National Assembly for Wales

Order. I call the National Assembly to order.

We will begin the meeting by resuming with the nomination of the First Minister under Standing Order 8, which was adjourned from last week’s meeting.

At that meeting, two nominations were made and Carwyn Jones and Leanne Wood received an equal number of votes. Carwyn Jones was nominated by Jane Hutt and Leanne Wood was nominated by Rhun ap Iorwerth. Can I please confirm that you still want those nominations to go forward?

Presiding Officer, with your permission, a week ago, I nominated the leader of Plaid Cymru for the post of First Minister of Wales. Today, on behalf of the main opposition party, having succeeded in showing the largest party in the National Assembly that they do not have a majority in this place and that they need to reflect on that, I withdraw Leanne Wood’s nomination.

In that case, only one nomination remains. And, it is my view that it would not be reasonable to conduct another roll-call vote when one of these candidates wishes to withdraw.

Point of order.

Yes, Mark Reckless.

On a point of order, we had, before the session was adjourned, two nominations. There are no provisions in Standing Orders for nominations to be withdrawn. Indeed, the Standing Orders state expressly, at 8.2,

‘If there is an equality of votes between the two candidates a further vote by roll call must take place.’

The language could not be more express or mandatory. It may be that Leanne Wood, and Plaid Cymru Members, no longer wish to vote for Leanne Wood, but she was nominated with her agreement, and, surely, it would be in order for Standing Orders to be applied, as expressly stated. If they do not wish to vote for her, then they abstain, or they may vote for Carwyn Jones, but there is no provision for anyone to withdraw a nomination once made. It expressly states in Standing Orders that that vote must take place.

Thank you for that point of order. I have made my ruling in this instance. Members will appreciate that the Standing Orders do not go into detail on every conceivable scenario and, in such situations, it is my responsibility as Presiding Officer to interpret the Standing Orders and guide this Assembly as best I can. It would be unreasonable to force someone who no longer wishes to be nominated as First Minister to be a candidate in a vote on that question.

As nominations were invited last week, therefore, and there is no provision in the Standing Orders for reopening nominations, in accordance with Standing Order 8.2, I therefore declare that Carwyn Jones is nominated for the appointment as First Minister.

In accordance with section 47(4)—

Point of order.

The nomination has been made now, and I proceed. Therefore, there is no other point of order. I have made my ruling on that point—

Expressly with reference to the ruling and information just given?

Well, I have made my ruling. I’ll allow you one further opportunity to challenge that, but that’s it then.

Thank you. Of course, not all provisions are made in Standing Orders, and not all eventualities are considered. But this specific eventuality—

‘If there is an equality of votes between the…candidates’

—is specifically and expressly considered, and it states,

‘a further vote by roll call must take place.’

I have not suggested anyone else be nominated in my point of order—

Move on. Move on to a new point of order. Move on to a new point of order. [Interruption.]

I have not made any point in my point of order suggesting someone else should be nominated, merely that the express condition of the Standing Orders be carried out, in the eventuality expressly provided for in Standing Orders.

And I stated in my ruling that it was not reasonable for us to hold another election when one of the candidates nominated no longer wishes to be nominated. So, it would be unreasonable to hold a vote in those circumstances.

Therefore, I proceed to declare that Carwyn Jones has been nominated to be appointed First Minister. In accordance with section 47(4) of the Government of Wales Act 2006, I will recommend to Her Majesty the appointment of Carwyn Jones as First Minister. I therefore invite Carwyn Jones to address this Assembly. [Applause.]

Thank you, Presiding Officer. May I start with a word of congratulation to everyone elected to this Assembly, and by congratulating you on your election as Presiding Officer? It’s a new post for you, of course, and I think it’s right to say that you’ve been given a baptism of fire, but you have already demonstrated that you have the calmness and control required in that particular post. May I also express my congratulations to Ann Jones, elected as Deputy Presiding Officer? We will miss Ann as chair of the Labour group, but Labour’s loss will be the gain of the National Assembly. May I also praise the other candidates, Dafydd Elis-Thomas and John Griffiths? They are people who love this institution and who will always put the Assembly and the people of Wales before their own personal interests. So, thank you to them, too.

