Latest / Green Benches with Deiniol Brown / Llinos Medi MP: A Fair Devolution Deal for Wales

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Llinos Medi MP: A Fair Devolution Deal for Wales · Green Benches with Deiniol Brown

0:08
SPEAKER_01: My Welsh nationality, my Welsh heritage means a lot.
0:12
SPEAKER_01: It's who I am.
0:13
SPEAKER_01: And obviously being first language Welsh,
0:17
SPEAKER_01: you know the power of having a language of your own and also our history.
0:23
SPEAKER_01: Our language isn't something that's been, we've had to fight for it.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: It was suppressed.
0:28
SPEAKER_01: Ply Cymru was set up as a party of whales for an independent whale, so it's nothing new.
0:35
SPEAKER_01: That's the aim, but we're also pragmatic.
0:38
SPEAKER_01: We know that it's a journey, and it's about also bringing people along with us on that journey.
0:43
SPEAKER_01: My understanding is that 90% of the members of Parliament have a degree, so I'm one of the 10%.
0:49
SPEAKER_01: I'm also a single mother and I'm a solo parent as well, so that's an additional challenge.
0:54
SPEAKER_01: So I come here not molded for the place at all.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: Lucian, through the lens of Andy Burnham,
1:01
SPEAKER_01: is a mayor around a large district,
1:05
SPEAKER_01: we'd say, in Manchester, isn't it, where we look at a nation.
1:10
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not sure if Andy Burnham has that empathy and understanding.
1:18
SPEAKER_01: A lot of people went out in May and voted Pride Cabinet for the first time
1:23
SPEAKER_01: and I'm extremely grateful for them for being able to change the history of Wales
1:27
SPEAKER_01: and we will look back at this as a turning point.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome back to Green Benches with me, Daniel Brown.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: I'm here today with Llinos Mehdi, MP for Unismond representing Plaid Cymru.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: We're here today to talk to Llinos about her background,
1:44
SPEAKER_00: her political influences,
1:46
SPEAKER_00: some of the campaigns that she's been working on here in Parliament and a bit
1:49
SPEAKER_00: about Plaid Cymru and some national issues as well.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much for joining us.
1:54
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: So I'll just start off with asking you a bit about your early life
2:00
SPEAKER_00: and can you tell me how your life growing up in Anglesey
2:05
SPEAKER_00: and this one has influenced your politics?
2:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was brought up on a farm, a farmer's daughter and a first generation farm as well.
2:12
SPEAKER_01: So they're a bit different because obviously the hard graft you have to put in in the beginning.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: So hard work was embedded, both my parents hard working from the beginning.
2:23
SPEAKER_01: So I'm a very rural Welsh upbringing, Welsh being my first language.
2:31
SPEAKER_01: And then I went to the primary school and so on.
2:33
SPEAKER_01: And then Yeah, I had a varied education system, I'd say.
2:38
SPEAKER_01: I didn't enjoy school and I left at 16.
2:42
SPEAKER_01: I did a health and social care course.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: But by the age of 18, I was working in a care home and casual carer.
2:50
SPEAKER_01: Then I started working as a classroom assistant and I've had a variety of jobs
2:55
SPEAKER_01: from milk recording on farms to sell eggs and the youth worker and so on.
3:00
SPEAKER_01: And then I was approached to stand in a local government election in 2012.
3:06
SPEAKER_01: The election was in 2013 and it took a lot of persuasion because I was a young mum
3:12
SPEAKER_01: and I found it quite challenging.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: And that imposter syndrome and also being a young female as well.
3:19
SPEAKER_01: And it took a lot of encouragement for me to stand that election.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: And I was elected the youngest county councillor in 2013.
3:28
SPEAKER_01: And I progressed quite quickly then, became the leader of the opposition in 2015.
3:35
SPEAKER_01: In 2017, became the first female leader.
3:38
SPEAKER_01: I'm still the youngest councillor on Ernest Morn to lead the authority.
3:43
SPEAKER_01: And I had the privilege of being a leader of the authority until 2024,
3:47
SPEAKER_01: when I was elected to be the Member of Parliament for Ernest Morn here.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: And could you maybe tell us about a few events or maybe people
3:57
SPEAKER_00: who influenced you politically when you were growing up and kind
4:01
SPEAKER_00: of maybe brought you towards representing Plaid Cymru today?
