May I now call on the First Minister to make his resignation statement? First Minister.

Thank you, Llywydd. Later this afternoon, I will be writing to Her Majesty the Queen to resign after nine years as First Minister of Wales. It's been a privilege to succeed my friend and mentor Rhodri Morgan, and of course it's been a huge privilege to serve Wales in this job and to be at the helm at such a challenging and crucial time in our history as a nation. In preparing to give up the reins, I have mixed feelings, of course. They are bittersweet, if I can put it in those terms. Those are the feelings I have, like everyone else leaving a post that has been central to their lives. There's a sense of sadness in standing down as well as pride, too, in the work that has been achieved.

Llywydd, later this afternoon, I'll tender my resignation to Her Majesty the Queen, after nine years as First Minister of Wales. It was a privilege to follow my friend and mentor Rhodri Morgan. It's been a huge privilege to serve Wales in this job and to be at the helm at a time of great challenge, a crucial time in our nation's history. As I prepare to hand over the reins, the feelings are, I suppose, bittersweet, an experience shared, I'm sure, by everyone leaving a role that has been central to their lives. There's sadness, of course, in standing down, combined with pride in the work that has been achieved.

The post that I took on in 2009 has changed considerably since I took it on, and so has the world around us. People were more likely to write a letter than a tweet, selfies were more a thing for Paris Hilton than politicians, and arguably that should still be the case. [Laughter.] Perhaps more importantly, the National Assembly and the Welsh Government are very different organisations too, with more powers, more levers and higher expectations of delivery. If someone had said to me in 1999 that I would leave the job of First Minister—well, that would have surprised me, but leave the job of First Minister in a tax-varying, law-making Parliament, I would have been very surprised and delighted.

We have those tools. We have achieved a great deal, even in these toughest of times. Devolution is established, not just in law, not just in fact, but now in the hearts of the people of Wales, all doubts removed.

But, if I've achieved anything in this time, it's been with the help of many, many others. I've learnt that you achieve very little in life on your own. Our Parliament may be more powerful, but it's still young and it is, at least to my mind, too small. And that means there is huge pressure on everyone in this Chamber to make Government better. The crucial democratic duty of proper scrutiny, which is a task you've all taken to with the utmost seriousness—sometimes taken too seriously for my liking—. But nevertheless that is what I'm here to do. But I pay tribute to everyone in the Chamber for what you do to challenge us to do better.

I'd like, if I may, to just mention some people. First of all, my family: Lisa, my wife, who is here today, and I've been married to her for 24 years; Caron, my father, who is also here today and was here nine years ago; my mother was alive at that point, but died six days after I became First Minister, and she is somebody, of course, who is very much in my thoughts today; and my two children, Seren and Ruairi, who have had to live with a father who was always in Government and the embarrassment that that brings. So, my thanks to them as well.

Thank you to the children and to Lisa and dad.

Could I thank the Permanent Secretaries who have served in my time—two Morgans and a Jones—and the civil service? Because, politicians, of course, come up with policies and ideas and, sometimes, it is for civil servants to put those into practice. It's not always the easiest thing in the world, and I thank them for the work that they have done. I thank the Labour group and the Welsh Labour Party for the support they've given me over the past nine yeas, and I look forward, of course, to making sure that support is available to my successor as well, and that goes without saying, of course. To you, Llywydd, of course, it's not always easy to control this Chamber, sometimes tempers are a little frayed—I think Adam and I are probably guilty of that, and we saw it last night on the documentary—[Interruption.] The Amman Valley, well, the upper Amman Valley—we could discuss which end of the Amman Valley is best. And, of course, all Assembly Members, because, as I said, scrutiny is a hugely important part of Government. If there's no scrutiny, then Government becomes sloppy, Government becomes ineffective, and that's why the scrutiny of all in this Chamber is important to hone Government and to make sure that Government understands what needs to be done in order to make legislation or policy effective.

