Liz Saville Roberts MP: speeches

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Speeches

22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend is being kind with her time in giving way. She draws attention to the policies of another party. It is striking that Reform Members are conspicuous by their absence. They once again took part in Prime Minister’s questions only from the Gallery, and when they could be talking about coal and the future of communities blighted by the remains of the coal industry, they are not here to stand up for the communities of Wales. I am sure that a number of hon. Members will join us in our dismay at their lack of presence.
22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source
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Surely the hon. Gentleman would agree that it is time for the UK to follow in the footsteps of nations such as Norway that are looking at alternative technologies, such as hydrogen, for the blast production of steel, and that we should be directing our energy there rather than resorting to fossil fuel, which is only temporary.
22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source
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Yesterday was the anniversary of the Aberfan disaster; it is the same day as the anniversary of the flooding of Capel Celyn. Both were terrible reminders to communities in Wales of how little say they had over the fate of their communities, and of how little effect Westminster had, naturally, on amelioration and making people’s lives better. Those terrible incidents—the terrible deaths in Aberfan, as well as the flooding of Capel Celyn—reminded people where they stood, sadly.
22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source
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Will the Minister give way?
22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source
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It has now been shown that the £11,000 is based on the present state of the economy, and not the potential if Wales were to be independent. It is very important that we use statistics and figures with some care and show their sources.
21 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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The secure supply of medical radioisotopes is critical for the treatment and diagnosis of many conditions. Is this the Department’s responsibility, and does it support the Welsh Government’s Project Arthur scheme at the nuclear licenced site in Trawsfynydd in my constituency?
21 Oct 2025 · Sentencing Bill · Hansard source
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I will speak to my new clauses: new clause 4 on probation capacity and new clause 17 on the devolution of probation to Wales. I also support new clauses 2 and 3, as well as new clauses 19 and 30, which relate to relate to IPP sentencing. First, let me commend the diligent work of my constituent, Rhianon Bragg, and fellow activists who have helped place vital victim safeguarding measures on the face of the Bill, particularly in relation to the restriction zone conditions in clauses 16 and 24. I have questioned and subsequently written to the Secretary of State for further clarification on the details of those measures, and I look forward to his response, which will help provide those vital assurances to Rhianon and other victims and survivors. The measures entail putting the restriction conditions around the perpetrator rather than the victim, and that is a major step ahead in our approach to looking after victims.
15 Oct 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source
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Ahead of his party conference, the Prime Minister told the BBC that he was not sure whether he would campaign in Caerphilly for the by-election on 23 October. This is an important by-election in Wales, but with just over a week to go, the Prime Minister has not shown his face there yet. What is the problem? Is it his party’s decision to close 10 libraries in the community? Is it cuts to disability support? Or is it perhaps the fact that even the council leader resigned from the Labour party and is calling on people to support Plaid Cymru?
15 Oct 2025 · Knife Crime · Hansard source
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I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate, because it is immensely important. Of course, we sympathise with the families who have had these awful experiences. As he rightly says, we have to look at what we, as legislators, can do to make a difference. I point to two instances in Wales, the Dyfed-Powys and the North Wales police, where the rates are so much lower: 30 per 100,000 of population in Dyfed and Powys, where the police and crime commissioner is Plaid Cymru’s Dafydd Llywelyn; and 49 per 100,000 in north Wales. Both forces have maintained school officers who talk face to face with children and young people about the reality of crime, such as knife crime, and violence. It is to be hoped that that makes something of a real difference.
13 Oct 2025 · Security Update: Official Secrets Act Case · Hansard source
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Foreign interference in our democracies is, of course, deeply concerning, and transparency from Governments and, indeed, all legislators is essential. That includes transparency in relation to past elected representatives, such as Reform UK’s former leader in Wales, who has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Russia. To uphold public accountability, will the Minister commit to working with the Attorney General to publish the names of all individuals interviewed by counter-terrorism police in connection with the Nathan Gill bribery cases? The people of Wales are rightly concerned.
13 Oct 2025 · Manchester Terrorism Attack · Hansard source
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I echo comments across the House and extend Plaid Cymru’s sympathies to the families of everyone affected. We as MPs and other commentators in the public sphere need to be vigilant and alert to the potential consequences of inflammatory language as we recall what happened on 2 October. I thank the Antisemitism Policy Trust for its work showing how utterly unacceptable it is that antisemitic tropes place Jewish people in peril. Does the Home Secretary agree that with free speech, which we rightly treasure, comes responsibility?
16 Sept 2025 · Ambassador to the United States · Hansard source
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The Prime Minister staked his special relationship with the US President on the diplomatic skills of an ambassador who had a special relationship with the world’s most notorious child sex offender. I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman agrees that the Prime Minister’s judgment and the UK’s presence on the world stage have been diminished by this affair.
