4. How will the Minister respond to the emergence of declarations in favour of Welsh independence by some councils in Wales? OAQ54262

The Welsh Government’s position on the question of independence is very clear: we believe Wales is best served by being part of the United Kingdom. But the union has to change to successfully meet the unprecedented challenges it faces. Local democracy will continue to play a vital role in this.

Thank you, Minister. Eleven community and town councils have now passed motions supporting an independent Wales. So, that is 11 out of well over 700 individual bodies. Now, the chair of Nefyn town council has been quoted as saying that he hopes the town council's decision will cause a tsunami of excitement and confidence throughout the nation. He's right about one thing: independence would be a destructive tsunami for Wales. For example, this Parliament and your Welsh Government—[Interruption.]

The Minister cannot hear the question that is about to be asked. 

—and your Welsh Government benefits greatly from Wales being an integral part of our United Kingdom. Whilst I appreciate that independence has only won support of around 1.5 per cent of all town and community councils in Wales, I believe that a strong—[Interruption.]—response is needed from your Government. Will you, therefore, confirm that the Welsh Government will not use these votes as an excuse to reassess Wales and its place within the union?

Well, Llywydd, town councils are local democracy in action, and if they want to make declarations about a number of things that are outwith their powers, I'm not in any position to say one way or the other whether they should do so. The Welsh Government has always been very clear that we think that Wales's best interests are best protected as part of a well-functioning union. We've consistently been at the forefront of efforts to try and reform those aspects that don't work for Wales's interests. We were the first Government to set out a vision for the future of inter-governmental relations and the constitution in 'Brexit and devolution', and as part of the review of inter-governmental relations, we took the lead on the development of new principles for relations between our Governments, which have now been published. If town councils feel differently, that's entirely a matter for their local democracies.

Minister, only yesterday, the Finance Minister warned us that Wales faces the twin threats of the UK Government's continuing programme of austerity and a 'no deal' Brexit, which could do great harm to Wales's interests. Indeed, we've also seen over recent years our home city of Swansea being neglected in terms of UK Government priorities—electrification of the rail cancelled, tidal lagoon not being funded. Even the Welsh Government's transport Minister has consistently complained about Wales's rail infrastructure being neglected by the UK Government. We're simply not getting our fair share of investment. We see the Welsh Government being refused powers over air passenger duty, over policing, and refused powers over criminal justice. Why are we incapable of running these things? Minister, is it not totally understandable that people are starting to ask themselves, 'Is there another way?', 'What about being independent?', 'What about being in control of our resources and our future instead of having to continually bleat about a litany of injustice, unfairness and broken promises, which is our lot with the current constitutional settlement?'.

Well, Llywydd, as the Minister for Local Government and Housing, I don't often get to comment on matters of these sorts, but I share Dai Lloyd's frustration at some of the things that the current Government of the United Kingdom is doing without sharing his concerns about the United Kingdom itself, and that is the essential difference between us.

But I also don't share his constant running down of various cities that we both love. So, at this point in time, since we seem to be a little off the topic of local government, I will take the opportunity to say that, only yesterday, Swansea came second in a list of the best places in Britain to live, with 75 per cent of people in Swansea saying that it was the best place on the entire planet to live. It's proving to be a popular city to live in, with good rates of employment for professionals, an excellent climate and a very lovely set of people. And I, for one, second that.

Cardiff wasn't in the survey, was it? 

It was. 

That will forever be known as the Nefyn and Swansea question. [Laughter.]

Question 5, Mark Reckless.