4:07
SPEAKER_01: I think that all those happened subconsciously.
4:09
SPEAKER_01: And I think by looking back, you realised the impact that events have had on you.
4:14
SPEAKER_01: I would say one massive impact was being a member of the Young Farmers Movement.
4:19
SPEAKER_01: And I became a club secretary at the age of 15.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: So I had a role there where I had to represent our club on the executive and also on
4:27
SPEAKER_01: the national committees in Wales and so on.
4:30
SPEAKER_01: So I learned quite quickly about taking responsibility also as a democratic organisation.
4:37
SPEAKER_01: Institution, the members lead.
4:39
SPEAKER_01: The members decide what happens.
4:40
SPEAKER_01: They choose their offices.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: They choose their representatives.
4:43
SPEAKER_01: So without me even noticing, I was involved in democracy from a very early age.
4:49
SPEAKER_01: And they have many competitions.
4:51
SPEAKER_01: And one of them is public speaking and the debates.
4:54
SPEAKER_01: And all of a sudden,
4:54
SPEAKER_01: you have to think about both sides of the debates because you don't know
4:58
SPEAKER_01: which side you'll be arguing and so on.
5:00
SPEAKER_01: So the Young Farmers Movement has had a massive impact recently.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: On me politically and then most probably coming from a very working class background
5:10
SPEAKER_01: an extremely working class background Parents didn't go to university.
5:15
SPEAKER_01: None of my brothers and sisters have gone to university.
5:17
SPEAKER_01: My children are the first generation to go to university.
5:21
SPEAKER_01: And my father had to work on the bins and he had to work on the roads and everything
5:25
SPEAKER_01: to be able to fulfill his dream of being a landowner.
5:29
SPEAKER_01: And he passed away at the age of 61.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: So a lot of life events have made me realize how difficult it is.
5:37
SPEAKER_01: When you're working class and you're trying to get on that ladder
5:40
SPEAKER_01: and improve yourself and also being,
5:43
SPEAKER_01: I've been in that low level roles,
5:45
SPEAKER_01: I've been the carer,
5:46
SPEAKER_01: I've been the classroom assistant and I've done those jobs that are on
5:49
SPEAKER_01: the lower side of the pay scale as well and working in
5:54
SPEAKER_01: a care home would actually also has moulded my politics and moulded me as a person
6:00
SPEAKER_01: because you understand empathy,
6:03
SPEAKER_01: care and the importance of Dignity for people when they're in that last chapter
6:09
SPEAKER_01: of life.
6:10
SPEAKER_00: And we can come back to this later as well, but,
6:13
SPEAKER_00: you know,
6:14
SPEAKER_00: Ones Man has definitely a varied sort of political history represented
6:19
SPEAKER_00: by Conservative Labour and Plaid in the past.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: And maybe someone could potentially assume that someone
6:27
SPEAKER_00: with your background might be more interested in Labour, for example.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: Why do you think you were drawn towards Plaid specifically from those experiences?
6:39
SPEAKER_01: My Welsh nationality, my Welsh heritage means a lot.
6:43
SPEAKER_01: It's who I am.
6:44
SPEAKER_01: And obviously being first language Welsh,
6:48
SPEAKER_01: you know the power of having a language of your own and also our history.
6:54
SPEAKER_01: Our language isn't something that's been, we've had to fight for it.
6:58
SPEAKER_01: It was suppressed.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: And years and years of being illegal to speak your language, children wept.
7:05
SPEAKER_01: Speaking the language.
7:06
SPEAKER_01: So we know that.
7:08
SPEAKER_01: And also we know the unfairness.
7:10
SPEAKER_01: We've been brought up with the slate story,
7:12
SPEAKER_01: with the coal story, that extraction of wealth from our communities.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: And we have it on and it's more on the Copper mine in Paris.
7:22
SPEAKER_01: We've seen that extraction and our communities left poorer,
7:27
SPEAKER_01: no investments,
7:28
SPEAKER_01: no recognition of what they gave the UK institutes
7:32
SPEAKER_01: and England majority did benefit more from it.
7:36
SPEAKER_01: So it's a fairness issue.
7:37
SPEAKER_01: The Welsh language is who I am.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: I am Welsh and I'm extremely proud to be Welsh and only Plaid Cymru.
