7%, and the Greens 5%.

After consulting its members, Reform Wales said it was "clear that cutting tax and waste must be front and centre at the next election", adding "Welsh people are overtaxed and underserved".

At a Plaid Cymru event in Cardiff Bay, looking forward to next year's Senedd election, Rhun ap Iorwerth will argue Wales is in "desperate need of a fresh start and new ideas after 25 years of Labour in charge".

"I invite everyone who believes in Wales and its possibilities to seize the golden opportunity and vote for Plaid Cymru next year as the only credible pro-Wales government," he will say.

YouGov's total sample size for the MPR Model survey was 1,265 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 23 and 30 April 2025.