:00:07. > :00:13.Tonight, in the final edition of the Welsh report, we're going to be in
:00:14. > :00:20.the chamber of the Senate in Cardiff Bay. I'll be joined by the First
:00:21. > :00:24.Minister in a few minutes. My word, there is a lot faster. About. The
:00:25. > :00:29.First Minister has been unstinting in his criticism of the deal done
:00:30. > :00:32.between Theresa May and the Democratic Unionist, but beyond the
:00:33. > :00:36.anger, what Kenny actually do about it? We will also talk about the
:00:37. > :00:42.importance of having a strong Welsh voice in the Brexit process, and
:00:43. > :00:53.that intriguing decision after six John six long years of deliberation
:00:54. > :00:58.over the circuit of Wales. Like to come and more.
:00:59. > :01:01.First Minister, thank you for talking to us.
:01:02. > :01:04.How does take the Welsh government six years to make a decision
:01:05. > :01:07.Well, bear in mind, the project changed many
:01:08. > :01:11.The financial ask changed several times.
:01:12. > :01:14.First of all, it was nothing, then it was 100% then it went
:01:15. > :01:16.to another model and then to another model, so, it's not
:01:17. > :01:19.as if the decision could have been taken six years ago,
:01:20. > :01:21.because it was a very different scheme at that time.
:01:22. > :01:24.Are you proud of the way the decision was taken
:01:25. > :01:28.Well, we tried to give the circuit an opportunity.
:01:29. > :01:31.The initial scheme, when wwere asked for a 100% guarantee,
:01:32. > :01:34.we could have said "No, go away," at that point.
:01:35. > :01:37.But we wanted to work with them to see if they could come up
:01:38. > :01:40.We set down conditions - unfortunately they weren't able
:01:41. > :01:43.to meet those conditions, so, what we tried to do
:01:44. > :01:45.with you give them every opportunity possible.
:01:46. > :01:48.That did take some time, but unfortunately, at the end,
:01:49. > :01:50.they weren't able to meet the conditions that we'd set down.
:01:51. > :01:53.Nothing in the process that you would do differently from the
:01:54. > :02:00.tried to give every opportunity possible to the circuit, two
:02:01. > :02:02.providers with a financial model that would work.
:02:03. > :02:05.We worked with them, but in the end, that model that
:02:06. > :02:07.they put forward wasn't one that was we could support.
:02:08. > :02:10.How can it be that just a few weeks ago, a senior civil
:02:11. > :02:15.servant can send an e-mail to the interested parties saying we don't
:02:16. > :02:17.think there is any big obstacle here.
:02:18. > :02:20.Does that suggest there is a lack of communication in the
:02:21. > :02:24.No, you have to remember the due diligence process
:02:25. > :02:27.took place and as a result of that do diligence process, problems were
:02:28. > :02:31.What we asked the cicuit to doas to come up with a scheme that
:02:32. > :02:34.be the risk would be spread 50-50 between
:02:35. > :02:41.private sector, but the scheme that was put forward the do diligence
:02:42. > :02:44.private sector, but the scheme that was put forward the due diligence
:02:45. > :02:48.that look at that scheme showed that in fact there was a serious risk
:02:49. > :02:50.that the government with a couple of the bill.
:02:51. > :02:53.If I was a major investor, I might say to you, "OK, I'm
:02:54. > :02:55.thinking of doing something pretty big in Wales.
:02:56. > :02:57.It will bring in jobs, it will make a big contribution
:02:58. > :03:00.something of the world governments might be quite interested in.
:03:01. > :03:02.If I look at the way this has been handled,
:03:03. > :03:05.and I'm doing it rather harshly maybe, I think it's taken in
:03:06. > :03:08.six years, OK, some things have changed in the meantime, it doesn't
:03:09. > :03:11.Why would I want these people as business
:03:12. > :03:15.Because we can say to them look at Aston Martin, look at Tata,
:03:16. > :03:17.look at Raytheon in the north, look at Airbus.
