Welsh Affairs

Indeed. St David did many wonderful and awe-inspiring things in his long life, including preachin...

I partially agree with the hon. Gentleman about the Barnett floor, but there is one other glaring...

The right hon. Gentleman is a man for whom I have huge respect as a Member of this House. He is r...

As ever, the hon. Gentleman is giving a thoughtful and heartfelt speech. I forgive him for sugges...

This is how the antipathy towards being responsible through income tax in Wales manifests itself ...

I remind the House that this used to be called the St David’s day debate. This is not St David’s ...

I agree with what the hon. Gentleman says. He will recall that a couple of years ago he and I app...

As an aside, I add my tribute to my right hon. Friend. He is leaving, like me. We have been good ...

May I say what a great privilege it is for me to follow the right hon. Member for Torfaen (Paul M...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of the biggest cuts that we have made is in the amount o...

The interest is declining—that is the point. Had we not taken those difficult decisions, we would...

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the styled cuts, as he put it, also resulted in a massiv...

The decisions that we took were difficult and, clearly, people have felt pain. But people across ...

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No, I will not give way. I will continue for a while.

Those new jobs would not have been cr...

rose—

No, I will not give way for the moment.

These are strong, substantial changes, which we sho...

rose—

Order. We have plenty of time for this important debate this afternoon, but if hon. Members take ...

I congratulate the hon. Members for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) and for Montgomeryshire (Glyn Davies),...

I pay tribute to the right hon. Gentleman for his long and excellent service in this House. He sa...

If the hon. Gentleman wants me to tackle him on this, I shall do so. I will throw one in straight...

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Just a moment. The Silk commission very strongly suggested that we should devolve policing. The h...

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Let me finish. If the hon. Gentleman had read the evidence to the Silk commission, he would have ...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way again to let me put the record straight....

No, it does not. I saw the hon. Gentleman sitting next to the First Minister who, while we discus...

rose—

I give way for a final time, because I need to get on.

For the third time, and for the avoidance of doubt, the right hon. Gentleman is not representing ...

Right. Well, I will not go further on that, but the Secretary of State is in the Chamber and he w...

I am grateful for the incredibly constructive and principle-led way that the right hon. Gentleman...

I would argue yes, because we need to get away from this pattern of asymmetrical devolution, whic...

When talking about a funding settlement, does the right hon. Gentleman acknowledge that Wales’s c...

My point is that the way the Barnett formula operates in Wales is still unfair in comparison with...

I would like to take the opportunity to wish the right hon. Gentleman all the best for when he le...

No, it is not. The argument I am making is that we should look for a fair funding formula that wi...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire (Glyn Davies) and the hon. Member fo...

At the risk of blowing my own trumpet, may I point out that I was the Minister in the Department ...

I stand corrected. I had forgotten that, or, rather, my excellent researcher Chris had not writte...

rose—

Order. I do not want to impose a time limit, but unfortunately I shall have to if Members stray o...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mr Williams), who is a doughty fighter...

On the point about distribution companies, does my hon. Friend think that companies such as Weste...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I talk about being pro-nuclear and pro-renewables, but I...

I, too, thank hon. Members for securing the debate. It might not be obligatory, but I hope that w...

The hon. Gentleman mentions the work that his Committee has done, but on broadband there is a pla...

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman’s relationship with BT is better than mine. I do not know, but there a...

I remind my hon. Friend and the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) that the scheme the hon. G...

There we have it. There is money aplenty going in to it from the Welsh Assembly, the British taxp...

The Chairman of the Select Committee is making an important point about inward investment. It is ...

I accept that. I am trying not to be too critical of members of other parties. I simply make the ...

Nationalise it.

I am not normally known as a supporter of nationalisation, but if the bridge is run by a public b...

The message I have heard is one of optimism. I might have to disappoint the hon. Member for Monmo...

I think that school was Clytha primary, which I attended. At that time, the problem was that ther...

Yes, it was St John’s, the old school on the other side of the river, which became part of Clytha...

I think we may have to help the Hansard reporters at this rate. We need to try to ensure that the...

Among the improvements we have seen is that there are now Hansard reporters who are proficient in...

The hon. Gentleman is making a very powerful and interesting case, but Magna Carta did in fact ac...

Before I return to that, I want, in relation to Welsh education, to say a word of thanks and trib...

The Parc Slip Margam open cast coal site spreads across the Bridgend, Ogmore and Aberavon constit...

Like my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen), I want to talk about jobs. In part, I ...

The hon. Lady is of course absolutely right to describe the insecurity people feel when they are ...

But 35,000, even if it is that figure, still represents a huge number of workers in insecure work...

It is a great pleasure to wind up this important debate on behalf of the Opposition. I join other...

indicated dissent.

The Secretary of State shakes his head, but, as he ought to know, the speech was released to the ...

rose—

I will happily give way. Is the hon. Gentleman about to correct my Welsh?

May I suggest that, having made such an attempt at Welsh, perhaps the hon. Gentleman needs some l...

I would accept that, as a native English speaker and a failed Welsh learner. I am still trying, a...

He did not say that.

Well, I am terribly sorry, but I have read the Prime Minister’s speech, and that is precisely wha...

The shadow Secretary of State was doing really well up to this point, but he has now let himself ...

I would fully accept that, were it consonant with the facts. The Prime Minister actually said in ...

What detail is the hon. Gentleman prepared to put forward on Labour’s funding floor proposal? The...

We will stand on our record of having trebled the funding for Wales during our period in office. ...

Order. We do need to bring the Secretary of State on, because we still need two minutes at the en...

Lots of Members in this House today have invoked history in this important debate, and I will do ...

It is a real privilege to speak as Welsh Secretary for the first time in a St David’s day debate....

We have had a thoroughly enjoyable debate, with several entertaining contributions as well as som...