4. Will the First Minister outline how the economic priorities set out in the Government's programme are delivering for people in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney? OAQ54714

Thank you for the question. Our economic priorities for the whole of Wales, including Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, are set out in the economic action plan. These include investing in people, places and business through skills, infrastructure and business support.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. Clearly, we need to retain a long-term commitment to uplifting the economic conditions and opportunities for communities like Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, so I very much welcome the wide-ranging economic interventions that Welsh Government are making in my constituency. So, I'm thinking of things like support for companies like Sharp Clinical Services in Rhymney, the building of the new bus station in Merthyr Tydfil, the town centre regeneration investment in tourism and heritage opportunities, and vital preparations to deliver the final improvements to the Heads of the Valleys road between Dowlais and Hirwaun.

So, for future economic growth in our Valleys communities, it's hugely important that these investments continue, but would you agree with me that comparing the need for investment in our communities with the case for reparations is both offensive and wrong?

Yes, I do, and I'm happy to state that the Government is due to continue its programme for investment in the link between Dowlais and Hirwaun. Regardless of the point in the political cycle, the recent comments advertised again in the Institute of Welsh Affairs magazine about a claim for reparations are ones that I do find—and I'm not alone in this—deeply offensive. At the time they were first made at the start of October, in Black History Month, I made clear they were not appropriate and they were offensive. It's worth people, regardless of where you sit in this Chamber, reflecting on the fact that four in 10 of the most popular surnames of African Americans are Welsh surnames, and it's because of who they took their names from when they were freed from slavery.

And the reference to internal colonialism made by the leader of Plaid Cymru in the case for reparation is something that I find deeply offensive. It's not a smear; it is not something to be used at this point in the cycle, it's something that should not have been said in the first place. It's worth remarking that internal colonialism is used to describe the African American struggle and it is just not possible to look at the last century of Welsh history and say that we have faced the same sort of struggles of state-sponsored racism and segregation that took place in African American history. And even after the laws were changed, the reality of division, of the terrorisation, of the killings that took place, that has simply not happened in the last century of Welsh history.

We have legitimate arguments to make about our place within the UK, the European Union, and appropriate investment in our communities here. We can do that robustly and confidently without seeking to try to compare ourselves to one of the most shameful periods in world history. 

Minister, will you join me in welcoming the fact that the number of people in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney who are claiming out-of-work benefits has fallen by a third since 2010, thanks to the policies of the UK Conservative Government? And do you agree with the director general of the Confederation of British Industry that some of Labour's policies threaten to crack the foundation of our economy, as in your policies in Labour for the next Government that you're putting in, that an increase in corporation tax will definitely deter companies, especially multinational companies, from going across the Heads of the Valleys road to Rhymney and Valleys areas to invest there?

There were some interesting comments there, some of which I understood. It's fair to point out that unemployment has fallen by over a third from 2011 to 2019. You have an active Government here in Wales that works alongside communities, investing in the future of them, and I'm proud of the work that our economy Minister continues to lead.

When it comes to Conservatives looking to parade their record on who should be trusted with the economy, it's worth pointing out that the deal that is on offer about our future relationship with Europe by the Prime Minister, even on their own best estimates, is a hit to the economy of 4 to 7 per cent. If a UK Labour Government was proposing to deliberately reduce the UK economy by that amount, there would be howls of outrage from the Conservative benches, and it's also worth remarking that you should think again about the way you talk about business when the current Prime Minister's famous view on the business world, if they don't agree with what he says, is to 'eff business'. That isn't the approach that an incoming UK Labour Government will take on wanting to improve our economy, and turn back the tide of deliberate damage done in the last decade of austerity.