:03:18. > :03:20.Look at all these companies that we've worked with ,
:03:21. > :03:22.General Dynamics, who have been very happy with working
:03:23. > :03:26.We have a strong track record of attracting investment into
:03:27. > :03:29.It's why, of course, our unemployemnt level is lower
:03:30. > :03:36.we saw last year, for example, the best
:03:37. > :03:37.foreign investment figures that
:03:38. > :03:41.So, our record speaks for itself, but we can't support
:03:42. > :03:44.It has to work as far as the taxpayer is
:03:45. > :03:47.How enthusiastic were you about the scheme?
:03:48. > :03:51.What I wanted to do was to give every single
:03:52. > :03:54.opportunity for the circuit of Wales to come up with a scheme that would
:03:55. > :03:56.work as far as the taxpayer was concerned.
:03:57. > :03:59.Now, if we're going to be accused of anything,
:04:00. > :04:01.perhaps it's being to open to giving them that
:04:02. > :04:06.Unfortunately, it didn't work out, but, we will move forward with one
:04:07. > :04:11.part of the scheme, in effect, the The
:04:12. > :04:13.part of the scheme, in effect, the he
:04:14. > :04:16.scheme that could have created most of the jobs in reality and that it
:04:17. > :04:19.is a technology park in the heads of the valleys.
:04:20. > :04:21.That's where most of the jobs were, not actually in racetrack itself.
:04:22. > :04:24.Just close this one, you are telling voters very clearly that
:04:25. > :04:27.after this very long process, and there are a lot of disappointed
:04:28. > :04:29.people involved, you are saying that the Welsh government has
:04:30. > :04:31.handled this by the book and you don't think
:04:32. > :04:37.there is any problem with the process as we seen it?
:04:38. > :04:39.No, I don't, and I think we have handled it by
:04:40. > :04:42.the book and properly and we protected the taxpayer.
:04:43. > :04:44.On top of that, the bulk of the scheme, which
:04:45. > :04:47.would have provided most of the jobs will still go ahead.
:04:48. > :04:48.The circuit itself would only have provided
:04:49. > :04:54.it was never going to be 6000, but the thousands of jobs,
:04:55. > :04:58.were in the technology park that we are moving
:04:59. > :05:02.So, we're confident that we can create most of
:05:03. > :05:04.the jobs that the circuit would have created in the end.
:05:05. > :05:07.You're very clear about that and you were very
:05:08. > :05:09.clearly this week, when we spoke on the BBC News Channel,
:05:10. > :05:11.about the deal that Theresa May and the
:05:12. > :05:13.Conservatives have done with the Democratic Unionists in Northern
:05:14. > :05:16.You were clearly very angry, and frustrated about that.
:05:17. > :05:18.Some people thought that, in Whitehall,
:05:19. > :05:22.But you knew that, frankly, there was nothing
:05:23. > :05:23.wrong with the deal, you
:05:24. > :05:25.were just resentful and jealous about it.
:05:26. > :05:30.Probably the shabbiest deal I've ever seen.
:05:31. > :05:36.If I went to the Treasury and said, "Could I have some money for health
:05:37. > :05:38.pressures or for education," I'd be told where to go.
:05:39. > :05:40.I'd be told, "You've got that money already."
:05:41. > :05:43.?1 billion of funding, which normally is
:05:44. > :05:46.distributed through the Barnet form, which we keep on being told is
:05:47. > :05:50.There a very nasty message here, for even a politician
:05:51. > :05:53.of your status, which is that that Arlene Foster clearly has more
:05:54. > :06:01.The message is that the UK Government
:06:02. > :06:04.will sell England Scotland or Wales down the river in order to keep
:06:05. > :06:07.itself in power and will destroy the rules that have governed the way
:06:08. > :06:10.money is distributed across the UK to save their own political skins.