It's been a challenging time—the double whammy of reduced budgets and the impact of benefit cuts on Wales, and then, of course, the small matter of Brexit. Whilst it would've been irresponsible for any leader to have ignored these issues, I've always talked to my Cabinet about the importance of delivery, regardless of these dominant issues, and what is it? Well, it remains the same: people want good schools, a good job and a good NHS, free at the point of use; they want a better tomorrow for their children and their grandchildren. And so, there are 118 brand new schools in Wales and a further 41 under construction, and the children in those schools are getting more and more top grades. In the future, they're going to learn more and more, not just traditional subjects, but how to be good citizens. Our education system is not fractured by destructive competition. Our schools and our teachers are working together in the interests of the whole country.

And there are tens of thousands more people in work today, including, of course, in Port Talbot, Trostre, Llanwern and Shotton; tens of thousands of young people are pursuing life-changing apprenticeships; we have record inward investment; 18,000 young people have been given opportunities through our Jobs Growth Wales programme; there are 20,000 fewer young people not in education or training. More people are surviving cancer than ever before; delayed transfers of care are at a record low; we've improved survival rates because of our new ambulance response model; and these are more than soundbites, they are fundamental truths about how life is changing for people in Wales. Because, what does a new school mean? It's not just a political promise kept; it's a child's future improved. Whether it's in Rhyl, Aberdare or Cardiff East, 11-year-olds are walking into bright, new schools with third generation pitches outside and the latest technology at their fingertips inside. 

Extra investment in our NHS doesn't mean more doctors and nurses on its own, it also means that 700 people have been able to access HIV prevention medication in our country. Not one of the people who have accessed pre-exposure prophylaxis in Wales have gone on to contract HIV. And one of the remarkable changes, since I was a teenager and in university, has been the conquest of AIDS. The shadow of it was frightening back in the 1980s. Nobody ever thought at that point there would ever be a way, not just to remove AIDS, but to control it. And, over the years, we've seen a huge change in that, and that, for me, has been an incredible testimony to the medical research that has been carried out.

We've set examples for the world to follow: we introduced deemed consent for organ donation; we abolished child burial fees; we're world leaders in recycling; we've legislated to protect tenants and prevent homelessness; ended the right to buy in Wales; we've reformed the social care system in Wales; and we've redefined the language. The language, at one time, many of us will remember, was a political football; it isn't any more. Now, we have a language that everybody knows is a source of national pride, whether they speak Welsh or not. And we've committed, of course, to make Wales the safest place in Europe for women. We're not there yet, there's some way to go, but that is the aim of not just the Government now, but the Government in the future. 

When we were provoked as a nation, we held firm. Those attacks on our NHS in Wales, a line between life and death, we responded with dignity, and we backed our hardworking doctors and nurses, not just with extra money, but with something of even greater value, and that's respect. Making policy for Wales, not for London's media.

Our growing confidence and self-belief as a Government, as a country, has come even in the face of a decade of austerity. But, of course, none of these policies and achievements exist in isolation from each other. They all to my mind add up to something that I always want for Wales, and they are fairness and hope, because they have been my watchwords in Government, just as they were my parents' watchwords at home. And those are the words, I believe, that are very close to the heart of the person I'll be voting for as the next First Minister of Wales. It is Mark, to make that clear. [Laughter.] It has been a great pleasure to work alongside you, Mark, and all my Cabinet colleagues, past and present, who have given me such fantastic support for so many years. Mark is someone who can effortlessly match both principles and pragmatism, and I have no doubt that he will make a superb First Minister of Wales. 

I've been told that Geraint Thomas has done the ultimate Welsh mic drop after winning the Tour de France, so I won't attempt to finish it in quite the same way, not that I suppose that I can anyway. [Laughter.] Instead, I'd just like to say thank you to everyone here, but most importantly to the people of Wales I've had the honour to serve. Every school or hospital, every business I've seen, on the Eisteddfod maes, or the Royal Welsh showground, out shopping with the family, or the rugby, wherever it may be, I've been met with kindness and with courtesy, and I cannot thank you enough. 

