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.]