:06:11. > :06:13.Let's not pretend that the DUP won't come back in two years' time
:06:14. > :06:22.Maybe that's true, but it doesn't dicth get the basic
:06:23. > :06:25.truth which is that Arlene Foster has some leveraging Parliament
:06:26. > :06:28.and you, as First Minister, and in thiscase, the Labour Party, doesn't
:06:29. > :06:34.What this has done is weak and some of the barns that hold the UK
:06:35. > :06:38.together. Frankly all of this guff about this is something that will
:06:39. > :06:41.provide the UK with stable government is absolute nonsense.
:06:42. > :06:48.What has happened is that Northern Ireland has been bought off, that
:06:49. > :06:50.hostility is ending -- austerities ending in Northern Ireland with
:06:51. > :06:55.taxpayers' money from England Scotland and Wales. A short-term
:06:56. > :07:00.political gain for the Conservative Party is going to cause lasting
:07:01. > :07:04.resentment in all the countries of the UK. I absolutely regret that,
:07:05. > :07:09.because we have all said that the UK is transparent, then distributes
:07:10. > :07:15.money around according to wear a need should be. The Barnett forms
:07:16. > :07:17.used to be that, it doesn't do that any more. Now we know that money is
:07:18. > :07:23.attributed according to where votes can be bought. You're in Downing
:07:24. > :07:29.Street the minority, you need the votes, you look for deals. That's
:07:30. > :07:34.what she has done. The Labour government is out there absolutely
:07:35. > :07:46.hammering them. Because just because the DUP -- one part of the UK,...
:07:47. > :07:55.The Barnett for has been overridden. The Barnett form is often called
:07:56. > :08:02.unfair? It a preposterous to say that the Barnett form to beat money
:08:03. > :08:07.but not Northern Ireland. We have the major projects are the M4 relief
:08:08. > :08:11.road, we're told that we have to pay for that. Northern Ireland is told,
:08:12. > :08:16.don't worry, we will pay for that for you. It is the grubby as deal
:08:17. > :08:21.imaginable. I don't begrudge the people of Northern Ireland, how
:08:22. > :08:25.could I. If Northern Ireland gets the money that should be in
:08:26. > :08:29.equivalent share of Scotland Wales and even, but that hasn't happened.
:08:30. > :08:33.Was a lot of interest in what you had to say about the deal, because
:08:34. > :08:36.you mentioned possibly canvassing some legal options. I'm going to
:08:37. > :08:41.say, one unexpected summoning Downing Street, they said what's he
:08:42. > :08:49.talking about? There is nothing allotting that unlawful about this
:08:50. > :08:58.deal when the things we are doing is we're the dispute resolution
:08:59. > :09:02.process. The JNC is the body that brings... There is a dispute
:09:03. > :09:05.resolution process and exist there, where we feel that an item of
:09:06. > :09:09.expenditure has been spent in one part of the UK should have had a
:09:10. > :09:14.Barnett consequential. We have started that dispute. Do you have
:09:15. > :09:19.any confidence in that process? A dispute with the Treasury of the
:09:20. > :09:25.dispute, the current UK pop Constitution... What is the process?
:09:26. > :09:31.Usher the Scots will say that this is an underhand deal which drives a
:09:32. > :09:34.coach of horses in a way that money is distributed across the UK in it
:09:35. > :09:38.really does smack of hypocrisy. We will do all we can to make sure that
:09:39. > :09:42.Wales get its fair share. Not to undermine Northern Ireland or money
:09:43. > :09:45.they will get, but he say hang on a second, if you're ending austerity
:09:46. > :09:48.in Northern Ireland, then you should end austerity in the other three
:09:49. > :09:54.countries as well. If you are talking in legal terms what would be
:09:55. > :09:58.the legal basis of taking the Ford? How would you do that? That's
:09:59. > :10:05.something we are examining. The first step is the dispute resolution
:10:06. > :10:08.process and that we will take forward. So, it's a big threat, but
:10:09. > :10:14.not when you have thought three? There are some issues that we will
:10:15. > :10:20.take advice on. Early days. What I can say is that we will use every
:10:21. > :10:25.possible avenue to do this as far as Wales is concerned. Because, where
:10:26. > :10:30.is the secretary for Wales? Why isn't he saying hang on the should
:10:31. > :10:33.be more money for Wales? Where is the secretary of skills for Scotland
:10:34. > :10:47.the Carthago delenda when we spoke several months ago we
:10:48. > :10:51.had an exchange about how the Welsh voice to be heard around Brexit and
:10:52. > :10:55.how important that it be? We are in a different position now, a Prime
:10:56. > :11:00.Minister who might be recognised as being weekend, she's got issues with
:11:01. > :11:07.her backbenchers, very little room to manoeuvre Obama wrong to say that
:11:08. > :11:17.Mrs May is less likely to let listen to Mrs May? -- to listen to Wales?
