EU Vote: What our Assembly Members think

Voters will get the chance to have their say in one of the UK’s most important referendums for decades on Thursday, June 23.

However, key figures for the Remain and Leave campaigns have come in for criticism for muddying the issue with insults and turning any semblance of debate into personal slanging matches.

Here, figureheads and Assembly Members for South Wales East, Caerphilly, Islwyn, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney have their say on the key issues surrounding the European Union referendum debate.

Labour’s Caerphilly AM, Hefin David, believes that leaving the European Union could have a lasting negative effect, saying: “Cardiff University predict that Wales’ net benefit from the EU is around £79 per head.

“That’s a big loss if we leave and I can’t imagine that the Tories will pass on any UK-wide savings to Wales in the event of Brexit.

“Leaving the EU is an act that can never be undone and our economy will suffer in these uncertain times.

“I want a better EU and I’m prepared to stay and fight for it in the interests of the people of Wales.”

Plaid Cymru’s South Wales East Regional AM, Steffan Lewis wants to remain a member of the European Union for Wales’ sake, saying: “I am not uncritical of the European Union, but I believe it is in Wales’ best interest for the UK to remain.

“The EU is Wales’ voice to the world. We have seen that we cannot rely on Westminster to speak out for us, it is through the EU that the people of Wales can be heard.

“Decisions made by the EU shape all our lives, whether we are members or not, and by choosing to leave we would be shutting ourselves out of having a say.

“If we remain, we can play our part in reforming the EU to make it a more progressive institution that works for our benefit.”

However, UKIP’s South Wales East Regional AM, Mark Reckless, argues that leaving the EU presents Wales and the UK more control over its own law-making and borders, adding: “Wales and the United Kingdom will be better off if we leave the European Union.

“We can make our own laws better in Cardiff and Westminster than 27 other counties can do for us.

“If we leave the European Union we can take back control of £350 million a week from the EU and spend it better at home. We will also take back control of our borders and whom we allow into our country, applying an Australian-style points based system fairly to all, instead of the current open door for anyone in the EU.”

Labour’s Islwyn AM, Rhianon Passmore recently told gathered Labour supporters: “For us as Labour we know that the UK membership of the EU benefits the wallets and purses of ordinary men and women throughout Wales.

“Not being part of the EU would cost Welsh workers.

“In recent years, we’ve seen Wales reach record levels of inward investment. That’s good for Wales and our members. Companies invest in Wales and others parts of the UK to have tariff free access to a market of 500 million people.”

Writing in an open letter, Mohammad Asghar, Welsh Conservative South Wales East Regional AM spoke about the need for voters to stay informed, writing: “Let’s talk about the issue that everyone seems to be concerned about when Brexit is mentioned, immigration.

“The UK is not a member of the passport-free Schengen zone, so has control of its own borders. It’s also worth noting and mentioning, as so many people have called and asked me to clarify, that immigration from outside of Europe is not affected by Britain’s EU membership.

“For the record, if Brexit actually does happen, Migrants will still be able to send benefits to their children abroad but in lower amounts calculated by the cost of living in their home country.

“Even if Brexit does go ahead let it be clear that migrants will still be able to get council houses – an issue many people are claiming will not happen after Brexit.”

Dawn Bowden, Labour’s Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney AM strongly advocates staying in the EU.

She said: “Last year companies in Wales exported £5m of goods to the EU with around 100,000 jobs linked to these exports.

“Locally, EU funds have underpinned numerous positive developments including Rhymney Riverside Walk, New Tredegar Winding House Museum, and the upgrade of Rhymney Station.

“The proposed South Wales Metro system, which will greatly benefit the economy of the South Wales, could be at risk with a loss of EU funding.”

UKIP’s Assembly candidate for Caerphilly, Sam Gould, said: “I have not yet found a single person on the doorsteps of Caerphilly who can name their unelected EU Commissioner, who in fact has more power and is paid more than the Prime Minister.

“I find that the people of Caerphilly are very unhappy to learn that 10,000 Brussels Bureaucrats earn more than the Prime Minister (that’s 1 in 5 staff at the EU).

“It’s not just about the sheer £50 million we give the EU every single day to pay for these Eurocrats which we could and should instead spend on our NHS and local services, a Vote to Leave the EU is a vote to bring back control and give us our country back.

“A vote to Leave is a vote for democracy and democratic accountability, to give us the right to elect who governs us and give us back our sovereignty and independence from the EU.”