Part of 5. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 4:09 pm on 18 April 2018.
Can I ask the Cabinet Secretary the wider point about how this Assembly, Welsh Government and Secretary of State for Wales work together, or not, and how we, as an Assembly, can scrutinise the performance of the Secretary of State? Now, I don't want to go back to the old days of an annual appearance by the viceroy here, but we have so many issues where we needed dedicated, high-level support from a dynamic Secretary of State for Wales: like having a tidal lagoon in Swansea bay, like having electrification of the south Wales main railway line, like not having a superprison in Baglan. So many issues where really dedicated, high-level support from a Secretary of State for Wales could actually have made a difference. Instead, we have a pointless renaming exercise of a road bridge that will do nothing to help Wales's economic position and simply reinforces the view that little old Wales should listen to his masters in London.
Is the Secretary of State Wales's man in Westminster or Westminster's man in Wales? I mean, where will it all end? So many road bridges in Wales have no name; so many royals remain unconnected to any such structures. Although, there have been valiant attempts over the years to rub our noses in it as a conquered nation by anointing several hospitals with royal names.
So, is this it? Or can the First Minister, or anybody else, use their influence to better influence the behaviour of the Secretary of State to gain the decisions that we really want to see happening here in Wales, such as the tidal lagoon in Swansea bay? Diolch yn fawr.