It's no surprise this afternoon that I cannot support the expansion of the Senedd, and therefore I'll be voting against the motion before us tonight; it's not the afternoon now, is it?

So, what we have before us tonight is a plan for more politicians, not a plan for better democracy. And we're a young Parliament, and the paint is barely dry on the walls marking our change from the National Assembly for Wales to the Welsh Parliament, yet here we are being asked to expand the number of politicians by more than 50 per cent. For what purpose? Why do we need a bigger Parliament? I'm not convinced we need a bigger Parliament, nor are the vast majority of the Welsh public.

Just over a decade ago, in 2011, the Welsh public were asked to devolve more powers to Wales, more powers in order to enable us to make laws, to improve the lives of Welsh citizens. After all, that is the purpose of this place. I will read out the description of the Senedd that takes pride of place on our website:

'The Welsh Parliament is the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people.

Commonly known as the Senedd, it makes laws for Wales, agrees Welsh taxes and holds the Welsh Government to account.'

It's there in black and white. We are here to represent the interests of our citizens and our nation. How does creating another 36 politicians represent the interests of the people of our great nation? I would strongly argue that it does not. Will more Members tackle the appalling state of the NHS, cut waiting lists, ensure my constituents get face-to-face meetings with their GP? No, it won't, nor will it do anything to improve transport links, grow the economy, tackle the global cost-of-living crisis or improve educational achievement.

Our nation is facing real problems and needs us to focus on delivering solutions, on delivering real improvements to the lives of our constituents, not debating the make-up of this Chamber. We need more politics, not more politicians. This place failed to deliver improvements to people's lives, and the public was told it needed more powers. More powers were delivered, but improvements were not. Now we are told we need more Senedd Members, and it doesn't wash, not with me or my constituents in the Vale of Clwyd. We need to walk before we can run. We need to deliver on the promises we all made to our constituents before we even consider any expansion of this Parliament. Maybe when we have a Government that governs rather than acting like an opposition party, and opposition parties that hold Government to account rather than holding on to their coat tails, we will fulfil the promise of this place. When we deliver on the compact made with the citizens of Wales in 1997 and 2011, maybe then we can discuss any expansion, but only if that is the declared will of the people of Wales. Thank you very much.