Delyth Jewell: On the first Saturday of this month, thousands gathered in Penderyn Square in Merthyr for a march for independence. However, many were unable to attend due to the lack of sufficient capacity on train services to Merthyr. Many trains were packed to the brim, with some trains bypassing some stations altogether due to the carriages being full from Cardiff Central. It simply isn't good enough to...
Delyth Jewell: The Scottish Court of Session found that Boris Johnson misled the Queen about his reasons for wanting to prorogue Parliament. The Prime Minister had said that it was so that a Queen's Speech could be introduced, but the judgment made it clear that there was documented evidence that the true reason was to stymie parliamentary scrutiny of the Executive. The English High Court did not contradict...
Delyth Jewell: 3. Will the Counsel General provide an update on the Welsh Government's intervention in the High Court prorogation case, ahead of the Supreme Court appeal? OAQ54308
Delyth Jewell: So, after months of will he/won’t he?, now we know the calibre of our Prime Minister, and I do not say it with admiration. Boris Johnson is a man who is without any sense of shame or, indeed, any care for the weight of history and how wanting it will find him. When Johnson was elected, he was commonly considered to be an experiment, a, 'Once more unto the EU, dear friends', a last-chance,...
Delyth Jewell: I'd also like to thank David Rees for his excellent chairmanship of the committee, and the officials who do such a sterling job in assisting our work. I consider it a privilege that I'm able to play a part of a committee that's doing this important work relating to Brexit in this crucial, bizarre time in our politics, and with people from across different parties who want to take the issues...
Delyth Jewell: The LIFE and biodiversity fund of the European Union for reviving certain species and funding environmental projects has invested €65 million in Wales over the last 25 years, and the fund bridges research, development and inclusion, and it funds innovative technologies too. There are a number of projects that have been funded through this, including Celtic forests and essential peat bog...
Delyth Jewell: Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's efforts to protect biodiversity in South Wales East?
Delyth Jewell: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I wonder if we could take a moment to reflect on the regrettable and bizarre situation that we're in. We're talking about preparedness for various Brexit scenarios, every one of which will result in us being worse off than we are now. We are preparing simply to minimise the damage we inflict on ourselves. I welcome much of the Welsh Government's preparation, but it is...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you for your response. You may be aware that the decision to close Pontllanfraith leisure centre was recently overturned, on the basis that Caerphilly County Borough Council had failed to take into account the effect of closure on disadvantaged people in the area as part of its equality duty. Minister, would you agree that the council failed in its duties to disadvantaged people in...
Delyth Jewell: 2. Will the Deputy Minister make a statement on Welsh Government efforts to promote equality in South Wales East? OAQ54283
Delyth Jewell: The building that we're debating in is often celebrated for its architecture, its concave ceiling, its sloping walls. The contours of the space itself remind us of not just the principles of openness and transparency in democracy, but also the, at times, circuitous path we've taken to get here, winning the vote in 1997 by a whisker and the work that's happened in the past 20 years to engage...
Delyth Jewell: On the morning of the day that the Prime Minister announced this review of devolution, I received an e-mail from you, Minister, giving an update on the work that you've been doing to try to improve inter-governmental working in your role as the Welsh Government representative on the JMC(EN). You announced that the committee had agreed draft principles on how those relations should be...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Minister. The Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language told the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee recently that your Government is developing red lines in relation to devolved areas that it does not wish to be included in future trade agreements. Minister, can you tell us what those red lines are? She also told us that the Welsh Government...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Minister. That was a valiant attempt to justify the latest manifestation of your party's Brexit policy, though I suspect people watching will want to draw their own conclusions as to whether that argument holds water. Boris Johnson recently said that if he were Prime Minister, he'd want a strong Conservative influence over how the EU funding replacement scheme—the shared...
Delyth Jewell: Minister, do you therefore agree that, if there is a general election, it would make sense for people who wish to see Labour campaign to remain in the EU in any future referendum to vote for parties that will campaign to remain under any circumstances?
Delyth Jewell: Minister, Labour's new Brexit policy is to support a referendum on Brexit and a campaign to remain if Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt is Prime Minister, while intending to renegotiate and leave if Jeremy Corbyn is Prime Minister. I'm sure people who've been following the evolution of Labour policy will conclude that there have now been so many backward steps to accompany every forward step that...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, but, with respect, I would say that the purpose of the commissioner’s office is to safeguard and reinforce the status of the Welsh language, not non-Welsh speakers. I think that might confuse the function generally if it were to be done through the same office. But thank you for that intervention. Perhaps it’ll come as no great surprise—and I would say this—when...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. As with any ambitious statement of intent on the kind of nation that we want to create here in Wales, be that a statement of a climate emergency or securing the future of the Welsh language, we must ensure that the ideal is reinforced in our actions and our political priorities. We must recognise that it’s no easy task to overturn the situation of the...
Delyth Jewell: As regional Member for South Wales East, I am acutely aware of the need to address the congestion issues around Newport. Now that the relief road has been abandoned, which we have welcomed, we need to look at alternative ways of addressing those specific issues, alongside upgrading our transport infrastructure to make it fit for us as a twenty-first century European nation. Yes, it is...
Delyth Jewell: Thank you for that enlightening contribution, Mark. A WTO Brexit would also lead, however, to a trade embargo, resulting in the halting of exports of UK animal-based products such as meat, eggs and dairy to the EU—I wonder if you would disagree with that as well—a double whammy as this would be for Welsh farmers, courtesy of the Brexit Party. We also have, of course, this lamentable claim...
