---

Legislative Programme and Budget Statement (Wales)

No, I will not give way, because the right hon. Lady did not give way to me—the phrase ““hoist with her own petard”” springs to mind. She is neutral about the governance of our country, but neutrality is not good enough. It was matched only by her indifference—about the representation of the people of Wales in this Parliament and in the Welsh Assembly; about unemployment, particularly in the public sector, where we are likely to see it increase rapidly; about the safety of communities when police numbers are cut; about the impact of VAT on the poorest members of our society and about the future of young people, who will be thrown to one side once the future jobs fund is eliminated. In short, what we have seen today is indifference and neutrality about the future of Wales. We have heard contributions from other Members. We had positive ones from the hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen, my hon. Friends the Members for Clwyd South and for Ynys Môns, my right hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd, my right hon. Friend the Member for Delyn and the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr. All of them shared concern about what has been suggested, particularly in the Budget. We also heard comments from the hon. Members for Montgomeryshire, for Cardiff North and for Monmouth. The contribution by the hon. Member for Cardiff North was good. It was parliamentary and decent to make the remarks he did about his predecessor, which was in marked contrast with some of the contributions from some other Conservative Members today. A number of clear themes have emerged during our deliberations. The first is the Government’s ability to rewrite history. Although I welcome the Government’s capitulation on the housing LCO, let us be clear that in the run-up to the general election, the then Opposition, now the Government, were clearly opposed to it. They are now telling us that the LCO has not changed, and I look forward to many more U-turns in the near future. Another clear theme is that the Budget will harm Wales. It will pay a high price for Tory dogma. We should not be surprised that the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr Redwood) wrote on his blog recently that if people found life difficult after the Budget, they should simply put on a jumper, turn down the thermostat or eat more vegetarian food. The right hon. Gentleman is a former Secretary of State for Wales, and the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham follows in his footsteps in representing an English constituency. I will not mention how many times she visits Wales or where she stays when she visits. I will not even be critical of the fact that it is absurd for the Secretary of State for Wales to represent a constituency miles from Wales. However, I would like to quote a Conservative Member for South Wales Central in the National Assembly, Mr David Melding, to pay him credit. He said quite honestly and correctly that the Conservative party has made ““terrible errors in appointing English Secretaries of State for Wales…it was quite unacceptable.”” That must be the first time in a long time that I have agreed with a Conservative Assembly Member, but I must say he is spot on. The Government’s legislative programme is in general backwards, and where it is not backwards it is harmful to Wales.