It's regrettable that the Welsh Government have chosen to push ahead with this legislation, and I feel it's extremely ill-judged to be diverting resources at this moment in time when we could postpone this until our country is better placed following the coronavirus pandemic. Because at this moment in time, pushing ahead with legislation is also hugely unpopular with the public.

I have made my views on the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill perfectly clear in the past, but even if I had fully supported the Government's aim, I would not support pushing ahead at this time of national emergency. We cannot legislate properly and we cannot just rush something through, because people are dying from a deadly and virulent disease, and in order to limit the number of deaths and reduce the strain on our NHS, the liberties of each and every one of us have been curtailed. We have shut down vast swathes of our country and our economy, and some of our constituents have lost their jobs and their lives, yet here we are debating legislation.

My view on granting rights for prisoners to vote has never been because it isn't the right thing to do. It has always been because I don't think that that is the priority that we should be looking at when we visit a prison. Having worked there, I've seen people for seven years going out with a black bag on a Friday with no roof over their head at all, no food, no clothes and no support mechanism, and this is why I think that our priorities on true rehabilitation are totally wrong.

Democracy has been put on hold to fight this virus and elections around the UK have been postponed, and we should not be using valuable time during an international crisis in order to extend the voting franchise. We can discuss this and postpone it until such restrictions are lifted and business reverts back to something that we don't currently recognise. Until then, and only then, should we think about moving forward with this Bill.

I have supported the Welsh Government. They've had my full support and that of my party during the coronavirus outbreak, and we will continue to support the Welsh Government as they forge ahead, but I cannot and will not support them on this legislation. Diolch yn fawr.