Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:44 pm on 16 January 2018.
I've already made it clear that I'm voting against Labour's broken budget. This is a budget from a party that is out of touch and needs to be out of Government.
We've all seen, over the past few months, the kind of party that you are. Our proud nation is being dragged through your mess and it has to stop. You like to try to convince people that you're a party of kinder, gentler politics, but what am I being asked to vote for here? More green fields around Cardiff to be trashed; more trees to be chainsawed in Roath Brook in unnecessary flood prevention; more environmental sites around Newport to be tarmacked over; and more millions being lost on very questionable—questionable—land and business deals.
With this budget, can we go to the people in Blaenau Gwent, in Gwynedd, Merthyr and the Rhondda and say that this is a real and serious plan to improve living standards? It seems everyone else has forgotten those areas since the Conservatives pulled the rug from under their feet. Are we finally going to do something about it with this budget? Can we take this budget to Welsh-speaking communities and say that this is going to celebrate and protect our language properly? Can we take this budget to entrepreneurs and say, 'Be creative, make your good idea happen, grow into successful companies'? The answer is 'no'.
This is a broken budget from a broken Government. It doesn't fix the genuine problems people have. It won't lead to an end to the housing crisis. It won't put food on people's tables. It won't end talented people having to leave Wales to make their fortune. If we had a sovereign Parliament, we could have a Government making laws in all areas for Wales and in the interests of everyone in Wales. That's the real solution—a sovereign Welsh Parliament legislating in the Welsh national interest. When that day comes, we'll really see change. Diolch yn fawr.