In a Senedd debate this week, Leader of the Welsh Conservative and Clwyd West MS Darren Millar said the fifth Year Anniversary of Brexit “is a celebration of democracy”.
Speaking in Plaid Cymru’s ‘Brexit and the future relationship with the EU’ debate on Wednesday, Darren highlighted some of the benefits of Brexit to Wales.
He said:
“This Friday for me is a celebration of democracy because in leaving the European Union, the previous UK Conservative Government honoured the wishes of the British people who voted in a historic referendum to leave the European Union. It resulted in a huge repatriation of powers to the United Kingdom and extra powers here in Cardiff Bay in our Senedd.
“People voted to leave in spite of the fearmongering and, frankly, outright lies about what would happen if we left. We were told that Brexit would lead to rising unemployment, a collapse in house prices and shortages of every imaginable commodity, from fresh fruit and vegetables to Viagra. Yet what happened? Well, the prophets of doom were completely wrong.”
He added:
“There's an inconvenient truth that Plaid and Labour would like us to ignore, and it is this: the people of Wales spoke very clearly on this issue, they voted to leave.
“The benefits of Brexit became apparent almost immediately. Let's take one of them. The COVID-19 vaccine roll-out.
“People here in Wales and across the UK benefited from a faster vaccine deployment programme than any other part of the world, and that speedier roll-out literally saved thousands of lives here in Wales and across the rest of UK. It was only possible because we had left the European Union and the European Medicines Agency.”
He added:
“We have also benefitted from new trade deals and heard this week about the fact that there is a new free port operating on Anglesey, Ynys Môn, in the Plaid leader's own constituency. Thousands of jobs, and billions of investment is coming into Wales as a result of these free ports, which would not have been possible if we were still members of the European Union.”
Concluding he added:
“The greatest benefit of Brexit is the return of democracy to the United Kingdom.”
