It is with pain in my heart that I write this message to the people of Wales. I hereby want to give notice of my resignation as First Minister of Wales and my resignation as leader of the Welsh Conservatives. It has been a great job and I’ve enjoyed serving the people of Wales in my time in Welsh politics. I depart with my head high, knowing we’ve accomplished a great many things in my term as First Minister.

We have been able to put a democratic process in place for Assembly Members to be recalled if their constituents wish to do so and we’ve ensured that students in Wales receive more education about Welsh history. We made better provisions for tackling mental health and we produced a great budget that really brings Wales forward.

However, the current situation is not stable enough for us to continue. The Welsh Libertarians have openly supported a referendum on justice devolution while committing to the Programme for Government. We hoped that after passing the budget together they would remain in support of the Programme for Government, but after the budget passed, they made clear they intend to support any motion supporting a justice devolution referendum even if that means going against the Government. Committing to the programme for government and supporting the upcoming motion are unsustainable. The Welsh Conservatives cannot accept this, and therefore we have taken the difficult decision to withdraw ourselves from the Welsh Government, and we will sit in Opposition for the remainder of the term.