This Bill is about the kind of public services that we want to see in Wales. Do we want public services where collaboration is the mark of them, or do we want public services where that is ever harder? We, on these benches, want strong public services, effectively delivered, and fair employment. We believe in the social partnership model that we have heard so much of today, and I was struck by the number of employers responding positively to the inquiry by the Equalities and Local Government Committee advocating support of the Government’s position here, reversing the Tory legislation of last year.

Social partnership is not the absence of dispute. There are going to be plenty of disagreements, there are going to be differences of view, and, from time to time, there’ll be differences of priority. But it does offer a framework for managing disagreement effectively and with as little disruption as possible. But it isn’t just a way of managing disagreement. It’s also a way of managing change and delivery in the public services, generally in the public interest, and often that is about managing difficult change and adapting in partnership with other stakeholders.

But it’s incumbent on us also to look forward at some of the threats and pressures that public services will face, as a consequence of a political choice by Conservative Governments in Westminster to impose a regime of austerity. That, compounded by increasing demand, and the risk to the public sector workforce of the uncertainty around EU nationals are potentially a threat to the resilience of some public services, not just in Wales—across the UK. The answer to those profound challenges is more collaboration and not less. It’s not just about avoiding conflict; it’s also about a framework that encourages a creative dialogue about how we tackle some of those threats and pressures ahead. But the truth of the matter is that this legislation, the 2016 Conservative legislation, is a purely political move. Strike action in the UK has never been lower—it’s low in England; it’s even lower in Wales—and the political nature of the attack is clear when you look at some of the core provisions in the Act, making it harder for unions to organise in the workplace. And as we’ve heard, at a time when good employers are making it easier for employees to buy bicycles, join a gym, contribute to pensions, this Act actually makes it harder to do something as basic as pay your union subscription.

So, make no mistake about it. This Bill reverses a nakedly political attack by the Conservatives in Westminster—a Tory attack on working people’s right to organise, a Tory attack on collaborative public services, and a Tory attack on the very resilience of public services right across the UK. And I’ll be proud to support the Government’s Bill.