9. 8. Welsh Conservatives Debate: The Welsh Economy

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:20 pm on 24 May 2017.

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Photo of Mr Neil Hamilton Mr Neil Hamilton UKIP 4:20, 24 May 2017

[Continues.]—your vote should follow your voice. And, in that debate, I think there was a certain amount of variation between the two. It may well be that the Conservative group has been infected by a defection in recent weeks. If so, that’s only to be welcomed, because there may be other changes to come in due course, no doubt. But it is of vital importance to the economy of the whole of south Wales, and the links that were mentioned in Nick Ramsay’s speech between Bristol and Monmouthshire are very important. It’s very important for the future that we develop those and that we don’t isolate ourselves across this side of the Severn bridge, which is one of the reasons why I think political independence for Wales would be such a disaster. If we had a hard border all the way down Offa’s Dyke then that, of course, would negate a great deal of the advantages that will come from the removal of the tolls. We hear a lot from Plaid Cymru on the doom and gloom that is likely to arise from a hard Brexit, but a hard UK-exit would be far, far worse, given that the Welsh economy depends far, far more on the economy of the United Kingdom than it does on the European Union.