I think it’s really important for us on the external affairs committee of this Assembly to be realistic in terms of the extent to which we are likely to be able to influence the Brexit debate. With this in mind, I think it does make sense for us to focus on areas where we can shed light on what Brexit will mean for Wales where the UK Government is unlikely to focus. I represent the constituency of Mid and West Wales, where we can boast some of the most excellent harbours in the United Kingdom. Our relationship with Ireland, one of the biggest export markets, is crucial, and our fear was that the UK Government would focus all its attention on the implications of Brexit on the major ports of the south-east of England. So, it’s critical that there’s a real understanding of what a hard Brexit would mean for ports in Wales. The fact is that trucks going to and from the EU through Dover take around two minutes to process. Now, if you’re driving a truck from outside the EU into or out of the UK, then it takes around 20 minutes to process. So, there are logistical and practical problems that will be thrown up by a hard border with Ireland, which would cause huge disruptions at our ports where there’s very limited land for expansion where lorries would need to be parked up.

Now, the negotiations in the EU are stuck at the very, very early stages, and one of the reasons for this is because we’re so far from the situation where we can find a resolution to the Irish border situation. The UK Government is still clinging on to some belief that it will be possible for the Northern Irish border to become the external border of the EU—a hard border—and yet they really believe that this is going to be possible without any need for customs checks.

Now, the UK Government seems to think that technology is going to provide all the answers to the questions around these EU border arrangements, but witness after witness told us that the complications associated with developing a technologically led solution would mean that we would need to integrate the HMRC procedures in Ireland and the UK into a wholly custom integrated system, and there is no way this can be delivered in time if we crash out of the EU, as seems to be increasingly likely. Now, I don’t need to remind the Chamber of the desperately poor record of the UK Government on high-tech IT solutions in relation to public services.

Now there’s only one other country that is really concerned about Brexit, and that is the Irish Republic. In our dealings with representatives from the Republic, it was clear that their focus has been very much on resolving the border issues with Northern Ireland and that they hadn’t given as much thought to what impact a soft border with Northern Ireland, where lorries could potentially just zip through unhindered, would have on direct trade between the Republic and the UK via Wales, which, potentially, could be subject to that significant time and paperwork hold-up. We heard that the Cabinet Secretary for the economy hadn’t met his Irish counterpart, and it would be good to hear, as the Chair suggested, whether that meeting has taken place.

Now, this week, the UK Government set out its vision for a post-EU trade and customs policy, and I suppose they do have to give something to Liam Fox to do. At the moment, there are 50 trade agreements between the EU and countries around the world. Whilst we remain members of the EU, we can’t make our own trade agreements. The UK Government is in cloud-cuckoo-land, and so is Mr Hamilton, if they think that we’re going to get anywhere near replicating the trade deals that we currently enjoy with the EU. And that’s one of the reasons why I believe we would be barking mad to leave the customs union. Witness after witness told us that a hard border with Ireland could have a significant negative impact on our ports in Wales, particularly if there’s a soft border with Northern Ireland.

I want to make sure that, if this happens, the blame for any negative impact falls exactly where it should be: on those politicians and those political parties who push and vote for the UK to leave the customs union. And I’d like to make it clear that I and the Labour Party locally will be watching in particular Stephen Crabb MP and Simon Hart MP in Pembrokeshire and the way that they vote in Parliament on this issue, and we will hold them personally responsible for any job losses, hold-ups or negative impacts on ports in Milford Haven or Fishguard as a result of leaving the customs union. Their votes really matter when the Tory Government has such a slim majority, and we and the people of Pembrokeshire will make a judgment on whether they will put the needs of their county first or the needs of their party.