Part of 2. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 14 June 2016.
I will. As I say, half of what we export goes to the EU—half of it. You interfere with that market at your peril. Many of our largest employers—Ford, for example, in my own constituency—are part of a European operation. That’s why accessing the European market is all-essential for them; that’s why they’re in the UK. There’s no incentive for them to stay in the UK if they can’t access the European market. There is no incentive for investors to come into the UK, because its market is too small, if they can’t access the European market. We know that we are able to export freely at the moment, we know that our farmers—and our lamb farmers particularly, who are absolutely dependent on exports to the EU—they’re able to do that. And it is absolutely crucial that we say, ‘We are a positive, confident country, we do not need to hide behind walls, we do not need to put our heads in the sand.’ And a sign of that confidence is being part of something bigger, ensuring the prosperity of all.