I agree with large parts of Nick Ramsay's speech, much to his horror—I actually think he's right. The interesting thing is that he describes himself as somebody from Monmouthshire and he takes ownership of that, but I'm from Monmouthshire. I was born in St James Hospital, Tredegar, Monmouthshire. I was educated in Monmouthshire as well. And the first time I saw the All Blacks play, they played Monmouthshire. You know, it is part of my identity as well as a part of your identity, Nick, and you know that and I know that. We are both from that place that we both recognise and have historical roots that go back long into history. That is why the point that you make, and the point made by Paul Davies as well, is so important about what local structures are. 

My belief in where I come from and my identity, as somebody from the borderlands of Wales, from Monmouthshire, from a border county, isn't determined by the structure of local government, but is determined by who we see ourselves as being and how we define ourselves in what we do and how we live, and that isn't a matter—. No politician can take that from somebody, and no politician can create it either.

So, what we're seeking to do here is to recognise those historical bounds, those historical traditions, those histories that created all of us. You don't own Monmouthshire and neither do I. We both share that history and we both share that identity. I recognise the validity of the points that you're raising and I recognise the points that you make in terms of the structures that we've described in this Green Paper, but what I would really value from you isn't a critique of that but an alternative to it and a proposal to build upon it.

You recognise and I recognise that what we can't do today is carry on doing what we've done in the past, and that means that we do need to think hard about these matters. We need to think hard about the people who deliver our services, we need to think hard about how we hard-wire democratic accountability, and we need to think hard about the sorts of structures to which we can devolve powers, and we can devolve and empower new opportunities for local government, to see a renaissance of local government in Wales and to ensure that local government in the future doesn't just have the powers but the ability to deliver on those powers.