May I also thank my family, who have had to suffer a great deal over the past few weeks? I’d like to thank Lisa, Seren and Ruairi for their patience and support over the past few weeks, months and, indeed, years. May I also pay tribute to all of the families—the electoral widows and widowers—who, of course, allow us to do what we enjoy doing so much, namely to fight elections in the hope of changing Wales for the better?

Lywydd, am y pumed tro yn olynol, mae pobl Cymru wedi gofyn i Lafur Cymru ffurfio’r Llywodraeth nesaf, ac am y pumed tro yn olynol, maent wedi dweud, ‘Ewch ymlaen, ond gyda gofal a gostyngeiddrwydd’ oherwydd nid oes gennym fwyafrif. Rydym yn ymwybodol iawn o hynny, ac fel y gwneuthum yn glir ers yr etholiad, nid oes gennym amheuaeth ynglŷn â’r cyfrifoldebau sydd arnom, a’r cyfrifoldeb arnaf fi yn arbennig i weithio gydag eraill lle y gallwn er lles ein pobl. Nid oes gan neb, ac nid oes gan unrhyw un blaid, fonopoli ar syniadau da, ac rwyf am i’r Cynulliad hwn fod yn fwy agored ac yn fwy hyderus na’r un diwethaf.

Yn yr ysbryd hwn, nodais fy mlaenoriaethau ar gyfer 100 diwrnod cyntaf Llywodraeth nesaf Cymru, i dynnu sylw at y meysydd hynny lle y credaf y gall y Cynulliad hwn ddod o hyd i dir cyffredin ar unwaith. Mae’r blaenoriaethau hynny hefyd yn adlewyrchu’n glir y canlyniad llwyddiannus i Lafur Cymru yn etholiad mis Mai, a thrafodaethau dilynol gyda’r brif wrthblaid, Plaid Cymru. Bydd ffocws di-baid ar sicrhau dyfodol llwyddiannus a chynaliadwy i’n diwydiant dur. Bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn cynnal safbwynt cadarn pro-Ewropeaidd a bydd yn ymgyrchu’n groch dros bleidlais ‘aros’. Ni fyddwn yn cyflwyno unrhyw ddeddfwriaeth newydd yn y 100 diwrnod cyntaf, i roi peth amser i grwpiau gwleidyddol yn y Cynulliad sefydlu ffordd newydd o ddeddfu yng Nghymru. Bydd hyn yn caniatáu i bob plaid fynd ati ar y cyd i ddatblygu gweithdrefn graffu a chynnal pwyllgorau sy’n fwy addas i gyfrifoldebau seneddol y sefydliad hwn. Pan fydd y Cynulliad mewn sefyllfa i graffu’n well ar ddeddfwriaeth, bwriadwn gyflwyno Bil iechyd y cyhoedd newydd, Bil anghenion dysgu ychwanegol, ac ar sail drawsbleidiol, byddwn yn bwrw ymlaen â deddfwriaeth i ddileu’r amddiffyniad o gosbedigaeth resymol. Byddwn hefyd yn ceisio diwygio’r Mesur Cymru cyfredol.

Mae’n bwysig hefyd, wrth gwrs, ein bod yn ceisio rhoi diwedd ar y diffyg cytundeb ynglŷn â Bil Cymru, er mwyn sefydlu fframwaith deddfwriaethol parhaol ar gyfer ein cenedl. Byddwn yn ceisio sefydlu adolygiad seneddol ar ddyfodol hirdymor iechyd a gofal cymdeithasol yng Nghymru, ac er mwyn gyrru polisi a darpariaeth o galon y Llywodraeth, byddwn yn sefydlu swydd Cabinet newydd. Blaenoriaeth gyntaf y swydd newydd fydd sefydlu cynlluniau cyflawni ar gyfer chwe phrif addewid maniffesto Llafur Cymru.

