COVERITLIVE.COM

11:53

Sion Barry Media Wales - Welcome to this live Media Wales webchat with the Tories' economic development spokesman in Wales, AM David Melding

11:54

David Melding - Fantastic to be here, impressed with Media Wales' new offices.

11:57

[Comment From Guest]
In your opnion is Wales now on the road to recovery from recession?

11:59

David Melding - I think the recession is coming to an end. Most of the evidence now points in that direction, however it seems likely that future growth will be sluggish in the UK and therefore in Wales. Also, I'm very concerned with the IMF report published today that shows the likelihood of a longer-lasting credit crunch in the UK than any other developed country.

12:00

[Comment From Guest]
What do you think of the decision by the Sun newspaper?

12:01

David Melding - This indicates a big shift in opinion going on and this is obviously welcome from a Conservative point of view. However, I agree with Neil Kinnock (for once!) - it's the voters who decide elections.

12:02

[Comment From Guest]
Have we seen the end of job losses in Wales or are there more to come?

12:03

David Melding - There probably are more job losses to come. When the recession started, many economists were predicting that unemployment in Wales would hit 150,000. I now think that it will peak at a lower figure than that, but we must remember that unemployment is a scurge every time it hits an individual.

12:04

[Comment From Larry]
Figures last month showed the number of people out of work in Wales climbed to 116,000 in the quarter to July, ending two consecutive months when Wales bucked a trend as the only UK nation or region to record falling unemployment. Doesn't this prove the Assembly Government's response to the recession has worked?

12:06

David Melding - Unemployment in Wales stands at 8.1% today, which is the highest level in the UK. The Welsh Assembly Government policies such as ProAct and ReAct have undoubtedly helped and unemployment would've been higher without the ProAct scheme i particular. So I would give the Welsh Assembly Government a grade B for how it has responded. It is past mistakes in economic development policies that have caused some of the worst difficulties we face, not this recession alone.

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