With turnout almost 60 per cent higher than in May’s Assembly election, Welsh voters have spoken and we must all respect the results. This was about the democratic right of the people of this nation to settle their own destiny. Labour’s leader in Westminster is facing a vote of no confidence from his own MPs, despite a large majority voting for remain in his own constituency. Here in Wales, the First Minister and leader of the opposition both campaigned to stay in the EU, but the people in their own constituencies voted to leave.
People have told me that they now have the right to expect a different kind of politics emanating from Cardiff bay and the Senedd. The First Minister now needs to demonstrate his ability to provide leadership on this issue that reflects the views of all parties and all the people of Wales.
As the Prime Minister said in his resignation speech, negotiation with the European Union will need to involve the full engagement of the devolved Governments to ensure that the interests of all parts of the United Kingdom are protected and advanced. We must first ensure that the money that was going into structural funds and the common agricultural policy continues. We must then ensure that Wales receives its share of the repatriated money left over. And a new committee of Assembly Members must be established to drive forward Wales’s response to the EU referendum, reflective in its make-up of Welsh public opinion.
The Prime Minister has given us time to decide what Britain’s new relationship with Europe should be by delaying article 50 notification under the Lisbon treaty, which will trigger a two-year time period to negotiate the arrangements for exit unless the European Council, in agreement with the member state concerned, unanimously decides to extend this period. In the meantime, there will be no change to people’s rights to travel and work and to the way our goods and services are traded, or to the way our economy and financial system is regulated.
As Boris Johnson has said, we cannot turn our backs on Europe—we are part of Europe. We condemn unreservedly the racist abusers seeking to exploit the referendum result. We must be a model of a multi-racial, multi-faith, equal opportunity democracy.
The knee-jerk reaction from financial markets was predictable, speculative and excessive, and an objective view is needed as markets begin to calm down. The Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority put in place robust contingency plans for the immediate financial aftermath of a ‘leave’ vote. The UK will still be in the G7, International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Security Council. Our security has always depended on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Britain will also continue to discuss defence—[Interruption.]—and intelligence-sharing with European partners. One intervention only.
Our security, as I say, has always depended on NATO. Outside the EU, we regain the freedom to forge trade deals while continuing to trade with our partners in Europe. The UK is responsible for approximately 5.5 million jobs across Europe. The EU will not want a trade war; they’ll want free trade. Markus Kerber, head of the BDI—Germany’s Confederation of British Industry—has urged Germany and the EU to draw up a post-Brexit free trade regime that enables them to uphold and maintain the levels of trade they have with the UK. The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has said that the European Union has
‘no need to be particularly nasty in any way’
in the negotiations with Britain about its exit from the EU. President Obama has said the special relationship between the United States and Britain will endure in the aftermath of the UK’s exit from the European Union. Britain is, after all, America’s largest inward investor. The French President, François Hollande, has vowed to maintain relations with Britain, notably concerning migrants crossing between the two countries and military and economic co-operation. Canada’s Finance Minister said:
‘We respect the choice of the British people and will remain a strong partner of the UK and the EU. Our shared histories make us natural trading partners, and I look forward to maintaining those close economic ties.’
And I could go on, but time is too short. Britain is one of the world’s largest economies—a global country that already conducts more trade outside the EU than any other member state except Malta. Our only real threat comes from the voice of destruction that seeks to dismember the United Kingdom, divide its peoples, diminish all its parts and damn a so-called independent Scotland to eurozone membership and a budget black hole. That is disgraceful. After all, it is the duty of us all to safeguard both the sovereignty and integrity of our United Kingdom.