In 1997, my mother was one of the north Wales representatives on the National Assembly advisory group. She talked then—and I concede that I wasn't really paying much attention—about the importance of a real democracy for Wales. So, 25 years later, I stand here to say that now is the time for us to refresh that vision of a real democracy for Wales; a democracy that is connected to the people, that can do the job we need it to do and that is reflective of the population. We can't afford to stand still. So, I would like to thank the First Minister for his vision and drive in pushing this through, and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to take part in this cross-party process. Thank you, also, to Huw Irranca-Davies for his leadership of the committee, to my Senedd colleagues, to Commission staff and external organisations, some of whom I know are in the gallery today, for their advice and support.

You all know the areas on which I agreed and disagreed. Firstly, the areas on which I agreed. I am pleased to see the need to increase the size of the Senedd. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have long made calls for a larger Senedd, elected through a fairer voting system that ensures greater diversity, accountability and transparency. The fact is that, if we want to ensure that the Senedd does its job of scrutinising legislation and public expenditure, the Senedd and Members need the capacity to do that justice, especially given the significant shift in the lay of the land in recent years. 

Secondly, I am pleased that the committee has been able to navigate the issue of gender representation. We need to bake into the legislation measures that act as a stop-gap to ensure that we don't fall further behind. This also gives us the opportunity to put forward on other equality issues.

Now to the areas of disagreement. As the committee report makes clear, I differed on two areas from the majority of Members, including the preferred boundaries and the voting system. And this is where I also want to learn more from the Counsel General, who I believe will be responding, about the timing of the announcement from Plaid Cymru and Labour. The morning the committee was due to meet, I was very sad and disappointed that a press release was made with a totally new proposal on preferred boundaries that had never been discussed before, and, it seemed, the proposed and agreed voting system. This really undermined the cross-party work that I happen to hold very dear and which, to that date, I felt very privileged to be part of. And I recognise the sentiments of the Conservative amendment. I pay tribute to Darren Millar for staying on the committee until 10 May. Thank you, Darren. Diolch yn fawr iawn. The surprise announcement by Plaid Cymru and Labour did the committee a disservice. It prejudged the debate here today and the legislative process that will follow. It looks like a stitch-up and it feels like a stitch-up. To make an announcement before the committee published its report, and to favour proposals so different from what the evidence tells us, was a very disappointing approach.

But let me focus on the two areas I disagree on: firstly, boundaries. I welcome the fact that a boundary review will be locked in. However, in my view, opting to use and pair UK parliamentary boundaries makes very little sense from the perspective of voters. And I have to say, I am surprised that Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru want to see Westminster-imposed boundaries at work in shaping our democracy in Wales. The Welsh Liberal Democrats' view is that constituencies should be based around local authorities, which makes sense to people in Wales, and they can relate to those.