Mark Reckless: May I just carry on for a little while? I think there was probably much to and fro between the UK Government and the European Council in terms of seeing each other’s drafts and commenting, and already a degree of, if not of negotiation, at least mutual feedback. That doesn’t appear to have happened with the devolved administrations, and I share some of the First Minister’s regrets about...
Mark Reckless: Finally, like the First Minister, I don’t want to see tariffs, but on most standard economic analysis, it is just wrong to say that the whole of any tariff is borne by the consumer. You have a demand and supply curve, and as the price rises, consumers buy less, so that squeezes out marginal supply, with the remaining supply being at a lower price from the overseas supplier. Now, how much of...
Mark Reckless: Can I just say, almost all my speech was dedicated to the draft negotiating mandate, and I identified about three or four things that I thought were really positive, and actually could allow a good negotiation in our mutual interest and showing respect to the EU position?
Mark Reckless: 8. Will the First Minister make a statement on the appropriate magnitude of borrowing for the Welsh Government in the UK context? OAQ(5)0567(FM)
Mark Reckless: First Minister, whether the question is £1 billion or £1.5 billion of borrowing for Wales, or £500 billion of borrowing for the UK, your answer seems to be the same: ‘Let’s borrow; it’s cheap.’ There seems to be less consideration to how we would pay that money back or what would happen if interest rates go up. Do you seriously believe it’s appropriate for the UK to borrow 300...
Mark Reckless: 1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the number of uncontested seats in Welsh local government elections? OAQ(5)0126(FLG)
Mark Reckless: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his answer and congratulate the 92 councillors who have been elected unopposed, many of whom may be well known in tight-knit communities. He said 12 per cent were elected unopposed in 2012. The only figures I have are actually 8 per cent in 2012 and 2008, so I’m not sure what explains that discrepancy. I wonder, in light of the experience in Scotland,...
Mark Reckless: Following the very welcome abolition of the Severn tolls, and we hope the construction of an M4 relief road, does the First Minister agree with me that the importance of rail as an alternative to integrate with the road system only increases? And does he welcome the decision of his Cabinet Secretary that the Magor-Undy proposal for a new train station should be taken forward, as well as...
Mark Reckless: In 2010-11, UK Government spent £177.3 billion on social security, including pensions. In 2016-17, that was £212.6 billion. What would the Welsh Government like to see spent?
Mark Reckless: Not only did the Conservative group support my motion in November 2016 to scrap the tolls following their return to the public sector, but a Conservative Government in 1992, of which I think the previous Member may have been a Minister, legislated for those tolls to be scrapped following the return of those bridges to the public sector. I think one thing I just hugely welcome about this...
Mark Reckless: Will the Cabinet Secretary take an intervention?
Mark Reckless: You were saying that this has been championed over many, many years. When I asked the First Minister, he said it had been championed since the Labour manifesto in 2016. I think prior to that, he’d suggested keeping the tolls to fund the relief road.
Mark Reckless: Does he agree that a significant proportion of the subsidies to fossil fuel currently are in respect of decommissioning in the North Sea and, presumably, that’s something he wants to see rather than the oil infrastructure simply left there?
Mark Reckless: Will the First Minister reconsider the future curriculum for Wales and the extent to which it will be based on changes that we’ve already seen in Scotland in light of both the declining trend in Scottish PISA results and the decline in support for the SNP, who have overseen that curriculum?
Mark Reckless: I’m not sure what country the Counsel General thinks the EU has an agreement like TTIP with, which is far broader in scope than any previous trade agreement. But is it not the case that for WTO members, even if they lack a free trade agreement with each other, there is still customs facilitation? The vast majority of our trade with non-EU countries, including the US and China, for which...
Mark Reckless: Will the First Minister make a statement on the financial priority the Welsh Government gives to health and social care?
Mark Reckless: Would the First Minister reconsider how the Innovation Wales strategy supports a digital cluster in south-east Wales, and, in particular, review what more could be done to support cross-border research and development, given the increasing importance of the Bristol economy in digital technology?
Mark Reckless: Tomorrow, there is a motion from Plaid Cymru proposing that the National Assembly for Wales asserts itself as the national parliament of Wales—except it seems when it comes to a consistent approach to Standing Orders, particularly when they inconvenience—[Interruption.] Particularly when they inconvince Plaid Cymru—[Interruption.] I’m sorry?
Mark Reckless: Is that the intervention?
Mark Reckless: The motion, Llywydd, that you’ve put forward proposes we should act in accordance with Standing Orders 17.2R and 17.2A, but what about Standing Order 17.2B? That states: ‘In tabling a motion under Standing Order 17.2A, the Business Committee must have regard to the need to ensure that the balance of chairs across committees reflects the political groups to which Members belong.’ If this...
