Part of the debate – Senedd Cymru am 6:16 pm ar 18 Hydref 2017.
A gaf i ddiolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, i bawb sydd wedi cyfrannu i’r ddadl yma? Mae’n debyg fy mod i wedi siarad gormod ar y dechrau i allu ymateb i bob pwynt sydd wedi cael ei wneud wrth gloi fel hyn.
I’ll pick up on one or two of the contributions, and thank you for making those contributions. The Member for Delyn, of course, mentioned concerns about the devolution disconnect and she was asking about clarity around the proposed national football museum. My wish, certainly, is that it would be part of the network of national museums that we have in Wales. Certainly, when you look at the map, there is a gaping hole in north-east Wales in terms of having national museums in all parts of our country. There has been reference to the lack of national institutions in north-east Wales generally, and I think maybe that over the years has fed a little bit of the devolution disconnect that some people feel. So, that’s my response to your point there.
And I have to say, the contribution that we had from the UKIP Member for north Wales—you confirmed to me that you don’t support the third point of our motion today. That means that you don’t support better links between north and south Wales, you don’t support improvements to the Menai crossing, you don’t support additional support for young farmers in your region, more medical training in your region, business rate relief for community hydro schemes in your region, additional funding for Visit Wales in your region. You heard it here first, and that tells us all we need to know, I think, about your party.
Can I thank Simon Thomas for his contribution as well? Certainly, there’s a lot that we can build on in terms of the rural economy, but also the point that was made about tourism. Clearly, if parties in this Assembly want to do something to support the tourism sector in Wales, then certainly they can start with VAT and the Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer can start next month in his budget. I look forward to seeing Conservative Members of Parliament voting his budget down if he doesn’t walk the walk, or even supporting Plaid Cymru amendments, and I trust that there will be amendments to that effect in relation to VAT. In the meantime, this party is getting on with being an effective opposition, securing millions of pounds of additional investment for Visit Wales last year, millions of pounds of additional investment next year as well; that’s what effective opposition is about.
Just to address some of the amendments, which was something that I didn’t do in my opening remarks, I see that the Welsh Government has once again opted for one of its ‘delete all and replace with’ amendments in an attempt to highlight some of their successes, many of which, of course, I support. I just wonder how long the list would be for other parts of the country when I look at that list. We won’t be supporting the second amendment from the Conservatives, which, again, seeks to delete recognition of the numerous victories that we’ve secured in this budget, and, indeed, victories for some of the people who you represent as a party as well. The third amendment we’re happy to support in favour of devolving beyond Cardiff. You could argue that, of course, if we had a Government that truly did represent the whole of Wales and ensured equity of investment to all parts of the country, you might not need that amendment, but we are happy to support it.
So, with those comments and having been told I have three minutes and 25 seconds to sum up, I thank you all for contributing.