It's been an honour.

It's been an honour. Diolch yn fawr. Thank you. [Applause.]

To reply to the statement, therefore, Paul Davies. 

Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, as you've said, you have led your party and your country for nine years, and as has already been said in this Chamber earlier today, you have been a member of the Welsh Government's Cabinet for over 18 years—almost as long as your former Government colleague, the Member for the Vale of Glamorgan. Of course, during that time, you have held many of the major portfolios—education, environment, agriculture and Counsel General—as well as the highest public office in Wales. Very few people earn the privilege to lead their country, and let alone for the best part of a decade.

Legacy is important in politics, and it is true to say that many people will remember your time as First Minister for different things and different reasons. The decisions we make as politicians, particularly when we hold high office, can have significant consequences for our nation and for individual people. They can affect people for good and for ill. Sometimes we cannot conceive of the consequences that our decisions will have, but they will have their effect nevertheless. Some decisions we will wish we had made sooner, some we regret, but all are part of our story and the legacy we leave behind.

Personally, having been an Assembly Member since 2007, I have always found you approachable and straightforward, particularly when I have raised issues of concern. Being an elected representative does place additional responsibilities on us, and that's okay, because we go into politics with open eyes. But it places additional responsibilities on our families as well, and that can sometimes be very difficult. We sometimes ask a lot of our families and our loved ones. As First Minister, I appreciate the additional scrutiny and pressure on your family, and I am sure that their private feelings of relief at your decision to stand down are matched by admiration and pride for the work you've done in the last nine years. 

While we have had many political differences and expressed strongly held views on Welsh Government policies and decisions, I have always had the utmost respect for you as the holder of the office of First Minister, and the way in which you have conducted your role. We have clashed on several occasions in this Chamber, especially in recent weeks, but whatever our political differences, as people, I am confident that there is more that unites us than what divides us. And, yes, there are times when we have worked together in the national interest. All parties in this Chamber campaigned together in the 2011 referendum on law-making powers, but we've shared some common ground on policy too: food hygiene ratings, public health, free childcare and carrier bag levies to name a few. And I know that in recent weeks you have visited a number of projects delivered during your time in office, and, not least, a number of new school buildings built through local authorities and the Welsh Government's twenty-first century schools programme.

While it's fair to say that you took over from a real giant of Welsh politics, your successor too has some big shoes to fill. I genuinely believe that all of us in this Chamber, while our journey here came through different routes, from different parts of Wales, are united by a commitment to public service. We all want the best for our country. We want a healthier, more prosperous, more environmentally friendly and fairer Wales, and through robust debate in this Chamber we all vote in the best interests of the people we represent, and I know that you share that desire, First Minister. And, on behalf of the Welsh Conservative group and the Welsh Conservative Party, I'd like to thank you for the immense contribution you have made during your tenure as First Minister, and the contribution you have made in 18 years in Government to our National Assembly and to Wales. 

As the Assembly Member for Bridgend, I know you will continue to play an active role in Welsh politics and in this place, and beyond that as well, and I know that public service is in your veins. So, I'm sure there is a future for you working for the people of Wales in public life. Thank you for your commitment to public service, Carwyn. Congratulations on your achievements in office and may I wish you and your family every success in the future. [Applause.] 

First Minister, I'm sure you'd be the first to agree that we haven't always seen eye to eye over the years. But, I have no doubt that at every point during the period that you have held high office you've had the interests of our country foremost in your thoughts. When you took the reins, you were just the second First Minister in our history, and that particular honour will be yours forever, of course.

