Welsh Affairs

Welcomed Carolyn Harris to speak on Welsh affairs and congratulated her on her charitable work.

Complimented Carolyn Harris's speech, praising the Everyone Deserves campaign and highlighting the internationalist nature of Welsh communities, such as the Oasis centre in Cardiff.

Complimented the hon. Member for Swansea East, Carol Harris, and acknowledged her work in improving communities across Wales. He celebrated St David’s day and emphasised its importance to Welsh identity but argued against making it a national holiday due to its cultural significance in schools. Praised teachers in Pembrokeshire for nurturing traditions and mentioned the special resonance of St David's day for his constituency. Highlighted the growing scale of Wales week events organised by Dan Langford, including an event at Guildhall where he heard a speech from Lowri Roberts about women’s football in Wales. Emphasised sport’s role in projecting national identity internationally and shared experiences from a visit to the United States with the Welsh Affairs Committee on promoting Wales internationally, tourism, and net zero energy security. Praised Netflix's announcement of their first Welsh-language drama during the committee meeting. Discussed the Welsh diaspora in the US and acknowledged opportunities for economic objectives. Concluded by discussing energy potential in Wales through floating offshore wind development and highlighted the need to ensure benefits remain local.

Intervened to mention that Wales is making significant strides in creative industries, specifically music and television production like 'Doctor Who' and 'His Dark Materials'. Emphasised the growth of creative arts in Cardiff.

Intervened to support Stephen Crabb's points about floating offshore wind, stressing the importance of clear conditions on developers set by the Crown Estate to ensure manufacturing and supply chains remain in Wales. Emphasised learning from past mistakes to avoid offshoring benefits.

Reminded the House of the school eisteddfod in Wales, recalling the enjoyment and freedom it provided during his time at Dynevor School.

Congratulated Carolyn Harris on her campaign against holiday hunger and highlighted the significant impact of rising costs of living. He detailed how real wages in Aberavon have dropped by £1,123 per year since 2010, leaving many struggling to afford basic necessities. Kinnock commended Welsh Government efforts but urged the UK Government to implement a windfall tax on energy giants and protect prepayment metre customers. Additionally, he emphasised the importance of floating offshore wind (FLOW) in achieving net zero emissions while creating high-quality jobs in Wales.

Stressed the necessity for substantial investment in renewable energy initiatives to ensure they have a significant impact, criticising past policies that failed to provide adequate funding.

Welsh patriotism and cultural pride are strong, but the governance of Wales faces significant challenges. The NHS in Wales is performing poorly compared to England with high waiting times and inadequate ambulance response rates. Health board failures and political opportunism have left many disillusioned. There's a need for structural change rather than partisan blame. Issues like housing shortages, road building projects cancellation, public transport inadequacies, and local authority funding disparities also persist. Devolution has failed north Wales, and there are calls to revisit its future.

St David's Day week is a valuable opportunity to discuss the issues facing Wales, including floating offshore wind and rural depopulation. The cost of living crisis has hit Ceredigion hard, leading to a 5.8% reduction in population which exceeds declines in other Welsh areas like Gwynedd (3.7%) and Ynys Môn (1.2%). This trend impacts public services, recruitment of key personnel, civic initiatives, economic growth, and social fabric of communities. Digital infrastructure improvements are needed to address these challenges, including Project Gigabit investments for superfast and gigabit broadband. A rural visa pilot scheme similar to Scotland's could help counter demographic trends by addressing skill and labour shortages. Energy efficiency policies like ECO4 have caused issues with implementation, leading to negative experiences for residents who should benefit from such schemes.

Tonia Antoniazzi thanked her hon. Friend Carolyn Harris for securing the debate and discussed a charity called The Sharing Table, which works to alleviate food poverty by providing hampers of locally sourced meat and vegetables. She also highlighted the importance of teaching children how to cook healthy meals. Antoniazzi praised St Davids in Preseli Pembrokeshire, mentioned her fondness for Aberaeron, and spoke about the potential of Swansea bay and the Swansea bay tidal lagoon project. She then addressed issues within Welsh Rugby Union, emphasising the need for transparency and addressing cultural problems impacting both women's and men's teams. Antoniazzi expressed hope that Sport Resolutions' taskforce would protect the anonymity of those wishing to speak out about their experiences. She also discussed the importance of encouraging clubs to audit gender representation and participation in rugby.

Expressed gratitude to his fellow Welsh Members and highlighted the economic challenges faced by Wales, including lower average earnings compared to the UK and Scotland. Emphasised that austerity has disproportionately impacted public services in Wales. Mentioned the importance of a windfall tax for investment and criticised HS2 investment distribution, advocating for more equitable rail enhancement funds. Called for urgent action on shovel-ready transport projects to boost productivity and wage growth, and underlined the necessity for investment in research and development towards green technologies to avoid job losses in universities.

Agreed with Geraint Davies on the importance of rail infrastructure for economic growth. Highlighted his campaign for St Mellons Parkway and mentioned crucial funding from the levelling-up fund to create a central link in Cardiff. Emphasised that better railway connections to major cities would help businesses grow.

Owen Thompson, while acknowledging the Welsh heritage of St David's Day and congratulating Carolyn Harris for securing the debate, emphasises the strong ties between Scotland and Wales. He highlights the story of Archibald Hood, a Scottish industrialist who made significant contributions to the Rhondda valley in south Wales, bringing with him innovations in mining technology, housing for miners, and community development. Hood's initiatives included establishing good-quality living conditions for his workforce, building model villages, encouraging sports activities, and playing a role in religious establishments. Thompson concludes by noting that despite differences between Scotland and Wales, the shared history of friendship should be celebrated.

Welsh Affairs: The debate acknowledges the ongoing support for Ukrainian refugees, celebrates achievements in various fields such as menopause awareness, football, and renewable energy. It highlights the impact of the cost of living crisis on Welsh households and businesses under Conservative rule, while emphasising the Labour Government's efforts to mitigate these effects through initiatives like free school meals, fair wages, tenant protections, and environmental conservation. Stevens calls for a UK Labour Government that will lead in economic opportunities such as floating offshore wind energy.

He congratulated Carolyn Harris for securing the debate and praised her work on menopause awareness. He also acknowledged contributions from other MPs regarding issues such as women's football, steel industry support in Wales, floating offshore wind projects, health service concerns, depopulation, broadband access, and misogyny in sport. He emphasised the need to address healthcare problems like Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board being back under special measures.

He questioned David Davies about the fair share of investment for Wales, specifically mentioning HS2 and shovel-ready schemes developed by Transport for Wales worth £2.5 billion to be invested over 15 years.

He commented on the shadow Secretary of State's statement regarding Welsh Labour putting more money in the pockets of Welsh people, suggesting that before devolution the average wage in Wales was the same as Scotland but now is 20% lower.

She thanked communities across Wales for their contributions to the debate and expressed pride in representing Welsh values. She also apologised for not wearing red and green hair as a joke about St David’s Day.

He thanked the House for the courteous manner with which the debate was conducted.