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Welsh Affairs

We have had a good debate this afternoon. A wide range of issues has been discussed. My hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Julie Morgan), for example, has spoken with passion about Llanishen reservoir, while the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mark Williams) discussed a number of issues, including what is happening at the Aberystwyth university institute of biological, environmental and rural sciences, which I recently visited. We can discuss that issue further. My right hon. Friend the Member for Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd) made a passionate address. She accurately told us about the difficulties of the south Wales experience, particularly during the miners' strike. There was also a colourful speech from the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik). I am pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Aberavon (Dr. Francis) has given us a clear indication of the excellent work conducted by the Welsh Affairs Committee. He referred particularly to the effective scrutiny of legislative competence orders and the excellent work done on a number of other issues. I should particularly like to refer to the good work that the Committee has done on the future of the Legal Services Commission. My right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Mr. Murphy) made an important address. He talked about how in the past few years his constituency had been transformed under the Labour Government. Similarly, my right hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Mr. Touhig) talked about the improvements that have taken place in his constituency. He specifically referred to improvements in the national health service. A new hospital is being built in Caerphilly borough; it happens to be in my constituency, but it will serve his constituents as well. Like other hon. Members, I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend's tremendous work over a number of years as a member of the Government and a Member of the House. We also heard the last St. David's day address from the hon. Member for Carmarthen, East and Dinefwr (Adam Price). I pay tribute to his work and the erudite contributions that he has made to debates in the House. I was particularly pleased at his reference to Idris Davies, who came from the Rhymney valley. My hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen, West and South Pembrokeshire (Nick Ainger) made an erudite speech, as did my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen), who is a true champion of his constituency. One of the main points made by Labour Members in this debate concerned the need to maintain current levels of public expenditure to ensure that the economic recovery that we see now is sustained and developed. A few days ago, a significant letter, signed by no fewer than 67 leading economists, was published in the Financial Times. It stated:""If the government did not take up the slack, there would be a deeper recession. But fortunately, wise counsel has prevailed so far, and public spending has been maintained as an offset to reduced spending by the private sector."" That is eloquent testimony to the effective economic strategy being successfully pursued by the Government. It is imperative that that strategy should be maintained. There is a clear distinction between that economic approach and what is being advocated by a number of Conservative Members, in particular the hon. Members for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Mr. Crabb), for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan) and for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones). At the election, there will be a clear choice for the people of Britain, including the people of Wales. It will be between clear investment from a Labour Government and a programme of harsh cuts. We have at least an inkling of the cuts that we could expect if a Conservative Government were elected. We have heard the comments about the free breakfasts provided by the Welsh Assembly—the Conservatives describe them as "wasteful gimmicks". We have heard the Conservatives say that free prescriptions are "unsustainable". Free bus passes have been enormously popular and liberating for elderly people in Wales, but the Conservatives have said that they need "to review this scheme".