One of your main tasks in many ways was to build on the success of your predecessor, and someone you described earlier as your mentor, Rhodri Morgan—one who was crucial in gaining popular support for our National Assembly, a new institution that was on very unstable foundations during those early days. You took that responsibility seriously, working in the coalition with my party at that time. You proceeded with the referendum that we as two parties had agreed to institute, ensuring that this Senedd today has the powers that enable us to legislate for Wales and its people, today and for the future. That was quite an achievement, Carwyn, and I'm eager to put that on record today. Through collaboration between our two parties, there was a successful referendum in 2011, which was a historic milestone. We use those words very often as politicians, but this was historic in terms of the growth and development of our country’s national institutions.

I think your articulation of your vision of the kind of constitutional framework that Wales must have in order to become a more successful country can be seen as your most important contribution. As well as developing the Senedd's law-making powers, we saw the beginnings of the introduction of tax-varying responsibilities during your tenure. These powers will be crucial for us to have a more rounded economic policy for the future. You’ve also argued the case strongly for a distinctive legal jurisdiction for Wales and set in train the commission on justice, which I'm sure will take that agenda forward. Indeed, I am confident that leaders of an independent Wales in the future will be grateful to you for your contribution in that regard.

Beyond that, you've made a number of interventions more generally on a UK-wide level, calling for more co-operation between the devolved administrations and the UK Government. You've called for a federal structure for the United Kingdom, with the devolved nations represented in a reformed second chamber. This has of course opened the door to the next stages in the evolution of the relationship between the countries of these islands, which I'm sure will inevitably happen over the next decade. I'm sure that you will have a further contribution to make to that discussion.

During this time, closer to home, of course, at the dispatch box in this Chamber, as you've already alluded to, you've generally sustained—our Amman valley passion notwithstanding—a quiet dignity, if I may say, in your dealings with colleagues. You have overseen a very wide brief with masterly composure. I, for one, have found you a tough opponent to disrupt. Shall we just say it's hard to ruffle your feathers, Carwyn? 

Those outside the immediate cut and thrust of political life will find it hard to understand the stresses and strains that inevitably affect us all, and not least the families on which we all depend. So, as well as paying tribute to you personally, I think it is fitting that we should also acknowledge the support you have received from your wife Lisa, your children, Seren and Ruairi, and from your father, Caron.

Carwyn, through all your period in office, you have demonstrated an admirable resilience, a quality I am sure will be necessary for your successor, whoever that turns out to be. [Laughter.]

May I wish you sincerely all the best for you and your family for the future, and thank you from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of the people of Wales, for your years of service? [Applause.]

Thank you for your statement, First Minister, and thank you for your kind attention to the questions I and the UKIP group have asked you over the past two and a half years. We have occasionally had our disagreements, but I feel that these were political differences of opinion, and certainly, for my part, I never felt there was any personal acrimony there. I have enjoyed our encounters. Of course we will still see you in the Chamber, but it will be slightly strange not to see you in the seat that you've been occupying for all of my time here. I would say that I haven't always agreed with your answers, but on the whole you have demonstrated a good mastery of your very wide portfolio as the Welsh First Minister, as Adam Price alluded to just now. You've also shown a great deal of stamina in remaining in office for so long. I believe that you and Jane Hutt are among the longest serving Ministers in UK political history.

There have been remarks in the past about your resemblance to the tv weatherman Derek Brockway, and there was that Comic Relief performance of a few years ago when the two of you swapped places. Personally, I couldn't quite see that resemblance. Increasingly, I am finding I get you confused with the Welsh rugby coach, Warren Gatland. [Laughter.] Is it true that the two of you have never been seen in the same room together? Anyway, while you reflect on that, I wish you well, First Minister, in your future career, on behalf of both myself and the UKIP group. Thank you.

It's an honour to speak today on behalf of the Labour group, to pay tribute to the man who has led our party and our country for the past nine years. The challenges have at times been considerable. As I know you've previously said yourself, Carwyn, you took office in the wake of the global financial crash, constrained by the political commitment to austerity from Westminster, and the past few years have, of course, been dominated by Brexit. There have indeed been dark days, but throughout, Carwyn, you have provided principled and passionate leadership, a leadership that has stood up for Wales, that worked together to build a better Wales, and the achievements have been considerable—not least of these has been your success in leading Welsh Labour to two election wins.