Nawr, gallwn weld bod rhifyddeg y Cynulliad hwn yn glir. Er mwyn i ni gyflawni dros bobl Cymru, mae’n rhaid i ni geisio cydweithio pan fo hynny’n bosibl, ac i’r perwyl hwn, mae Llafur Cymru a Phlaid Cymru wedi gwneud compact i symud Cymru yn ei blaen. Gyda’ch caniatâd, Lywydd, ac er tryloywder, rwy’n credu ei bod yn bwysig cofnodi’r hyn a olygwn wrth hyn. Sail y cytundeb hwn fydd sefydlu tri phwyllgor cyswllt ar gyllid, deddfwriaeth a’r cyfansoddiad. Bydd y rhain yn cynnwys Gweinidog Llafur a chynrychiolydd Plaid Cymru, a chânt eu staffio gan y gwasanaeth sifil. Rydym wedi ymrwymo i weithio gyda’n gilydd ar ymgyrch y refferendwm Ewropeaidd mewn ysbryd o gydweithrediad.

Rydym yn cydnabod bod llawer o feysydd lle nad ydym yn mynd i gytuno, ond byddwn hefyd yn dechrau trafodaethau ar gyd-flaenoriaethau polisi lle y ceir tir cyffredin—tir cyffredin yn wir sy’n ymestyn y tu hwnt i’n dwy blaid. Byddant yn cynnwys gofal plant, gan ein bod yn cydnabod mai dyma un o’r heriau mwyaf sy’n wynebu teuluoedd yng Nghymru, a byddwn yn blaenoriaethu gwaith i ddarparu 30 awr o ofal plant am ddim i rieni sy’n gweithio. Bydd ansawdd y ddarpariaeth a mynediad teg yn allweddol i’n gwaith ar ddatblygu a chyflwyno’r cynnig hwn, o ran cyrhaeddiad daearyddol ac iaith.

Ar brentisiaethau a sgiliau, gwyddom mai gweithlu medrus yw enaid ein heconomi a byddwn yn anrhydeddu ein hymrwymiadau i gyflwyno o leiaf 100,000 o brentisiaethau newydd ar gyfer pobl o bob oedran yn ystod y tymor hwn. Ar seilwaith a chyllid busnes, byddwn yn sefydlu comisiwn seilwaith cenedlaethol newydd a banc datblygu newydd i Gymru.

Ar iechyd, byddwn yn rhoi blaenoriaeth i sefydlu cronfa driniaethau newydd a byddwn yn ymrwymo i roi diwedd ar y loteri cod post ar gyfer cyffuriau a thriniaethau newydd. Byddwn yn rhoi cynlluniau ar waith ar gyfer recriwtio a hyfforddi meddygon teulu ychwanegol a gweithwyr gofal iechyd sylfaenol proffesiynol eraill, ac wrth gwrs, bydd trafodaethau ar flaenoriaethau polisi eraill a rennir yn parhau ar ôl penodi Gweinidogion.

Lywydd, nid yw Cymru’n brin o uchelgais. Nid yw Cymru’n brin o ddisgleirdeb, ac yn ôl yr hyn a welwyd dros y dyddiau diwethaf, nid yw Cymru’n brin o gyffro ychwaith. Ond ein gwaith ni, gyda’n gilydd, yw gwireddu’r uchelgais hwn—troi’r disgleirdeb hwnnw’n llwyddiant cynaliadwy a ffyniant cynyddol i bawb. Lle bydd gennym gyffro, gadewch i ni wneud yn siŵr fod iddo ganlyniadau.

Rydym wedi rhoi i’r cyfryngau, haneswyr Cymru a’r sylwedyddion ddigon o’r hyn y maent ei eisiau: theatr a dirgelwch. Ond yn awr, wrth gwrs, mae’n bryd rhoi i’n pobl a’n cenedl yr hyn y maent ei eisiau a’r hyn y maent yn ei ddisgwyl: llywodraethu da, darpariaeth a pharch. Diolch i chi, Lywydd. [Cymeradwyaeth.]

