Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. I move the amendment in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth. Plaid Cymru believes that the act of leaving the European Union will have a profound effect on Wales as a nation. Last week, we witnessed two major events that will enable the UK Government to take Wales and England out of the European Union. The fact that only two parts of the UK want to, and are definitely going to,...
Leanne Wood: Plaid Cymru’s entire approach to the exiting of the European Union is to make sure that no-one in Wales is worse off than they were before. Now, the agricultural industry could be one of the big losers in any post-Brexit settlement. In 2014-15, direct payments from EU funding accounted for an average of 81 per cent of net farm profit for all farm types in Wales. The UK Government has...
Leanne Wood: Will the Cabinet Secretary outline what the Welsh Government is doing to secure a future for farming in Wales?
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, in June last year you said that Labour had no chance of winning a general election. Why have you abandoned ship?
Leanne Wood: In the very same week that you said Labour had no chance of winning a general election, one of your senior front bench MPs in Westminster resigned and derided your leader, Jeremy Corbyn. You’ve now appointed him as your election co-ordinator for Wales. We’ve seen five different shadow Secretaries of State for Wales from the Labour Party since the last UK election—four in the last 12...
Leanne Wood: Such complacency. First Minister, people need a national party of Wales that is going to protect this nation’s interests, a party that will defend this institution, that will protect Welsh jobs, people’s pensions and our NHS. Labour is in no fit state to defend Wales and so the national party of Wales is Plaid Cymru. Tomorrow, there will be yet another vote on scrapping zero-hours...
Leanne Wood: 6. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans to improve access to primary healthcare? OAQ(5)0574(FM)
Leanne Wood: In my constituency, we’ve experienced big problems with GP retention and recruitment, and it’s of particular concern in the Rhondda because we have an ageing population and an ageing GP population to match. Last year, we saw the closure of Tŷ Horeb surgery in Treorchy, and, less than a fortnight ago, Maerdy surgery patients were told to go to Ferndale surgery because GP cover could not...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. You launched your election campaign yesterday, talking a lot about unity. But you couldn’t bring yourself to utter the name of your leader. Is Jeremy Corbyn still your candidate for Prime Minister?
Leanne Wood: First Minister, yesterday, you had a chance to put Wales on the political landscape, but, instead—I’m sure that Theresa May will be breathing a huge sigh of relief—three of your major pledges are devolved, and they were promises made ahead of last year’s election. And a fourth pledge, on policing, could have been devolved if only Labour MPs hadn’t had their own way. Now, the next...
Leanne Wood: We will now have to rely upon Plaid Cymru MPs to best set out how we can defend Wales. Why did you choose to let Theresa May off the hook?
Leanne Wood: They were promises you pledged before the last election. You should have already delivered on some of those pledges. First Minister, the reality is you have airbrushed your leader out of this campaign. You talk a lot about unity, but I believe that you’ve airbrushed him out of this campaign because you know that Labour can’t win. Now, you want to make the election about your record, about...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. Last week, the successful Time to Change campaign launched a pilot scheme in nine schools to tackle mental health discrimination and stigma. If this scheme is successful, we should see more young people coming forward to seek help for problems that they might have. So, can you tell us what additional funds you’ve made available for school counsellors and for training for...
Leanne Wood: We’ve not seen a massive reduction in waiting times, First Minister. You can fairly say that waiting times are no worse than they were before, but you can’t say that they are improved. It’s not clear at all what those improved outcomes are from this extra spending, but what we do know is that the number of children requiring counselling is going up, and that’s a good thing, because,...
Leanne Wood: You’re giving the wrong impression, First Minister, because it’s true to say that the waiting lists are no worse than before, and, overall, you cannot say—. You cannot claim, overall, throughout Wales, that they are better. Now, children and young people with mental health difficulties go an average of 10 years—10 years—before they receive specialist help. These are the people who...
Leanne Wood: I’m talking about the nation.
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. On behalf of Plaid Cymru, I’d like to express my condolences to Julie and the family, and to fellow party members, colleagues and everyone who knew Rhodri Morgan. I’m sure everyone who knew him had fond memories of him, not only as a leader of the country but as a person of kindness, humour and warmth. Many of us in this Chamber worked with him when he was First Minister....
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, people across Wales are grieving for those in Manchester and further afield following the horrific events last night. I’d like to pass on my condolences and solidarity with everyone affected. The senseless violence and the fact that there are children and young people among the victims has left the whole of the UK devastated. I know you made a statement...
Leanne Wood: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. While the facts as to who is responsible are still being established, we know that attacks like this can put enormous strain upon community relations in Welsh cities as well as in other parts of the UK. One of the objectives of extremists, aside from harming innocent people, is to divide communities. They want to make people fearful and suspicious of...
Leanne Wood: Diolch yn fawr, First Minister, and I’m sure that message will be appreciated by many communities throughout Wales and beyond. It’s important, First Minister, that everyone remains calm and that we don’t change the way we live our lives in the face of this senseless and tragic violence. People planning to visit our capital city in the coming weeks need further reassurance. Can you...
