Plenary

I second Kerry Ferguson.

I nominate Dan Thomas.

On behalf of the Welsh Conservative group, I nominate Darren Millar.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Darren Millar.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Abstain.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Darren Millar.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Darren Millar.

Abstain.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Darren Millar.

Darren Millar.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Abstain.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Abstain.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Darren Millar.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Abstain.

Abstain.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Darren Millar.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Abstain.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Abstain.

Dan Thomas.

Dan Thomas.

Abstain.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Dan Thomas.

Thank you very much, all. Thank you, Llywydd, first of all, and congratulations to you on being elected to the role, and to the Deputy Presiding Officer too. I know that the success and reputation of our Senedd are matters that are very close to your heart, and that you will be a worthy custodian and ambassador for the home of our democracy. Thank you.

It's the greatest privilege of my life to be elected First Minister of the nation that means so much to me. I begin the journey humbly, indebted to the support and love of my family, who are here today, to my mother, who continues to influence me today as much as ever, and to friends and colleagues. I'm eager to repay the trust that the people of Wales have placed in us, and to achieve the change that people have stated so clearly that they wish to see.

But first of all, I want to pay tribute to my predecessor in this role. With resilience and determination, Eluned steered her Government and her nation with enthusiasm and with pride at all times. As a father of two daughters, I thank her for shattering that glass ceiling, and in so doing inspiring young women across Wales and beyond. Thank you, Eluned. [Applause.]

I would also like to congratulate party leaders: Jane Dodds, Darren Millar and Ken Skates on their re-election. I know they will bring the same energy and passion to proceedings in the seventh Senedd, as they did in the last. To our colleagues in the Green Party, we applaud you on your historic breakthrough and look forward to a new era of ensuring that plurality pays dividends for the people of Wales. And, of course, let me congratulate Dan Thomas and the Reform UK group on securing what will no doubt prove to be a formidable presence in the Chamber and one that promises to keep the Government on its toes.

I'll always welcome scrutiny. And using my words tentatively here, let me say I look forward to our weekly sessions of First Minister's questions. I guess I will learn soon enough whether asking them was, in fact, much more fun than answering them. [Laughter.] But that is why our democracy is to be cherished: a free and fair election, followed by the opportunity to form an administration in a peaceful and orderly manner, before being held to account for our record of governing—a privilege denied to so many around the world and one we must never take for granted.

Llywydd, something has stirred in the soul of Wales—a new confidence, a new hope, a new, broader horizon, never to be narrowed again by the naysayers with other priorities in other places. From this historic moment onwards, every person in every part of our nation can know that the Government of Wales is their Government. And they will know that their Government does not and will not impose on itself, or on our citizens, any limits on what our nation can achieve.

And my promise to everyone is that I will lead without prejudice or presumption. I'll never take this privilege for granted, nor will my principles be burdened by power, because the challenges we face are too many in number and too grave in nature for us to lose sight of what is at stake: the need to take decisive action to bring down waiting lists and to put health and care and our treasured NHS on a more sustainable footing for the future; an opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of those children across Wales who woke up to poverty this morning, and to ease the punishing cost-of-living crisis for families, to give every child the skills they need to thrive through a renewed focus on standards in education, and to unleash our economic potential by backing businesses and creating jobs in all parts of Wales.

The Plaid Cymru Government will be here to serve everyone in every community, urban and rural, old and young, whether they speak Welsh or do not, those who have always been here and those who are new amongst us, south, east, west and north. Where there is common ground, we will make every effort to find it. And where unfairness and injustice threaten the fabric of our nation, we will turn that mission of kindness and tolerance into support for those who need it most. Wales is a vineyard entrusted to our care, and we will care for her in the name of all of those who came before us and all those who will follow.

Llywydd, I will end with this: when compassion is backed by the courage to act, and when recognition of our potential today meets a collective aspiration to secure a better tomorrow, that is when our nation's voice will sing the loudest. That is how we know that our best days lie ahead of us. That is how we know that together we can and will build a fairer, more ambitious Wales for all. That work starts now.

