Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:53 pm on 16 January 2018.
Can we have a debate in Government time on Government policy on opposition motion debates? I probably need not remind the leader of the house that, last week, the Government lost a vote for the first time in this Assembly. Now, in response to that, a Welsh Government spokesperson said, and I quote,
'Opposition day votes are... meaningless. They aren't binding and don't have any bearing on government policy or delivery.'
Now, when the Westminster Government made similarly arrogant remarks recently, the shadow Labour leader of the house at Westminster said that those comments made a mockery of Parliament. Now, doesn't she agree that the comments made by the Welsh Government last week make a mockery of this Parliament? They're demeaning to this institution. They're disrespectful to all those who have fought so hard to create a Welsh democracy where, in contrast to the days of the Welsh Office, the Government has to submit itself to the accountability of an elected parliament, no matter how undoubtedly inconvenient that sometimes may feel.