Thank you, Llywydd. This is one of those very important debates as we mark 20 years since the establishment of devolution. I recall making comments as a young journalist 20 years ago that one of the measures of success of devolution, and the success of the Welsh Government in due course, would be its impact on the Welsh economy. And I think, generally speaking, in looking at where Wales is in terms of the economic tables, not only on these isles but beyond these isles too, we can’t say that Wales is anywhere near reaching its potential as of yet.

There has been no lack of ambition expressed by me and predecessors and at times, possibly, even by the Government, but in terms of action, we’re not getting anywhere near the kinds of steps that we know need to be taken in order to take Wales forward into the future that I know it has economically as a young, prosperous nation.

There is much in what’s contained within the Conservative motion that I and other Plaid Cymru Members would certainly agree with, but we have tabled a series of amendments in order to highlight a few areas that we believe are important to emphasise this afternoon. In amendment 2, we are making the case, as I have done in the past, for having this economic summit. We are at that point, I think, where we need that opportunity to air some new ideas for the economic future of Wales in the most dynamic and the most public way possible. There are so many consultative groups that have been established by the Government over the years, and so many people have been drawn into work on a working group here and a working group there, but I think we have reached the point where we would have a real benefit on a national level by having the kind of summit that we talk about in our amendments, in attracting the best ideas and sharing those ideas with the people of Wales, so that they too can contribute to this discussion. So, I very much hope that the Assembly will support us in that regard.

And that amendment also makes reference to this policy that we have espoused for quite some time in this place, that we need legislation in place that would drive the kind of economic fairness and equality across Wales that the people of Wales do insist on having. I know as a Member representing north Wales that there are feelings that north Wales doesn’t get its share, and I’m sure there are similar feelings in west Wales, and even in areas close to this capital city, that prosperity isn’t fairly shared across the nation. I’m not one that wants to divide Wales; I want to unite us and to show that we can work as one nation.

I do think that this regional Bill that we are suggesting would be a means of ensuring, just like the future generations legislation has done, and require the Government to think in a particular way. A regional Bill would require the Government to consider, in everything it does, whether those decisions taken are truly going to lead to action that will benefit the people of Wales, wherever they are, so that we can remove these concerns that prosperity is centralised in just a few areas.

I will turn to the Brexit-related amendments. I think it was important for us to note this. I don’t need to expand too much on the amendment that states that we are concerned about Brexit. I want people to think about the European question in a Welsh context. Over the past few days, I’ve been having discussions with politicians from Gibraltar, and Gibraltar considered Brexit in the context of Gibraltar, and they asked, ‘Is this good for us?’ And 96 per cent of the population there rejected Brexit because of the damage it would cause to Gibraltar. Brexit is damaging to Wales, and I want the people of Wales to think in that way, because what’s bad for Wales as a nation means, of course, that it will be bad for our communities, for families and individuals across the country.

Just a brief on the shared prosperity fund. I do think that the UK Government had pledged to conclude its consultation on this funding that would replace European funding by December of last year. There’s been no consultation done, if truth to be told, which again is one of those elements that causes so many doubts, in my mind, on this question of leaving the European Union.

I will summarise with these few words: I have confidence in the potential of Wales. We are not delivering that potential at the moment. We’re not yet on the pathway that will enable us to deliver that potential. I don’t think that we’ll be able to start to fly as a nation until we are an independent nation. But on whatever side of that debate you are, whether you’re convinced or not on that, we should all be agreed that we should be doing far more and setting the bar far higher in moving to a place where we have firm foundations in place for that day when Wales does get its freedom.