Opinion polling consistently told us, Carwyn, that you were the most highly rated politician in Wales—an electoral asset to Welsh Labour. I personally experienced a little of this magic, and I fondly remember campaigning with you in Mountain Ash just before the 2016 election. The support that you provided to me as a first-time candidate was much appreciated, as, I hope, was the warm welcome that you received from local residents at the busy weekly market. A group of women we met at Abercynon library a little later on were similarly starstruck, but you found a way of engaging them and putting them at their ease—so much so that when I returned a few minutes later, they were happily giving you advice on how to dye your hair. [Laughter.] Then they moved on to complimenting you on your walking programmes and your cheerful evening broadcast, and the truth sank in. They did think that I had brought an equally popular weatherman for a visit.

But, regardless of that case of mistaken identity, your leadership in government has really made a difference in Wales. It’s made a difference to the additional people in work or with qualifications. It’s made a difference to the record numbers of NHS staff and the pay that they receive. It’s made a difference to the people accessing new treatments, not waiting so long for diagnostic tests or transfers of care, and simply surviving conditions like cancer.

As I mentioned during First Minister’s questions, I know that opportunities for children and young people have been important to you, and it’s clear that your Government has also made a difference here: targeted support for families who need it most; the most generous childcare offer in the UK; action to support students; retention of the EMA; improvements in examination results. Most visibly, Carwyn, as other speakers have commented, your commitment to the twenty-first century schools programme has ensured our children and young people are educated in modern facilities fit for purpose. Altogether, nearly £4 billion has been earmarked to this, and over 150 schools and colleges will have been built or refurbished by 2019. My constituency of Cynon valley has more than benefited from this. Over £100 million-worth of investment means that pupils of one brand-new secondary and seven brand-new primary schools are now taught in state-of-the-art facilities. And these improvements also extend to the further education sector. Another memory that I will treasure is accompanying you as you cut the sod for the new £22 million Aberdare Coleg y Cymoedd campus in snow and freezing hail. And while many other leaders might have made a very hasty exit in such awful conditions, you decided to climb on board the bus that had been brought in for the workers and deliver an impromptu speech there to them. I think that's a measure of the man.

Carwyn, you also made a difference through your role in helping to deliver a positive result in the 2011 campaign on law-making powers and in the way that your Government has used these powers since. Just as important have been the taxation powers this Assembly has been granted to deliver the first modern, made-in-Wales taxes.

I know your resignation here today will not mark the end of your contribution to public life in Wales. I also know that Lisa, Seren, Ruairi and Caron will cherish being able to spend more time with you.

As someone who has both studied and taught the history of Wales, I’m confident that your place in the history books of Wales will be a prominent one. So, diolch yn fawr, Carwyn, and all the very best for the future. [Applause.]

First Minister, it’s a pleasure to say a few words in this statement, as you and I have jostled over this Chamber for nearly seven of the nine years that you’ve served as First Minister. Much of that debate and the elections that I fought you under were a fat lot of good to me—[Laughter.]—because you stayed in that chair and I stayed on this side. But I well remember the first time you and I met, and that was when I was chairman of the National Farmers Union and you came as our guest speaker at the South Wales Police Social Club at Waterton. Some 17-odd years on, here we are, standing in this Chamber in an institution that has transformed itself into a fully fledged Parliament. And you can take much credit for that, both from your time as Minister but also as First Minister. And in your address to us this afternoon, you did give credit to everyone who’s participated in that journey on devolution, whilst quite rightly pointing out the success that you’ve had as First Minister, and your Governments have had. You, again quite rightly, pointed out the people who've supported you in that journey. Because we, as politicians, know that very often it can be a very lonely journey, and some of the calls you have to make, especially from a position of government, are decisions that you as an individual have to take. And so I pay tribute to your time in Government, and your time as a Minister, and your time as an Assembly Member, which, obviously, will continue till 2021.

