Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:32 pm on 4 March 2020.
Well, I regret to say that I think that contribution failed to live up to the level of discussion, and, sadly, doesn't vaguely reflect the reality of the situation. The Welsh Government clearly would have preferred a different outcome to the referendum; that is a matter of extremely well established record, but what we have done, at each turn, is to recognise new realities and seek to influence within that framework. So, when it became apparent that the Prime Minister had a mandate to leave the European Union on the basis of a political declaration, we engaged with that political declaration, recognising that it wouldn't have been the starting point we would have set for ourselves, and described, in some detail, which has not been refuted, the best version of that arrangement for Wales's future, consistent with that mandate.
We have taken every opportunity of seeking to influence the debate in a constructive way. As I say—[Interruption.]