It's always good to hear what the squires of Wiltshire think, but for most of us who were elected to sit in this place, we are appalled at both what we're being presented with this morning and the way in which business is being conducted. A deal concluded on Christmas eve, a Bill published yesterday, and people talk about democracy and parliamentary accountability. There has been no opportunity for thorough scrutiny of this legislation. I do not understand how anyone could vote for the Bill in front of the UK Parliament this morning. It is a deal that is not being ratified by this legislation, and I think, when I hear Conservative Members here saying that we have an alternative today, a choice to make of either this deal or no deal, that tells me two things: either they don't understand the legislation that is being debated in London this morning or they haven't read the deal that they're debating themselves.

The deal will be ratified, not by this legislation, but by the UK Government using their prerogative powers. Adam Price was absolutely clear about that and correct. The deal, which will have a profound impact on the way in which we live our lives and earn our living, will become law without any parliamentary scrutiny at all, and then we're lectured by the Tories and others about democracy. And this is important, because it appears to me that this treaty and the Bill that implements it represent both the biggest giveaway of sovereignty that I can remember, but are also implemented by a power grab that sidelines all our Parliaments. We, here, rightly express concern about the Tory attacks on this Parliament and on Welsh democracy, but this is also an attack on the UK Parliament, which is also being undermined by the abuse of the Lords at the moment. And this is a deal that is the worst of all worlds. It undermines our international standing and economic competitiveness, and does so without returning any real hard sovereignty. Businesses will see their ability to do business with our nearest and biggest neighbours and markets diminished and made more bureaucratic. Financial services, of course, are excluded, because there are parts of the economy where the Tories do wish to see reduced regulation and oversight, the parts that mean that they can make money and they can do so without the regulators on their backs.

Yes, we can make and change laws, and the deal does provide for opportunities to make the changes that Neil Hamilton and the right wing want to see. But we also know that the agreements on workers' rights and environmental protections, as well as the level playing field provision, mean that in practical terms the cost of doing so are too high to bear. And let me say this to the Tories: sovereignty exists when you're in the room taking decisions, voting for those laws and shaping the future. Sovereignty does not exist when you're on the outside, with no voice and no vote, and this is where this deal leaves us. In reality, the EU has run rings around the UK negotiating team. Red lines have been replaced by red tape. Humiliated, the UK has retreated on almost every single matter of long-term or strategic importance.

And let us also remember that they are also breaking the UK. Some of us are old enough to remember the days when Boris Johnson walked out of the UK Government over a border in the Irish sea. Well, that border now exists. It is not only in place, but is a more profound border than anything envisaged by Theresa May. There will be currency and capital checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I can think of no other western democracy where that happens. We don't even know if Edwards of Conwy can export his excellent sausages to Northern Ireland in the future. Today it looks like the Government of the Republic of Ireland is taking responsibility for the good governance of Northern Ireland, where the UK has walked away. And this matters to us, because if we are to make the common framework system work—and we've been talking about this for three years—then we will have a choice: either include Northern Ireland and accept EU regulations, and the role, frankly, of the European Court of Justice across a wide cross-section of economic activity, or not to include Northern Ireland and entrench the border even more deeply. The UK Government has done more to break the United Kingdom than Plaid Cymru in 80 years.

We have a sovereignty that, to me, Presiding Officer, looks like the Scottish pound note. We have the ability to put our symbols on this sovereignty; we have the ability to wave our flags. But, as the Scots know only too well, no matter whose face is on the back of that pound note, the decisions are taken in London. And what we have here is a sovereignty where British imperialists and English nationalists can wave their flags, but what they've really done is to demonstrate their impotence and their weakness. Decisions will be taken when Britain is no longer in the room, and those aren't the decisions that will benefit any of us.