You have public service running through your veins, without a shadow of a doubt. Someone doesn’t give the time and commitment that you’ve given without having that public service running through your veins, and you can be held in great tribute about the efforts you’ve done to improve the lot of the people of Wales. Politically we are quite different, there's no doubt about that, but that's what politics is about—plurality—and that's something that surely we should be celebrating.

I well remember the time when you announced you were standing down back in April, and you paid tribute to the staff that have supported you. I think we can all pay tribute to the staff who've supported us, because, when you made that announcement, it was on a Saturday, and most people who know me and my farming background know that's the time I spend in the livestock markets down in the west country, and my chief of staff was in Las Vegas on a stag do, and my press officer was at the Tottenham Hotspur football match at Wembley, and between us—my lack of technology is a stumbling block, to say the least—we managed to put a press release together, but you had taken us by surprise at that moment, you had.

But you've never taken us by surprise in your commitment and dedication to Wales. You've highlighted exactly one of the big jobs that you have done, which is to raise the profile of Wales not just here in the United Kingdom, but across the globe, and I pay wholesome tribute to you in doing that. Many years ago, many people from Wales would go abroad and if you were asked in a survey or questionnaire and someone would say, 'Where are you from?' and you might say, 'Cardiff', or you might say, 'Wales'—'Huh? Where's that?' and then you'd just say 'London' or 'England', and 'Oh, I get that'. Well, today people know where Wales is and people know what Wales is about, and a lot of that credit is down to you as First Minister and the efforts of your Government.

I thank you most sincerely as an Assembly Member for the courtesy you've extended to me in the time I've been an Assembly Member, but also the courtesy you've extended to me as leader of the Conservative group here in the Assembly. I wish you and your family all the very best for the future. When we do go home at night and we shut the door, if we've had a particularly brutal day, it is the family that put their arms around us and console us, and I'm sure your family will be a great source of strength to you. I wish you well for the future and, in the remaining two or three years that we have before the next Assembly election, I very much hope we see a very active Carwyn Jones in this Chamber. All the best, First Minister. [Applause.]

For the six and a half years that I was the leader of my party, Carwyn Jones was First Minister, and I think it's fair to say that, like many have said already this afternoon, we haven't always seen eye to eye. On occasion there's been fairly robust disagreement between us, as there should be between opposing political parties, but I think it's fair to say that those disagreements have on the whole happened in a respectful way, and they've happened in a way that have enabled both of our parties to work together when the need has arisen, and I value very much the private discussions that we have had.

Carwyn, from my experience of working alongside you, I know you to be genuine about wanting to create a Wales where people do not suffer from discrimination. Whether that be putting the far right in their place on the question of racism and division or whether it be on the question of women's rights, you've taken a principled and ethical approach and I believe that you deserve recognition for that.

You've also been genuine in your desire to see Wales progress, and while I may well have been frustrated about the lack of support for faster progress, particularly on the Welsh constitution, on powers and the lack of support that you've had from your MPs in particular, the fact that you've now started the ball rolling on the devolution of the criminal justice system, as well as having worked with others of us to deliver a successful 'yes' vote back in 2011, shows where you stand politically on these questions. I very much hope that the work that you've started on the criminal justice system will bear fruit and soon.

Now, I know that this last year has been very difficult for you personally, and for others around you, and I know from my own experience how life in the public eye can impact on those closest to us, even when we seek to protect them from that. That aspect of the job is probably the least easy, so I hope that, after today, you will have more time to devote to spending with those people who are close to you and who you love. That, after all, is what is most important.

So, good luck to you.

All the very best wishes to you and to your family for the future. [Applause.]

Llywydd, I think there are nine of us here today, nine Assembly Members—old timers—who've been here since the very beginning, and obviously that includes Carwyn, me and you. [Laughter.]

Gee, thanks, John. [Laughter.]

Much accumulated wisdom and knowledge, Llywydd. [Laughter.]

