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Debate on petition P-06-1208 New laws to protect rare red squirrels from habitat loss which causes population decline
Diolch, Llywydd. And as the red squirrel species champion in the Senedd, I'm absolutely delighted to see that this debate has been brought forward by the Petitions Committee. And before I go any further, I must declare an interest in this debate as the…
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Welsh Conservatives Debate: Regulation of animal rescue and rehoming centres
We've heard about Cadi, we've heard about Arthur; I want to tell you about a member of my family: Blue, the rescue whippet from North Clwyd Animal Rescue. We picked him up 11 years ago; he was a thin and scrawny thing, nine months old, and when we got him…
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Statement by the First Minister: British-Irish Council Summit Wales
Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you, First Minister, for your statement. I think it's very welcome that you're making an oral statement to the Chamber following the summit in Wales, because, of course, usually, we tend to receive…
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Questions to the First Minister
Diolch, Llywydd. I want to give the opportunity for the First Minister to correct the Record, if that’s possible. During First Minister’s question time he referred to some correspondence with the leader of the Welsh Conservative group, Andrew R.T. Davies…
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Questions to the First Minister
First Minister, I am very disappointed by your response. I have not denigrated in any way the people on the front lines of our health service who are delivering high-quality care under great pressure day in, day out. What I'm asking you is: will you accept…
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Questions to the First Minister
I'm surprised by your answer, First Minister. I didn't ask you what lessons the health board had learned, I asked you what lessons you had learned—the Welsh Government had learned. You were the health Minister at the time that these problems were festering in…
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Questions to the First Minister
Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, I know that you would like us to focus today's First Minister's question time on your party's deal with the Welsh nationalists, but I don't want to focus on what many people on my side of the Chamber regard as a sideshow. I…
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Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Update on the Constitutional Commission
Thank you, Minister, for advance notice of your statement. As you know, the Welsh Conservatives don't believe that taking the commission forward should be a priority for the Welsh Government. We believe that you have got far bigger fish to fry, frankly, with…
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Business Statement and Announcement
Thank you for your business statement, Minister. Can I call for a statement to mark Inter Faith Week? This week is Inter Faith Week, and, of course, faith groups across Wales make a huge contribution to society. I think it would be an opportune time to mark…
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Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Can I ask what action the Welsh Government is taking on home-to-school transport? Obviously, one way in order to get towards a net-zero situation is to promote public transport as a means of getting people to and from school, but too many people are obviously…
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Debate: Remembering and supporting our Armed Forces community in Wales
I'd be absolutely delighted to extend my congratulations and thanks to Barry John for the work that he does, and for those other unsung heroes across Wales who do so much to support and help veterans across the country. So, we still need further support for…
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Debate: Remembering and supporting our Armed Forces community in Wales
Yes, happily.
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Debate: Remembering and supporting our Armed Forces community in Wales
I want to first of all just thank the Deputy Minister and the Welsh Government for working on a cross-party basis and for bringing this debate forward today. This Thursday, of course, marks the hundred and third anniversary of the signing of the armistice…
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
I'm grateful to you for taking the intervention. This is not about importing things from the United States. When it comes to photo ID in order to vote, this is the norm across the whole of Europe. We are the odd country out. We're the only ones that don't…
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
They do.
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
They do.
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
People have to provide photographic ID in order to collect a parcel from the Royal Mail these days. Why on earth is that considered a perfectly reasonable requirement, versus people having to present photo ID in order to undertake their democratic opportunity…
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
Will you take an intervention?
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to make an intervention, and I appreciate it's difficult via Zoom. You just mentioned that ethnic minorities are going to be the ones that are most affected by this voter ID request. That's actually not backed up by the…
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
—is the opportunity to vote. I think this is a more important issue, and therefore people should present photo identification.
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
—and yet the biggest responsibility of any citizen of any country—
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
Thank you. I appreciate your taking the intervention. I remember your party and the Welsh Government making similar arguments when the UK Government introduced individual voter registration, and yet, in spite of your warnings and alarm bells ringing, the…
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
All of these measures will protect voters from fraud and improve the security and integrity of elections that are going to be held, so instead of baulking about them, I would encourage the Welsh Government to do something positive. Why not adopt them for…
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
Those sound perfectly sensible to me—I will, I did take an intervention.
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Debate: Voter Inclusion
I'm very pleased to hear that for you, Mike. Let's move on. So—[Laughter.]—the issue is that those problems have been exposed, and we must take action to address them, and that's precisely what the UK Government Elections Bill seeks to do. It will stop the…
