9. Debate on NNDM6985 — EU Withdrawal Negotiations

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:52 pm on 5 March 2019.

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Photo of Alun Davies Alun Davies Labour 5:52, 5 March 2019

You are a visitor to my community—[Interruption.] You're a visitor—not a very regular one, but a visitor. And let me say this—[Interruption.] No, I won't give way again. I won't give way. Let me say this—[Interruption.] We rarely see you, Mark. That's just a reality, it's not a critical analysis; we just don't see you.

Let me say this: what is ripping apart Blaenau Gwent, and what is ripping apart families and lives in Blaenau Gwent? It's austerity, a process you voted for and a process that he doesn't think has gone far enough. Let me tell you this: austerity is at the root of what led the people of Blaenau Gwent to vote for Brexit. Austerity is at the root of what is breaking this country and austerity is at the root of what has driven these communities apart and into conflict.

And let me say this, Presiding Officer, you've been very generous, I won't be voting for the Plaid Cymru amendment today because I don't believe we should be playing those sorts of politics this afternoon. I believe that we should be showing unity with our friends in Scotland. We won't on Saturday, but we will today. And we should demonstrate that we can rise above the temptation to play those games and to vote for the bigger picture and the bigger vision, and to tell the United Kingdom Government that you can walk down the great corridors of Westminster, but if you really want to represent the people of this country, you've got to do more than simply polish up your badges and polish up your speeches. You've got to listen to what the people are saying.

First Minister, I hope—[Interruption.] I hope that we will be able to extend article 50, to call a referendum, and in that referendum, renew our democracy and challenge the snake-oil salesmen we see in this Chamber, the snake-oil salesman who we've seen who sold their lies to the people of this country, challenge them and put them in their place and tell the people of Wales that this is our democracy and you are not going to steal it from us.