Leanne Wood: Sure.
Leanne Wood: My predecessor was in office for one term, with very few economic levers, actually, to make an impact on a recession and the austerity policies that were being implemented by your party in Westminster. The areas where there are the highest numbers of people who voted to leave are the areas where there are most boarded-up shops or banks, where bus routes and community facilities have been...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Lywydd. I move the motion in the name of Simon Thomas and I’m happy to support the amendment, amendment 1, in the name of Jane Hutt. Our motion today comes as Theresa May becomes the new Prime Minister of the UK. She has said that she intends to implement the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. That withdrawal will occur after a sustained period of negotiations, with issues...
Leanne Wood: Minister, Cwm Taf local health board tell me that the reason that they are closing Horeb Surgery in Treorchy is because they can’t get another GP to work there; the existing GP is now going to work elsewhere having begged the health board for assistance. One colleague is working at the surgery for nothing at the moment in order to help her colleague out. The reputation of the health board...
Leanne Wood: 8. Will the Minister make a statement on doctor recruitment? OAQ(5)0029(HWS)
Leanne Wood: The need for decisive leadership for Wales is of paramount importance. Not only does this include the overseeing of the national response to Brexit, but the internal governance of our country itself. It includes the need to draw up a programme for government and also the need to reassess spending priorities in the light of EU funding programmes potentially coming to an end in just over two...
Leanne Wood: That’s not an issue of timing, First Minister. There is an issue of principle here. Okay, so, the Wales Bill is a matter that may not be of overriding priority for your MPs, but the future of the steel industry is critical. Wales without a steel industry is not a Wales that I am prepared to contemplate. The suspension of Tata Steel’s sale process is of significant concern. Now, the...
Leanne Wood: Thank you, First Minister. You’ll recall last week, when we discussed this, that I suggested that you needed to have a word with your Westminster Members of Parliament, and that you needed to tell them to get a grip and get on with their jobs. Last night the amendments to the Wales Bill were again debated in the House of Commons, and your MPs—the ones, at least, who turned up—abstained...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Lywydd. I very much look forward to the day when Wales is presided over by a woman First Minister. First Minister, tomorrow there will be a new Prime Minister, who says she intends to implement the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. Now, Plaid Cymru’s view is that the next Prime Minister must implement the pledges that were made to people in Wales by the ‘leave’...
Leanne Wood: Yes.
Leanne Wood: I welcome your contribution to that effect, and perhaps the Secretary of State would like to reflect upon that point. Perhaps he would also like to reflect upon the fact that this Bill, if enacted, will be the fifth time that devolution has been altered in Wales. The fact that we’ve had to change devolution five times, that doesn’t reflect some sort of generosity from Westminster, it...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Lywydd. I move amendments 1 and 2 in the name of Simon Thomas. In the aftermath of the EU referendum, Wales at the UK level is at the custody of a deeply divided Conservative Government. In fact, the entire Westminster establishment is racked by in-fighting, including the UK’s official opposition, the Labour Party. This has a series of implications for Wales, because the 2016 speech...
Leanne Wood: I thank you for that answer, First Minister. Now, in a different meeting that I attended yesterday in Cardiff, I heard from a representative of one of the sectors that will be heavily affected by the Brexit vote. We were told that the further education and skills sector could lose £760 million of future funding if that money isn’t replaced. If and when that funding doesn’t materialise,...
Leanne Wood: First Minister, I’m disappointed that you’re not prepared to show some leadership on this question. If you are not prepared to have a word with your own MPs, perhaps they’re prepared to listen to this message from me: voters in our constituencies want us to be their voice in this difficult time. They want us to tackle the racism that has risen in our communities, they want to get back...
Leanne Wood: Diolch yn fawr. First Minister, the Westminster political system is in crisis, with skulduggery and backstabbing going on in both the Conservative Party and your own party in London. And this has had a major effect on Wales and on our country’s future. Would the First Minister be prepared to have a word with Welsh MPs to tell them to get a grip and to do their job, which is to hold the...
Leanne Wood: From what I’ve just heard, it’s clear that the ‘leave’ campaigners have no plan and no clue about what we do next. That contribution that you just made gave us nothing tangible whatsoever. Last Thursday, Wales narrowly voted to leave the European Union, and the referendum campaign itself saw a tone of bitterness and uneasiness descend across the country and across the United Kingdom...
Leanne Wood: Turning now then to the wider picture within the UK and further afield, I want to see arrangements put in place to protect Wales’s constitutional status, our legislation, our funding, and our trading relationship with the rest of Europe while withdrawal takes place over the coming years. The UK Government is establishing a dedicated civil service unit to preside over Brexit, and the Prime...
Leanne Wood: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. The prospect of leaving the European Union has already plunged the UK economy into deep uncertainty. But, for Wales, there’s an additional risk to capital investment to some of your manifesto commitments, and to industry as well. The south-east metro, for example, is intended to be partly financed by European structural funds, which may only be...
Leanne Wood: Diolch, Lywydd. It’s with a heavy heart that I scrutinise you today, First Minister. I’ll respond in full to the EU debate later on. But, it’s important to focus on what you are responsible for now and, in particular, the delivery of public services, despite the wider political turmoil. Can I first of all say and put on record that we should all condemn the reported increase in racist...
Leanne Wood: I don’t disagree with you there, First Minister. We may well have disagreements on the future of the Welsh NHS and what needs to happen to safeguard it, but where we do agree is on our joint opposition to privatisation. Now, I wonder whether or not you think it’s more or less likely that the NHS will be opened up for privatisation in the event of a ‘leave’ vote. We know that...
