Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 12:01 pm on 30 December 2020.
Deputy Presiding Officer, may I start by acknowledging the sense of relief that a deal now exists, despite its inadequacies? As compared to the other option of leaving the transition period with no deal, it's certain that this option is a better one. But the reality, Llywydd, is that Governments across the UK have spent four and a half years and huge sums of money and political capital to reach a point where we have two options: a weak deal or no deal at all. That's the reality. If a small percentage of that effort had been focused on creating a broad support base, we could have had a deal which would have delivered the result of the referendum, whilst also keeping closer economic links. A large proportion of responsibility for that is in the hands of Conservative Governments in Westminster who have been more concerned about party unity than safeguarding the income and livelihoods of the people of Wales and the rest of the UK.