Mr Dafydd Wigley: Far be it from me, as a newcomer to the House, to presume to compliment the previous speaker, the hon. Member for Luton, West (Mr. Sedgemore), but I do so, and no doubt other hon. Members will do so. As I address the House for the first time I am aware that in the representation of my constituency I follow a Member who was held in high esteem on both sides of the House. Mr. Goronwy Roberts...
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Will the Prime Minister confirm that the Secretary of State for Wales has been made aware of his responsibility in this matter, bearing in mind that yesterday he evaded answering a Question on the subject and left it to the Lord President of the Council to make a statement later?
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the Kilbrandon Commission also rejected the evidence of the Labour Party given on 26th and 27th January 1970 in which its representatives foresaw a system of local government on a two-tier basis with a Council for Wales within that context? Did not the Kilbrandon Report reject the idea of devolution, if devolution it be, in a local government context?...
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Enough was known about the Kilbrandon Report by the Labour Party for it to include in its manifesto for Wales the commitment to enact an assembly for Wales.
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Hon. Members on both sides have made important points, and I shall try to answer them from the point of view of Plaid Cymru. As a nationalist party, Plaid Cymru believes in the existence of Wales as a nation. I appreciate that there may well be hon. Members on both sides outside Plaid Cymru, who take the sane stand in regard to Wales, and there may well be members of the Labour Party in Wales...
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Mr. Deputy Speaker, may I welcome you to the Welsh Day debate, albeit in a nonpolitical capacity? I am sure that hon. Members opposite will make up for the contribution you would have made had you remained on those benches. I shall not take up the remarks of the hon. Member for Ogmore (Mr. Padley) tempting though that is because of his references to Kilbrandon. We had a reasonable chance...
Mr Dafydd Wigley: In giving consideration to his future investment programme, will the right hon. Gentleman give particular attention to the electrification of the North Wales Coast railway line through to Holyhead and also to the continuance for a considerable time of the Cambrian Coast railway line?
Mr Dafydd Wigley: asked the Prime Minister if he will appoint a Minister of State at the Welsh Office in addition to the posts which he has already announced.
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Is the Prime Minister aware of the considerable surprise in Wales that no appointment of a Minister of State at the Welsh Office has been announced, particularly since two Minis-terms of this rank were appointed for Scotland? Is the right hon. Gentleman further aware that in 1970, when the last Government left one rank vacant in the Welsh Office, hon. Members of the then Opposition felt that...
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Is the hon. Gentleman aware that in several holiday areas of Wales the problem reached acute proportions during and after the Easter holiday period, when some garages ran dry of petrol and were closed for the sale of petrol for several days? Does not this reflect a slackness in the consideration of appeals? There is considerable feeling in parts of Wales that the whole procedure needs...
Mr Dafydd Wigley: I warmly welcome the Prime Minister's statement, particularly the reference to a standing commission. I say this in reference to the malicious rumour that has been rife in certain parts of Wales about the possibility of corruption in local government and the need for this to be cleared up once and for all, for the integrity and good name of everybody—officers and councillors—serving in...
Mr Dafydd Wigley: asked the chancellor of the Exchequer if he will propose reducing the cost of a road fund licence for persons resident in areas where public transport services are inadequate.
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in many rural areas in Wales a car is a necessity of life, as opposed to a luxury? In some counties the number of private cars per 1,000 population is as much as 50 per cent. higher than the average for the United Kingdom, and in those areas personal income averages are 30 per cent. lower. With the increase in the price of petrol being aggravated by the...
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Is the hon. Gentleman aware that in many rural areas, such as South Caernarvon, the 15p loaf came many months before it arrived generally in metropolitan areas? Will he ensure that any subsidy to keep down prices will help the rural areas as well as metropolitan areas?
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Can the Leader of the House find time for a debate on the Floor of the House on the provisions of the Porthmadog Harbour Revision Order, as laid down in Early-Day Motion No. 139, since it provides for a scandalous trampling over the rights of the ordinary citizen by the wealthy and vested interests of the country? [That the Porthmadog Harbour Revision Order 1974, dated 8th February 1974, a...
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that one of the greatest hindrances to economic growth resides in the wasted energy of endless industrial strife and the fact that an increasing number of people in management and trade unions now recognise the need for profit sharing and participation in industrial democracy to get ourselves out of the present situation?
Mr Dafydd Wigley: If there is a referendum on this issue in due course, will the Government take care to publish the results in such a way that they show the views of Wales and Scotland separate from those of England so that there is no misunderstanding about the attitude of the people of Wales and Scotland?
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Is this the way the House behaves? It is a disgrace.
Mr Dafydd Wigley: Is the Minister aware that whatever the position may be in intermediate areas, development areas or special development areas, there will be a great welcome for any extention of the REP? Further, does the hon. Gentleman agree that there is a requirement for certainty as to the length of time that the premium will exist for industry's investment plans in such areas? Does the Minister...
Mr Dafydd Wigley: May I put two points to the Minister with that meeting in mind? The first concerns the question of charging for water collected in Wales and used in cities such as Birmingham. In a Parliamentary Answer the Secretary of State has said that it is possible to do that under the current Act. Two weeks ago in Caernarvon Lord Brecon, the Chairman of the Welsh National Water Development Authority,...