Ynys Môn is no longer a place that is forgotten and its young people can look forward to exciting opportunities as investment arrives, the Island’s MP Virginia Crosbie has told parliament.
Speaking in the Queen’s Speech debate yesterday, she said making Britain the best place to grow up and grow old “particularly resonates with my constituents”.
She said the island was now at the centre of many government policies and focus with the Hydrogen Hub at Holyhead and real optimism that a new nuclear power station will be built at Wylfa and that a freeport could be established.
“I can see genuine progress for my constituency—an island that includes some of the most deprived communities in the UK,” she told MPs
“Last May, my island community was reeling from the withdrawal of Hitachi from the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station on Ynys Môn. The potential high-quality employment opportunities for local people from the proposed plant were hugely significant in an area of high unemployment. The potential loss hit the community hard.
“Since then, the Government has taken significant action. They have fast-tracked the Nuclear Financing Bill to support the funding of new nuclear. They have produced the British energy security strategy, in which Wylfa was specifically mentioned and the Government has committed to the acceleration of nuclear to eight new nuclear plants this decade.
“In January, the Prime Minister, who is a fervent supporter of Wylfa, visited the site with me to see its potential for himself. Just last week, in a first for Ynys Môn, Wylfa was visited by the energy minister, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Secretary of State for Wales. They came to announce the £120 million future nuclear enabling fund, and the plans for at least one freeport in Wales.”
She told the House of Commons she was proud that Anglesey was now front and centre of Government policy “an island in north Wales where our most senior ministers come to make significant national announcements”.
However, she said that young people need job opportunities if they are to stay on the island.
“I made a commitment to Ynys Môn that I would work hard and fight to bring jobs and investment to its shores. I will be supporting the UK Government’s priorities for the year ahead, including the energy security Bill, the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, Welsh freeports, and the shared prosperity fund, so that the communities on Ynys Môn will reap the rewards that will make it a great place to grow up too.
“Under this Government’s plans, Ynys Môn is shifting from a place that feels forgotten to one in which our young people can look forward to the same exciting opportunities that others across the UK enjoy.
“This is what the people of Ynys Môn want, this is what the people of Ynys Môn deserve, and, working with the UK Government, this is what I aim to deliver.”