:11:18. > :11:20.Any Brexit deal with the prior consent of the devolved legislation
:11:21. > :11:25.so I welcome that. It's something that I have been advocating. It is
:11:26. > :11:29.important because at the very beginning I said that it was hugely
:11:30. > :11:32.important that any deal should be ratified by four powers and it
:11:33. > :11:38.should be accepted across the UK. And I'm glad that it was accepted by
:11:39. > :11:43.the UK Government will stop is possible they were as Senate could
:11:44. > :11:49.not back that? -- the well said it could not back that got from my
:11:50. > :11:53.perspective, we're not in the business of trying to prevent
:11:54. > :11:58.Brexit. We are in the business of looking after Wales. The City of
:11:59. > :12:02.London is looked after, but Welsh farmers are forgotten about we will
:12:03. > :12:11.not stand for that. I'm glad the government has put accepted the
:12:12. > :12:15.principle of its consent. How would you characterise a reception you
:12:16. > :12:21.have had in London when you have made the case for the Welsh argument
:12:22. > :12:24.in terms Brexit? I'd irrespective? While they are not one government,
:12:25. > :12:29.they are just a collection of individuals with their own views.
:12:30. > :12:33.When I talk to David Davis, here's a list of the issues and I walk in the
:12:34. > :12:39.comments he has made. There are some, the Westminster is, the
:12:40. > :12:44.nationalist wing, the Conservative Party they feel the same way. The UK
:12:45. > :12:52.is the same in the as it was in 1973 when we join the Common Market. Full
:12:53. > :12:55.stop hopefully their voices will be tempered and pragmatic voices and
:12:56. > :13:01.will be heard. At the end of the day, the UK's unity will depend on
:13:02. > :13:04.what happens over the course of the next ten years. It's hugely
:13:05. > :13:09.important, as somebody who believes in devolution and believes that
:13:10. > :13:13.Wales has been part of the United Kingdom, that we don't create
:13:14. > :13:19.resentment that will linger and caused the UK to split up. I don't
:13:20. > :13:21.want to see that and it's hugely important that we take steps now to
:13:22. > :13:31.see that doesn't You said several times judge you by
:13:32. > :13:35.results, education in Wales, results have been disappointing in 2016,
:13:36. > :13:40.poorest performing part of the UK in terms of the Pisa results. The next
:13:41. > :13:45.ones in 2018, will your legacy be that Wales is still at the bottom of
:13:46. > :13:48.that pile when it? The Agassi is best GCSE results ever, A-level
:13:49. > :13:56.results have been proven, the payment being closed in Wales, the
:13:57. > :13:59.bottom schools are being lifted up, new schools being built across
:14:00. > :14:02.Wales, that is not happening in England. We have seen schools being
:14:03. > :14:06.able to good university because they get far better baggage of support
:14:07. > :14:09.and ligand. We work with the FA colleges to make sure they delivered
:14:10. > :14:14.the apprenticeships we need for our economy, none of these things were
:14:15. > :14:17.happening for devolution and we have shown that we put money into schools
:14:18. > :14:24.and from school at a high level and we are now seeing results improve to
:14:25. > :14:29.a point where we have had our best result ever. On the global yardstick
:14:30. > :14:33.of Pisa what is going to happen? We want to see the position improve. Do
:14:34. > :14:39.you think we will move off the bottom? Indication so far have been
:14:40. > :14:42.good. We're not at the bottom, we have done the least well of the four
:14:43. > :14:48.of the UK nations, but let's not say that we think Peter is great and we
:14:49. > :14:54.are proud of it, we are not, we want to improve. That the world, the
:14:55. > :14:59.measure. But the indications we have received have been living in the
:15:00. > :15:04.right direction in GCSE and A-level results and the facilities that
