Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:50 pm on 2 March 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:50, 2 March 2021

Llywydd, I welcome anybody who wants to debate the future of our country, and all views ought to be treated properly and with respect. My view is the one I have just set out for you, and I think it is the view that most progressive people in this country share. They do not want an inward-looking nationalism. They do not want a future for our country in which we are ripped out of the United Kingdom. They want a future for our country in which Wales has a powerful set of capacities to make decisions for ourselves on the things that affect people here in Wales, but they want also to be able to work co-operatively, collaboratively, alongside progressive people in other parts of the United Kingdom, whether that is in the south of England or the north of England or in Scotland or in Northern Ireland, where progressive people can come together to share an agenda on a voluntary basis. We achieve more together than we do apart. That is my view, and it will be the view that the Welsh Labour Party takes into this election. The Member will continue to make his case to take Wales out of the United Kingdom. He's entitled to do that, absolutely, but I think he will find, once again, that that is a minority voice here in Wales, and the bulk of the Welsh population continues to believe that the future for our country lies in powerful institutions here in Wales, in a successful United Kingdom.