Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has hit out at the Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies MS today during a heated exchange in the Senedd.
During the exchange, Davies pushed Drakeford to take action on NHS Wales' ambulance response times, reading out stories from constituents who had seen waiting times in excess of 15 hours before having an ambulance sent out to them.
He suggested the First Minister was passing the blame of his government's failings onto the UK government.
Davies said: "You haven't said once in response to my two questions the solution that the government is proposing to take this pressure out of the ambulance service and allow them to get on with the job that they do".
Drakeford said he wanted to invest more money in services, but criticised Davies' party's policy: "You have chosen to use that language here this afternoon. And what do those people face? They 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.”
Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has hit out at the Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies today during a heated exchange in the Senedd.
Drakeford grew increasingly frustrated, eventually snapping at the Welsh Conservative leader and angrily flipping through his notes as he raised his voice: "It is absolutely shocking to me that you think that 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.
"That you promised those people that there will 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?"
Those sitting around Mr Drakeford nodded and banged their desks.
Presiding Officer Elin Jones interrupted the exchange in an attempt to cool tempers: "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 just to calm down."
Addressing the conflict on Twitter later in the day, Davies said: "The First Minister can shout all he wants. But he can’t escape the fact. There’s only one of us who has voted to cut an NHS budget. And it’s not me."
Davies suggested the First Minister was passing the blame of his government's failings onto the UK government.
