Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:27 pm on 4 December 2019.
Once again, the nationalists are in Brexit denial. On 23 June 2016 the UK voted to leave the European Union. Wales voted to leave. Ynys Môn, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham voted to leave. Carmarthenshire voted to leave. The Rhondda voted to leave, as did the rest of the south Wales Valleys. They repeated that pattern in the European elections this year, and even replicated it in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, when over 50 per cent voted for strong pro-Brexit candidates in August.
Yet, Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrat and Labour AMs, supposedly here on a democratic mandate, continue to defy the democratic will of the people of Wales. Had there been a referendum on Welsh independence with 52.5 per cent in favour, it's inconceivable that the nationalists would be suggesting people didn't know what they were voting for, or calling for a rerun. Instead of getting Brexit done and beginning to heal the divisions, another referendum would take the UK back to square one, erode trust in the political system and make a mockery of our democracy.
Making up accusations about your opponents as a way to win votes also erodes trust, and this motion continues the scaremongering about the future of the NHS. The Conservative manifesto is crystal clear: our NHS is not for sale. It states, quote:
'When we are negotiating trade deals, the NHS will not be on the table. The price the NHS pays for drugs will not be on the table. The services the NHS provides will not be on the table.'
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