Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:37 pm on 11 June 2024.
Vaughan Gething
Labour
1:37,
11 June 2024
Thank you for the question again. The clarity and the choice that faces all of us, and the impact on this place and the communities that we serve—. It is a matter of fact not opinion that Wales has been short-changed by the shared prosperity fund. The manifesto promises that were made in two Conservative UK manifestos that there would be a penny-for-penny, pound-for-pound replacement of former EU funds have not been kept. And this Conservative group have been cheerleaders for Wales being short-changed. More than £1 billion should have come to Wales for Wales to decide. And more than that, of course, there is a pledge to restore the powers and money that comes from the leader of the UK Labour Party. I look forward to seeing that taken forward, not just in the election, but what it will then mean for what we are able to do, to reinvest in high streets, to reinvest in the skills programmes we've previously funded. That is a vision well worth fighting for, compared to the reality of thousands more job losses, public expenditure being squeezed, and unfunded tax pledges, yet again, being made by the Conservative Party, and all in addition to the continuing pledge for a further assault on devolution. The comments of the current Secretary of State for Wales yesterday were shameful—to say that the Tories want to introduce a Bill to take away all powers over speed limits in Wales, because they do not run this place. They have not been chosen by the people of Wales at the ballot box to come here. I'm proud to have fought for devolution to be created, proud to have made the case, in my younger life, proud to be here now as the First Minister. Choices made here for devolved areas of responsibility will continue to be made here, with a UK Labour Government. We all know that that is under threat if the Tories are ever allowed near the levers of power yet again across the UK.
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.
In a general election, each constituency chooses an MP to represent it by process of election. The party who wins the most seats in parliament is in power, with its leader becoming Prime Minister and its Ministers/Shadow Ministers making up the new Cabinet. If no party has a majority, this is known as a hung Parliament. The next general election will take place on or before 3rd June 2010.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The House of Commons.