Diolch, Lywydd, am y cyfle i gyfrannu i’r ddadl bwysig hon.

The result of the referendum last week was a profound disappointment. The fact that Wales should choose to reject the relationship that has been so clearly in its interests is a challenge to all of us in this place, and we must respond tangibly, and not with easy rhetoric. The loss to Wales of hundreds of millions of pounds of income every year would be hugely detrimental. We have already seen, in many of our communities, the effect of the UK Government’s austerity cuts, taking money out of households and out of local economies, and this is a challenge on a much, much bigger scale. Coupled with economic uncertainty, both in Wales and across the UK, as companies now inevitably look at whether they are investing here or in the ongoing UK, we are facing a very traumatic period, despite the sunny optimism that very unlikely pair of Pollyannas, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives and the leader of UKIP.

I don’t want to be in a position where Wales qualifies for regional aid—none of us wants that. I want our economy to be robust enough not to need this and to flourish, and our overriding priority is, and must be, an economic policy that enables that.