Thank you all very much. [Applause.]

Llywydd, congratulations on your appointment today, and thank you for the time. May I also congratulate all Members on their election or re-election, as the case may be? And may I congratulate Plaid Cymru's nominee for First Minister on your election? I'd like to thank the Reform group for their endorsement of my leadership at the inaugural group meeting that we had yesterday. Thank you.

As leader of the largest opposition group, I wish the Government well in its efforts to reduce NHS waiting lists, to improve education results, and in creating the right environment for the economy to grow and for job creation, because Wales badly needs it. And to that end, the Reform group will be a robust opposition. We will hold Plaid Cymru to account and we will be a voice of the left-behind communities that have voted for us. And Reform is represented across Wales. We represent all people across all of Wales. We will do all we can to break up the cosy consensus that has presided over 27 years of managed decline in this country.

And finally, I would like to remind Plaid Cymru that this Chamber has a pro-union majority, and Reform will work with all pro-union parties to block taxpayers’ money being spent on an independence commission. The future of a prosperous Wales lies within a successful United Kingdom, and Reform will ensure that that union prevails. The people of Wales have made that clear at the ballot box, and Reform serves the people of Wales. Diolch yn fawr. [Applause.]

Llywydd, I'd like to congratulate all Members on their election to this Senedd, and, in particular, Rhun on his appointment as the new First Minister. It is a very turbulent and divided world, so please let's all treat each other with the dignity and respect, during even the most challenging of debates, that the people who elected us deserve to see day in, day out.

We now have a new, larger Senedd. We have two new parties represented here and we have a different party at the helm. It goes without saying that I am deeply saddened at Welsh Labour's loss. We were represented by a determined team of immensely talented candidates and supported by brilliant volunteers and organisers.

Llywydd, no-one knows better than our party that it is a privilege to govern. That privilege and the immense responsibility that goes with it now rests on different shoulders. I'd like to pay my respects to those Members who have gone before us and the colleagues that have not been returned to this place, in particular to my predecessor in our party, Eluned Morgan, who worked so hard in the role, who showed so much dignity at a difficult time for her personally and for our party.

Now, make no mistake, work is what this place is about, and I'm proud of our achievements, including in recent times bringing down waiting lists in the NHS for nine consecutive months and funding so many new twenty-first century schools for our children; delivering an £800 million fleet of shiny new trains and unprecedented progress on metros north and south; and of course legislating to protect our environment, deal with coal tips and clean up the air we breathe. I hope to see the same kind of work rate and delivery from the party now in power, and I do look forward to my party being an effective opposition, scrutinising and holding Rhun and his colleagues to account where necessary to improve legislation. Now, I hope as a Minister I demonstrated to Plaid Members how collaboration and challenge both benefit the Government, and I hope the people of Wales will see that, in this term, Welsh Labour in opposition will remain focused laser like on serving their interests and improving their lives.

We may only be a group of nine now, but above all we are a fellowship, and, let's remember, in The Fellowship of the Ring it was just nine warriors who overcame enormous odds to bring down an empire, guided by their very own Gandalf, who will now guide us and protect our democracy with his shiny new mace. [Laughter.]

Be assured we will not let the party of Government off the hook at any time, as they, quite rightly, did not allow us to. Within our group we have a combination of immense experience and new energy and expertise, but above all we have passion and purpose, and to quote from a poet familiar to many:

‘We are not now that strength which in old days / Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; / One equal temper of heroic hearts, / Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. / To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.'

[Applause.]

Diolch, Lywydd. Fellow Members of the Senedd, I rise today to mark an historic and significant moment in the life of this Siambr and, indeed, this nation. I want to put on record, first of all, my thanks to the outgoing Llywydd, Elin Jones, for the way in which she conducted the business of this Senedd over the past 10 years. You did a spectacular job and served our nation with dignity, as did the Deputy Presiding Officer, David Rees, who served so ably alongside you.

