Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 1:44 pm on 15 June 2016.
Well, well, well, we shouldn’t be surprised that the Member wishes to talk down the Welsh economy, but the very fact of the matter is that when we ignore the selective figures that he chooses to adopt and when we look at what’s happened since 1999, which is a fair indicator to begin with, there has been an 89 per cent increase in Welsh exports, compared to an increase of just 69 per cent for the whole of the UK. You talk about Brexit, but what would leaving Great Britain do to the Welsh economy? What sort of damage would that inflict on this country, on millions of people who require the British economy for work and for prosperity?
Presiding Officer, the facts speak for themselves: Welsh exports in the first quarter of 2016 were higher in value than in the previous quarter, up 2.9 per cent compared to a fall of 2.7 per cent in the UK. That is a key statistic that the Member chooses to ignore. In addition, what we know from the eastern bay link road is that, whilst there are pieces of scaffolding that have been sourced from Germany, which will be temporary, 89 per cent of the steel for reinforcing bars, which will remain in situ, are from Wales. That is something that we should be proud of; that is something that we should promote. I’m doing it. I wish the Member would too.