Rhys ab Owen: Cardiff has been described, Trefnydd, as the fuel poverty capital of the UK, with a quarter of our residents here in the capital suffering in fuel poverty—higher than any other city or town in the United Kingdom. That is 91,000 people suffering. Can we please have a debate in Government time on fuel poverty and the cost-of-living crisis? Plaid Cymru welcomes the announcement today of...
Rhys ab Owen: For me, this afternoon encapsulates the problems we have as a Senedd with these legislative consent motions. My colleague Sioned Williams will speak on behalf of Plaid Cymru on the Nationality and Borders Bill, an appalling Bill that will lead to many deaths, part of a package of Bills being passed by the Westminster Government at the moment. Then, we have the Health and Care Bill, a Bill...
Rhys ab Owen: 'we would play hell with them.'
Rhys ab Owen: But this Senedd is not a soapbox; it is a legislature, a legislature that the people of our nation have voted for. In 2011, when the people voted with a huge majority in favour of primary law-making powers for this Senedd, they had no idea that we would consent to an appalling UK Government drawing back those powers. But, that is what can happen with that Bil, and that is also what is...
Rhys ab Owen: That's the Bill I'm discussing at the moment. This Bill will give conferred powers to UK Ministers to make secondary legislation within devolved areas. We don't agree with it, we won't give consent on this occasion, but then again, we're more than happy to give consent to the health and social care legislation. This Welsh Government cannot have the penny and the bun. Either we're unhappy that...
Rhys ab Owen: We cannot hold any despatch box promise to account. They can ignore it entirely, and we can kick up a fuss—
Rhys ab Owen: we can play hell as much as the health Minister wants—
Rhys ab Owen: and they will not listen. When, colleagues, will we say enough is enough? We will not pass more powers back, or, I can tell you, by the time of the next election, we will have a very different Senedd here. Look at the figures. In the first year of the fifth Senedd, there were 10 Bills brought through the LCM process, with 80 clauses. Already in this Senedd, which isn't 12 months old yet,...
Rhys ab Owen: Will you take an intervention?
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, Counsel General.
Rhys ab Owen: The fact that the Westminster Government won't even allow a reasonable request that the Welsh Government will consent to any changes they make, or any secondary legislation they make, within devolved areas—. Doesn't that show the complete disrespect they have for us as a Senedd?
Rhys ab Owen: Minister, before I ask my question, I saw this morning on Politico that it's your birthday and Peter Hain's birthday as well, so happy birthday to you. What better way to celebrate than answering questions here in the Senedd? Minister, one of the cornerstones of medical care in our communities is GPs, of course, and I know that you're very aware of the concern in a number of communities such...
Rhys ab Owen: Thank you very much, Llywydd. As everyone in this Chamber will know, 'democracy' comes from the Greek. It stems from the words 'demos' and 'kratia' that mean 'control by the people'. But the 'winner takes all' mentality dominates in Wales, and particularly in England at the moment—a system where one party takes the spoils, and the others are left empty-handed. This therefore leads to the...
Rhys ab Owen: You will hear non-Welsh speakers use the word, whilst speaking English—'chwarae teg', fair play. This current system is certainly not fair play. We have in Wales today parties that fall far short of gaining half of the electorate's vote, but gain control of 100 per cent of the executive. I'm confident that each Member of this Senedd are far more of a democrat than any party allegiance. For...
Rhys ab Owen: Wales is often described as a community of communities, but if democracy is to be strong in our nation, our communities must feel that they are represented and that their voices are listened to and heard.
Rhys ab Owen: Yes, I'll take an intervention.
Rhys ab Owen: If you listen for a bit longer, Gareth Davies, you'll find out—I'm about to get to that point.
Rhys ab Owen: Wales is a community of communities, but we must ensure that people's voices are heard and listened to.
Rhys ab Owen: One more example from the 2017 local elections: in the Whitchurch and Tongwynlais ward in the north of Cardiff, the Conservative Party won all four seats, even though 60 per cent of the voters did not vote Conservative. One hundred per cent of the seats, only 40 per cent of the vote; 4,092 votes in that one ward were wasted. This should not be about party politics, this should not be about...
Rhys ab Owen: I'm pleased that the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 enables a more proportional system to be adopted in local elections from this May onwards. But we need national leadership, or the old cliché of turkeys voting for Christmas comes to mind.
