Thank you very much, Counsel General. Item 4 on the agenda this afternoon is the 90-second statements. Mick Antoniw. 

Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. Ten years ago, Billy Liddon, a friend of mine, and an activist from Cwm Colliery National Union of Mineworkers, who has since sadly passed away, told me that he would do no more interviews about the miners' strike because it was being over-romanticised in the media, whereas the reality is that it was a year-long struggle of intense poverty and hardship. So, today, the thirty-fifth anniversary of the day the south Wales miners returned to work, is an opportunity to reflect on the reality of the strike and how it continues to shape our communities today. 

In defence of their jobs and communities, some 12,000 miners were arrested; 9,000 charged and five died. The miners lost the strike, and the Tory Government proceeded to shut all the pits, including those that were profitable. In the words of Michael Heseltine, 'That was the price they paid for taking us on.'

Suzy Davies took the Chair.

A poignant legacy of the strike could be witnessed over the last few weeks. The sense of community and solidarity that was at the heart of the strike, was again to the fore as the terrible floods hit those same communities—from Nantgarw in my constituency, to Pentre in the Rhondda. People standing shoulder to shoulder, giving what they have to help neighbours, united in a shared resolve that this disaster would not beat them. A decade ago, Billy Liddon also told me that he thought people were forgetting the suffering the miners endured during that year. But on occasions such as this anniversary, we have an opportunity to reflect that, in the strength of our communities in adversity, the rediscovery of lost heritage, and the continuing fight for justice, the legacy of the miners' struggle 35 years ago lives on.

Thank you.