Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:51 pm on 5 June 2019.
Thank you, Llywydd. I'm pleased for the opportunity to close this debate, and I'm grateful to those who have contributed to the debate, which is another opportunity for us to make an unambiguous statement about the need to seek the consent of the people of Wales for the next step of our relationship with the EU. I respect the vote that happened in June 2016 and the outcome, namely that the population was divided but favoured, by a little, the principle they were asked to pass judgment on, in that context at that time.
What I'm not going to accept, in the face of three years of confusion and going nowhere, three years of Wales's needs being ignored by the establishment in Westminster and Whitehall, and three years of realising that much of what was told to the electorate during the referendum was misleading at best, that the vote in June 2016 settled clearly what the will of the people was. How could it settle clearly that, because there was no plan on the table even? Only now can we even think about settling this issue, and a confirmatory referendum is the way to do that.