It's a pretty well-rehearsed argument now. Our Assembly has grown into a fully fledged Parliament over the past 20 years. This Bill is a means to reflect that, referring to this place in legislation as a Parliament for the first time. It's also about who can vote, who can stand for election, those mechanisms of public engagement with democracy, and the democratic process in Wales. But, we also have an opportunity at the same time to give our Parliament a name, a title. As we gather here in the Senedd—because that's what the building is already called—to discuss the Senedd and elections Bill, it strikes me as being infinitely sensible to christen our Parliament as the Senedd. Senedd Cymru is Wales's Parliament. 

We sing our national anthem in Welsh not to exclude anyone, but to include everyone, in a celebration of our Welsh nation in a way no-one else does theirs. Every country has an anthem, only one has 'Hen Wlad fy Nhadau'. Every nation has a Parliament, only one can have a Senedd. We've never thought, 'Let's do this as a party political point.' I hope Members can see in the way that I and my colleagues have reached out, trying to work across party divides on this, that that is the case. But, we've also been pretty convinced that that's what Wales wanted. My party commissioned a poll over the past few days—over 1,000 people, a major poll—and respondents were asked this:

Assembly Members will decide next week on a new name for the National Assembly for Wales. Which of the following would you prefer the Assembly to be called, 'Senedd' as the official name in Welsh and English, or 'Welsh Parliament' as the official name in English and 'Senedd' as the official name in Welsh? 

Just look at the responses. Excluding those who didn't know—just 20 per cent, by the way; it seems this is something that really has resonated with people—56 per cent wanted 'Senedd' and just 35 per cent wanted the bilingual version. So, whilst you're probably fed up of me banging on about this, why not listen to the people of Wales? And by the way, although this isn't a party political matter, an even bigger share of Labour supporters said they supported 'Senedd', in case that helps convince my colleagues on the Government benches. It's higher still amongst Liberal Democrats, by the way. 

Now, I appreciate that, in Government, there is the principle of collective responsibility. You rarely allow free votes, but this shouldn't be about Labour or Liberal Democrat policy in Government. This isn't about this Government. It's not about us. We're being trusted, as AMs, to decide what this institution's name will be for generations. And I'd like time, incidentally, to ask Members of our Youth Parliament what they think. And, given that poll I just mentioned, I've got a pretty good idea what they might say. But, First Minister, you said to me yesterday, when I raised this with you, and I quote:

'It's an issue on which many Assembly Members have strong views, and it's not a matter for the Government. This is an Assembly Bill, not a Government Bill, and different Assembly Members will take different views on the right answer to this question.'

But, and I address this to you all as Ministers, in saying on one hand that this is not a matter for Government and that different Members have different views, on the other hand, you've rejected my calls and others' to allow a free vote among your Ministers on this particular point of principle.

There are three voting blocks in this Assembly standing in the way of giving the institution the name that the people of Wales, it seems, want: one is the Brexit Party, another is the Conservative Party, the other is the Welsh Labour and Liberal Democrat Government. You have the casting vote. And despite saying that this is a matter for the Assembly, the result of your actions is to block a truly open vote. Yes, it's a free vote of Labour backbenchers, and it's been good to have the open debate that I've had with those Labour AMs. I'm grateful to those who have supported the amendment, both at the time of tabling and in the votes at both Stages 2 and 3 of deliberations on this Bill.

I have no choice now, as my party's whip, but to allow a free vote on the whole Bill at Stage 4, unless these amendments are passed today, because to some, the opportunity to give our Parliament its own unique Welsh title is paramount. These opportunities, symbolic but important, don't come along very often—once in a generation, perhaps. Yes, there are far more important things for us to discuss—health, education, poverty and good jobs—but we are the ones who have the honour of dealing with matters like this, and we very rarely do, but today is one of those days.

Passing this kind of Bill is about building consensus and compromise, and I've certainly been willing to compromise with Government, as seen in the tabling of the name 'Senedd Cymru', as opposed to just 'Senedd', after agreeing a form of words that Government could agree was in order. There were suggestions from Government originally, at other earlier stages, that having a Welsh-only name was somehow problematic in legal terms, but with a signal from Government that this amendment is in order, we know that's not the case, and we know from plenty of other legal opinion, too, that this is all legally possible, certainly. So, what we have is a Government using a collective casting vote on a matter of collective opinion opposing the Welsh-only name whilst being also of the opinion that this isn't a matter for Government. It just doesn't add up. And given that I know of individual Ministers who have been eager to support the Welsh-only name, it's even more frustrating.

I still hope that Government, collectively, can rethink today. I hope that other Members who have free votes can rethink today and come around to this decision. And that appeal goes out to Members of all parties, in all parts of this Senedd. But, to Welsh Government: be brave, be a Welsh Government, not just any Government. As we all can say, the Senedd is the Parliament of Wales.