Thanks to the contributors so far. Anglesey and its representatives are unanimously against the National Grid’s plan to put a line of pylons across the island. I, the county council, the MP, the community councils and thousands of residents have been consistent in our opposition to the grid’s plans, and there have been hardly any positive responses from the grid to that chorus of voices.

Quite simply, they’re going for the cheapest option. Yes, they’ve tried to give the impression that they’ve compromised a little by agreeing to put cables in a tunnel under the Menai, but the truth is that they never intended to seek consent for another line of cables across the Menai, which, of course, is an area of outstanding natural beauty.

But, did they have an option other than pylons across the island? The answer, quite simply, is, ‘Yes, of course.’ Undersea and underground links are quite common. I recall, in my very first meeting with grid officials back in 2013, that those officials told me, ‘Well, of course we can put cables under the sea; it will be a technical challenge, but of course it can be done.’ However, since then, the idea hasn’t really been considered in earnest, as it should have been, with technical arguments put forward time and time again, and that is despite the undersea links that are developed in other parts of Britain. It’s very difficult for laypeople such as myself to make a strong case against the grid’s technical arguments, but I am still convinced that this is an option that could work.

What if we accept that the technical challenge of linking a nuclear power station by underground cables is too great a challenge? Well, there is nothing new in undergrounding technology, and there is adequate evidence that it is a more efficient technology in terms of energy loss from the grid, and its resilience in poor weather, as we’ve heard. Yes, it leaves a scarred landscape temporarily and, yes, it is more expensive, and it is cost that is at the heart of the grid’s proposals on Anglesey. Pylons are the cheapest option. The short-term cost to the grid is lower than other options—some £400 million is the additional cost, according to the grid, of undergrounding. But what of the cost of pylons to the people of Anglesey and the impact on the value of their properties and their businesses, and on tourism, never mind the impact on quality of life? Rather than putting the financial burden on the people of Anglesey—