:15:05. > :15:07.children had to learn in. I have got children of school age so I see the
:15:08. > :15:12.difference that has been made by the money put in. Are you confident that
:15:13. > :15:17.Pisa performance will improve or not? We want to see that. It is
:15:18. > :15:21.difficult to predict because it measures education in a way that
:15:22. > :15:25.goes beyond the results that we see in GCSE and A-level and in some ways
:15:26. > :15:29.we have had to make sure that our schools are more aware of what is
:15:30. > :15:33.required when the Pisa tests take place because they don't teach to
:15:34. > :15:36.Pisa traditionally, but to GCSE and A-level and we have to make sure
:15:37. > :15:43.that there is greater understanding of Pisa in our schools. Burgeoning
:15:44. > :15:47.young people, it is 20 years since Wales voted narrowly to have a
:15:48. > :15:51.devolved government and to set up the institution, so what we did and
:15:52. > :15:56.I hope you will bear with me, talking to two and young women who
:15:57. > :15:58.were born 20 years ago, one in Pontypridd and one elsewhere and we
:15:59. > :16:08.have been asking their views about where Wales is 20 years on. My name
:16:09. > :16:12.is Rachel Hutchings, I am 20, Wales narrowly divided to be a devolved
:16:13. > :16:16.government, I was nine months old, growing up I haven't ever known
:16:17. > :16:22.different. I feel devolution is massively important to Wales. I am
:16:23. > :16:27.20 years old, when Wales voted to become involved, I was around three
:16:28. > :16:32.or four months old. I am a supporter of centralised government so I am
:16:33. > :16:42.not a massive fun of the Assembly. High, at nice to meet you. Hello.
:16:43. > :16:51.I believe that the Government and parliament should have most of the
:16:52. > :16:53.power. We have so many different layers of politics and
:16:54. > :16:56.representation that you don't believe the Assembly needs to be
:16:57. > :17:00.there. I feel that devolved government is important because it
:17:01. > :17:04.is not necessary the that every area of the UK is looking very same
:17:05. > :17:06.thing. Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England, are not
:17:07. > :17:10.necessarily having the same problems with things at the forefront and
:17:11. > :17:14.Westminster doesn't often represent the issues that I think are
:17:15. > :17:18.fundamental in Wales. Do you really think the Welsh Assembly actually
:17:19. > :17:22.makes an impact on young people in Wales and actually represents us?
:17:23. > :17:26.For young people devolution has proved it has given us a lot of
:17:27. > :17:31.things, it is a lot easier for us to study and go to university and I was
:17:32. > :17:34.government, and it is things like that but I think young people in
:17:35. > :17:38.Wales even though they may not audibly discuss that much are very
:17:39. > :17:41.thankful to have. Or do you think young people in Wales are actually
:17:42. > :17:46.aware of the policy that Wales are actually in charge of? Personally
:17:47. > :17:52.know. I don't think people that I knew that went to school, I was in
:17:53. > :17:55.school with 17, 18, old enough to vote, and they used to say or tweet
:17:56. > :18:02.and I would play to them, education is awful at the moment or the NHS
:18:03. > :18:06.so-and-so, paying the sludge away they are having to wait so long,
:18:07. > :18:10.David Cameron at the time, why is he doing these things, he needs to that
:18:11. > :18:14.is the Welsh Assembly. If you have got a problem you need to go to the
:18:15. > :18:20.bus Assembly is not your MP. I think if a lot more young people somewhere
:18:21. > :18:22.to our own age group would have a bigger understanding of devolution
:18:23. > :18:25.met and what has been given to us that they were possibly care more
:18:26. > :18:30.and actively seek things out, to contact members of the Assembly.
