Well, Llywydd, thank you very much, and thank you to all Assembly Members. And may I start by congratulating you and the new Deputy Llywydd on your election? And thank you, too, to Russell George and Hefin David for standing for those important roles within the Senedd. I would also like to congratulate all Senedd Members, particularly the newly elected Members; I look forward to working with you all over the next five years.

This has been an exceptional election. I'm very pleased that young people at 16 and 17 years of age have been able to vote for the very first time in this election, thanks to a law passed in this Chamber. And now, it's time for each and every one of us to use the mandate that we have to implement the ideas that we campaigned for in 'Moving Wales Forward'. And that is the starting point for my comments here today.

We are still in the midst of a pandemic that has cast such a dark shadow over our lives. It has stretched our health service and the people working within it. It has harmed lives and impacted on people's livelihoods. This Welsh Labour Government will continue to tackle coronavirus in the cautious way in which we have done so to date: by following the science and safeguarding the most vulnerable in our communities. And we will lead Wales to a recovery that will bring Wales to a fairer, greener recovery for all. Nobody will be left behind, and nobody will be held back. I make this pledge to this Senedd today in the first session of this new term: I will lead a Welsh Labour Government, but we will govern in a way that seeks consensus and will take account of new and bold ideas, wherever those ideas come from. Ideas that can lead to a better future for the people of Wales—from clean air, to a basic income, and to ensure that young people are not priced out of Welsh-speaking communities.