Speeches by Roberts.

“Reports of a new UK-EU strategic partnership to reduce trade barriers will, at last, be a welcome boost to Wales’s food and drinks producers, given that 75% of the sector’s exports go to the EU. All producers from farm to fork of our wonderful Welsh produce make a vital contribution to Wales’s economy. Will the Secreta…”

“An apology to the families of David Amess and Jo Cox was the only slim chance for redemption. The use of inciting language is to be condemned when it becomes apparent, just as violence against elected representatives is always to be condemned. Politics is about being alert to the right to use words powerfully and the r…”

“Q4. Last week, former steelworkers in Port Talbot watched in dismay as this Government deemed their livelihoods worth less than those in Scunthorpe. Freedom of information requests reveal that the UK Government do not know how their funding for reskilling workers in Wales is being used or even how many people are being…”

“Diolch yn fawr iawn, Cadeirydd. I congratulate the hon. Member for Bury North (Mr Frith), who spoke excellently, and there have been many excellent speeches today. I will speak briefly, but I want to raise some specific points. First, I thank Valerie Dunmore, who is the chair of the Society of Women Writers and Journal…”

“While the Supreme Court ruling brings clarity to some, it brings undeniable fear and uncertainty to others. The Minister’s statement today still leaves vulnerable trans people lost in a maze of complex equalities law. She talks about dignity and respect. Let us look at our prison system, which is just one setting for w…”

“When the blast furnaces in Port Talbot closed down last September, this Government could have taken exactly the same legislative action as they have chosen to take today. We will endeavour to amend the Bill to include Wales, because there is still the opportunity for this Government to make a real difference to the com…”

“I will take no interventions. His Government did not intervene in Wales. Under his Government, Scunthorpe gets security; Port Talbot gets a pittance. Plaid Cymru believes that Port Talbot should and could have received equal treatment alongside Scunthorpe. That is why we have tabled an amendment to include Wales in the…”

“The right hon. Gentleman’s Government did not intervene in Wales.”

“Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lefarydd. Today’s legislation to safeguard the UK’s last bastion of primary steelmaking capacity is of course to be supported, but what my party cannot support is this Government’s approach to steel in the UK, which deems that steel in Scunthorpe is worth saving but steel in Wales is not. T…”

“It does not apply to Wales.”

“Previous Labour and Conservative Governments did little when Welsh livelihoods were swept away by global market forces at places such as the Ford plant in Bridgend and the steelworks in Port Talbot. Wales’s car sector is facing 25% tariffs thanks to President Trump. That threatens an industry that employs 30,000 people…”

“Diolch yn fawr, Madam Dirprwy Lefarydd. Some commentators are fawning over a 10% tariff simply because our nearest neighbours have been hit worse. Let’s get real: the 25% tariff on steel and aluminium will hit Wales’s biggest export to the US—machinery and transport equipment. The EU is Wales’s greatest trading partner…”

“Diolch yn fawr, Mr Llefarydd. The House should know that, unlike in England, Welsh public services are not fully protected from the cost of increased employers national insurance contributions. That is because compensation from the Treasury does not take into account Wales’s bigger public sector, and it means Wales is …”

“Black people in Wales were the most over-represented ethnic group in prison in 2023, followed by those from a mixed background and people belonging to an Asian ethnic group. That over-representation is worse in Wales than in England. Pre-sentencing reports can help us to understand why people of black and minority ethn…”

“The Committee should be aware that the Isle of Man has today passed an assisted dying Act, and we already have divergence between the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom.”

“Diolch yn fawr—thank you very much, Ms McVey. I rise to speak to clause 32 stand part and to new clauses 36 and 37. It is gratifying that everybody on the Committee has taken so seriously the need to recognise where the powers lie in relation to the Senedd in Wales and Welsh Ministers, and Westminster and the Secretary…”

“I honestly feel that the legislation as it stands—the Welsh Language Act 1993, and the 2011 and 2018 standards in relation to health—is not sufficient for what we are endeavouring to do. People have a right to use their first language, and it is of some regret to me that the only two languages protected by law in Engla…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. We have received additional evidence from the Welsh Language Commissioner that bears on this new clause quite considerably. The comments result from our discussions of amendments 413, 427 and 428, and amendment (a) to new schedule 2, and it is worth having an interp…”

“I rise to support amendment 535. I do not intend to say much, because the hon. Member for Richmond Park has made many of the points I wished to make. The amendment recognises that an opinion was stated in a debate in the Senedd in October, which dealt in detail with the principles of this Bill, and that Professor Emyr …”

“On that point, we are also expecting a decision in Holyrood in Scotland, which I think the Committee will agree is part of the United Kingdom. These jurisdictions influence our discussions in this place.”