I also want to put on record my thanks to the former First Minister for her service to our nation. We crossed swords every single week and, in fact, during the election campaign, every single day, but I have the utmost respect for her as a person and I know that she loved this country and served it to the very best of her ability.

And, of course, it's incumbent upon me to offer my sincere and heartfelt congratulations to Rhun ap Iorwerth on becoming the Senedd's nominee to be the next First Minister of Wales. To lead your country is the highest honour in national and public life, and, regardless of our political differences, I wish you well personally as you assume this huge mantle and take on this mantle of responsibility. I also extend my congratulations to his party for a formidable election result, because to become the largest party in this Senedd for the first time is a huge achievement and it cannot be overlooked.

I want to congratulate every single Member of this Senedd on being elected to serve our nation and the people of Wales. But, First Minister, be under no illusion: you have a monumental task before you. The honeymoon period for you and your party is going to be short. While the celebrations in the Plaid Cymru ranks may continue tonight, the cold reality is waiting for you in the morning: an NHS that isn't working as it should be, a stagnant economy that isn't growing as it should be, an education system that isn't serving our young people as it should be. They will all be waiting in your in-tray as you assume office.

The people of Wales did not vote for a change of personnel; they voted for a change of outcomes. Now, from these benches, the Welsh Conservatives will approach this term, of course, with mixed emotions. We're deeply saddened to have lost hard-working and dedicated colleagues who served their constituents and this institution of the Senedd with distinction. But we're also delighted to have outperformed the pessimistic estimations and expectations of almost every pundit and every pollster in this country, because we've returned a magnificent seven Members to this Senedd. And we're here to champion the things that we Welsh Conservatives hold dear: a more prosperous Wales with lower taxes, an end to Government waste, and more efficient and effective public services that work for the people of Wales. And I promise the new First Minister that we will be a serious, robust and responsible opposition, and that responsibility begins today by calling out the glaring gap between Plaid Cymru's rhetoric and the parliamentary reality that we have seen.

Throughout the recent campaign, the First Minister Elect's message was one of change. He promised a new era of breaking from the past, and yet the very first act of his party in this new Senedd has been to stitch up the post of Presiding Officer with their former partners in the Labour Party. Llywydd, it is a move that many people across Wales will find deeply unedifying. In no other western democracy would a person jump directly from being the former Deputy First Minister or Deputy Prime Minister of their nation into the speaker's chair in the very next Parliament. Frankly, it stinks. The role of the Llywydd demands absolute impartiality. It should not be treated as a consolation prize for the previous Deputy First Minister after their own political party has just been vomited from Government in such a spectacular way by the electorate. To do so, undermines and damages the reputation of this Parliament, because a Presiding Officer must command respect across the whole of the Senedd, especially amongst opposition parties and those who have a role in scrutinising the Government.

So, Llywydd, while I have every respect for you, and the experience that you hold and the important office that you now hold, and I congratulate you and our new Deputy Presiding Officer on your respective elections today, I'm afraid that you will need to earn the confidence of the Welsh Conservative group in the weeks and months ahead. Because this back-room deal is a clear sign that the Labour-Plaid axis, the very same partnership that has failed Wales for years, is set to continue under a different guise, and it demonstrates very clearly that despite the glossy manifesto promises of change, the old adage remains as true now here in Wales as it has ever been: vote Plaid, get Labour; vote Labour, get Plaid. We on these benches will judge this Government not by its promises, but by its actions, and I'm afraid that today's stitch-up suggests that, unfortunately, it is very much business as usual here in Cardiff Bay. First Minister, you have your mandate, but you will also have our scrutiny and we will hold you accountable for all of the decisions that you make. [Applause.]

Llywydd, with your permission, may I ask you to read again the votes for the Llywydd, so that the Chamber may be reminded of the votes?