Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:35 pm on 6 July 2016.
I’m simply reflecting the views of business, and he’s taking a very selective view of the economic picture to justify the hell that has been unleashed on the markets. An economic policy based simply on the cheap exchange rate is a very short-sighted one, I would argue.
A few weeks ago, as David Rees, the Member for Aberavon, has already said, he and I met with the chief executive of Tata Steel in the UK, Mr Bimlendra Jha, here in the Assembly. It was clear from his conversation that if he was able to put a deal together to persuade the board of Tata in India to retain ownership of the UK plants, he would do his best, but he was worried about the liabilities of the pension fund and he was worried about the UK pulling out of the EU. Indeed, it is rumoured that a rescue deal was on the cards, but was pulled the morning after the vote. It is now harder to raise investment, so we cannot know whether the other bidders can proceed.
The future of all the works in Wales and the workers’ pensions is in doubt. So much for a better chance of survival being outside the EU. The Welsh Government, we know, has put money on the table, and Mr Jha made clear to us that Tata warmly welcomed that, in contrast to the lack of forthcoming information from the UK Government, who’ve yet to make good on their promises of help. But, the Brexiteers now need to deliver, and UKIP would do well to stop treating people’s fears as a political plaything.