A TORY politician ranted about views towards UK funding to devolved nations during a meeting in the Senedd yesterday.

Janet Finch-Saunders, MS for Aberconwy, asked why the Labour-led Welsh government never says “thank you” to the UK Government for the cash.

She told Counsel General Jeremy Miles that it is “tiring” to hear “whining and the moaning and the constant groaning” about funding.

The MS had told the meeting she was “quite happy” that Westminster would be sending £8 million to help with Wales’s freeport initiative.

Miles responded: “I didn't quite get from her rationale why she thought it would be appropriate that Welsh ports ought to be funded at a lower rate than ports in other parts of the UK, so I will ask her, please, if she could help me with that when she asks her next question. I do think it's an important part of standing up for the Welsh ports.”

Finch-Saunders responded angrily. “I’m sorry, but I have to dismiss the Counsel General again.

“Eight million pounds coming to Wales to help us with our free ports is a good news story, and, you know, it does get tiring to keep hearing the whining and the moaning and the constant groaning about when money is available to come here to Wales.

“Why don't you ever say 'thank you' to the UK Government?”

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The Labour MS said he didn’t recognise the world view in which the Welsh public should “be grateful for having investment made out of their own taxes in Wales”.

He denied making a constitutional point, and told the group he was stressing the importance of effective investment in the nation’s economy.

“I welcome investment in Wales,” he concluded. “I would welcome considerably more investment from the UK Government in Wales, deployed on reserved areas more effectively by them and on devolved areas by the Welsh Government.”

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Online, other Welsh representatives couldn’t believe Finch-Saunders’s comments.

Eluned Morgan, another Labour member of the Senedd and the government’s minister for international relations, wrote on Twitter: “Sorry for not grovelling with thanks for the money that we are actually entitled to under the Barnett formula!”

The Tory representative’s rant came ahead of a new poll, carried out by Savanta ComRes for ITV, which recorded the highest ever level of support for Welsh independence at nearly 40%.

The poll also put support for Scottish independence at 53%, while 43% of people in Northern Ireland said they would vote to reunify with the Republic.