7:45
SPEAKER_01: Plaid Cymru is there for the people of Wales.
7:48
SPEAKER_01: There is no And there also isn't that funding element either
7:55
SPEAKER_01: of being having extreme amounts of donation.
7:59
SPEAKER_01: We do this because we want to represent our communities and our country fairly.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: And I recently interviewed an MP,
8:11
SPEAKER_00: an SNP MP,
8:12
SPEAKER_00: and he talked a lot about how independence really drove his politics and his support
8:18
SPEAKER_00: for the SNP.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: I get the feeling that Clyde,
8:22
SPEAKER_00: at least at the moment,
8:24
SPEAKER_00: sits slightly differently from the SNP on how they talk about independence.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: How important is independence in your thinking, your sort of critical perspective?
8:35
SPEAKER_01: At the moment,
8:36
SPEAKER_01: we're more about devolving more powers to the Senate than getting more powers
8:40
SPEAKER_01: because we want parity with Scotland.
8:42
SPEAKER_01: And you can see that Scotland is further down this journey.
8:46
SPEAKER_01: Plaid Cymru was set up as a party of Wales for an independent Wales.
8:50
SPEAKER_01: So it's nothing new.
8:53
SPEAKER_01: That's the aim.
8:54
SPEAKER_01: But we're also pragmatic.
8:56
SPEAKER_01: We know that it's a journey.
8:57
SPEAKER_01: And it's about also bringing people along with us on that journey
9:00
SPEAKER_01: because our people are quite sceptic as well.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: So we need to show people the...
9:05
SPEAKER_01: The value of being an independent country and the way that we can succeed.
9:09
SPEAKER_01: But until we get there, it's about devolving more powers to the centre.
9:13
SPEAKER_01: It's the first time that we've had the Plaid Cymru government in Wales as well.
9:17
SPEAKER_01: So now we're in a period where it's the first of many things.
9:22
SPEAKER_01: And the UK government's prime minister was also a keen leader.
9:27
SPEAKER_01: Keen to devolve.
9:28
SPEAKER_01: So those conversations will be happening and are happening.
9:33
SPEAKER_01: But obviously the aim one day would want to be an independent Wales,
9:37
SPEAKER_01: but we know that that's a journey.
9:39
SPEAKER_01: And we must remember that that decision would be put back to the people of Wales.
9:45
SPEAKER_01: It would be a referendum.
9:46
SPEAKER_01: So it's the people of Wales that would decide that.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I definitely want to talk more about devolution.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: And is it today that your leader is going to be entering into talks
9:56
SPEAKER_00: with Andy Burnham about devolution for Wales?
9:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the conversations are going on.
10:02
SPEAKER_01: And they've been ongoing,
10:04
SPEAKER_01: the letter quite quickly after Andy Burnham was elected as well,
10:12
SPEAKER_01: setting out our agenda.
10:13
SPEAKER_01: Our aims and for him,
10:16
SPEAKER_01: for Andy Burnham,
10:17
SPEAKER_01: when he had the power of policing in Manchester and yet the First Minister
10:23
SPEAKER_01: in Wales doesn't have that power,
10:24
SPEAKER_01: you can see that where that unfairness lies as well.
10:27
SPEAKER_01: So that conversation and it'll be interesting to see how they go
10:31
SPEAKER_01: and also how they evolve over weeks and months as well.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: And before we return to national issues, I just want to ask you a bit about your constituency.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: You have it there behind you, Unismon.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: For people who've maybe never visited or are unfamiliar with Unismon,
10:49
SPEAKER_00: could you just tell listeners what's it like?
10:52
SPEAKER_00: What are the communities like that you represent?
10:55
SPEAKER_01: I'm so fortunate that I know my communities extremely well
10:59
SPEAKER_01: because I've lived there all my life.
11:01
SPEAKER_01: And being an island as well, it's an unique characteristics.
11:04
SPEAKER_01: We as islanders have that unique characteristics.
11:10
SPEAKER_01: Amazing coast.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: There's a lovely coastal footpath that takes you all the way around the island.
11:15
SPEAKER_01: Rural communities, agricultural, hospitality, backbone.
11:19
SPEAKER_01: But also our towns.
11:22
SPEAKER_01: We've got five towns on the island.
