7. United Kingdom Independence Party debate: Modular housing

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:54 pm on 13 December 2017.

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Photo of Mr Neil Hamilton Mr Neil Hamilton UKIP 5:54, 13 December 2017

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to reply to the debate and to welcome the speeches of David Melding, Siân Gwenllian—95 per cent of it, at any rate—and Caroline Jones, and indeed the positive speech from the Minister. Because we do accept that the Government is doing some useful things to help to solve the housing shortage, but, given that on present population trends the United Kingdom will have another 15 million people within the next 35 years, clearly there is going to be a massive problem if we don't substantially increase the number of houses built all over the country, and that applies to Wales as much as anywhere else.

When I was a very small boy my parents and I did live in a prefab, and my mother always said, to the end of her life, that actually it was the favourite of all the houses that she lived in. So, I think that, as David Melding pointed out, the future, in a sense, lies in the past on this. And I think that the note of consensus that we had during the course of the debate is much to be welcomed—not something that is always associated with my party. But I'm pleased that Gareth Bennett did actually open the debate in words, although the voice wasn't his. It was his speech.