Mr Neil Hamilton: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on what the Welsh Government is doing to support leisure centres across Mid and West Wales? OAQ(5)0246(FM)
Mr Neil Hamilton: I thank the First Minister for his reply. He is a well-informed chap, and I am sure he knows that there is a public meeting tonight in Knighton to consider the proposal by Powys County Council to close the leisure centre in Knighton. This will be very bad news for the town, of course. Mary Strong, the headteacher at the primary school, says that the school uses it every single day; that it...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Diolch, Lywydd. The Government, a few days ago, announced that there would be a cut to the budget for climate change projects of 36 per cent. As UKIP stood in the last election on a policy of cutting this budget, I am glad to see that the First Minister is coming our way, just as on managed migration. But, I think it’s rather quixotic that the big cuts are coming in flood defences, which...
Mr Neil Hamilton: The First Minister will know that I believe these are mere oscillations—and all the historical evidence proves that. But I’m interested in the effect upon the life and livelihoods of our electors of government policy. He will know that 23 per cent of households in Wales are in fuel poverty on the Government’s own definition—that’s 291,000 households—and that 20 per cent of the...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Well, the First Minister will know that the percentage of electricity generated by wind power or solar energy is minute: typically between 3 per cent and 5 per cent. So, the idea that energy security can be obtained by more and more windmills is nonsense and would result in the utter desecration of our countryside as well. But I’m interested in the impact of green taxes upon poor people....
Mr Neil Hamilton: I share the disappointment and frustration that have been eloquently expressed by the Cabinet Secretary and other Members who have spoken this afternoon. But isn’t this decision one of many that fall to be made as a result of the decision by the UK Government, enthusiastically supported by all other parties in this Assembly, to cut the defence budget and reduce the army to a mere 82,000...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Will Counsel General agree with me that it’s perfectly lawful to challenge the independence of judges? Indeed, the Bill of Rights of 1688 specifically provides for this because a judge may be removed from office upon resolution of both Houses of Parliament. In the Supreme Court case involving General Pinochet, on whether he had immunity from prosecution as a former head of state in Chile,...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I’m merely talking in terms of constitutional principle and I’m not expressing a view on any individual judge. For myself, if I may say, I don’t personally have any problem with this judgement in the High Court. It seems to me that there shouldn’t be any difficulty in Parliament providing a means for a vote on the issue if that is what is required, and it’ll be interesting to know...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Cabinet Secretary spoke for us all when he said we must never forget those who courageously gave their lives to protect the freedoms that we have today. And this isn’t an occasion for making party political points, in my opinion, on the eve of Remembrance Day, and if we are, from time to time, constructively critical of the Cabinet Secretary, it’s...
Mr Neil Hamilton: 3. What discussions has the Minister had on the proposed reopening of the railway line between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen? OAQ(5)0064(EI)
Mr Neil Hamilton: I’m grateful for that reply. Picking up on a point well made by Adam Price earlier on that communities in Mid and West Wales’s need to feel more integrated with the prosperous areas of south-east Wales, does the Cabinet Secretary agree that the rebuilding of this railway line could make a contribution to that? The line was closed at a time when there was enormous pessimism about the...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I congratulate my friend Mark Reckless on the impressive way in which he chairs the committee and the way he has delivered his statement today. Also, I would like to commend the committee for the serious job of work that all members of it are doing. I’m not normally associated with the word ‘consensus’ very much, but I am delighted to hear that the committee has arrived at a broad...
Mr Neil Hamilton: This has been a very interesting debate and I’ve learned quite a lot from the speeches that have been made on all sides of this Chamber. I’m very pleased, on behalf of my party, to support the Plaid Cymru motion today. I was very pleased to hear the note of optimism that Dai Lloyd struck a moment ago and the point he made about the connection between Welsh and the Basque language and...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Maybe Mr Trump will want to make me the ambassador to Moscow as he wants to make Mr Farage the ambassador to Brussels. But one of the reasons why I’m relishing being in this place is the opportunity to improve my Welsh skills. But that’s enough reminiscence from me. I agree with everything that’s been said in this debate so far. It’s certainly true that Welsh language education is...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Yes. I just wanted to acknowledge the considerable increase in funding that the Government has brought forward, up from £16 million in 2013-14 to nearly £30 million next year. I believe that we should, as an Assembly, commend the Government for that and I think that we should all, therefore, be reasonably optimistic about the future.
Mr Neil Hamilton: Will the Minister provide an update on what the Welsh Government is doing to improve health and well-being for all in Mid and West Wales?
Mr Neil Hamilton: Diolch, Lywydd. Further to the question from Gareth Bennett earlier on about President-elect Trump, will the First Minister acknowledge the vital importance to Wales of trade with the United States? Twenty-two per cent of our exports go to the United States. That amounts to nearly £3 billion a year. It’s the biggest single national destination for our exports, compared with Germany, for...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Well, nobody wants to do that, of course, and almost everybody in Britain at any rate wants to continue to trade with the EU on the same basis as we trade now, with tariff-free access. The danger with the EU is that the European Commission and protectionist forces inside the EU will want to put up trade barriers against us, which will be cutting off their nose to spite their face because they...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Will the First Minister acknowledge that perhaps UKIP can assist in this process? He will no doubt have seen the charming photograph that appeared very recently of the interim leader of UKIP with the President-elect of the United States, and whatever he and I may think about both those individuals, nevertheless, insofar as we do have personal contacts that can be used for the benefit of...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Formally.