Okay, okay.

I think it's fair to say we've all seen exponential development and growth in devolution and, indeed, in Wales as a country since 1999, and we are now a Parliament in all but name and, hopefully, that name will soon follow. And the depth and breadth of our responsibilities, and the tools that we now have to do a job for the people of Wales, for our communities are much bigger than they were, and I believe they are being used to good effect.

Over that time, Llywydd, we've progressed from the Egyptian potato blight regulations to those arcane creatures, LCOs—legislative consent Orders—and Assembly Measures, and now to Acts. And, do you know, we've seen some really significant, important Acts, I believe, really delivering in terms of the use of those powers for the people of Wales: the well-being of future generations Act, the environment Act, the social services and well-being Act, the organ donation legislation, and, I would say, the active travel Act, which I was privileged to have a part in when I was in Government. So, we have come a long way. For nine years of that time, during that time of development and growth, better and more effective delivery for Wales, Carwyn has led Welsh Government and led our country, and led that building of devolution in Wales, in the referendum as was mentioned earlier and generally, and led on the actual implementation and use of those powers, which, obviously, is absolutely crucial.

It's been a tremendous opportunity for Carwyn, and a tremendous responsibility, privilege and honour, and one that I know he is very conscious and always has been very aware of and all that those responsibilities bring. I believe Carwyn has fulfilled those responsibilities, Llywydd, with commitment, dedication, ability and stature, and that's a fabulous tribute to the man.

At the start of the Assembly, Llywydd, I and Alun Pugh, who represented Clwyd West at the time, quickly became good friends, the three of us, and I think it's fair to say that it was clear to Alun and I that Carwyn had strong leadership qualities. I think, even back then, that was recognised not only by us, but across the parties in the Assembly at the time, across Assembly Members, in the media and more widely. I found out about those leadership qualities to my cost early on when I contested with Carwyn the prestigious position of chair of the South East Wales Regional Committee. [Laughter.] That was an early advancement for Carwyn, but it didn't sully our friendship in any way.

But, outside the Assembly, Llywydd, my efforts to enlist Carwyn in the Assembly football and cricket teams were met with limited enthusiasm, I think it's fair to say, although Carwyn did play and did take part. And whilst sometimes effective—[Laughter.]—

You're too generous.

—I did find Carwyn keen to demonstrate his knowledge when it came to the opportunity to take part in a quiz. And I think that was partly because Carwyn certainly possesses considerable general knowledge and, in fact, was the star of our quiz team. We tied for first place in the competition, Llywydd, and when it then came to the tie-break, Carwyn was very keen to demonstrate his knowledge further and be the member of our team that went up onto the stage for the tie-breaker. Unfortunately, and unexpectedly, it wasn't a tie-break question, but a dance-off. [Laughter.] Llywydd, I won't go any further than saying I don't think that Carwyn's dancing abilities quite match his general knowledge and his prowess at quizzes.

But, in any event, very early on, Llywydd, Carwyn took a Cabinet post and took Wales through that terrible crisis of foot and mouth, which, again, many of us will remember very well—the searing difficulty that that brought to our rural communities and Wales as a whole, and it was Carwyn's early responsibility, early in his time in the Cabinet, to take Wales through that. That was a major challenge and, again, it's a tribute to the mettle of Carwyn that he was able to meet that challenge and guide Wales through that time of terrible crisis. And when Carwyn became First Minister, it was a great privilege for me to serve in Government with Carwyn and have the opportunity, as I said earlier, to take forward legislation such as the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013. 

Llywydd, I think it's fair to say, as others have mentioned, and Carwyn indeed himself mentioned, Carwyn has built on the firm foundations of Rhodri Morgan. And both of them, I believe, are quite similar in many ways in terms of their passion for Wales and devolution, their passion for rugby and sport in general, their commitment to the job of leading Wales and fulfilling the role of First Minister. And I think it's a tribute to both of them that they were both widely respected in Wales and referred to by their first names, their Christian names, which I think speaks volumes in terms of the affection and the respect that they are held in by the people of Wales.

