Mr Neil Hamilton: I fully accept the logic of that. I just want to say to the First Minister that we came to this place to be constructive in opposition and we want to play the kind of role that Plaid Cymru claims now to be playing in relation to the development of Government policy, and so I just want to say that in relation to the black route or the blue route, my party is prepared to enter into discussions...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I fully accept the second point that the First Minister made and he will certainly have the full support of my own party in attempting to get rid of this major constriction on economic development in south Wales. But, as regards the M4 project, my party went into the last election on the basis of supporting the blue route rather than the black route. Our view is that the black route would be...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Bron i dair blynedd yn ôl, disgrifiodd y Prif Weinidog, David Cameron, y tagfeydd ar goridor yr M4 fel troed ar bibell wynt economi Cymru. Mae hynny, ynghyd â’r tollau ar bont Hafren, sy’n gweithredu fel rhyw fath o dreth ar swyddi a ffyniant yn ne Cymru, yn ei gwneud yn ofynnol i ni weithredu ar unwaith neu’n gyflym iawn beth bynnag, i ddatrys...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Will the First Minister make a statement on the administration of the Basic Payment Scheme in Mid & West Wales?
Mr Neil Hamilton: Like Andrew R.T. Davies and Leanne Wood, I congratulate all those who have been appointed to their offices in this administration, in particular Ken Skates, who informed me the other day that I bought him a drink in the House of Commons 20 years ago. I now look forward to toasting his success at his expense when he returns the favour. [Laughter.] The First Minister said in his statement that...
Mr Neil Hamilton: But the real problem with devolution in this country is not the degree of exports that we have from this country to the EU, but the flood of imports from China into the EU, which is causing paralysis throughout the steel industry in the whole of the EU. The problem that we face is that elected politicians, ultimately, do not call the shots in the EU. That’s why our recommendation is for the...
Mr Neil Hamilton: I have no difficulty in endorsing the criticism that you, as First Minister, have made of our Government for not supporting realistic tariffs on dumped Chinese steel. It is certainly—[Interruption.] It is certainly not UKIP policy to support the present level of tariffs in the EU. But what this does show us, first and foremost, is what happens when you outsource your trade policy to an...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Mr First Minister, you will have seen in the news this week that the United States has increased its tariffs on cold-rolled steel imports to the United States from 266 per cent to 522 per cent. This week, of all weeks, of course, we have all, in the forefront of our minds, the future of Port Talbot steel making. The EU, by contrast to the United States, has a 14...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Well, thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Yn gyntaf oll, hoffwn ddweud, wrth gwrs, fy mod i’n parchu eich awdurdod, fel Llywydd y Cynulliad hwn, ac rwy’n croesawu’r ysbryd o oddefgarwch a ddangoswyd gennych wrth wneud eich datganiad y prynhawn yma, ac, yn arbennig, gan nad ydych yn bwriadu cymryd unrhyw gamau pellach o ran yr hyn a ddywedais yr wythnos diwethaf. Nid oeddwn yn...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Certainly, Madam Presiding Officer. I merely wanted to reiterate that I meant no disrespect either to the Assembly or to any Member of it. I was trying to make a humorous point out of a serious issue. I realise that a sense of humour is an individual thing. I welcome what you said also about not wanting to chill the spontaneity of debate in this Chamber, and, indeed, respecting the rights of...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Well, Leanne Wood has said that she would not, in any circumstances, work with UKIP. That seems to me to be so exclusive a remark that it could easily be described as bigotry—that, you know, we are somehow untouchables. [Interruption.] Well, 15 per cent of the Welsh electorate don’t think we’re untouchables, because they vote for us, and that’s an insult not to us, but to them. So,...
Mr Neil Hamilton: The deal that has been done insofar as we can divine the details from press releases is the greatest non-event in this country since the millennium bug. And, it’s a shame that Leighton Andrews isn’t here today to participate in this debate, because he got into some hot water in the last Assembly for referring to a ‘cheap date’ with Plaid Cymru. When you look at the list of demands or...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Llywydd, like my predecessors in their statements this afternoon, I should like to congratulate you on assuming the office of Presiding Officer. I did, of course, second your opponent, Dafydd Elis-Thomas, and the curse of Hamilton struck again. But I nevertheless endorse the choice of my fellow Members of this Assembly, and I can promise you that, in spite of the start that we’ve made today...
Mr Neil Hamilton: Leanne Wood.
Mr Neil Hamilton: I’d like to second the nomination of Dafydd Elis-Thomas for Deputy—for Presiding Officer, sorry.
Mr Neil Hamilton: Yes—thinks.
