91Èȱ¬

The twenty-fifth FMQs of 2023 comes to a close.

Thanks for following - join us again next week.

The Senedd will once again be lit tonight in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s flag as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine and its people.

Image source, Senedd Cymru

Conservative Tom Giffard criticises the vandalising of new 20 mph road signs, but questions whether the first minister has the same view of the damaging of road signs by Cymdeithas yr Iaith in their campaigning for bilingual signs in the 1960s.

Mr Giffard says, "we have seen people, unfortunately, in all parts of Wales vandalising road signs as an expression of that frustration. Now, I condemn that vandalism, but I wonder whether the first minister does too? I ask because I noticed an interview with the 91Èȱ¬ when he first became first minister. You talked about Welsh language protests in the 1960s and said that trashing road signs, was, and I quote, 'a fantastic thing' to do. So, do you endorse the vandalism of the road signs today, or if not, how do you justify your position in light of your past comments? Or, as usual, is it one rule for the Welsh government, and one rule for everybody else?"

The first minister replies, "I don't intend to be drawn into the trivialising of an important debate in the way that the member has attempted this afternoon".

The Welsh government has defended the new law, which came into force on September 17 at a cost of £32.5m, saying it will lead to fewer deaths and accidents.

But some are vehemently opposed to the change, with cases of damaging or removing signs recorded in several counties, including Conwy, Flint, Gwynedd, Newport, Torfaen, Wrexham and Anglesey.

In an interview with 91Èȱ¬ Cymru Wales when taking up his post as first minister in 2019, Mr Drakeford said his political awakening took place in his school days.

Recalling his time at grammar school, Mr Drakeford said he thought at the time that damaging or removing English-only language road signs was a "fantastic thing to be doing".

Image source, NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES

Conservative James Evans asks "how the Welsh government's Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill will make Members of the Senedd more accountable to the public?"

The first minister says it will "increase the frequency of elections and ensure that each vote counts".

Mr Evans says the "closed lists" system, where people will back parties rather than individual candidates, will reduce accountability.

He explains, "I grow increasingly concerned that this system could undermine our elections in Wales, and weaken our democracy. Some voters look to individual candidates to represent them, not political parties, and we should do well to remember that devolution is supposed to strengthen our local communities, not overlook them by taking away their choices."

The first minister replies, "I don't agree with the member, nor, do I imagine, do those people who sit around him on the Conservative benches who are elected here on the closed party list system. What does he say to his colleagues? Let them read what he said to me this afternoon about their lack of democratic legitimacy because of the way that they have arrived here. Did he not think of that before he decided to put that point to me?"

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth criticises the Welsh government's record on tackling child poverty in Wales.

He says, "child poverty levels in Wales are a national scandal. They are a national disgrace. Research by the Bevan Foundation, published in June, suggests that one in five children is living in poverty in Wales. In some areas—Ceredigion, Blaenau Gwent—it's as many as one in three".

He points out that yesterday the children's commissioner Rocio Cifuentes said the draft strategy lacks "ambition, clarity and detail".

Mr Drakeford replies that "this government is committed to doing everything that we can within the powers that we have and the resources available to us to tackle child poverty".

He says that all views will be taken into account "as part of the consultation that we are currently carrying out on our proposed strategy".

On Wales' 20mph law, Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, says the petition opposing the new limit has reached 440,000 signatures, which he describes as a "genuine means for people to express themselves and express the concerns they've had".

First Minister Mark Drakeford replies that his government "takes all petitions seriously" but "the petitions are to the Senedd, not to the Welsh government, and it is for the Senedd, through the Petitions Committee, to respond to them".

The new law "will save lives" he adds.

The first minister also says he has had received threats to his physical safety over the new 20mph law and calls for supporters of the law to be treated with respect.

He says, "I think it is very important to take seriously the views that people express within our democratic process using the petitions system that we have here. I also think that that cuts both ways, and that those people who support the policy and those people who have brought forward the policy are entitled to be treated with respect as well. I'm quite happy to send the member some of the vile messages that I've received from people who are opposed to this policy and for him to say to them, as I agree with him about people who have a different view to mine—. I don't wish to disparage them. I think it would be good to hear from him that those people who are prepared to say things that are not simply disparaging but are directly threatening of people's physical safety, that those things are absolutely unacceptable as well."

Mr Davies replies, "I am more than happy, first minister, to join you in those comments. There is no space in our society for that whatsoever. I, myself, can send many, many examples—and it's open on my public social media feeds—of the remarks that I get thrown at me."

Image source, Getty Images

The Llywydd Elin Jones conducts a ballot to determine the names of members who may table questions to the first minister and Welsh ministers. Each member may enter their name into a ballot.

Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell calls for improvements to the Heart of Wales line and again says that Wales continues to lose out on HS2 funding because it is classed as an "England and Wales" project.

He says "the iconic railway—the Heart of Wales line—that runs from Swansea through Carmarthenshire, Powys, and on to Shrewsbury. And in a recent survey, the performance of the service in stations such as Llanymddyfri, Llandeilo and Llanwrtyd is so poor that of the 2,700 stations across the UK, those three stations are amongst the 100 worst performing over the past six months, with 40 per cent of the trains either cancelled or running over 10 minutes late.

"So, first minister, could you explain to me how you intend to go about tackling these serious issues on the Heart of Wales line, and urge your leader to ensure that the HS2 funding does come to Wales?"

On HS2, First Minister Mark Drakeford quotes Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) director Paul Johnson: 'This whole thing, it just makes me want to weep. It just makes me despair".

The first minister elaborates that HS2 is "a shambles, as Cefin Campbell said, in which Wales particularly has lost out. If, as we keep reading, HS2 is to be cancelled from Birmingham to Manchester, then the fiction on which the UK government has relied that, somehow, that line is of advantage to Wales, will be completely exploded. At that point, we need to have the Barnett consequential of the money that has been spent to date, and that would allow us to invest in the heart of Wales line and many other parts of the rail network in Wales as well."

Rising costs have led to speculation around the future of HS2 and the UK government has not guaranteed the line will run to the north west of England.

Image source, HS2

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of First Minister's Questions.

The meeting is held in a hybrid format, with some members in the Siambr (Senedd chamber) and others joining by video-conference.

You can click on the play button above to watch the proceedings from 1.30pm.

Only one of the 12 tabled questions today is by a female MS – Conservative Natasha Asghar has question 9 on the Welsh government's transport priorities, but they may not reach that far within the allocated time.