Leanne Wood, leader of the opposition.

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Lywydd. This today is not about coalition. Today is a one-off vote to allow Labour’s nomination to go through. If that party thinks that their bullying last week will stop Plaid Cymru from voting in a similar way in the future, to hold you to account, then think again. I’m not sorry for what happened last week and I will do it again if I have to make Labour realise that they are running a minority Government.

What we saw last week from that party was arrogance, it was complacency, and what we saw was a sense of entitlement on display. That vote happened because they refused to delay proceedings for just one week so that meaningful talks could take place. Well, we did get our week to talk, but it took some drama to get there.

Labour’s smearing against us last week will not be forgotten. Those MPs, Assembly Members and Labour-affiliated organisations that tried to make out that we had done a deal with the right and the further right were wrong. Today’s election of a First Minister proves that there was no deal and I look forward to the retractions. Are you big enough to admit that you were wrong?

The arrangement that we have arrived at today does not mean that Plaid Cymru endorses this minority Government or its leader. We are allowing his election as First Minister, but it is not support. We didn’t have time to consider and negotiate on the most difficult issues. There was no progress on policy areas like the M4 black route or blue route, detailed measures to save the steel industry, fair voting or student finance, for example. I would have liked for us to have been able to secure commitment on a steel innovation centre, a Bangor medical school, a vet school in Aberystwyth and a green skills construction college in the Valleys. Again, the time constraints didn’t allow for detailed proposals on those projects to be considered.

As the lead opposition, we will be returning to those matters through the budget and the other vehicles that are available to us. I ask the First Minister and his party to take the time between now and the first budget vote to consider how these priorities, for us, where there is disagreement between our parties, can be resolved.

During the recent Assembly elections, Plaid Cymru stood on a platform of change: change that would deliver not simply a new political make-up for our country, but a transformational change that would deliver tangible improvements for communities in all parts of this country. The Party of Wales has agreed to withdraw my name now and allow Labour’s nomination through today in exchange for a number of concessions for people. We are not interested in ministerial cars or seats at someone else’s Cabinet table. We are interested in implementing our programme, which was designed to improve people’s lives. We’ve secured the beginning of the end of the postcode lottery for new health treatments and medicines. Plaid Cymru’s actions will result in a national infrastructure commission that will help to rebuild our economy. It will also provide the means by which we can support the steel industry, through the procurement policy that we argued for strongly during the election. There will be affordable childcare for all from the age of three, returning what has been cut from families in places like the Rhondda, and this will happen because Plaid Cymru secured it. There will be extra apprenticeship places.

These policy gains, among others, have been achieved in parallel with our insistence on the establishment of a new political culture. From the Party of Wales’s perspective, this agreement shows that we intend to be an opposition clear in our goals and in our priorities. Events last week show that we are prepared to use our mettle if and when that is needed. Plaid Cymru has never, and never will contemplate doing a deal that allows UKIP into power. Under my leadership, the same goes for the Tories. I’ve always said that, and that position has not, at any stage, changed.

Why were you talking to us last week?

In this new term, Plaid Cymru will be the most effective opposition this National Assembly has ever seen. We will take our responsibilities seriously and we will be constructive. Much has been written and spoken about in relation to political alignment in the past week or so; in that respect, people need to know that the only card that Plaid Cymru will play will be the Wales card, and we will play it shamelessly. Our driving ambition is to build a successful nation, and that overriding aim will guide our actions at every stage in this Assembly and beyond. Last week, this National Assembly came to life in a way that we’ve not seen in the best part of two decades. It is my hope that the new Party of Wales team will breathe life into Welsh democracy that will be felt throughout our country for years to come. Watch this space. [Applause.]

Andrew R.T. Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives.

