Part of 2. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:07 pm on 19 September 2017.
The project has begun well. A workshop was held with regional planning officers in May. It provided the framework for the emerging concepts. That work is ongoing. But yes, I share the Member’s disappointment at the breaking of a promise by the UK Government to electrify the main line as far as Swansea. I well remember the then Secretary of State, Cheryl Green—. Cheryl Green? Cheryl Gillan. Cheryl Green is the leader of the Lib Dems in Bridgend—there we are. Cheryl Gillan. She won’t forgive me for that, Cheryl Gillan—neither of them, I suspect. But I well remember her saying that it was beyond question that the line would be electrified as far as Swansea—and the money has gone. The people looking for it, I suspect, will find it in Belfast.