Let us be clear, this deal represents a hard Brexit. There is no mandate for that in Wales and it's not for the benefit of Wales. No tariffs and no quotas as a measure of success? We don't have tariffs or quotas today. The impact on Wales will be immense. The non-tariff barriers will lead to more bureaucracy and, without doubt, they will hit the competitiveness of Welsh companies.

It's a particular risk for Wales in terms of the car component manufacturing sector and aircraft manufacture—more paperwork leading to further costs. In a written statement last week the Welsh Government noted, and I quote, that:

'The result of this deal will undoubtedly be an economy that is smaller than it would have been, meaning fewer jobs, lower wages, less exports, more red tape for businesses, less cooperation with the EU on security and poorer communities and households across Wales.'

And yet the Labour Party and Keir Starmer seem happy to support this deal. They're not abstaining, they're actually supporting a deal that they know will make Wales poorer.

The Welsh Parliament has been consistent along the journey in terms of strengthening Wales's arm and Wales's interests and we, as a party, were willing to play a constructive part in forming Welsh Government policy in 'Securing Wales' Future'. Unfortunately, the Welsh Government has had no meaningful part in developing the negotiation strategy or the negotiations themselves and our priorities as a Senedd on behalf of the people of Wales have been totally ignored. As a result, we have this utterly false choice between no deal and the deal that's been struck. There were alternative deals to be made, but the UK Government chooses to ignore those options in favour of this hard Brexit.

We must ask why the Welsh Parliament would want to be inconsistent on this crucial point and yield to the most right-wing Conservative Government in recent times. For whose benefit? Not for the benefit of the people, jobs and economy of Wales.

This is a last-minute deal struck by the Tories, which was published as we entered the Christmas period, so that it could be rushed through the UK Parliament with as little scrutiny as possible. It's disgraceful that the Senedd or the Parliament has only one day to scrutinise this lengthy document, and no opportunity at all for us in Senedd Cymru to look at the impact on particular sectors in Wales. Compare this with the parliamentary scrutiny of the Maastricht treaty, where there were months of scrutiny and debate. The situation is disgraceful, but Labour is content to be part of this process and to vote in favour of it.

No—we need a new deal for Wales, not this deal. This all shows that the interests of Wales will never be safeguarded in Westminster. If the Welsh Government isn't willing to embrace independence, they are embracing a future for Wales where its fate will be decided by a Conservative Government in Westminster in the long term. Future generations will look back at this crucial point in history. But why is the Welsh Government refusing to stand firm and to say to the Conservatives, 'You are not doing this in our name'? What Wales needs is a new deal that would give full control to the Welsh Parliament over the economy, justice and welfare—not a false choice such as the one that we are facing today, but a choice between creating a prosperous, independent nation, where the interests of Wales will always top the agenda, or a nation that is ignored by a right-wing Conservative Government in perpetuity. So, there is an alternative. In May, we will vote for an independent Wales.