Gross Domestic Product: Wales and the UK

Baroness Williams of Trafford Excerpts

Thursday 6th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, I think that noble Lords need to decide between them which one of them will speak.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

May I invite the Minister to examine all the relevant indices of poverty and deprivation? She will find that Wales is mostly at the bottom, with 75% of the average, whereas the Government in levelling up concentrates simply on north-south. Should not the Government by contrast look also at the east-west divide?

British Banking Sector

Baroness Williams of Trafford Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Reay (Con)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, it is the turn of the Green noble Baroness, and then it will be my noble friend.

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, we have had two questions addressing the dangers of the competitiveness agenda of the Edinburgh reforms, which the Green Party has consistently opposed. The other element is that the Government talk about boosting growth. The Minister suggested that was for the general economy, but it has been presented as a desire to grow the financial sector. Is there not, as demonstrated by recent events, a great risk of too much finance and too large a financial sector when what we need is a real-sized financial sector to serve the real economy?