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Welsh Affairs

My hon. Friend is right. As a Conservative Member, I hope to see the shadow Secretary of State for Wales slip into those shoes as a full-time role. As someone who was born in Wales, I cannot imagine having a part-time Secretary of State, but there it is. I wish Wales well in its upward trajectory of prosperity and self-determination. We have a lot to learn from Wales. My father grew up on one of the largest mono-tenure estates built after the war—Ely—which has had significant problems. We have heard about some of the policing issues that are of concern not only to my constituents but to Welsh constituents. We need more police on the streets and for people to feel safe. Sadly, there was a very tragic case on the Ely estate when a father who went out to challenge a group of yobs was kicked to death. That is not the estate that my father would have recognised as a boy. Yes, it was social housing, yes, there were problems, but there was not that fear of challenging a group of young people—a message that comes across to my constituents and others. I should like there to be a stronger policing role in Wales, as well as in my constituency, and I should like to bring back the situation whereby if adults challenge a group of children they do not feel that they are being confrontational but more as they did in my youth. I remember that when the heddlu turned up, they thought nothing of giving us a ticking off if we were doing something wrong. I wish Wales well, but I am somewhat disappointed that the Government have not delivered the promised level of scrutiny of the regional Ministers, including those representing Wales.