Now, of course, it is not only the means that the UK Government is using to which we strenuously object; it is also the ends they are trying to achieve. This Assembly has already, many times, expressed its outright opposition to leaving the European Union without a deal. And the information about Whitehall's preparations for such an outcome, which is now in the public domain, only serves to highlight the short-term chaotic disruption we can expect to experience if Boris Johnson pushes us over that cliff edge on 31 October. Now, as a Government, we have been working ever harder as this threat comes ever nearer. At every point in the process, we have published detailed information showing how Brexit would have an impact here in Wales and the steps we have taken tirelessly to understand the risks and, insofar as we are able, to mitigate them. When the Assembly reconvenes, this Government will publish further information for Members and the Welsh public, setting out the action plan we have put in place for this autumn. 

Llywydd, the damage of a 'no deal' exit will not be temporary. It threatens profound systematic damage to our economy. The Bank of England says that such an outcome will permanently—permanently—reduce the UK's export potential. The Treasury believes that it will result in an economy 8 per cent to 10 per cent smaller in 15 years' time than if we remain within the European Union. The president of the National Farmers Union, Minette Batters, has said that it would be socially and economically catastrophic for farming in Britain—a message that was echoed time and again over the summer when I attended agricultural shows across Wales with my colleague Lesley Griffiths. And Make UK, the manufacturers organisation, has said that it would be disastrous for the majority of UK manufacturers and the livelihoods of the millions of people they employ and their families.

Llywydd, it is no exaggeration that what this Prime Minister and his 'no deal' Brexit threatens is to strip out whole layers of the Welsh economy, with the loss of many highly skilled and well-paid jobs, just as the Thatcher Government did in the 1980s. This may be a Prime Minister willing to purge his party of the longest serving Member of Parliament, of the grandson of Winston Churchill, of his own relations, but he will never be able to purge his party of the deliberate damage that was inflicted on Wales during those Thatcher years and which he now threatens to revive in our own time. The slowdown in the economy caused by a Brexit without a transition period could cost 40,000 to 50,000 jobs in Wales alone.

And, Llywydd, surely the single greatest fallacy of Boris Johnson's 'no deal' Brexit is the idea that it will avoid the need for negotiations with the European Union. The day after a disorderly crash-out Brexit, the need for a strategic, positive relationship with our largest and nearest market will remain. The Prime Minister talks loudly about developing a deep and wide free trade agreement. Before he or any of the Brexit extremists he has gathered around him can even step through the door in Brussels, the European Union will require a settlement of the three outstanding issues in the withdrawal agreement that they dismiss: citizen's rights, paying our bills, and the border on the island of Ireland. Leaving on 31 October without a deal will leave a legacy of acrimony and bitterness that will make it even harder to reach agreement on those three unavoidable issues. 

So, we in this Chamber must resist a 'no deal' Brexit with all our might. As this Assembly stated back in June, we must support the decision going back to the people, whether in a referendum, in which we, as a Welsh Government, will resolutely support remaining in the European Union, or, as it now seems likely, in a general election.