Tata Steel

Part of 7. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 5:57 pm on 10 July 2024.

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Photo of Sioned Williams Sioned Williams Plaid Cymru 5:57, 10 July 2024

Diolch, Llywydd. We were frequently told by Labour politicians that a change in Westminster of Government would, in your words, change

'completely the context for steel production in the UK.'

You said that the view of the Welsh Government is that

'a better deal, both for steel and for the workforce, is available and should have been the kind of deal negotiated between the UK Government and Tata.'

So, what deal? What did you have in mind? The First Minister said, of the previous UK Government plans,

'the outcome we are facing and the loss it represents was preventable, and is still preventable'.

Well, how? There must have been a plan, because it was costed, wasn't it? Keir Starmer said how much he was going to spend, or how much more he was going to spend, so how can you cost a plan without there being a plan? It's not good enough to say that the Labour Government in Westminster is new, because your Labour Government isn't new. So, what work did you do with those costings in mind? Constituents who face losing their jobs, and who are, quite frankly, losing hope, have contacted me after every such statement we've heard, saying, 'What is going to be done?' 'Change' was the slogan for Labour's election campaign, so what has changed, in practical, not rhetorical, terms, now for the steelworkers and contractors of Port Talbot who rely on Tata Steel, their families and their communities, or are their futures, and our ability to make primary steel, still being allowed to be subject to the whims of a multinational company?