Whilst I’ve always opposed any kind of Brexit and campaigned against Brexit, the evidence is clear about the particular and acute harm of a 'no deal' Brexit. But it’s not just us saying that. That’s why we on these benches are asking you to support not only the main motion today but also our amendments, one of which, amendment 6, calls for the publication of the Yellowhammer document, which will show, no doubt, that the UK Government itself is fully aware of the dangers of a crash-out 'no deal' Brexit, but is still ready to inflict that on the population.

We’re also making it clear in other amendments that we have to offer people a way out of such a disastrous scenario, and, in our view, the revocation of article 50 is a clear way out if there is no other way out.

And we also remind you in amendment 4 that there are other positive steps open to us as a small nation, and they must now all be on the agenda. I've always supported independence, not as an end in itself, but as a means to forge a new future and to set a new direction for Wales, and it's time we had that discussion through a national constitutional convention. 

Independence, I know, is an emotive word. It can be misused and it can be twisted, as, I think, it has been in the context of Brexit, but we know here what it means and what it can mean for Wales, and, to me, it conjures up opportunity, freshness—challenge, yes, certainly, but also real hope. I’ve been asked many times over the past three years, 'How come you want independence for Wales, but you still want to be in the EU?' And do you know what? In many ways, Brexit has helped explain what Welsh independence is and what it isn’t. Independence for Wales is in so many ways the diametric opposite of Brexit. Brexit is isolation. The birth of a Welsh state is internationalism and partnership within a British and European context. Brexit is exclusive. Welsh independence is inclusive. You’ve made Wales your home; why not make it your nation too? Brexit screams Rees-Mogg-style superiority of empire. My dream is for Wales to build its future as an equal to others; not better, just equal. And Brexit builds walls; building a new Wales is about building bridges. 'Why are you anti-British?', they ask me. I’m not. I’m not driven by being 'anti'; I’m 'pro'. I'm pro giving our children a better future. In fact, I could develop a real pride in being of these British isles if Wales were an independent country. Our neighbours in these islands are our friends. But I tell you this, what we have witnessed over these Brexit years—the lies, the intolerance, and this latest, shameful episode of undermining democracy—does make me ashamed to be a part of what has become a rotten British state. It’s time to rebuild afresh.

A word on the Brexit Party’s shameful amendment. To attack a legislature's chair or a presiding officer is to attack democracy. I was in the Catalan Parliament last week standing under the portrait of Carme Forcadell, who’s currently in prison for exercising her powers as a democratically elected presiding officer. And as for your clean-break Brexit, there’s nothing clean in your dirty deals that would ensure that it’s the poorest in this country who’d be left to rot as your privileged leaders lounge back disgracefully on their benches of entitlement. Vote for the motion and our amendments today. Let’s not be hoodwinked into thinking that our demise is an inevitability.