Thank you, Llywydd. I won’t speak for too long today, because the point that we have made by presenting this motion is quite simple. We will have opportunities to discuss the case for and against the M4 black route over the next few weeks and months. For the record, I will note my own view and my party’s view on the proposals that are being discussed and that have been subject to a public inquiry recently.

We do recognise and realise that there is work to be done to make the road system in the south-east of Wales more resilient and that there is room to make great investment in doing that, but we have yet to be convinced that going for the black route, as it is described, or a new route for the M4 to the south of Newport, is the way to deliver that. There are financial arguments for that. Why commit so much funding for one road, when there are alternatives? There are strong environmental arguments against that. We will hear more about that from Llyr Gruffydd a little later.

We believe that we could be more innovative and bring a twenty-first century solution to the problem that we are facing, rather than a solution that has its roots—let's be honest—in the 1970s and 1980s. We believe that we could move more swiftly towards resolving this problem taking that approach, but, along with that, we believe that what also needs to be done is to strengthen the public transport system in order to take people off the roads in the first place. So, for the record, that's where we stand on the M4.

But this debate isn't about that issue. There will be a vote held in this place at some point on the future of this proposal, where it's expected that the Members of our national Senedd’s vote will be binding. And if this Assembly says 'no' to the black route, then there is an expectation that 'no' should mean 'no'. But there is an important step to be taken before then by the Welsh Government. It’s the Welsh Government who will look at the conclusions of the public inquiry and will make a decision as to whether they wish to proceed or not.

The Welsh First Minister will make that call, but there is a context that will change very soon. There will be a change in the governance landscape of Wales, and one of the three candidates for the leadership of the Labour Party is here in the Chamber today. One of the three will become the new First Minister of Wales within a matter of weeks. Our simple point today is that the decision should be left to the new First Minister as to whether we proceed or not, because we believe that the decision is so significant that the decision should be owned by whoever becomes the new First Minister of Wales.

We don't believe that it’s acceptable for either the current First Minister to take the blame for doing something unpopular and then to disappear off the scene, or to take ownership of this as some means of leaving a personal legacy. No, there is too much at stake—