1. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the Welsh Government's role in the proposed renaming of the second Severn crossing to the Prince of Wales bridge? 159

Yes. The second Severn bridge is a UK Government asset. The UK Government wrote to inform the First Minister of the name change in September 2017, and the First Minister did not object to the proposal. 

Thank you. Cabinet Secretary, almost 40,000 people have signed a petition against renaming the second Severn crossing the Prince of Wales bridge. The people of Wales were very disappointed, to say the least, in not being consulted, but it turns out, as you've confirmed, that your Government was consulted, but you raised no objections. And this isn't an isolated incident, because just some months ago we had the debacle of the so-called 'iron ring' and a celebration of conquest, which so many people found insulting. I thought the idea of a National Assembly for Wales was to build a modern democracy, so why did you think it was a good idea to let Alun Cairns rename the bridge 'the Prince of Wales bridge'? Why did your Government not object, and inform the Secretary of State that we would like the main gateway to our country to be named after somebody from Wales, who has really achieved something for our country? We have so many talented people in Wales, past and present, so why are they not good enough to have the bridge named after them?

Well, there are many talented and able people from our past that this Government has recognised, by naming, for example, health boards after them, other pieces of infrastructure, but it's worth just reiterating the point that this is a bridge owned by another Government, half of which is in another country, and I'm more concerned with the removal of the tolls over that bridge to ease traffic flow rather than with the naming of the actual bridge. And although I believe that the bridge has been named in honour of, and in recognition of the current Prince of Wales, His Royal Highness Prince Charles, I see no reason why it can't be celebrated as a memorial to all princes of Wales in the past too. 

It does seem to me, I think, to be a fitting tribute to mark this important, special relationship that the Prince of Wales has with our nation by renaming the bridge on this occasion of his seventieth birthday, and to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Queen appointing him as the Prince of Wales. It is my view that this is something that the vast majority of the Welsh public welcome.

Would you agree with me, Cabinet Secretary, that it's far more important to the Welsh people that we ensure that the Severn crossings continue to be a symbol of Wales's strong economic contribution to the United Kingdom, and that we should be championing the abolition of the tolls on the Severn bridge, which, of course, will be a huge boost to the Welsh economy, rather than focusing on the relatively minor issue of renaming the bridge? 

Well, I would indeed. I think the removal of the tolls on the Severn bridge will send a very clear message that Wales is open for business, and it's essential, as we exit the EU, that we take every opportunity to promote Wales globally, and it's a fact that few other figures are better known around the world than His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and so I think we should not just recognise the invaluable work that he has done, and many other members of the royal family—and I say this not as a monarchist, but as a republican—and that we continue to do all we can to promote Wales globally. 

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.

We are no longer—. My colleague and my friend, Dafydd Elis-Thomas, is absolutely right, we are no longer conquered; we are a proud nation, we are a confident nation, and we should have confidence in our identity as well. In having confidence, we're able to reach out globally, we're able to be tolerant, we're able to be open to people, and we are able to recognise, as a confident nation, the contribution that people such as His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales make to our well-being and our prosperity.

The Member's right, there are a huge number of bridges that have not yet been named, and it was interesting that, in the mid 1990s, there was a massive public campaign, a huge public campaign, with tens of thousands of people pushing for what's called the new Flintshire bridge to be named the Lady Diana bridge. That never happened, but that does serve to demonstrate that, whilst there may have been 30,000 people who signed the particular petition that's been referenced today, more than 3 million people have not signed that petition. Indeed, many tens of thousands of people were pushing for a bridge in the north of the country to be named after a member of the royal family in the 1990s.

Whilst I have no objection whatsoever to naming the bridge after the Prince of Wales, whose Welsh connections are well known—he and I lived together once in a loose way, as residents of Pantycelyn hall at Aberystwyth, as students back in 1969—I do agree with Russell George that we do need to advertise Wales's part in the United Kingdom presided over by an ancient monarchy.

But we do have a second bridge, of course, to name across the Severn, and would it not be a good idea, therefore, to recognise the other tradition, sitting on my left here in this Assembly? Perhaps that could be named after Owain Glyndŵr or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf.

It could well be, and again, there are many, many bridges around Wales that are still unnamed. In terms of giving places, communities, a sense of identity, and enhancing the quality of a place, I see no reason why more bridges couldn't be named after individuals who have made a huge contribution to our past and, indeed, our present. I'd welcome the naming of our bridges after individuals from Wales, and, indeed, individuals from overseas.

There are a huge number of people who are either foreign born or who currently reside overseas, or who have resided overseas, who've made a major contribution to Wales. I see no reason why we couldn't name more assets in honour of them.

Doesn't the Cabinet Secretary, though, understand the wider context to this? He's a Secretary of State who really sees south-east Wales as a suburb of Bristol, who wants to—along with his friend and colleague—recategorise Wales as a principality. It's part of a deliberate attempt to reintegrate Wales into some kind of nostalgic notion of a Britain that probably never existed; it's a recolonisation effort. That's why it's touched a nerve because it doesn't actually resonate with Wales as it is today, let alone the Wales that we want to build in the future. I could see that there are only 15 street parties going to be across Wales with the royal wedding. There were 15 street parties in my own village 40 years ago. Wales has moved on, and the naming of things—. Symbols are important because they say something about the nation that we are, and this is why this has jarred with the people. Can I ask the Welsh Government—you are there to represent the Welsh people—will you not ask the UK Government to think again?

No, we won't ask the UK Government to think again. I think it's absolutely right that the Prince of Wales is recognised, and the naming of the bridge after him, I think, whilst it's in the gift of the UK Government, is something that many, many people in Wales will support. But I would say, also, that there are a huge number of other bridges that we could name in honour of other people. I would urge the Member to reconsider the use of the term 'recolonisation', because I do not see any evidence that that is occurring, and I would also say that my fine friend and colleague is doing a superb job in promoting Wales as a fine destination for tourists and for people to live in.

Thank you very much, Cabinet Secretary.