:18:31. > :18:34.Don't you think it is important for us to have this institution is our
:18:35. > :18:39.voice going into these hugely important Brexit negotiations? If
:18:40. > :18:42.people are going to have the same from Wales, it is the Wales Office
:18:43. > :18:45.in the Government, the Secretary of State for Wales and its officers.
:18:46. > :18:49.They think he is really going to make the boys of Wales occurred in
:18:50. > :18:54.those locations. I don't think the Assembly will have much say. It
:18:55. > :18:58.seems by 2021 the National Assembly of Wales will be renamed Welsh
:18:59. > :19:01.Parliament, what is your opinion, do think that will change a thing? I
:19:02. > :19:04.think it is a waste of time. What is the point in changing the name. Do
:19:05. > :19:07.they think they would get more credibility by changing the name?
:19:08. > :19:10.Maybe they should gain more credibility by becoming a better
:19:11. > :19:15.government and more representative to the people. So would you be in
:19:16. > :19:19.favour of further powers being devolved to the Welsh Assembly in
:19:20. > :19:23.future? I would usually be in favour of that. In fact personally given
:19:24. > :19:26.the climate as a design award is not possible but in the future I would
:19:27. > :19:31.love to see an independent Wales and for all of our policy to take place
:19:32. > :19:35.here. I think we will have to agree to disagree. It is never going to
:19:36. > :19:43.happen. Here's to the future of Wales. And our thanks to Rachel
:19:44. > :19:51.Hutchings and Corrie Driscoll. Diametric call opposed views, I am
:19:52. > :19:55.wondering do you think that representative of public opinion in
:19:56. > :19:58.Wales? It was represented of of the views of those two people but we
:19:59. > :20:02.know from the polls that devolution is well-established in peoples
:20:03. > :20:07.minds, a seven-month sport these days compared to what the way things
:20:08. > :20:12.were 20 ago. Nobody ever says what do you think of Westminster or local
:20:13. > :20:15.government, shall we have local government? Sometimes we have to
:20:16. > :20:19.justify ourselves still but we know from the polls that people are very
:20:20. > :20:22.much supportive and Conservative edge devolution. Those are
:20:23. > :20:26.fundamental point about people's understanding of what is decided
:20:27. > :20:32.here and government in Wales and I think that has been a persistent
:20:33. > :20:35.issue across the 20 years. Is it disappointing? It is a question for
:20:36. > :20:40.politicians and media, is it disappointing that even today 20
:20:41. > :20:45.years on people clearly have in some cases are pretty foggy understanding
:20:46. > :20:48.of what the responsibilities are? Yes, there is more work to do for
:20:49. > :20:52.ourselves and the media. It is better than it was, no question
:20:53. > :20:56.about that, but the way the media has changed has meant that there is
:20:57. > :20:58.far more penetration of Welsh news in parts of Wales like the
:20:59. > :21:02.north-east where it was quite difficult before. I have noticed it
:21:03. > :21:06.on the doorstep when going to places like Easter adventure and there is
:21:07. > :21:11.far more of an understanding what is happening in terms of Welsh politics
:21:12. > :21:14.than ever in the past which is because the media is more
:21:15. > :21:19.fragmented, Facebook, that conveys messages as well. You as we are
:21:20. > :21:26.people generally absolutely aware of what each and choosing does, no not
:21:27. > :21:28.yet. Even for basic things like health, they still meet voters who
:21:29. > :21:33.frankly haven't clocked the fact that health is run here. Part of the
:21:34. > :21:37.problem is we don't have a strong print media in Wales in the same way
:21:38. > :21:40.that Scotland has an people read newspapers that carry news that is
:21:41. > :21:47.not relevant to them as of Wales was part of England. Bluntly I think
:21:48. > :21:52.there is a bias in terms of what happens in BBC in London towards
:21:53. > :21:57.London and Scotland, Scotland is oversupplied shall we say with