Thank you, Presiding Officer, and if I could, first of all, begin by congratulating your good self on assuming the Presiding Officer’s role, and, indeed, the Deputy Presiding Officer, Ann Jones, on winning the ballot last week. I’m sure we are in safe hands—good hands—and ultimately you will map out your own very distinct way of running the Assembly’s affairs and standing up, as you both said in your acceptance speeches, for the backbenchers, but indeed for all Assembly Members in making this institution the exemplar that we all want it to be. Indeed, I’d also endorse what the First Minister said about the other candidates who put themselves forward for the Presiding Officer role and, indeed, DPO role, in that both of them are champions of this institution—Dafydd Elis-Thomas in the three years that he served in the Chair, and John Griffiths, who has served, in his time, in Government, but also from his time on the backbenches knows exactly what is required of the offices that you both assumed, and I know that we would have had equally good candidates. But, democracy spoke, and I wish you both well in your endeavours over the next five years.

I do congratulate you, First Minister, on assuming the title of First Minister today. I do recognise the point that you made in particular that, obviously, you have not got a majority here, and I think that it was very pertinent of you to make that point, and last week’s endeavours in this Chamber clearly showed that. I have to say I’ve never seen such a glum looking backbench, to be honest with you, here today, especially when the opposition leader was speaking. I think a lot of them were thinking, ‘What has gone on over the last couple of days?’, but it’s nice to see I’ve put a smile on some of their faces here today. But it is important that now, over the next 100 days, you do map out what your Government is going to seek to achieve. I would have much preferred a different outcome, but I respect the electorate and what they decided to do on 5 May. They returned you, not with a majority, but with the largest number of seats here and, ultimately, it is your right to form a Government and see whether you can put a package together that can enjoy the support of this Chamber. We will, from the benches here, hold you to account on each and every corner that you try and turn, but we will also seek to be constructive in the way we engage and debate on the points that need to be brought forward.

Listening to the talk from the leader of the opposition about turning the corner and making a new politics, there was that opportunity last week but, again, sadly, it’s Groundhog Day where Plaid have just fallen into line with the Labour Party and not chosen to try and develop a new form of politics here in Wales.

There are some key requirements of you in the first 100 days, First Minister, in particular around some of the key policy areas. Staff shortages within the NHS in particular is something that the Government does need to map out. You did allude to this in your statement. I can remember, in the last Assembly, when an initiative was brought forward by the previous Welsh Labour Government to deal with these staff shortages, and here we are some four years on with some of the problems—well, many of the problems—still facing the NHS, as was identified at Llandudno Junction last week, but all across the north Wales coast, where GP surgeries are handing their notices back in to Betsi Cadwaladr and there is real danger that some patients might find themselves without provision for GP surgeries. So, it is vital that you bring forward a strategy to say how you’re going to deal with these situations that are developing across the whole of the Welsh NHS.

I also believe that it is incumbent upon you to map out exactly what your thoughts are on local government, given that it was such a central plank of your previous Government’s reform package that you wanted to do away with many local authorities across Wales. We know that those elections face us next year, and I do think that, at your earliest opportunity, I hope that the Government will bring forward a statement to clearly map out and clarify what this new Government’s thinking is on the format and mapping of local government going forward.

Also, on infrastructure projects—large infrastructure projects—it is important that some clarity is brought around the debate on the M4 relief road—blue or black route or no route at all. This is an opportunity now for a new Government to map out and press the green light on what the option is. You as First Minister have put a huge amount of personal capital into the black route, and I think it is now incumbent on you to come forward and explain quite clearly how your new Government will take forward those proposals around Newport, if indeed they go forward at all.

