Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:33 pm on 21 June 2017.
In spite of the bleak facts that Vikki Howells has presented there, she’s also presented, towards the end of her speech, a very optimistic and forward-thinking set of tools to help us with the route out of this. Poverty is a gross injustice and we recognise it as a gross injustice, and we can be therefore justifiably angry about what poverty does to our communities. Therefore, we should welcome the fact that Vikki Howells has identified these ideas that can help us alleviate these issues and, as she said, slay the beast. And indeed, on these benches, across these Labour benches, we’ve been holding discussions on those things and feeding into Welsh Government what can be done. She’s mentioned Better Jobs Closer to Home—not just about work, but about the quality of work; the foundational economy; connecting the northern Valleys; and quality housing. If we can achieve these things through the economic strategy and the work of the Cabinet Secretary, then we can build on the work that the previous UK Labour Government did in alleviating poverty.