Good afternoon. Thank you for coming.

The Welsh people are facing their biggest decision in decades and it is a decision that will affect every single one of them. The two sides of this debate, Justice for Wales and Wales Says No have hotly debated the issue and both sides’ supporters have been out in support for their respective sides.

As a senior member and former leader of my party and the senior Member of Parliament and the Senedd for my party, as well as now being the Minister for Education and Public Services in the Welsh government, I decided to throw the weight of my party’s support towards Justice for Wales. This was a decision that surprised some, especially those who have little idea of what our party stands for. But for our members and supporters, this makes perfect sense.

One of our core beliefs is that of a strong and equal union. For us, independence of any constituent country is both unattainable and unviable. But at the same time, every nation has a right to self-determination - the power to make and enforce their own laws and decide their own future. This is why we support the devolution of justice and policing to Wales. Both the Scottish and Northern Irish governments have power over their respective justice systems and police services, but not Wales - symptomatic of the lack of respect that Whitehall has shown towards Wales over the years. This is a move that will make Wales equal in the union and create a Wales more capable of deciding its own destiny within the union, creating safer communities and making justice easier to access and more peace of mind for those seeking justice.

The Conservatives want to deny the Welsh people, under the guise of “saving money” or the excuse that “policing is basically devolved anyway”. You know what I say? What a load of bollocks. The leaders of this campaign - Tommy2boys, the Scottish First Minister and BrexitGlory, the Government Chief Whip have run a campaign of lies and deceit, designed to mislead the public into shooting themselves in the foot. It is an utter disgrace how the No campaign has been run. They have produced no positive outcomes of not devolving justice and instead running a campaign based on negativity and their points are so few and far between that they sound like a broken record - repeating the same lines over and over believing that if they say it enough, it will summon some kind of political demon that will destroy the Justice for Wales campaign. Well, it isn’t working. The polls have been clear for ages - the people of Wales want devolved justice and policing. This will be a monumental loss for the government and if someone doesn’t resign over this farce, I will be very surprised. The choice here is obvious. Vote for change. Vote for Justice.

Thank you.