Llywydd, Carwyn's place in the progressive history of Wales and the UK is secure, and I know all of us here today will wish Carwyn the very best for the future and also his wife Lisa, their children and his father Caron. Diolch yn fawr, Carwyn. [Applause.]

Thank you. And before I call on the First Minister to respond, may I also, as an old-timer—[Laughter.]—thank the First Minister for his service on behalf of all Members of this Senedd? Over the years, it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to work with him. May I disagree with the First Minister on one thing, namely his view on selfies in politics, and to tell the First Minister that the most popular selfie that I’ve ever put on Twitter was a selfie that I took of both him and me in Lille, in the crowd on the night that Wales beat Belgium in the quarter finals of the Euros, with the caption, ‘Please don’t take me home, I just don’t wanna go to work'? That was a very popular selfie and tweet.

So, thank you, Carwyn, for your friendship over the years, also for your service to your Government, to this Senedd, and your nation. And to reply—the final word goes to the First Minister, Carwyn Jones.

Diolch, Llywydd. I won't detain Members for too long, but just to thank everybody for their very, very kind words. 

May I thank Paul for his comments? It is true to say that there are many things that happen in this Chamber that happen at a political level not a personal level.

May I also thank Adam? I was at the millennium centre on Sunday and I saw a book there that had been published by Y Lolfa—they were articles written by Adam between 2001 and now. I now have time to read them, so I might do that. But it was his face that I saw when I entered the centre.

Can I thank Gareth for his comments? And Andrew. Over many years, we jostled—fortunately for me, not physically—[Laughter.]—on the other side of the Chamber. But, certainly, he's absolutely right to say that there were many conversations that took place behind the Speaker's chair, as I think they call it in Westminster, that were needed in order to get business through, and for that I very much thank him. 

For Leanne—I know Leanne spent many a week frustrated at the answers that I gave, which I suppose for me should be a source of pride. [Laughter.] But I know from her perspective, as I've said to her before, she has done an immense amount to raise the profile of women in politics in Wales. It was with great envy that I watched her in all those election leaders' broadcasts, when she was on network television and I wasn't—[Laughter.]—and she brought great credit on herself when she was involved in those debates. And certainly, for a long time afterwards, people thought that she was, in fact, the First Minister—and who knows in the future. 

And finally, of course—. Oh, Vikki, of course, thank you for the words that you said. 

And finally, John. When I heard that John was going to speak, I felt the same feeling I did when I got married and the best man was about to speak—[Laughter.]—because John knows many, many things over the years that we've done. But of all the things I can tell you about John, the one piece of advice I'd give you is never let John book you accommodation. We went to Blackpool some years ago, and John booked the accommodation. It was £10 a night. We shared a room. When we arrived, the hotelier said to us, 'We pride ourselves on the fact that the hotel doesn't have any meters in the room', and that was the selling point, apparently. The hotel had a shower—one shower—that you accessed by walking straight off the corridor into it through a curtain, if I remember rightly. [Laughter.] It was quite an interesting experience. So, John is many things, but a luxury tour operator, I suspect, is not what lies ahead. [Laughter.] John, I've known you for all of those years, and we've had good fun and ups and downs, of course, but, nearly 20 years on, we would've been stunned, wouldn't we, to think that we would sit here in a Parliament with such powers, given where we were back in 1999? It was the potatoes originating in Egypt Order, and we talked about undersized whiting—that's what we were talking about in the Chamber. Who would've thought that the day would come when we would talk about human transplantation and changing the system of consent?

Thank you all very much, and best of luck to you all.

Many thanks to you all, and the best of luck to you all in the future.

It's been an honour and a privilege to serve my country as a proud Welshman.

It's been a great honour and privilege for me to serve my country as a proud Welshman. [Applause.]

Thank you, Carwyn.