WELCOME the planned reductions in the Severn bridge tolls announced in the budget. The Severn bridge tolls are a current and significant financial burden for many businesses, commuters and motorists and will remain so after 2018. The tolls impact on where people choose to locate and do business, Plaid Cymru has repeatedly said that the ultimate goal should be to scrap the Severn bridge tolls altogether. I remain seriously concerned that the Department for Transport may find even the reduced tolls far too useful as a source of income to either eliminate or to hand over to the National Assembly in Cardiff. It is worth noting that relatively recent Labour Governments in Westminster with significant majorities and various shades of Con-

servative (and Liberal Democrat) Governments between 1997 and 2015 did nothing to relieve the burden of the bridge tolls. The future reduction in tolls is nice but it is frankly not good enough.

– Jonathan T Clark, Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly candidate for Monmouth.