11:24
SPEAKER_01: Hollyhead being the biggest.
11:25
SPEAKER_01: And then you've got Sangefni, Menai Bridge, Bumarys and Amluch.
11:30
SPEAKER_01: Diverse communities.
11:32
SPEAKER_01: A lot of poverty.
11:34
SPEAKER_01: Our child poverty is around 30%.
11:36
SPEAKER_01: So the poverty is there.
11:38
SPEAKER_01: Rural poverty is massive.
11:41
SPEAKER_01: But also opportunities, location, second busiest roll on roll off port in Hollyhead.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: So our nearest link to Ireland is in Hollyhead there.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: Nuclear sites being decommissioned now, a free port area.
11:54
SPEAKER_01: AI growth zone and so on.
11:56
SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot of opportunities, but also an ageing demography.
12:01
SPEAKER_01: The statistics after the last census shows that, yeah,
12:04
SPEAKER_01: the changing demography on the island,
12:06
SPEAKER_01: lots of young people moving away and not coming back, due to jobs and so on.
12:11
SPEAKER_01: And also it is such a,
12:13
SPEAKER_01: because of its coastal communities, a lot of people are moving in to retire there.
12:17
SPEAKER_01: So that does have also an impact on them.
12:21
SPEAKER_01: And challenges and opportunities in our communities.
12:23
SPEAKER_01: But I would, yeah, I'm extremely proud to represent Ernest Morn here.
12:29
SPEAKER_01: And I wouldn't be able to represent any other community with the same passion
12:33
SPEAKER_01: because Ernest Morn is my, you know, it is the community that I know extremely well.
12:38
SPEAKER_01: And I know the majority of the back roads there as well.
12:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I imagine that could be very handy for campaigning.
12:45
SPEAKER_01: And just day-to-day job as a Member of Parliament,
12:48
SPEAKER_01: because if you want to go from one community to another,
12:50
SPEAKER_01: you know the back roads to get there quicker.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: And maybe drawing another comparison with the SNP in Scotland,
13:00
SPEAKER_00: when I was talking to this SNP MP,
13:03
SPEAKER_00: he said that rural communities had traditionally not been supportive of the SNP,
13:07
SPEAKER_00: particularly farming and fishing communities.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: I feel like this is maybe different with Plaid Cymru and your support maybe cuts
13:16
SPEAKER_00: across different communities in a different way.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: How do you feel that you've maybe been able to achieve that or is that something,
13:24
SPEAKER_00: a description that you identify with?
13:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we do attract a diverse group of people to us,
13:31
SPEAKER_01: but I hope that's because of the representation that we,
13:35
SPEAKER_01: because as elected members across the centre and here,
13:39
SPEAKER_01: we all come from different backgrounds.
13:41
SPEAKER_01: The rural community is something quite important to many of us.
13:46
SPEAKER_01: I'm a farmer's daughter, Ann Davis here, she actually farms now.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: So we all have those contacts.
13:53
SPEAKER_01: And I hope what we get is that those communities feel that there's
13:57
SPEAKER_01: a representation here and in the Senate by people that understand
14:02
SPEAKER_01: the challenges they face.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: And I must say,
14:06
SPEAKER_01: Sir Griffith,
14:07
SPEAKER_01: the Minister for Agricultural in the Senate now,
14:11
SPEAKER_01: As always,
14:12
SPEAKER_01: even in opposition in the agricultural sector,
14:16
SPEAKER_01: that he had a good relationship with him.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: And we've proven in the last Senate election as well that a lot
14:22
SPEAKER_01: of communities have felt that there's hope within Plaid Cymru.
14:27
SPEAKER_01: And when politics and political parties have been changing quite dramatically,
14:33
SPEAKER_01: Plaid Cymru have kept to their core values as well.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's stability that people want as well.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
14:40
SPEAKER_00: And you've been an MP here in Westminster since 2024.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: I'd love to know what your experience has been so far.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: What's it like being a Plaid Cymru MP here in London?
14:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well,
14:53
SPEAKER_01: actually just being an MP here in London is quite,
14:57
SPEAKER_01: especially for myself,
14:59
SPEAKER_01: my understanding is that 90% of the members of Parliament have a degree.
15:03
SPEAKER_01: So I'm one of the 10%.
