Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:49 pm on 21 September 2021.
Well, it was dismaying, Llywydd, to see the reports of the Rail Safety and Standards Board, and it will be a very good idea indeed if they were to extend the range of their research into Wales. Because, as the leader of Plaid Cymru says, it is crystal clear, from what we have seen, that the point at which those nitrogen dioxide levels rise is the point at which trains switch from electric to diesel. What is the point at which that most often happens? Well, it's when trains enter Wales. Let me give just one set of facts, Llywydd, to demonstrate the appalling failure of the UK Government to attend adequately to Welsh needs in this area: in England, 41 per cent of the track is electrified; in Scotland, 25 per cent of the track is electrified; in Wales, 2 per cent of the track is electrified. That is the record of the Conservative Government—[Interruption.]—in the way that it's treated Wales, with its promises, Llywydd, as we remember at a general election to electrify the main line all the way to Swansea. I wouldn't be making remarks from a sedentary position if I was the leader of the opposition; I'd be keeping quiet, hoping that people don't remind him of his record.