4. 3. Plaid Cymru Debate: The Rural Economy

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:47 pm on 5 October 2016.

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Photo of Mr Simon Thomas Mr Simon Thomas Plaid Cymru 3:47, 5 October 2016

I’m grateful to all Members who took part in the debate. Clearly, this will be an ongoing conversation that we need to have, but I think three clear themes have emerged.

First of all, we must ensure that there is no holding back of the powers or resources in London when we move away from the European Union. It was very disappointing to me that Andrew R.T. Davies, when he managed to have his breakfast, came up with this strange idea that structural funds should be administered directly from London into Wales. That principle—yielding it on the economy—means that we could yield it also in agriculture. Structural funds have also been devolved for the last 17 years, and the history of direct London intervention in the Welsh economy, with garden festivals and overnight inward-investment projects that never actually bore fruit, is extremely bad as well, so we need to fight for that principle.

The second principle I think that Plaid Cymru is interested in is that, in the current situation, continuing membership of the single market is the best way forward, certainly for our agricultural sector. There is a difference between membership of the single market and of the political union. It is curious that those who argued, for 20 years and more, that the single market and the customs union had become too political now want to give up that central part of free-market trading relationships when we have given up on the political union, and I think we need to bear that in mind.

The third point is about how we ensure that farmers get access to these funds now, and I think we need to see more from the Government, now that we have certainty of the funding for the foreseeable future. [Interruption.] I don’t have time, no. Now that we have the certainty of funding for the foreseeable future, I want to see the Government move on much more quickly with the current Glastir and rural development programme schemes so that farmers are able to make the best use of them. I know that there are good projects out there—let’s make sure that we share that best practice.