I also would hope that, in the next couple of weeks, and ideally next week, a statement could be brought forward to clarify exactly what the arrangements are between you and Plaid. You did highlight some of the areas where co-operation would be working. In particular, for my interest—I’ll be clear—I’d like clarity around how the committees will be working that you’ve set up and what impact those committees will have on Government policy in particular, especially as you are charged with delivering that policy. Or will they just be reference points? So, I do hope that you will bring forward a statement as a matter of urgency so that we can put the questions to you to seek clarity as to how that agreement might unfold. Is it time limited? Who will be the representatives? You said it will be a Minister from your party—. Will it be an elected Member from Plaid Cymru or will it just be a Plaid Cymru appointee? These are all areas of accountability and moving into the field of accountability, with the Wales Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech today, it is vital that we do work together to actually deliver a Wales Bill that will actually deliver the responsibilities back to this institution, that does make it more accountable, that does reinforce Welsh democracy and that does command the confidence of the people of Wales in that journey that the Wales Bill has to undertake through Westminster but, importantly, the role that the Presiding Officer will take in making sure that those negotiations are clear and robust and ultimately have the outcome that we would all be seeking in this fifth term of the Assembly.

So, I do wish you well, First Minister, but there are many, many challenges ahead of us. I, like you, believe that the Welsh people, as entrepreneurial and as talented as people anywhere else in the United Kingdom—indeed, anywhere else you will find the world—. The one issue that I think we can work quite collaboratively together on is the steel crisis that has obviously taken so much time, and rightly taken so much time, over the last weeks and months, because we must work across Governments and across parties to secure a successful sale of the Tata Steel assets so that communities can be protected, jobs can be protected and, ultimately, we do have a secure steel-making capacity here, going forward, that is profitable and is invested in the communities the length and breadth of Wales.

So, I congratulate you, First Minister; I wish you well, but ultimately, I don’t wish you too much well, because of the politics of all this. [Applause.]

Neil Hamilton, leader of the UKIP group.

Llywydd, like my predecessors in their statements this afternoon, I should like to congratulate you on assuming the office of Presiding Officer. I did, of course, second your opponent, Dafydd Elis-Thomas, and the curse of Hamilton struck again. But I nevertheless endorse the choice of my fellow Members of this Assembly, and I can promise you that, in spite of the start that we’ve made today with the point of order from my honourable friend, Mark Reckless, we do not intend to be a disruptive influence in this Assembly, but to be very constructive in our contributions to it.

UKIP is, of course, a monarchist party, but we did oppose the coronation of King Carwyn, because we thought a vote should take place. And it is vital, I believe—and I think, in this respect, we can make common cause with Plaid Cymru—that Wales is governed not by a party that thinks it has a right to rule by some kind of divine right, and UKIP, as an opposition party, does intend to oppose that which needs to be opposed.

The First Minister said in his statement that the Welsh people have asked for a Labour Government in the results of this election. Now, I don’t know whether he has actually looked at the results in Wales a few days ago, but Labour got only 34.7 per cent of the vote in the constituency section and only 31.5 per cent of the vote on the regional lists. So, two thirds of the people of Wales voted against Labour in the Assembly elections this year. So, that is certainly no mandate, in spite of the imbalance of seats in comparison to the percentage of the votes, for a Labour Government, and therefore it ought to be inclusive and not just inclusive to the extent of doing deals with Plaid Cymru, but also to involve other minority parties in this place, not least my own UKIP, because we do have seven AMs and they deserve to be treated with respect.

Actually, what Wales voted for a few days ago was change, not the status quo, and that’s why I regret the role that Plaid Cymru have played over the last few days. Kirsty, as well, has managed to prop up this tottering administration. They have frustrated the desire of the Welsh people to bring about change. In Brecon and Radnor, 92 per cent of the electorate voted against Labour and yet, she actually confirmed the First Minister in place. In the Rhondda, there was a stunning result for Leanne Wood, because Leighton Andrews’s 63 per cent of the vote in the previous election was converted to 36 per cent of the vote in this election. That was certainly no vote of confidence in the Labour Party, and I’m surprised, therefore, that, having had that stunning result in the Rhondda, she actually betrayed the interests of the voters who put her where she is for that constituency and did the opposite of what they wanted.