15:05
SPEAKER_01: I'm also a single mother and a solo parent as well.
15:08
SPEAKER_01: So that's an additional challenge.
15:10
SPEAKER_01: So I come here not moulded for the place at all.
15:14
SPEAKER_01: And also I represent a small party here as well.
15:20
SPEAKER_01: It's an absolute privilege to be here,
15:23
SPEAKER_01: but it's also a learning curve because I came from leading an authority where...
15:29
SPEAKER_01: You had structures,
15:30
SPEAKER_01: you knew what was happening,
15:32
SPEAKER_01: you had a forward work plan, you had scrutiny and all this in place.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: And it feels in this place that things work backwards.
15:41
SPEAKER_01: So the scrutiny comes after the decision instead of the scrutiny coming before
15:45
SPEAKER_01: the decision and so on in this place.
15:47
SPEAKER_01: And also...
15:49
SPEAKER_01: Not actually 100% sure of what's coming in front of me today here.
15:53
SPEAKER_01: We don't know what statements, we're guessing what's on the way and so on.
15:56
SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, it's strange in that way.
15:59
SPEAKER_01: And what isn't clear when you watch the chamber,
16:03
SPEAKER_01: you just see the adversarial politics in the chamber.
16:07
SPEAKER_01: A lot of good work, cross-party work happens here as well.
16:10
SPEAKER_01: And I'm fortunate that I'm on a lot of the all-party parliamentary groups.
16:15
SPEAKER_01: And I...
16:16
SPEAKER_01: I've got to know a lot of members of parliament cross-party and that I get along quite well.
16:21
SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately,
16:22
SPEAKER_01: I had a period of illness beginning of this year and the cross-party welcome
16:29
SPEAKER_01: when I got back here was comforting.
16:33
SPEAKER_01: And you know that you've been able to have an impact because you can think,
16:37
SPEAKER_01: oh, you're from a small party, you represent a very rural community.
16:42
SPEAKER_01: Constituency in Wales.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: But what you have had here,
16:44
SPEAKER_01: what I have had here is that people have recognised what I've been saying and so on.
16:50
SPEAKER_01: And also we've had Gwyn's as well.
16:52
SPEAKER_01: The Gwyndod,
16:53
SPEAKER_01: the nuclear decision,
16:56
SPEAKER_01: having that for applied Cymru MP to have a Labour government deciding
17:01
SPEAKER_01: that they're going to take nuclear decision.
17:04
SPEAKER_01: When previously you had the Conservative MP and the Conservative governments
17:08
SPEAKER_01: and no decision,
17:09
SPEAKER_01: that to me shows that I've been able to sort of bring people with me and show them
17:15
SPEAKER_01: that we can get things done cross-party.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: And politically here in Westminster,
17:21
SPEAKER_00: which parties do you find yourself identifying with most, would you say?
17:27
SPEAKER_01: We align, obviously, with the SNP on a lot of things, similar parties with a similar mission.
17:36
SPEAKER_01: The Green parties are there as well, the Green party, yeah, sometimes.
17:43
SPEAKER_01: But I would say individually,
17:46
SPEAKER_01: because I've been in that voting lobby with every party,
17:51
SPEAKER_01: I've been in that voting lobby.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: So that shows you that what we do is we look at things and we look at it from
17:57
SPEAKER_01: a Welsh perspective and we vote on what's the right decision for Wales.
18:02
SPEAKER_01: Another thing we don't do is we don't interfere in England only things.
18:07
SPEAKER_01: Because we can't be the party for devolution in Wales and then that we vote
18:12
SPEAKER_01: on things that don't influence Wales.
18:14
SPEAKER_01: So we will not vote.
18:16
SPEAKER_01: And it's only fair for the establishment that we don't interfere in England only.
18:21
SPEAKER_01: Because obviously an English MP wouldn't be voting in the Senate for Welsh issues as well.
18:27
SPEAKER_01: So we do that there.
18:28
SPEAKER_01: So that's one thing that we do here differently to maybe the UK based parties.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: And I noticed you didn't necessarily particularly mention Labour in that list.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: And I know that you're, as you said, entering into talks about devolution.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: What's been your kind of sense of the Burnham government's approach to Wales,
18:52
SPEAKER_00: approach to devolution?
