Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:50 pm on 21 June 2022.
Well, Llywydd, the leader of Plaid Cymru is absolutely right that the reasons that we do not have—[Interruption.] I understand that denial is the first refuge of the Welsh Conservative Party, and they're busy at it this afternoon. The reason why there are no trains south of Radyr is because of decisions being made by non-devolved bodies. The reasons why there are no trains at all in north Wales is for the same reason. It is time that the UK Government and Network Rail treated Wales with the respect that we deserve, and recognised that we don't have a dispute going on here in Wales, and yet, because of their actions, trains that could be running today are not running.
The leader of Plaid Cymru reminded us of Grant Shapps. There's a name—I see some Members here recognise it. But it is a remarkable triple whammy, isn't it, to have brought the railways to a standstill, to have brought the airports to a standstill, and, finally, after about eight weeks, I think, to have woken up to the fact that the 5p that was taken off the price of petrol hadn't been passed on to people in that part of the transport sector as well. It is a remarkable record of failure, and I'm afraid that it's people not just in Wales, but across the United Kingdom who are paying the cost of that failure today.