So, I’m afraid that these two ladies have just made themselves political concubines in Carwyn’s harem. What a gruesome prospect that must be. Let’s ask ourselves what reward they have obtained for this inauspicious position. What have they had in reward for the sacrifice of their political virtue? Leanne Wood has spoken many times of the need for a new dawn in Welsh politics and, indeed, that was possible a few days ago, as we thought that the opposition parties, taken together, might be able to force a new deal, but sadly that didn’t prove to be the case. Instead of a new dawn, we’ve now got a total eclipse, because instead of having decisions made in full transparency, we’ve got a series of shadowy committees that will come together in dodgy deals behind the scenes—[Interruption.] This is the way things are going to go in the future—doing dodgy deals to exclude other minority parties in this Chamber.

The deal that has been done insofar as—[Interruption.]

Allow the Member to continue his contribution.

The deal that has been done insofar as we can divine the details from press releases is the greatest non-event in this country since the millennium bug. And, it’s a shame that Leighton Andrews isn’t here today to participate in this debate, because he got into some hot water in the last Assembly for referring to a ‘cheap date’ with Plaid Cymru. When you look at the list of demands or achievements that Plaid have managed to extort from Labour, then I’m afraid to say that Leanne Wood has proved to be a very cheap date indeed—[Assembly Members: ‘Oh.’]—because the power she had in her hands, with assistance both from the Conservative group and from the UKIP group, has actually not been used to its full potential, and she could have got so much more from them.

So, in the course of the next five years, UKIP will play, as I’ve said, a very constructive part in debate. I’m so sorry that Plaid Cymru take a bigoted approach to seven Assembly Members who have come here not to make posturing remarks—

Can I just make the point here I don’t think that any bigoted remarks have been made by anybody in this Chamber to date?

Well, Leanne Wood has said that she would not, in any circumstances, work with UKIP. That seems to me to be so exclusive a remark that it could easily be described as bigotry—that, you know, we are somehow untouchables. [Interruption.] Well, 15 per cent of the Welsh electorate don’t think we’re untouchables, because they vote for us, and that’s an insult not to us, but to them.

So, in the course of the next few weeks, we shall also be shining the searchlight on the areas that Andrew R.T. Davies referred to in his statement: on the health service, on the M4, and, particularly, on the steel industry. This is where the debate about the EU comes to the fore: the First Minister and Labour, as well as Plaid, are totally committed, of course, to the EU—not to mention the remaining Liberal Democrat—which actually makes the First Minister wholly impotent, which I suppose the members of his harem may be rather satisfied with, but the Welsh Government is unable, actually, to do anything very much to save the steel industry in this country, because we have no control over energy prices and we have no control over cheap Chinese steel being dumped upon our shores. That is why the recovery of powers from Brussels is vital, not just to Wales, but also to this Assembly, and, just as we believe in devolution of powers from Brussels to Westminster and from Westminster to Wales, that would strengthen this institution, and we should all want to have those powers so that we can exercise them in the best interests of the Welsh people.

So, I congratulate the First Minister, although I wouldn’t have voted for him, on assuming office, and I can assure him that we will make a positive contribution, not just to debate and discussion, but also to the development of policies that are in the interests of all the Welsh people. [Applause.]

The next item is a motion without notice to bring forward questions to the First Minister at the next Plenary meeting, which I intend to call for 1.30 p.m. next Tuesday afternoon, 24 May, subject to Her Majesty’s approval of the First Minister’s nomination.

I call on Jane Hutt to formally move the motion.

Formally.

The question is whether the proposal is agreed. Is there any objection? I see there is none, therefore the proposal is agreed, in accordance with Standing Order—the people moving my script are moving too quickly for their new Presiding Officer. It’s in accordance with Standing Order 12.36. Therefore, the motion is agreed.

In addition to First Minister’s questions, I hope that we will be in a position at that meeting next week to elect members to the Business Committee and so begin the routine organisation of Plenary business. By that time, it’s possible that the First Minister will have appointed Welsh Ministers. Members and the public will be informed of the agenda in the usual way, and that brings today’s proceedings to a close.