18:54
SPEAKER_00: Do you think this is a real opportunity for Wales?
18:57
SPEAKER_00: Or do you think like some that this might be just all talk and no action?
19:04
SPEAKER_01: So we're going to have to see the action,
19:08
SPEAKER_01: but we are open to those conversations now and open-minded and ready
19:14
SPEAKER_01: for those conversations in a positive manner.
19:16
SPEAKER_01: That's how we've approached Andy Burnham since he's been working.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we do work with Labour as well here.
19:26
SPEAKER_01: But that's why I said we've also walked through the voting lobby with the Conservatives as well.
19:32
SPEAKER_01: So I would say that we do work cross-party here.
19:38
SPEAKER_01: It will be interesting because the evolution through the lens of Andy Burnham is
19:42
SPEAKER_01: a mayoral around a large district,
19:47
SPEAKER_01: we'd say in Manchester, isn't it, where we look at a nation.
19:52
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not sure if Andy Burnham has that empathy and understanding and realises
20:01
SPEAKER_01: the unfairness between Scotland and Wales that already exists.
20:06
SPEAKER_01: Access and how hopefully that they're open to that conversation.
20:10
SPEAKER_01: I do hope that we see progression in devolution to Wales, but time will tell.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: And I might return to a question of devolution before the end.
20:23
SPEAKER_00: But you've also campaigned,
20:24
SPEAKER_00: I remember seeing a video from the Plaid conference,
20:28
SPEAKER_00: I think, of you talking about this, campaigned for VAT relief for Hospitality.
20:36
SPEAKER_00: What has been the impact economically of this VAT being imposed on communities
20:45
SPEAKER_00: in Onisman and what are you specifically calling on the government to do?
20:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the cut to 10% on VAT and hospitality is aligning with many countries across
20:57
SPEAKER_01: the European Union where we see VAT lower in those hospitality businesses,
21:04
SPEAKER_01: but locally For us on small hospitality, it's a key employer.
21:08
SPEAKER_01: And I've met with several of the hospitality sector that's saying
21:12
SPEAKER_01: that they're finding it quite difficult now because the VAT
21:16
SPEAKER_01: on them is disproportionately because of the way that it's claimed for you
21:23
SPEAKER_01: to be able to get that benefit of VAT,
21:25
SPEAKER_01: you need to be buying something quite expensive.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: And in that sector,
21:29
SPEAKER_01: you only want to buy a fridge every so often or an oven every so often and so on.
21:34
SPEAKER_01: But what we're also looking at is the employment opportunities as well.
21:38
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of our young people get their first job in the hospitality sector.
21:43
SPEAKER_01: And it builds that confidence.
21:46
SPEAKER_01: It gives them that independence.
21:48
SPEAKER_01: But also it's a key employer and a key sector to make sure
21:54
SPEAKER_01: that we mould young people to grow as people as well.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: So we're seeing...
22:01
SPEAKER_01: The job issue and it was raised again this morning that the
22:06
SPEAKER_01: The hospitality sector has declined and the number of jobs that young people are able to get.
22:12
SPEAKER_01: So there's many things.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: It's about making the sector competitive and also it's about giving them
22:18
SPEAKER_01: the opportunity to employ young people and give them the opportunity to grow in
22:24
SPEAKER_01: the hospitality sector because we know that in the hospitality sector there is
22:27
SPEAKER_01: a vast career pathway and we know that speaking to some Of the businesses,
22:33
SPEAKER_01: the lands on Anglesey, they go on to managerial role and so on.
22:38
SPEAKER_01: And the sea shanty I met in Trather Bay,
22:40
SPEAKER_01: they were also saying that They felt they were limiting their ability to grow as
22:46
SPEAKER_01: a business as well.
22:47
SPEAKER_01: So that's a key.
22:48
SPEAKER_01: And going back to the uniqueness of Ennis Morn and a lot of our rural communities,
22:53
SPEAKER_01: the hospitality sector is an important employer and we want to help the sector to be
22:58
SPEAKER_01: a 12-month-a-year sector.
23:00
SPEAKER_01: But we know because of seasonality that it's quite challenging for them
23:04
SPEAKER_01: and they need to be able to manage the winter months also.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: And you've also recently been campaigning on Crown Estate devolution.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: And this is something which I had not heard about before I heard you talking about it.
