As with many others here today, Llywydd, I am hugely concerned at the vote to leave the European Union and its consequences. I do believe we are very much in uncharted waters now, and I feel very concerned for collective security and peace in Europe and beyond; our access, of course, to the single market, which is so important; inward investment and, indeed, general investment here in Wales and across the UK in our economy; and also, of course, in terms of loss of European funding.

One project that very much springs to mind is the metro, which I’m hugely supportive of, as I know many others here are also. I think it’s a big idea, in terms of our economy in south-east Wales, and in terms of connectivity on economic and social fronts. Now, it’s uncertain as to whether we will have the funds to take that project forward as intended and as quickly as intended, and I hope any uncertainty will be resolved as quickly as possible.

Also, as others have mentioned, Llywydd, I’m very, very concerned about community cohesion. It’s not just a matter of the direct attacks and, indeed, intimidation that people have experienced in the wake of the EU referendum result, but also the concern that has been generated in our communities. I think all of us can play a role here, at all levels of Government and civic society, in making it clear that we will stand up for people in our communities no matter what their background and no matter what their nationality or ethnicity. We all have a responsibility in these difficult times on that front.

The next matter I’d like to mention, which others have also covered, Llywydd, is poverty, alienation and exclusion. I think it’s absolutely clear, when we look at the voting and the pattern of voting, that many people in our communities had that sense of hopelessness and not faring well in economic terms and in terms of their quality of life at the moment. In most circumstances, it’s understandable that they, when given an opportunity, as they see it, to deliver a strong message to kick, as it were, what they see as the establishment, the political elite—however they term it—they will take that opportunity, sometimes almost regardless of the actual issues at stake. I think there was a strong element of that in this particular vote and we need to recognise that sentiment, not just for that particular vote but in general. We need to greatly increase our efforts to tackle poverty, to create more inclusiveness in our communities and to build our economy for the benefit of all.

Finally, Llywydd, I’d like to turn to internationalism and Wales, because I remember, being one of the original Members of the Assembly—there aren’t that many of us left now—that in the run-up to the establishment of the Assembly, and in its early months and years, a lot of people were very concerned about parochialism—that the Assembly would be inward looking and that Wales would become more inward looking and less outward facing. I’m pleased to say that I don’t think that was the experience at all. I think the Assembly and Wales have been very much outward facing, and Ministers, Assembly Members, civic society and organisations in Wales have been part of that.

There have been various channels and processes that have facilitated that. We’ve become members of lots of international groupings, but an awful lot of it revolves around our membership of the European Union, whether it’s Welsh Ministers attending Council of Ministers meetings and, indeed, speaking for Wales there, or whether it’s the Committee of the Regions or visits by Assembly Members and others to Brussels and elsewhere in Europe. There are many facets to that engagement, but an awful lot of it, of necessity, revolves around our membership of the European Union. We are part of Europe, we will continue to be part of Europe and we do need to look, I believe, at how we channel that engagement with Europe and European Union countries in the wake of this vote.

There are many other aspects, of course, that I’m hugely enthusiastic about in terms of our internationalism, like the programme for Africa, which I think has been a great success on so many fronts for Wales and the Welsh Government. But, certainly, European Union membership is at the heart of much of that international engagement.

So, in conclusion, Llywydd, I very much think that all of us here really—almost all of us anyway—would want to see a Wales open to the world and the world open to Wales. And, in the wake of this referendum result, it’s more important than ever that we work towards that internationalism, and that here in Wales we make sure that we are tolerant, we are inclusive, we are welcoming of difference. That’s the sort of Wales I want to see.