Alun Davies: —which is what I would prefer, or I'm afraid you're on the route to irrelevance.
Alun Davies: I can see the time. The Conservatives have never ever recognised the democratic mandate of the people of Wales. When the people of Wales—[Interruption.] When the people of Wales—[Interruption.] When the people of Wales—[Interruption.] When the people of Wales—[Interruption.] I'll carry on, I've got the microphone working now.
Alun Davies: Look, I said at the beginning of my contribution that I was also compromising in supporting this, and that is the compromise that I'm making. The reason that this is important, and this is the reason why I'm astonished by the Conservative response to it, is that this is about holding the Government to account. Now, all of us in this Chamber learnt at the beginning of this Senedd that the...
Alun Davies: No, I've listened to you too much—is to read out the speeches that were written all for you. And Darren Millar accepted in his introduction that he didn't really think about a referendum. It hadn't occurred to him that it was important until he was told it was important by the Secretary of State. And let me say this, and let me say this in closing—
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to you, Deputy Presiding Officer and, like others this afternoon, I'd like to start my contribution by thanking all the members of the committee that looked at this and thanking Huw Irranca-Davies for his leadership of that committee. I'd even extend my thanks to Darren Millar. I accept he was placed in a difficult situation, but I know he also sought compromise on these matters...
Alun Davies: Tell Suzy Davies.
Alun Davies: Jane, would you take an intervention?
Alun Davies: You say they're Westminster-imposed boundaries, but, of course, they are the consequence of the work of the Boundary Commission for Wales. They're not imposed by anybody; they're designed to represent people, and it makes more sense to use boundaries that will become, or would become, understood, than to impose another set for no apparent reason.
Alun Davies: I believe the Chair was very generous about your numerous, I think he said, interventions in the committee. Those of us who've sat on committees with you are used to your interventions in these matters, of course. How many times did you argue for a referendum?
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and yes, being seen and not heard is something of a difficulty. But it was more difficult, of course, for Northern Ireland, because in the long debates, which were reported in the media, about the future of Northern Ireland—and people spoke from all parts of Europe, from all parts of the United Kingdom—there was nobody there to represent...
Alun Davies: We are, Minister, this month, marking the fortieth anniversary of the war in the Falklands. And it's important, I think, that, as a Parliament, we recognise the contribution of Welsh servicemen and women in that campaign. I met recently with the Government of the Falkland islands, along with our Conservative colleague Darren Millar, and we spoke there about the contribution and the links...
Alun Davies: I don't know what you were doing, First Minister, in 1973; I was in Dukestown Junior School in Tredegar. I'm not sure what Darren Millar was doing in 1973, but I'm sure he wasn't reading the report of Lord Kilbrandon, who reported at that time that Wales needed a Parliament of 100 members. Since then, we've had reports from Ivor Richard, from Laura McAllister, from everybody who's looked at...
Alun Davies: The right that we have today to discuss in safety and freedom these matters is a right that we should never take for granted. Our ability to have this debate is rooted in our knowledge and our information, and one of the great terrors that I feel today is that, whereas we've always disagreed sometimes across the Chamber in different parties and places about our interpretation of history and...
Alun Davies: Can I say I absolutely agree with the point that Darren Millar is making? And of course it's no accident, because what Stalin did, having committed genocide, was to ban information and to conceal his actions in Ukraine. And the ban on information that was instigated by the Soviet Government in 1933, I think it was, was in place until 1987. And it is little wonder, when people seek to commit...
Alun Davies: At the end of this period, Stalin forced many Ukrainians, a million Ukrainian people, to leave their homes and their villages, and they were transported, forcibly removed, from Ukraine to Russia. That is happening today. It is happening again. And when we speak about genocide, and when we speak about human suffering, let us also remember that none of these things were an accident. They were...
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to start by saying how grateful I am to Jane Dodds and Sam Kurtz, who are co-submitting the motion today, and to Rhun ap Iorwerth, who will summate the debate we have this afternoon. I'm also grateful to Janet Finch-Saunders, to Jenny Rathbone, to Mark Isherwood, to Peter Fox and to Vikki Phillips—Vikki Howells—who also supported...
Alun Davies: Thank you very much, Counsel General, and I don't think anybody's surprised by that. The Rwanda plan is, of course, inhumane, unworkable and very probably illegal as well. It is driven by the short-term interests of a right-wing Tory Government rather than any real attempt to find a solution that protects desperate people fleeing war, victims of human trafficking or a solution that genuinely...
Alun Davies: 4. What legal advice has the Counsel General provided to the Welsh Government regarding the rights of asylum seekers in Wales in the light of the UK Government’s plan to offshore asylum application processing in Rwanda? OQ57950
Alun Davies: I'm grateful to the First Minister for that answer. First Minister, we awoke to the news this morning that BP is making £1 billion profit every month, a £1 billion profit at a time when too many of the people we all represent in this place are terrified to see their next fuel bill and haven't got a clue how they will pay those bills. But, at the same time, we also know, First Minister, that...
Alun Davies: 1. What support is the Welsh Government providing to assist households in Blaenau Gwent with the current cost-of-living crisis? OQ57949