23:19
SPEAKER_00: I'd love to know just how we got into this situation where Scotland
23:24
SPEAKER_00: and Wales have different kind of devolutionary settlements around the Crown Estate.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: And again, what are the changes that you're calling for?
23:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
23:34
SPEAKER_01: so we've been calling on devolution of the Crown Estate so that the profits from
23:39
SPEAKER_01: the Crown Estate stays in Wales as they do in Scotland.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: We know that the power of our coast and a lot of energy projects and so on have been...
23:54
SPEAKER_01: The development of energy projects on the coasts are moving forward.
23:57
SPEAKER_01: So there will be profits being made from our natural resources.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: But the profits, going back to extractions, is going down back here to the Treasury here.
24:09
SPEAKER_01: They can keep that profit locally and they can spend it as they feel locally.
24:15
SPEAKER_01: And it's just one of these things where the slates,
24:18
SPEAKER_01: the quarries and the coal and everything,
24:22
SPEAKER_01: it's just extraction from whales and it's our natural resources and it's only fair
24:27
SPEAKER_01: that we are given parity with Scotland and we're able to Keep those profits locally
24:32
SPEAKER_01: and benefit fully.
24:33
SPEAKER_01: So that the people of Wales,
24:34
SPEAKER_01: we know that poverty, child poverty is worse in Wales than anywhere else in the UK.
24:39
SPEAKER_01: And in Scotland, it's the lowest.
24:43
SPEAKER_01: So there are levers at the moment that we haven't got in Wales to be able to improve
24:49
SPEAKER_01: the quality of life.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: Why do you think that this disparity in
24:54
SPEAKER_00: the devolutionary settlement has been unchallenged for so long?
24:59
SPEAKER_01: Well, it hasn't been unchallenged.
25:00
SPEAKER_01: I recently took it in front.
25:02
SPEAKER_01: There was a change in the Crown Estate Bill and I was on the committee.
25:07
SPEAKER_01: So I put up amendments and I challenged them in committee and in the chamber and so on.
25:15
SPEAKER_01: So the opportunity has been there.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: It's the government have decided that they want to keep England and Wales as it is.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: They don't see an issue.
25:26
SPEAKER_01: And actually,
25:27
SPEAKER_01: what feels quite unfair is that they said you'll have a commissioner for Wales on
25:32
SPEAKER_01: the board.
25:33
SPEAKER_01: So we'll have one individual there speaking up on behalf of Wales to make sure
25:38
SPEAKER_01: that Wales is treated fairly in their opinion,
25:40
SPEAKER_01: where Scotland has just been able to get the money,
25:44
SPEAKER_01: have the money, it's millions of money and spent back in those communities.
25:50
SPEAKER_01: So we've tried and it feels to walk through the process.
25:56
SPEAKER_01: Voting lobby and no Labour Welsh MP walking through
26:01
SPEAKER_01: that voting lobby just shows you going back to what I was saying is Plaid Cym is
26:05
SPEAKER_01: the party for the people of Wales.
26:07
SPEAKER_01: We are governed by the people of Wales.
26:10
SPEAKER_01: Those members of parliament from other political and it's only Labour really because
26:14
SPEAKER_01: the Lib Dem walked with us as well.
26:17
SPEAKER_01: It's only they're governed by their rulers down here and now.
26:23
SPEAKER_01: They didn't stand with us for fairness for Wales and that parity with Scotland.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: In your maiden speech,
26:30
SPEAKER_00: you said that you were afraid that the Labour government were going to shy away
26:35
SPEAKER_00: from making big decisions.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: And from a Welsh perspective,
26:40
SPEAKER_00: looking forward to the budget where big decisions could potentially be made,
26:44
SPEAKER_00: what are you looking to see the Burnham government do?
26:48
SPEAKER_00: What are you looking for John Healy to say in his Chancellor's speech?
26:53
SPEAKER_01: Well, one of them is the rail infrastructure in Wales.
26:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we know that,
26:57
SPEAKER_01: and it's recognised that there's underspent being the rail infrastructure,
27:02
SPEAKER_01: we only get 1% of the spend in Wales.
