HC Deb 20 April 1970 vol 800 cc9-10
15. Mr. Gwynfor Evans

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to stem depopulation in Wales and emigration from it.

Mr. George Thomas

The Government's economic and social policies are directed to increasing the prosperity of Wales and making it an even more attractive land to work and live in.

Mr. Evans

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise how grim the situation is? Is he aware that seven of the 13 Welsh counties have smaller populations than they had 50 years ago, while this is not true of one of the 29 English counties? Is he further aware that emigration and depopulation are worse than they have been for many years? Is he aware that the only real solution is to put the government of the Welsh people in the hands of the Welsh people?

Mr. Thomas

Heaven help them then! The hon. Gentleman takes too depressing a view. His favourite word is "grim". The prospects for Wales, I am glad to say, are brighter than they have ever been in my lifetime. By the mid-1970s Wales will be one of the most prosperous parts of the whole of Europe.

Mr. Anderson

Is it not fair to say that under the present Government the pace of depopulation has slowed down considerably and that the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Gwynfor Evans) might play his part in this by making the English people who come into Wales feel rather less like foreigners?

Mr. Thomas

This is particularly true in Mid-Wales, where the trend of generations has been reversed. I agree with my hon. Friend that if the hon. Member for Carmarthen and his sign-daubing friends were to take a rather less fanatical attitude towards the English it could help matters.