The Tory financial package to replace the existing job retention scheme will do little to help workers and their families anywhere, and we’re particularly aware of this in Wales.

The economic and social impact of this failure could be as devastating as Margaret Thatcher’s assault on the mining and manufacturing industry in the 1980s, the legacy of which remains with us to this day. For the past two decades, with the focused support of a Labour-led Welsh Assembly, now Senedd, there has been consistent economic growth in many areas of our economy, such as aviation, the creative industries and tourism.

Growing tourism has been a key objective of Welsh government. Saving our failing international airport in Cardiff – which had been forced into privatisation by the Tory government before it was bravely taken it into public ownership in 2013 – not only led to year-on-year growth in passenger numbers but also highlighted Welsh Labour’s commitment to the sector. The financial support provided for training and skills made a significant contribution to securing new work in tourism for the future.

Transport has been another key sector. The growth in Welsh tourism has boosted the coach and hospitality industry, creating thousands of jobs all over Wales. But due to the inadequacy of the government’s support package, these are some of the sectors that will now struggle to survive. They have clung on by their fingertips so far as the fallout from the pandemic has decimated revenue. The Welsh government scoured from every corner of the budget to alleviate the impact with support packages worth hundreds of millions, but it cannot provide the level of financial support necessary from the UK government.

Wales has been particularly successful domestically and internationally in the creative arts, the film and TV industry and live music, where an estimated 42,000 people work – many of whom are self-employed freelancers. Large sections of this industry have become dormant and may only survive with the help of a Welsh government package of support which amounts to £85 million. However, many of these freelancers are struggling right now, having fallen through the cracks in the UK-wide financial support scheme for the self-employed. They now have to rely on Universal Credit, which should never have been the case.

While the Chancellor tinkers, our European competitors are investing in the future, providing financial support to their workers, securing jobs and skills for a post-Covid economic upturn. Meanwhile, the UK’s problems will be compounded by government’s incompetent negotiations with the European Union and likely failure to secure a trade deal.

It is time for UK Labour to set out our alternative  economic strategy and vision for the future.  Covid may dominate the news and many of our thoughts right now, but increasingly the public focus is turning to jobs and the economy. We must make the case for a new deal for our public sector workers, the NHS and the care sector. When we say there is no going back to how things were before, we must really mean it – and show how things would be different under a Labour government.

There is no shortage of wealth in the country, the problem as always is that too much of it is in too few hands. We have to start putting the case for a fair taxation system, which inevitably means higher taxes for the highest paid as well as a wealth tax. We must commit to changing tax laws to ensure companies start paying their fair share of tax by closing the loopholes that allow tax havens and tax avoidance to thrive. Labour must also put the case for increased borrowing, at the historically low interest rates available, to bring forward housebuilding programmes and infrastructure projects such as new schools, railways, green public transport and renewable energy.

A few months ago, Boris Johnson announced £1 billion for new schools in England. It is a pittance. In Rhondda Cynon Taf , where I live, by the end of the year, one Labour council will have invested close to three quarters of a billion pounds over a decade in new schools through the Welsh government’s 21st century schools programme. In Wales, devolution of much of the Welsh rail network has led to hundreds of millions of pounds of new money being invested by Labour in new trains, new stations and rail infrastructure, as well as the possibility of reopening former railway lines. That is how we the post-Covid economy must look – with good quality jobs replacing those lost during this crisis.

As our dependence on renewable energy increases, now is the time to invest in major projects such as the Swansea tidal lagoon – which was shelved by the UK government in 2018. That is a project which would not only significantly increase our production of green energy but support the local steel industry and make Wales a world leader in tidal technology and energy, potentially creating thousands of green jobs.

We are showing what we can achieve in Wales but now is the time for UK Labour to be bold, to win hearts and minds for a progressive socialist agenda to build a prosperous, fairer and more equal society. Of course, it will not be easy. It wasn’t in 1945 – but look what we achieved then. We have to start winning the battle of ideas now.