EU Membership: Economic Benefits

Christina Rees Excerpts

Wednesday 15th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Christina Rees (Neath) (Lab)]

There are great economic benefits from being a member of the European Union, and those are nowhere more obvious than in Wales. I am very proud of the investment that has been made in west Wales and the valleys, but less proud of the fact that we receive this money because we are one of the poorest regions in Europe.

A generation ago, the economic foundations of my constituency were torn apart by the closure of the mines; but visit Neath now and you see a bustling town, with shops opening, businesses starting up and a £13 million town centre redevelopment in progress, due to EU funding. But that image of a bright future is now on hold until a week tomorrow.

Projects financed through our membership of the EU have helped launch 485 businesses, supported 7,300 people into work and created more than 1,355 jobs. Some 14,870 qualifications have been gained, and nearly 5,000 people have completed an EU-funded apprenticeship in Neath County Borough.

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is leading with the Workways project, funded through £16.7 million of EU structural funds. The project has tackled barriers that prevented individuals from finding or returning to employment; supported job searches; improved CV-writing and interview skills; and provided access to training. It has also developed links with local employers.

I must also mention the Swansea Bay science and innovation campus, which has had a substantial impact on Neath and the surrounding region. That would not have happened without £95 million of EU funding. I praise the efforts of Derek Vaughan, Labour MEP for Wales and former leader of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, and Ali Thomas, the current leader, for creating that project. We are very proud of them.

I would be delighted if the leave campaigners could offer guarantees that in the event of Brexit, structural funds currently provided to west Wales and the valleys would be replaced like for like by the Government—gobsmacked, but delighted. However, like the Welsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones, I doubt that would happen. Yesterday, Carwyn said of the leave campaigners that they

“have no more power”

to make such a promise

“than my children’s pet cat.”

They could do nothing to protect the 100,000 jobs in Wales that depend on our trade. For that reason, I will vote to remain.