Leanne Wood: Of course, buses and housing are what you should be providing anyway. The last time I pointed out the lack of investment in the Rhondda to you, you mentioned the Skyline project as something that could boost the local economy. Now, this is something that I would support; it chimes with the notion of communities taking control of local land and their own destiny, which was the basis of my...
Leanne Wood: You're making up quotes now.
Leanne Wood: You're making it up, aren't you?
Leanne Wood: 8. How will the Rhondda benefit from the Valleys Taskforce? OAQ54529
Leanne Wood: Okay. Well, I'm encouraged to hear that you're having those conversations, because this isn't just about the past—there are shoddy developments that are getting through planning committees right now as we speak. Just in August, Persimmon received planning permission for a development near the town centre in Bridgend—prime development land. It contained no provision for affordable housing,...
Leanne Wood: Okay, thank you very much. Minister, I think one thing that could happen is that there could be a change in planning law, to ensure that, especially the big developers who've profited from these frauds—and I use that word deliberately—can have their previous records taken into account as material considerations within the planning system. You've been on record as saying that some of these...
Leanne Wood: If there are small numbers of people involved, perhaps, Minister, you'd be prepared to meet with some of the people who've been affected by this, because it is something that's impacting severely on—
Leanne Wood: Last month, you issued a written statement saying that you were aware of a number of high-rise buildings constructed within the last 10 to 15 years that have significant defects. Now, I've received correspondence concerning buildings that fall into this category and it's appalling to read stories of young families trapped in unsuitable flats that they can't sell because nobody has taken...
Leanne Wood: The homelessness picture, I think, is something that we should all be deeply ashamed of. More people have died on the streets of England and Wales in the last five years than the British army lost troops in both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Homelessness is a choice, it isn't an accident, and we can choose to do something about it, or we can choose not to. I'm pleased that the Welsh...
Leanne Wood: I want to express my deep concern for the safety of Kurds in northern Syria. Despite being outgunned in many battles, the Kurds not only put a halt to the advance of Islamic State forces, but forced them to retreat. The Kurds did what western forces were unwilling to do on the ground, and they've paid a heavy price for that sacrifice. They're now running the prisons that hold thousands of...
Leanne Wood: It's not often that I agree entirely with something from Members from other political parties, but this is one of those occasions. I would also like to place on record my support for opening the Abernant tunnel in the Cynon valley, and any other tunnel in Wales that would prove beneficial for the local communities that it would serve. As a Member for the Rhondda, I'm sure you would expect...
Leanne Wood: Don't you think they've got mates?
Leanne Wood: The context, therefore, where a well-known online misogynist bully, who describes himself as a blogger, issued a snide passive-aggressive tweet, a thinly veiled attack on my colleague Delyth Jewell before she'd even started in her role and before she was in a position to properly defend herself, after I had seen this person issue attack after attack on mostly women, but others, including...
Leanne Wood: I may have a reputation for being robust in my response to trolls and bullies online, but I don't normally engage in language that some may consider to be unparliamentary. This is the first time that I've called someone 'an arsehole' on social media, and whilst I can't promise that I won't swear on social media ever again, I can understand why, on receiving a complaint, the standards...
Leanne Wood: Germany. Munich.
Leanne Wood: I've got photographs on my phone. Do you want to see them?
Leanne Wood: They're not going to have toilets, full stop, though. Disabled—
Leanne Wood: Not without toilets though. You've still got to have toilets on them.
Leanne Wood: You've been in charge of the railways a long time now.
Leanne Wood: But, so far, no toilets. Minister, I wish I didn't have to keep raising the train service in Wales with you, but things are getting worse. Services are being taken off the timetable; carriages are being taken off peak-time services on the Valleys lines. Now, I catch the train regularly and the peak-time experience is more often than not uncomfortable and bordering on unsafe. This is not just...
