There is no doubt that we all, collectively as a nation and as a people, are standing at the cusp of a new social and economic future and that our people are bitterly divided and we must now come together to tackle our future. Though we must accept the democratic mandate and will of the people, we must also all acknowledge the narrow margin, as has been referenced earlier, and the significant effect already on Wales. It is imperative today that we hold the UK Government and the Prime Minister, as has already been said, to account and that they give and deliver on their false promises to Wales and give our money back that they promised to the Welsh people during the ‘leave’ campaign, which we currently send to the EU. Or is that a con? Every single penny must be made up that Wales loses from leaving Europe, or otherwise there is a democratic deficit and the people have been conned and the people have been misled and the people have been lied to.

There is no doubt that this referendum has turned family member against family member and friend against friend. There is no doubt that, today, more than ever, it is time for our country to find unity and strength of purpose in moving forward. There is equally no doubt, as has been said already, that racism is on the increase and that all of us should be condemning these acts of racial hate crime. Today, Welsh Government is committed and united in working to get the best possible outcomes for Wales post-Brexit and to get the best possible outcomes for the Welsh people; every sinew and breath of this administration will be utilised by Welsh Government to engender positive effects out of this unprecedented peacetime context, and, vitally, every effort will be undertaken to negotiate the best deal for Wales and Welsh business and Welsh jobs. Welsh Government will seek to nurture and engage the best possible marketplace and tariffs for Welsh goods sold in the EU, and it is in the best interests of Welsh agriculture and fisheries that this is done. However, much of this will not be reliant on us and Welsh Government, and it will not be in our gift. Today, it is absolute fact and not fiction that there are significant and considerable impacts already hitting the UK’s shores as a direct result of this referendum.

We now have a seismic, volatile and difficult context for Wales in which to create certainty, clarity and needed positive outcomes, and it is critical that everyone understands that context. It is relevant and it is a direct result of the nation’s ‘leave’ vote that this Friday, for instance, the UK has already seen over the weekend that it has lost its AAA status, that the pound has already hit its lowest level since 1985, that key Welsh businesses and inward investors have expressed publicly grave concern over a tariff-based future with the EU single market. And there is a plummeting confidence in manufacturing and beyond due to uncertainty over implementation of the article 50 timescale. This is uncertainty that could affect Welsh jobs. It is a reality for our Welsh people that there is a negative effect on resolving the Tata solution and on Welsh jobs. This is backed up, not by politicians, but by Airbus, Ford and others.

Despite such a difficult and troubling context, the UK people have voted as a majority through a democratic process and have given a democratic mandate to leave, which the UK Government must now honour and respect as the will of the people, but alongside the money pledged by the UK in the ‘leave’ campaign. This is fundamental, and we must admit that the arguments for remain did not get through, but it is equally right and proper that facts are understood, that the public discern the issues of importance from the froth and that considerable challenges, which I've outlined and that, no doubt, lie ahead, are understood by the people. It is a hard fact that the media have played a lacklustre role in presenting the facts and arguments, and that it’s argued politicians have also failed to set that agenda. The significant challenges for the UK now we will meet head-on and, in Wales, work to strategically overcome, I have no doubt, but it is vital that such significant economic, social and societal challenges are fully and properly understood. It is imperative that the interests of Wales and its people are at the forefront and front centre of our strategy, and that this vacuum created by political turmoil and uncertainties across the UK that we’re all facing is re-stitched as swiftly as possible. Diolch.