Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford shouts at Tory opponent in heated row over Liz Truss chaos

© Provided by The i Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford was involved in a heated exchange in the Senedd

The First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford appeared to lose his temper in a heated exchange with his Tory counterpart on Tuesday – as the UK economy faces ongoing turmoil under Liz Truss.

The Labour politician was left fuming during First Minister’s Questions when Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservative Group in the Senedd, blamed him for budget cuts that have led to hours-long ambulance delays in recent days.

Mr Drakeford said: “I agree that the Welsh ambulance service is under enormous pressure. It’ll be under far greater pressure when his party has finished cutting the budget of the health service, as Jeremy Hunt has said he intends to do.”

When Mr Davies, who supported Liz Truss’s leadership campaign, accused him of enacting cuts to the health budget, Mr Drakeford replied: “I understand how difficult it must be for the leader of the opposition to come here and ask questions today.

“But don’t let him believe that by shouting at me he will persuade anybody outside this Chamber. I’ve not heard ever a single word from him assuming responsibility for the actions of his Government.”

Barely containing his anger, Mr Drakeford continued: “People who work in the service face cuts to their pay because of the policy of your Government, and now they face cuts to the budgets that the health service itself will have at its disposal. It is shocking.

“It is absolutely shocking to me that you think you can turn up here this afternoon with the mess that your party has made to the budget of this country, to the reputation of this country around the world… you promised people there would be more to come, and you think you turn up here this afternoon and claim some sort of moral high ground. What sort of world do you belong in?”

The unusually heated exchange in the Senedd led to an intervention from presiding officer Elin Jones, who appealed to the leaders to “calm down”.

She said: “Can we take a moment here? I understand that the arguments and the feelings run high on these issues from a variety of perspectives, I understand some of the shouting taking place, but I won’t have people pointing in anger, and gesticulating in anger, at other people. Can we just take a moment to calm down?”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has signalled that a new wave of budget cuts should be expected as the UK scrambles to plug a £30bn black hole in the budget.

Mr Hunt said on Monday: “The most important objective for our country right now is stability. Governments cannot eliminate volatility in markets but they can play their part and we will do so, because instability affects the prices of things in shops, the cost of mortgages and the values of pensions.”