---

Welsh Affairs

I suppose it is inevitable that in our debate on St. David’s day we have heard numerous references to what Wales experienced during 18 years of Conservative Government. I know that the Conservatives sometimes do not like us to refer to that, and some of them find it quite funny, but that episode in Wales cast a dark cloud over the country, and only now are we beginning to see some genuine light at the end of the tunnel. In the 1990s, I edited a pamphlet on what policies a Labour Government might introduce. One of the contributors to it was a young academic by the name of Kevin Morgan, who is now Professor Morgan of Cardiff university. He strongly argued that Wales needed a more diversified economy and much more Government-led investment in the defence sector. He pointed to the fact that there was massive Government-led investment in the south of England and the south-west but very little in Wales, and he was absolutely right. I am pleased to be able to say that that is now being addressed. Two investments stand out as undoubtedly significant. The first has been referred to by my right hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Mr. Touhig): the General Dynamics UK Ltd investment in Oakdale and Newbridge, creating 700 well-paid, quality jobs, linked to the contract for the Bowman communications system for the Ministry of Defence. There is a huge investment—worth £2.4 billion—in the depressed valleys of south Wales. That investment is the thin end of a wedge. It has shown what is possible; it has shown that there is innate vitality in the valleys of south Wales, which is just waiting to be harnessed and tapped. The Bowman communications system has proved to be successful in action, and it highlights what can happen when we make the transition from analogue to digital. Building on that success, the other great recent triumph has been the award of the defence training academy contract to St. Athan, to which Members have referred. There will be a huge investment of £16 billion. Wales celebrated the fact that we received objective 1 status a few years ago, which was worth £1.3 billion, but the figure for St. Athan is £16 billion, which shows how important the contract won by the Metrix consortium is for the economy of the whole of south Wales—indeed for the whole of Wales, as has been said. There is one question that I particularly want to ask today: how did that investment come about? Did it come about because of good luck or an act of God, or because the Labour Government saw that the Welsh Assembly elections were coming up? No. That investment was won by St. Athan because it was the best place to invest, and it is the best place to invest because a unique partnership has been established between central Government in London and a Welsh Assembly Government. The Welsh Assembly Government did an enormous amount of preparatory work to ensure that the infrastructure was in place so that Metrix could put forward the best possible bid. That was—objectively—recognised by the MOD, and the contract went to the right place. It is interesting that a number of people have claimed credit for the contract going to St. Athan. A constituent of mine wrote to The Western Mail; his name is Mr. Nutt, and he is a Plaid Cymru member. He said that it was a fantastic contract—a wonderful contract—and that he and his friends in Plaid Cymru were very pleased to have played a part in winning it. That is a joke. I wrote back to The Western Mail, saying that such was not the case, and that the partnership that was successful was a Labour partnership involving Labour Assembly Members, Labour MPs, a Labour Government in Cardiff and a Labour Government in Westminster. That is what won the bid. What was the response from Plaid Cymru in the pages of The Western Mail? Not one single letter. That is surprising, is it not? Most days, The Western Mail is full of letters from Plaid Cymru candidates and members putting their case, but on this issue they were absolutely silent.