Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance – in the Senedd at 1:57 pm on 14 November 2018.
Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, if I could take you back to the Brexit issues that you were talking about a few minutes ago, in September of this year you said, speaking about workers' rights, that, and I quote:
'In Wales we have always said, since the referendum, that all the rights we've won through our membership of the European Union must be protected. If the Tories cannot deliver a Brexit that guarantees that will happen, then the people must decide.'
End quote. Now, you clarified a few minutes ago, responding to Steffan Lewis's questions, that, under certain circumstances you would support another referendum, but, if there is another referendum, then that raises the prospect of full membership of the single market and in turn puts free movement of labour back on the table. But free movement of labour is something that doesn't seem to have been supported by Jeremy Corbyn, according to statements that he's made within the last two years, when he's said that there should be no more 'wholesale importation' of low-skilled workers from central Europe, because this would help to destroy working conditions in the UK. Therefore, thinking about those comments, would the Cabinet Secretary accept that, if the Welsh Government is to support another referendum on EU membership for the supposed reason of protecting workers' rights, then it would in fact be threatening workers' rights and, moreover, undermining one of the main reasons why working-class people in Wales voted to leave?