8. Plaid Cymru Debate: 'No Deal' Brexit

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:22 pm on 16 January 2019.

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Photo of Llyr Gruffydd Llyr Gruffydd Plaid Cymru 6:22, 16 January 2019

Here we go. You're the personification of this delusion of grandeur that the British empire still exists. [Interruption.] No, it's true. And that's what gets me about a lot of this debate. It gets me because some of the rhetoric around Brexit and leaving the EU—it has echoes of that wartime rhetoric, doesn't it? The Dunkirk spirit, digging for victory. This is meant to be peacetime. It's meant to be peacetime, and that kind of rhetoric smacks more of self-harm than self-reliance. [Interruption.] It does—it does, absolutely. And, look, it's not me saying all of this. This evening the Farmers Union of Wales have released a statement, and I quote:

'Given the result of this vote and the dangers of a no-deal scenario, our chairmen and Presidential team felt that the only way we can take back control of the Brexit process is to withdraw Article 50'— this is the FUW—

'and by doing so safeguard the future of the agricultural industry not just in Wales but across the UK'.

And they go on, and you won't like this bit:

'There seems to be growing support for a second referendum across the country, which appears to be reflected in our own sector'.

There we are. Anyway, I've lost track now, haven't I? [Laughter.] But you get the gist, don't you? We know there will be impacts upon the sector, and of course in terms of labour as well—the sudden end of labour mobility from the EU would cause serious problems when it comes it securing labour to harvest and process UK produce as well, of course, and there's another impact in terms of veterinary inspections, which is something that we've rehearsed here previously in this Chamber. In the worst-case scenario, even one of the architects of Brexit, Michael Gove, recently warned of a cull of up to a third of all sheep in the UK, and he had the cheek to lecture others, and I quote, that

'Nobody can be blithe or blasé about the real impacts on food producers in this country of leaving without the deal.'

Well, who was more blithe or blasé than he was two years ago?

As with everything surrounding Brexit, yes, it's being polarised and there will be different views, but what we do know is that there is actually a clear consensus from all directions that a 'no deal' Brexit would be the most harmful Brexit of all. Even the infamous Brexit bus, I reckon, will end its days parked up on a hard shoulder near Dover, trying to get out of the country. [Laughter.] No. The 'no deal' Brexit is the worst of all worlds, and it has to be rejected, and I urge all Members to support Plaid Cymru's motion.