16 Sept 2025 · International Day of Democracy · Hansard source
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The hon. Member is making a powerful speech. I am sure he will agree that, with the United States withdrawing from grant in aid, there is the potential for the role of the United Kingdom and its presence on the world stage to be considerably enhanced by the actions we take to support democracy both at home and abroad.
16 Sept 2025 · International Day of Democracy · Hansard source
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We all agree that the murder of Charlie Kirk was horrific—it was abhorrent. That is the only response to it. I am sure that we also feel that it is the duty of Governments, following these terrible actions, to ensure that community safety is a priority. There is always a tension in allowing and enabling voices from across a whole spectrum, while at the same time maintaining that safety. That is one of the not irreconcilable tensions of a democracy, and it is something we must face every time we are challenged in this way.
16 Sept 2025 · International Day of Democracy · Hansard source
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Diolch yn fawr, Sir John. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I congratulate the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Rachel Blake) on securing this debate. Today is Owain Glyndŵr Day, which celebrates Wales’s first Parliament in Machynlleth and in Harlech 620-odd years ago. This past weekend Elon Musk addressed those gathered in London. He spoke about freedom of speech, about knowing what is real and defending Britain’s future and democracy. That is what he said, but at the heart of his remarks was an explicit justification for division and violence. That should concern us all because it is fundamentally at odds with the values of democracy. Mr Musk has already contributed to destabilising political life in the United States. His decision to intervene in our debates makes it clear that we are not immune, so parliamentarians—I think this will be a common theme across the Chamber today—must choose how to act to counter the rising tide of authoritarianism. Silence is a dangerous form of consent that leaves the space open for others to harness people’s unhappiness to their own political ambitions when, in reality, much of that unhappiness is a direct result of decisions taken by those in power and the very wealthy—decisions that benefit themselves and, at the same time, impoverish whole communities. Too many people have no secure roof over their heads. Too many of our public spaces, sources of community pride—our parks, libraries, schools, hospitals and even our roads—are left to decay. Public services are hanging on a thread, and the quality of day-to-day life is evidently declining. Years of austerity and poor policy decisions have very real consequences for people’s lives. We need to recognise that, because people are rightly angry. Into that void of anger rushes misinformation, disinformation and lies straddling the no man’s land between empirical facts and tub-thumping opinion. Social media moguls play on our basic needs for belonging, affirmation and friends in an atomised age of lonely screens. They monetise us and our very actions in a cynical mockery of community. The rise of artificial intelligence exacerbates and accelerates that, creating new ways to generate and spread falsehoods. That is why institutions that strengthen democracy are so important, now more than ever. I will speak first of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, which supported more than 44,000 people last year in 64 locally led programmes in 58 countries and territories across the world. It is primarily funded by the Foreign Office, and I am glad that the Minister is here to speak for that Department. Those programmes give communities the tools to hold power to account and to build resilience against those who seek to undermine democracy. I am proud to be the small parties governor on the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. On one Westminster Foundation trip, I learned how Finland, Europe’s most literate country, has made media literacy a key part of the education curriculum, so that even six-year-olds are equipped with the skills to spot fake news and online manipulation. I have also met Joe Brinker, the policy fellow for democratic resilience at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. NATO’s article 2 states that member countries will work towards “strengthening their free institutions” and promote social “stability and well-being.” The Parliamentary Assembly has called for a centre for democratic resilience at NATO headquarters to counter the threats posed by authoritarian regimes and give strength to NATO’s commitment to democracy. That aspect of NATO’s work is critical, and we should be pushing for more attention to it and raise our expectations of what it does. In closing, I hope other Members will join in referring to the Westminster Foundation for Democracy at a time of worldwide uncertainty. I also hope to secure a meeting for other governors with the Minister to ensure there is sufficient funding and reach for the Westminster Foundation for Democracy to continue to function so effectively. Our values include democracy at their heart, and they cannot be defended by words alone. We should be willing to pay for what we want to keep.
16 Sept 2025 · International Day of Democracy · Hansard source
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Will the hon. Member give way?
16 Sept 2025 · Sentencing Bill · Hansard source
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There is much to welcome in the Sentencing Bill, including the inclusion of restriction zone measures, which are testament to the tireless work of my constituent Rhianon Bragg and her fellow campaigners. Details need to be clarified, however. Which offenders will be automatically included? Will the measures be applied retrospectively and, if so, to which offenders? Where will the zones be in relation to victims, and how will they be used and monitored in ways that are different from the current exclusion zone arrangements?
16 Sept 2025 · Points of Order · Hansard source
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Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. The UN independent international commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories has concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. Despite welcoming the Israeli President last week, the Government have failed to make a statement, as we have heard. As the House is about to go into recess, can you advise me and the House how we are to seek accountability on this important matter?
