Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 30 January 2018.

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Photo of Mr Neil Hamilton Mr Neil Hamilton UKIP 1:45, 30 January 2018

I have no difficulty in agreeing with the First Minister on that, and, indeed, in paying tribute to the role of Lee Waters in raising this issue in the Assembly, but there are other things that can be done as well. The areas that are most likely to be affected by this, again, according to not only this report but also one by another organisation called Future Advocacy—it says that one in five jobs in every constituency in the whole of the United Kingdom could disappear by 2030. In the cities in particular, these are affected mostly by mass immigration. Without leaving the single market, of course, we won't be able to recover control of our borders and select the groups that have the skills that we will need in future, whilst also controlling the flow of those who will actually exacerbate problems that are going to take place of their own accord in any event. Even on the latest figures, which were substantially down on the previous period, net migration stands at 230,000 a year. Newport, Swansea, Cardiff and Wrexham are the cities that are most affected by this in Wales. These are the areas also that are most likely therefore to see wage compression further exacerbated as a result of automation. So, will the First Minister now accept that some sensible controls on migration are necessary? And that does mean leaving the single market.