Well, I was just making the point that the area has had significant investment from the EU, but there’s no tangible difference. That’s in the power of Welsh Government—in their hands—as to how that money is spent, and the Welsh Government hasn’t made any tangible improvements with that.

So, from my point of view, I do, of course, welcome the UK Government’s support for the region through the city deal, which aims to raise the area to 90 per cent of UK productivity levels. The Cardiff capital region city deal is also a major £1.2 billion investment, which, we are told, will deliver an extra 25,000 new jobs and lever in an extra £4 billion of private sector investment. So, such developments of the Cardiff city region, will, I think, improve the opportunities of the south Wales Valleys. So, I do find the Government’s amendment highly hypocritical on a number of levels. It calls for the Westminster Government to invest in Valleys communities while ignoring the levers that the Welsh Government has at its own disposal to stimulate economic developments in the region.

We’re yet to see, of course, an economic strategy over a year after it was first promised, and that’s in contrast to the UK Government, which has set out its ambitious industrial strategy, which focuses on regional economies that will provide stability and direction to British industry. Furthermore, not only does the Government’s amendment ignore the substantial investment proposed by the UK Government on large-scale infrastructure projects, including increases to the Welsh Government’s capital budget, but it also calls for the use of procurement levers to stimulate the creation of meaningful employment in areas of economic need such as the Valleys.

There was, of course, a review of Welsh public procurement in 2012, and procurement has not substantially changed in Wales on capital improvement. The Welsh Government awarded just 44 contracts worth more than £0.5 million in 2016, and only 36 per cent went to Wales-based businesses. So, I think that’s further hypocrisy of the Government here and it shows that they’ve failed to present a coherent plan on how it will improve the economy of the Valleys. So, I would urge Members to support our amendment, which aims to recognise, in fairness, the UK Government’s commitment to improving living standards, economic growth and a more prosperous south Wales Valleys. This is something that will only happen—and you would expect me to say this, of course—if we elect Theresa May and a strong Conservative Government on 8 June.