I listened with interest to the first appearance today of the Conservative spokesman on Welsh affairs. I now look forward to the next appearance of this right hon. Gentleman, which will be the occasion of his first useful and constructive contribution to a discussion on Welsh affairs—because today for three-quarters of an hour or more he showed that whereas he had a remarkable memory for fourth form quips and enjoyed party politics, he had absolutely no understanding of the basic problems which now confront Wales.

The pinnacle of his personal appeal on the problems of Wales was reached when he said of Mid-Wales, "Let us pause a little." This is perhaps a predictable request, but it sounds strange coming from a party which is already being attacked for having paused too much. Of course, when he was in office himself in that party, he always claimed that we were not pausing enough and, for this reason, he resigned from the Government.

He complained today about cuts which have been made in expenditure in Wales, yet when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer his great criticism of his own Government—I believe this was why he resigned—was that they were not willing to make enough cuts. Listening to his high-minded indignation about the problems of Wales under a Labour Government after one year, I was wondering how he reconciled it with the record of his own Government in which he found so much to praise. After all, in Mid-Wales, of which he spoke, depopulation doubled while his party was in office. He spoke of new jobs under the Conservative Administration—