6. Plaid Cymru Debate: The Senedd's powers

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:48 pm on 9 June 2021.

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Photo of Rhys ab Owen Rhys ab Owen Plaid Cymru 4:48, 9 June 2021

(Translated)

There have been so many positive changes in our country as a result of protest, from the daughters of Rebecca to the Chartists, to Cymdeithas yr Iaith and, more recently, Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion. There is a supermajority in our Senedd in favour of enhanced powers. This is the perfect opportunity for us to support that, to support the motion, so that the Senedd and the nation can stand shoulder to shoulder and demonstrate clearly to the Westminster Government what the will of the Welsh public is.

And I hope, as I watched the Senedd over 20 years ago, that there's a young person watching our debate today, and that that young person will one day become a Member of this place, but a Member of a Parliament that administers justice; a Parliament that has the powers to fight for all the people of Wales; a Parliament no longer reliant on the vagaries of the Westminster Government, and for me and my party, a Parliament that is wholly independent for our nation.

Our motion today focuses on the powers that we should be seeking, and doing so immediately; powers that there's broad support for and a consensus already available in this Chamber. We don't need another commission to discuss these, the support is already here. But more than that, we must also seek powers for the people of Wales to make decisions for themselves. Not the conversation that the Labour Party refers to in its amendment, but a real debate. We need to empower the people of Wales to decide their own future, and it shouldn't be reliant on Westminster as to what our future in Wales should be. We must have these powers, particularly if Westminster refuses our clear demand for self-government. Thank you.