Wales 30 England 3

How rich we are as a nation to have such immense sporting talent in Wales!

As shadow minister for sport I would like to pass on my congratulations to the Welsh rugby team for winning the Six Nations.

A fantastic performance from Wales gave us another historic win against the English. With regards to culture and heritage, Wales surely has to be one of the most abundant places in Europe.

With an acting legacy that includes Richard Burton and Michael Sheen, our world-famous castles and beautiful countryside, we have plenty to boast about.

Even the Cornish try to claim our language as their own!

England 0 Wales 1

Cultural wealth aside, however, it is a sad fact that Wales remains the poorest part of the United Kingdom.

All signposts illustrate that Wales is falling behind England and the rest of the United Kingdom in business, health and education thanks to the Labour government we have had in Wales since 1999.

Wales has the second-lowest business start-up rate in the UK.

The government cannot create private-sector jobs but it can help businesses to hire more people.

The Welsh Government has admitted it has a problem with the way it provides loan funds through Finance Wales. The Federation of Small Business Wales has also expressed concern that this funding is not being promoted properly in Wales.

England 1 Wales 1

In an area where we have so much to be proud of, we also need to encourage more businesses in Wales to export to the rest of the world. Wales has the lowest percentage of companies who sell their goods outside Wales. When these companies do trade further afield, we do so mainly with the problematic European Union.

England 2 Wales 1

It is clear Welsh success in attracting foreign businesses is also poor and we need to raise our game in this area too. The Labour first minister spends a great deal of time on foreign visits but hasn’t managed to attract the investment.

England 3 Wales 1

If we had a Wales Enterprise Council we would have the ability to tackle these problems. The council would boost foreign investment in Wales by encouraging international investors to develop relationships with Welsh companies. A Wales Enterprise Council would be a positive step.

Let’s alter this scoreline and