Well, it’s my view that we in north Wales—and I speak as someone who was born there, grew up there and who lives there—has as much to offer the Northern Powerhouse as the Northern Powerhouse has to offer north Wales. We have a good deal to contribute. It’s predicted that up to 70,000 jobs can be created in the next two decades in north Wales. I’m confident that that can be achieved through a greater degree of cross-border collaboration. I do not see cross-border collaboration in any way, shape or form as a threat to the culture or the language of Wales. Particularly for north Wales, I think that by being closer together, by working closer together, we can create more jobs, more opportunities.

At the moment, the region contributes something in the region of £35 billion to the UK economy. The growth potential is enormous, but we also should recognise that if we are not part of a cross-border alliance then there is a risk that with the city deals, with the momentum that is behind the Liverpool city region, Manchester city region and the Cheshire and Warrington local enterprise partnership, that we could end up in competition with those cities and those county areas. We would not wish that to happen if, instead, we can collaborate and offer a regional economy where we are all offering something that’s complementary.

Twenty thousand people each day cross the border from Wales into England. Twenty thousand people cross the border from England into Wales. As far as people who are accessing jobs are concerned, the border doesn’t exist. So, what we need to do is ensure that growth on both sides of the border benefits both sides in terms of the people who live there.