27:05
SPEAKER_01: So the rail infrastructure is one,
27:08
SPEAKER_01: support with cost of living is a massive one that we've got to,
27:13
SPEAKER_01: because the impact,
27:14
SPEAKER_01: and especially in our rural communities,
27:18
SPEAKER_01: and also the lobbying that we've been doing around VAT and so on.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: The sectors in Wales need support,
27:25
SPEAKER_01: fair funding for Wales, recognising the challenges for Wales.
27:29
SPEAKER_01: The rail infrastructure is a key example of that.
27:32
SPEAKER_01: And that there's a recognition of the challenges that our communities face and
27:39
SPEAKER_01: that child poverty figures.
27:43
SPEAKER_01: Is one key figure that they should take into consideration
27:47
SPEAKER_01: when we see our de-industrialized communities and the impact that that has had since
27:53
SPEAKER_01: the 1980s.
27:55
SPEAKER_01: And that poverty now is a second and third generational issue in Wales
28:00
SPEAKER_01: and it's ingrained in our communities and we want to see our communities flourish.
28:06
SPEAKER_00: As you said many times in this interview,
28:09
SPEAKER_00: you are as a party trying to represent the people of Wales and being from
28:17
SPEAKER_00: a Welsh background myself,
28:19
SPEAKER_00: I definitely I certainly see Wales as a very diverse place and with a lot
28:24
SPEAKER_00: of different diverse perspectives politically.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever found reaching out to different communities in Wales,
28:32
SPEAKER_00: non-Whales-speaking communities potentially?
28:35
SPEAKER_00: For example,
28:36
SPEAKER_00: my dad's family are from Cardiff and I know for a fact that they've never voted
28:42
SPEAKER_00: for Pride or necessarily even seen that as a particularly viable option.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: How do you try and reach out to these other communities in parts of Wales
28:55
SPEAKER_00: that you've previously not been particularly popular?
28:59
SPEAKER_01: I think the Senate election was a prime example of how we've been able to do that.
29:04
SPEAKER_01: We have representatives from those communities that never have a Plaid Cymru elected member.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: Our members are known to be focused on the communities and working in
29:18
SPEAKER_01: the communities and so on.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: And it'll be interesting to see how those communities feel that they're represented.
29:24
SPEAKER_01: And also,
29:25
SPEAKER_01: when you look at our Senedd group,
29:27
SPEAKER_01: you can see the diverse backgrounds,
29:30
SPEAKER_01: not all are Welsh speakers, not all come from our typical constituencies either.
29:36
SPEAKER_01: So now is the time where we're able to prove to the whole of Wales that That
29:40
SPEAKER_01: the Plaid Cymru is there to represent the people of Wales wherever they live.
29:47
SPEAKER_00: And ending on a positive note,
29:51
SPEAKER_00: as someone who's been involved with Plaid Cymru for a long time,
29:54
SPEAKER_00: campaigned for Plaid Cymru,
29:56
SPEAKER_00: what has it been like to have a Plaid Cymru government in the centre of?
30:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm fortunate, aren't I?
30:03
SPEAKER_01: I'm here and I've been able to see it.
30:06
SPEAKER_01: So many people have given so much to the party and are unfortunately no longer with us.
30:13
SPEAKER_01: This has been 100 years in the making.
30:16
SPEAKER_01: It has been a lot of graft,
30:19
SPEAKER_01: a lot of commitments by a lot of people and it's been very,
30:24
SPEAKER_01: you know, locally based from ground, ground upwards that we were.
30:28
SPEAKER_01: And now to see him as our first minister.
30:33
SPEAKER_01: Representing Wales as he does,
30:35
SPEAKER_01: as a strong leader,
30:37
SPEAKER_01: looking,
30:38
SPEAKER_01: demanding fairness for us,
30:40
SPEAKER_01: it's refreshing and I feel extremely proud and grateful to the people of Wales
30:46
SPEAKER_01: because we know that a lot of people went out in May and voted Pride Cabinet for
30:51
SPEAKER_01: the first time and I'm extremely grateful for them for being able to change
30:56
SPEAKER_01: the history of Wales and we will look back at this as a turning point.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much for your time.
31:02
SPEAKER_00: That was Llinos Mehdi.
31:04
SPEAKER_00: Lovely to speak to you.
31:05
SPEAKER_01: And you, Dino, Dio.
31:06
SPEAKER_00: Diocham bah.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: Hold it, hold it.