4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the progress being made regarding the Welsh Government's economic and industrial strategy? OAQ(5)0602(FM)

Yes. We intend to publish our strategic approach to building prosperity for all before the summer recess.

Well, thank you for that, First Minister. I know that the Welsh Government understands the importance of manufacturing and engineering industries, their strengths within the Welsh economy. Unfortunately, the UK Government seems not to recognise the same thing, by placing steel towards the bottom of their priorities. I look forward to the Welsh Government strategy making sure that steel is at the top end. But we need to attract more manufacturing, such as Aston Martin and TVR, which the Welsh Government has actually achieved to deliver, and we need to provide more premises of a larger footprint—25,000 sq ft plus—to ensure that those factories are there for them to come into. What’s the Government doing to actually ensure there are a sufficient number of buildings that offer that large footprint to attract both inward investment in manufacturing, but also to allow current industries to expand?

Well, we do work with manufacturers and others to look at buildings as they become available. With Aston Martin, of course, it happened that the superhangar was there and that was very useful in terms of being able to attract them, and we work closely with all businesses to assess their needs in terms of future expansion. Where they seek to do that, we’ve usually been able to work with them in order to source buildings where they can expand.

First Minister, Jeremy Corbyn has set out plans for sweeping Government intervention in our industry, including taking parts of Britain’s energy industry back into public ownership alongside the railways and Royal Mail. That’s the biggest state intervention in our economy for decades. Can I ask whether you endorse Jeremy Corbyn’s approach, which I certainly believe would take Wales back to the 1970s, and do you agree with your party leader when he says that private transport operators cannot be trusted with having passengers’ best interests at heart?

Well, the energy companies—anybody who says the energy market is somehow good for consumers must be living in a different universe to the rest of us. Time and time again, Governments have recognised that the current system does not work. He talks about the 1970s—energy was cheaper in the 1970s, proportionately, and also we had major investments, such as Dinorwig, when, with the tidal lagoon, his party are prevaricating over the tidal lagoon. It would’ve been built if this had been the 1970s. He talks about the railways. The last major investment in intercity happened in 1977, with the introduction of the 125 under a Labour Government—under a Labour Government. Since then, we’ve had no major investment in the main line. We’re still waiting for electrification—where’s that gone—to Cardiff. We’re still waiting for it. We’re still waiting for electrification to Swansea. Where’s that gone? Two promises that were made by the party opposite not delivered on. We’re still waiting to see commitment to north Wales rail electrification—no sign of that yet from the Conservatives. Nobody could possibly argue that the railways, as they are presently constituted, are delivering value for money; they cost more for the taxpayer now than they did when they were nationalised, because of the way in which it was done. No, there needs to be more reality as far as the Conservatives are concerned, but above all else, they need to deliver on their promises for energy and rail, and, in that sense, they’ve been an abject failure.

Well, we certainly need new ideas when it comes to our economic strategy, because the old ideas haven’t worked, have they? I mean, we’re poorer now, relative to the rest of the UK, than when Labour first took office in 1997 at Westminster and here in the Assembly in 1999. So, can the First Minister explain what new ideas Labour has to transform our economy? And, given the fact that you’ve been in power in Wales for almost 20 years, and for a good proportion of the time in Westminster as well, what’s kept you? Where have those transformational ideas been up until now?

Where was his party when, for four years, his party actually was in charge of economic development in Wales? He conveniently forgets that, of course. [Interruption.] They don’t like hearing that, because it’s something that they’d rather forget about, but it’s conveniently forgotten about. Well, he asked new ideas. The Valleys taskforce is moving forward with new ideas for the Valleys. We’re looking at how we develop ourselves in terms of international presence, again, because we know that we have to look outside, to new countries, for investment. The air link to Qatar is a hugely important part of developing our window onto the world. We’ve seen unemployment come down to a level lower than England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and major investment such as Aston Martin, such as General Dynamics and such as Tenneco coming to Wales.

The next challenge, of course, is to improve GVA. He is correct about that, but, certainly, as far as job creation is concerned, as far as reaching out to the world is concerned, as far as getting investment—having had the best foreign investment figures for 30 years last year—this Welsh Government is delivering.