15 Sept 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source
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The vast majority of the Employment Rights Bill is very much to be welcomed. Amendment 61, which relates to heritage railways and heritage tramways, would allow people under the age of 16 to volunteer on those heritage railway lines. It has been so narrowly worded as to be specifically for those sectors, and it would give young people fantastic opportunities to learn about technology, to work across generations, and to contribute to their communities. Will the Government please consider it again?
15 Sept 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source
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I politely remind the Secretary of State that he is therefore advising heritage railways to in effect break the law, because that is how the law stands. If parents or a local authority were to bring an action against a heritage railway, it would find itself in such a position. If he cannot change that in this legislation, I really urge him to discuss with me how to bring this forward in another way.
11 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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May I, too, welcome the new Leader of the House to his place? The Trussell Trust’s “Hunger in Wales” report, which was published this week, shows that families with three or more children are far more likely to be forced to turn to food banks. The two-child limit is at the root of this injustice. It deliberately punishes children because of the number of brothers and sisters they have, and it is driving thousands of families into needless hardship. Will Labour in Westminster and Labour in Cardiff work together to grant debates in Government time on the urgent need for this impoverishing policy to be scrapped?
11 Sept 2025 · Regional Transport Inequality · Hansard source
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As the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on heritage rail, I must start by noting that we are celebrating Railway 200 on 27 September. The railways brought wealth, new ideas and vitality to communities across the UK. They were and are the vehicle of growth. Our many heritage railways, including 10 in my constituency, continue to marry technologies old and new, and to bring so much happiness to so many people, but the great little trains of Wales are now charitable or private railways. Wales’s public rail network has been the last stop on the line for investment: a legacy that continues to impact the lives of people and communities across our nation. The Network Rail Wales route, which accounts for 11% of the UK’s rail network, received—wait for it—1% of the enhancement budget between 2011 and 2016. The Welsh Government previously estimated that Wales could be missing out on up to £8 billion in rail investment between 2001 and 2029; hon. Members will note that that spans a number of Governments here in Westminster. The funding deficit leads to inadequate public transport infrastructure, which has far-reaching consequences, particularly for those who have no access to cars and those who live in post-industrial and rural areas. It limits people’s ability to connect with friends and family and creates barriers to accessing education and employment opportunities. In Wales, we want to improve our productivity, and we want the means to do it. The spring statement in June offered only a token gesture towards addressing the deep-rooted funding disparities that Wales faces. For example, the Government’s suggestion that the £445 million of rail investment—over 10 years—will compensate for the historical underfunding of the Welsh network or the multibillion-pound injustice of Wales’s exclusion from HS2 funding is simply not credible. Where are the reinforcements against climate change? Where is the electrification of our lines? Let us not forget that the current Secretary of State for Wales acknowledged in opposition that Wales’s fair share from HS2 should be at least £4.6 billion—so we have received a tenth of what our own Welsh Secretary of State once felt was fair. The spring statement also included the Government’s review of the Green Book, aimed at improving investment outside London and the south-east of England. Yet on examining its contents, I was disappointed but not surprised to find no commitment to reforming the way in which Welsh rail is funded. This inequality remains unaddressed. The Government’s decision to classify the Oxford to Cambridge railway as a project that benefits Wales is a stark example of the kind of accounting manipulation—massaging—that deprives Wales of rightful Barnett consequential funding, just as we saw with HS2 under the Conservatives. Indeed, earlier this year, the Secretary of State for Wales acknowledged in writing that Welsh rail has suffered significant under-investment. Yet there has been no pledge to bring spending in Wales in line with per capita investment levels in England. I urge the Government to move beyond rhetoric and take decisive action. Let us begin by devolving powers over heavy rail to Wales, ending the ability for the outdated Barnett funding formula to be manipulated to Wales’s detriment while also granting Wales meaningful control over rail transport investment, just as Scotland and Northern Ireland already have.
11 Sept 2025 · Regional Transport Inequality · Hansard source
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Will the Minister give way?
11 Sept 2025 · Life Sciences Investment · Hansard source
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Medical isotopes are critical for the treatment of cancer, for diagnoses and for other medical applications, yet there have long been concerns about security of supply. Through Project ARTHUR—advanced radioisotope technology for health utility reactor—the Welsh Government are working with the nuclear-licensed site at Trawsfynydd in my constituency to develop the means of producing medical isotopes for security of supply here in the UK. What is the Minister’s Department doing to work with the Department of Health and Social Care to find a way of bringing that forward?
10 Sept 2025 · Qatar: Israeli Strike · Hansard source
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Today of all days, after an illegal attack on peace brokers Qatar, it is shocking to see the UK roll out the red carpet for President Herzog, who has dehumanised suffering Palestinians and incited violence against civilians. The Minister’s Government are being seen to pander to politicians who flout international law. He rightly calls for a ceasefire; when will he call what is happening in Gaza a genocide?

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