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There are very hard times ahead for the Welsh economy, and especially for those who can least afford to bear the burden of ConDem cuts. In the attached article, I explain why Conservative Chancellor, George Osborne is so wrong to claim that there is no alternative to his determination to slash and burn his way to a smaller state. I also show how the deficit could be tackled without causing such harm to working people, to pensioners and to those hundreds and thousands of people who will be thrown out of work over the months ahead.

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Here I want to highlight some practical ways in which help can be provided.

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In a little-noticed part of its plans, the Conservative-led Government in Westminster has announced that it will be handing over the responsibility for Council Tax benefit, and the Social Fund, to the National Assembly.  Both of these parts of the benefit system are really important. Council Tax benefit matters to thousands of pensioners up and down Wales, and here in Cardiff. The Social Fund is help of last resort – the final safety net for people who have nowhere else to go for assistance with basic survival.

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We need to harness the expertise of people in the voluntary sector, the welfare rights movement and in government itself in Wales, to design a scheme which protects those who are most at risk. Having chaired the Ely Citizens’ Advice Bureau for many years, and being a founder member of what is now the Cardiff Credit Union, I know how much these basic services matter. It’s no use at all pretending that life-line help can be left to charities or some mythical ‘big society’. Here in Wales we know that we all do better when we act collectively to solve common problems. If I am elected to the Assembly in May 2011, I plan to make tackling poverty in Wales one of my main campaigns