Neil McEvoy: It took freedom of information requests to reveal how desperate you were to go to the unpopular ceremony, and how cosy your relationship is with Alun Cairns. Last week, you voted against a motion of no confidence in the Secretary of State, even though key Conservative manifesto promises were broken, including rail electrification between Cardiff and Swansea. So, I wonder when you were...
Neil McEvoy: 6. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's efforts to encourage the UK Government to rebalance its spending on infrastructure? OAQ52466
Neil McEvoy: I'm disappointed to be here today to speak on this motion of no confidence in the Secretary of State for Wales. He should be Wales's voice in Westminster, but it's clear that he's not that at all. His record is one of absolute, utter failure. With Alun Cairns as Secretary of State, we've seen rail electrification cancelled. In how many countries in the world is it impossible to take an...
Neil McEvoy: Diolch. I didn't really expect a proper answer, so I'm going to give you an update on the LDP in Cardiff on behalf of residents, because your local development plan is bringing absolute chaos. Traffic jams already go on for miles, and yet there will be over 10,000 extra cars on those roads that are already rammed. There's no new infrastructure in place, no new public transport, and...
Neil McEvoy: 5. Will the First Minister provide an update on the implementation of local development plans in South Wales Central? OAQ52430
Neil McEvoy: Will you give way?
Neil McEvoy: There have been so many good questions raised today, some good points made. I want to focus on two things, really. Generally, this Government makes policies sound good—the lovely buzz words—but the reality at the sharp end and the front line is somewhat different. I wanted to focus firstly on integrated autism services and referrals. Because, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, there have been none; in...
Neil McEvoy: Leader of the Chamber, a couple of week ago, I asked the First Minister some questions about the new Wales and borders rail franchise, but he seemed to completely miss the point of my question. I asked specifically whether the rail infrastructure itself on the core Valleys lines was being handed over to a private company. I asked whether the Welsh Government had agreement from Network Rail to...
Neil McEvoy: First Minister, not so long ago you described it as odd that Wales doesn't have its own—
Neil McEvoy: Excuse me; I do apologise. It's not on the order paper. Ah, here you go. Sorry.
Neil McEvoy: Diolch, and thank you for your patience there. Not so long ago, you described it as odd that Wales doesn't have its own national cricket team. And it seems more odd now that Ireland is a full test member of the International Cricket Council, and Scotland is beating England in one-day internationals. So, where is Wales? I think many people here find it bizarre that a team called England, with...
Neil McEvoy: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on Welsh Government support for cricket in Wales? OAQ52353
Neil McEvoy: The post-Brexit scenario for farming in Wales looks bleak. A sovereign parliament could take a lead by making cannabis a new growth industry. There are so many medicinal uses for the plant, and it’s an emerging industry in many parts of the world. A sovereign Wales could control our own natural resources, and crucially derive income from them. I’ve had enough of seeing our natural...
Neil McEvoy: The great fault-line in Welsh politics today is between those who see Cardiff as our pre-eminent capital city and those who see London as that. I know where I stand. Wales has a great history. We were one of the first countries in Europe to have a civil law system under Hywel Dda as far back as the tenth century. Owain Glyndŵr, the great visionary of the fourteenth and fifteenth century, saw...
Neil McEvoy: Thank you, Llywydd. Today, I stand here as a Welshman fighting for democracy here in Wales.
Neil McEvoy: Wales needs a people's Parliament, sovereign and legislating in the Welsh national interest. It's an old concept called democracy. In this debate we have direct democracy in action. I wanted the public out there to decide what should be discussed today, so on social media we asked constituents to tell us what they wanted to talk about. There were a load of interesting comments from...
Neil McEvoy: We debated the mud from outside Hinkley Point nuclear power station two weeks ago but we didn't get answers to some really serious questions. So, I want to pose again a question about the testing. In Kosovo, when mud was suspected of being radioactive, they tested using alpha spectrometry, gamma spectrometry and also plasma mass spectrometry. And yet, as to the mud that will be dumped not far...
Neil McEvoy: Okay. Diolch. Just before the recess, you announced the winner of the new Wales and Borders rail franchise, and it's already been pointed out that you have broken a manifesto commitment for a not-for-profit railway company. But it also seems now that you're privatising the infrastructure from the core Valleys lines as well, and that's a real concern after what happened the last time that the...
Neil McEvoy: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the awarding of the Wales and Borders rail franchise? OAQ52261
Neil McEvoy: Thanks. Yes, I'd just like to congratulate those involved with the project up there and also Nick for raising this as a short debate. I think there are huge gaps in provision. I get men in my office traumatised by many events that they go through. There is no provision for those men, especially those who are victims of domestic abuse because there's just nowhere for them to turn. Many of them...