Part of the debate – Senedd Cymru am 6:40 pm ar 28 Mawrth 2023.
I'm very sorry to hear the tone of the Government's contribution on this very important matter, because it seems to me to be nothing more than an attempt to simply try to reopen old wounds—old wounds that were healing—over the issue of Brexit. And I know you want to keep refighting those old battles, but, frankly, you've already lost. The majority of people in Wales—and I know it's an inconvenient truth that you don't like to remember, but—the majority of people in Wales voted to leave the EU, and one of the things that people have expressed concern about was the unnecessary red tape that sometimes the EU foisted upon businesses, farmers and people across Wales. And frankly, it's time to change the narrative. I'm fed up of the scratched record that is the Welsh Government bleating on constantly about Brexit. We need to start being a bit more positive, and to frame it positively—let me be clear about this, because I want to dispel some of the myths that you have further propagated today and which no doubt will be echoed by others in this Chamber later on—the truth is that this Bill will not weaken one iota any of the environmental protections we already enjoy in this country.
In addition, the UK Government has been absolutely clear that it is committed to upholding the current position on workers' rights here in Wales and across the UK. And just to put this into some sort of perspective, let's not forget that we already have better rights than most people across the whole of the EU when it comes to maternity and paternity leave and pay, when it comes to a national living wage and a national minimum wage, and when it comes to the all-important issue of annual leave, which is longer here as a minimum requirement than specified in EU law. I'll happily take the intervention.