I'm very pleased to formally move the legislative proposal for a Welsh continuity Bill. I want to also place on record, Llywydd, that the introduction and even enactment of a Welsh continuity Bill is not, and has never been, the preferred option of Plaid Cymru.

Indeed, I recall suggesting in the aftermath of the European referendum that the four Governments of the UK get together, perhaps using an accession in reverse template as a means of establishing how we leave the European Union and how we can accommodate the constitutional complexities of this union. That would not have been easy, it wouldn't have been a straightforward process, and it would've taken time. But, it would have been the best process, the fairest one, and it would've resulted in the UK being in a position to trigger article 50 with its eyes wide open. The UK Parliament then could have considered a far more satisfactory withdrawal Bill that would have effectively been concurrently written and agreed by all Governments of the UK. Instead, Llywydd, the UK Government have shown little but contempt for the devolved nations.

Members will recall my alarm at the now infamous paragraph 4.2 of the UK Government White Paper for what was then called the great repeal Bill, which intentionally misrepresented how the UK agrees to common EU frameworks that refer to devolved matters. Plaid Cymru correctly predicted at the time that this misrepresentation acted as a means to lay the groundwork for a Westminster power grab, and here we are with the now named EU withdrawal Bill, which is a naked power grab if ever there was one.

Clause 11 of the Bill will put new constraints on this Assembly's ability to legislate. Powers over long-devolved matters, like agriculture and environmental protection, will be seized by Ministers in Westminster. Decisions that will deeply affect the livelihoods of Welsh farmers, for example, will be made in Westminster by those who are also very keen to strike new trade deals with countries like America, Australia and New Zealand at all costs.

The UK Government have promised that the Assembly will be strengthened, offering substantial new powers, although they have been so far unable to identify a single one. Since the alarm bells have been ringing, Plaid Cymru has called for unilateral legislative action in the form of a continuity Bill, not because we wanted Wales to be under this threat, but because Wales is under this threat.

Llywydd, when I've spoken about a continuity Bill in the past, there have been a few Members here who have questioned my motives and, perhaps, suspected that it's part of a remoaning Welsh nationalist plot to stop Brexit and bring down the British state somehow. Well, I have learned in the last few weeks that life is far too short not to say what you believe and to believe what you say. I am a Welsh nationalist, and I will always believe in a European future for my country, but whether you were leave or remain, and whether you are unionist or nationalist, are irrelevant to the question of the continuity Bill. Whether to support a continuity Bill or not comes down to how you answer one simple question: do you believe that the referendum of 2016 provides a mandate to the UK Government to remove powers from this National Assembly? Plaid Cymru says it does not provide such a mandate, particularly when quite the opposite was promised to the people of Wales during that referendum.

Llywydd, timing is also important and I am at a loss to understand why the Welsh Government wishes to push this issue to the very last minute. Not one Welsh Government or Scottish Government joint amendment was accepted by the UK Government in terms of the withdrawal Bill; the UK Government even broke its own promise to bring forward its own amendments to improve the Bill at Reporting Stage. What more do they need to do to threaten Welsh devolution before we are prepared to act in defence of our hard-won democracy?

Llywydd, be in no doubt: once they have their hands on Welsh agriculture, the Welsh environment, there are measures that they will implement that may prove irreversible if ever we get those powers back. We have a window to act in the interests of our citizens and the rights and standards that they hold dear, in addition to the democratic structures that they have endorsed in two referenda. Let's take this opportunity with both hands. I commend this proposal to the National Assembly. [Applause.]