– in the Senedd at 3:22 pm on 7 December 2016.
Elin Jones
Plaid Cymru
3:22,
7 December 2016
The next item on our agenda is the 90-second statements. David Melding.
David Melding
Conservative
Llywydd, 100 years ago, David Lloyd George became Prime Minister. The Government he formed led the allies to a hard-won victory, massively extended the franchise, and established health and housing as governmental priorities. Wales seemed to find a hero figure—the Arthur of legend. The first man without independent means to become Prime Minister, Lloyd George demonstrated that the Welsh could reach the highest offices of state. Although the Tudors occasionally thought of themselves as Welsh, or at least Shakespeare had those thoughts for them, Lloyd George was Welsh to the core. It was the very source of his energy. As Chancellor of the exchequer, he had already reshaped the state. After his people’s budget of 1909, the primary purpose of the state was not to protect property but to promote the welfare of the people—Llywydd, perhaps I should say the ‘gwerin’. It led to that amazing battle with the House of Lords and one of the funniest quips in our political history, when he said that the House of Lords is
‘not the watchdog of the constitution, but Mr Balfour's poodle’.
Well, perhaps it went down better in Edwardian times. [Laughter.]
Lloyd George is among our greatest Prime Ministers. Of his contemporaries, only Churchill and Atlee surpassed him—Churchill by ensuring victory in an even grimmer conflict; Atlee by forging a peacetime consensus for a welfare state. Yet, in his range, he had no equal. In periods of war and peace, Lloyd George displayed the highest statecraft. Llywydd, we live in a period of remarkable social and geopolitical change, and it is fitting that we should be inspired by the achievements of Lloyd George, which tackled challenges that were deeper still.
Elin Jones
Plaid Cymru
3:24,
7 December 2016
Leanne Wood.
Leanne Wood
Plaid Cymru
Diolch, Lywydd. The struggle at Standing Rock reservation in the United States has captivated the world: the people versus the Dakota Access pipeline; an ancient and proud community versus the power of the corporations. In a year where the millionaires and billionaires seem to be winning everything, Standing Rock shows that popular resistance can still win. It shows that there are people who will not let our natural resources be damaged by those who only want to wreck the land for profit. By standing together, the people have won an initial victory in the struggle, but they and we must remain vigilant. Thanks to the power of social media, the native Americans have inspired people across the world. They asked for our solidarity and we gave it as part of the new activism where local struggles are connected globally. We in Wales know only too well the value of our natural resources. Was Tryweryn not our own version of Standing Rock? Remembering our own Welsh history, let us say today that Wales stands with Standing Rock.
Elin Jones
Plaid Cymru
3:25,
7 December 2016
Ann Jones.
Ann Jones
Labour
Diolch, Lywydd. Last Friday I had the pleasure of meeting four inspirational year 11 pupils from Denbigh High School, Amy Martin, Jessica Briody-Hughes, Holly Roberts and Katie Rowlands, who are Team Tachyon. They are the world champions for the second time in the F1 in Schools challenge competition, having swept the board for awards, defending their best verbal presentation and best sponsorship and marketing awards that they had won in the world finals in Singapore last year, and successfully retained in Texas this year.
They have a Cabinet full of trophies and have this year attained the FIA Women in Motorsport award to add to their impressive collection. They have fully embraced all the challenges using STEM subjects, and are gaining some valuable skills and experiences for their later life. Amy has been offered a place in the F1 Williams team academy and is keen to go on to a career in engineering. They are truly inspirational young women who have taken on the challenges of the project outside of their schoolwork. They’ve become mentors for primary school children taking the F1 challenge now, and made their families, their schools, their communities and me very proud. I hope this Assembly will also be proud of their achievements. Diolch.
Elin Jones
Plaid Cymru
3:27,
7 December 2016
Thank you to the Members.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
