Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance – in the Senedd at 1:43 pm on 14 November 2018.
I appreciate, again, that the lack of detail does make things difficult but we do have a clear indication of many aspects and, of course, we are able to use the Welsh Government's own position in 'Securing Wales' Future' and to contrast it and compare it with what we do know from the draft text as things stand. We know Wales will not have full participation in the single market, we know we will not maintain our membership of the EU customs union, and we know that Northern Ireland apparently will effectively be staying in the single market and that it's likely that a new customs border will therefore appear in the Irish Sea with bad consequences for Wales. And, in addition to all of this—the detail and the actual ground consequences—politically nobody wants this deal. No remainer wants this deal and no leaver wants this deal; nobody wants what is apparently on offer. There is no mandate from anywhere or anyone for this form of Brexit.
The political context here in Wales, of course, is very important. The Cabinet Secretary, in the next few weeks, may well become the most senior elected Labour politician in the United Kingdom. What he thinks and what he says and his clarity on this matter is very, very important indeed and will have lasting consequences. So, can he tell us whether or not his own position is changing on this matter? Will he now finally come out and say that the only way to resolve this mess and avoid a bigger mess and a disaster is through a referendum of the people? No more pointless general elections, no more repeated parliamentary impasses, but a people's vote to resolve this and avoid disaster.