:21:58. > :22:02.journalists, Wales is undersupplied. An honourable exception... But it is
:22:03. > :22:05.an issue for us, but two weeks ago I saw a comment Arlene Foster carried
:22:06. > :22:09.on the news and it is a comment I used a few weeks ago with hardly any
:22:10. > :22:12.cupboard and I hope that has changed with some of the comments that I
:22:13. > :22:16.have made, but there is a tendency to ignore Wales and expressed
:22:17. > :22:21.surprise when we expressed strong opinions. Why is it so important to
:22:22. > :22:26.change this place name? Double better understand what the
:22:27. > :22:30.Parliament does. People don't fully understand what an Assembly is and
:22:31. > :22:34.what it does. The are vague to what it means, is at the same as it got
:22:35. > :22:38.us Parliament or is it a parliament, it is a parliament at the end of the
:22:39. > :22:44.day. It is going to become a text variant, it is already law making,
:22:45. > :22:48.let's call it what it is. People have much better what standing of
:22:49. > :22:52.what the word Parliament means. Is it to do with status or is it to do
:22:53. > :22:58.with power and do you think that power increasingly would be seen by
:22:59. > :23:01.people to be something that is people painting at sharp contrast
:23:02. > :23:04.with an age of 20 years ago that we were discussing which scenes are
:23:05. > :23:07.very distant age nor? What you have the river is we have a referendum in
:23:08. > :23:13.2011 to get more powers for the Assembly and it passed by 2-1, much
:23:14. > :23:19.bigger margin than Brexit. We have to remember that in that referendum
:23:20. > :23:22.people moved on from the idea of devolution and they wanted more
:23:23. > :23:28.powers. See continuously from the polls that people are always open to
:23:29. > :23:34.looking at more powers for this place. Is it a semantic change? The
:23:35. > :23:37.change of the Assembly to a Parliament? No, I just think it
:23:38. > :23:40.helps to give people a better understanding about this institution
:23:41. > :23:44.actually does, more than just a word. The next elections are in
:23:45. > :23:49.2021. Will you be First Minister at that point? I am reluctant to make
:23:50. > :23:53.any changes, Brexit is so overwhelming as an issue at the
:23:54. > :23:58.moment, I think it is important to me to be able to deal with that. One
:23:59. > :24:01.I but Ejaria council I will be the longest serving leader there, longer
:24:02. > :24:05.than any of them. Is that the hint that the Brexit issue has changed
:24:06. > :24:10.your perspective on those timings? In terms of your future? In politics
:24:11. > :24:14.you can never really predict how long you're going to be there, the
:24:15. > :24:20.voters have a say on these things, like many other jobs, it is hugely
:24:21. > :24:26.important to deal with issues surrounding Brexit and for me to
:24:27. > :24:30.draw on the experience I have going back to 2009 as a First Minister at
:24:31. > :24:33.2000 as a government blister and bring those to bear to help Wales
:24:34. > :24:38.with those negotiations. Your message to view was as clear, when
:24:39. > :24:41.the elections happen in 2021, you will still all things being equal,
:24:42. > :24:45.good health, you will be First Minister at that point? I have no
:24:46. > :24:51.plan to change, I am 50 so I'm still much younger than the Prime
:24:52. > :24:54.Minister. That was unkind! I am older than Nicola Sturgeon and
:24:55. > :24:58.Arlene Foster, I have still got plenty of drive in me. Because that
:24:59. > :25:02.is the question isn't it? Having been first mentor of such a long
:25:03. > :25:06.time you do get a personal thing to ask, it is a demanding job is the
:25:07. > :25:10.ambition and energy stored there and the vision is still there? The
:25:11. > :25:12.answer is yes but it is absolutely right that you have to ask yourself
:25:13. > :25:17.in my position, the questionable claims, have you still got the drive
:25:18. > :25:21.and the interest and the energy? I ask myself that all the time. And
:25:22. > :25:24.the answer to those questions have been yes. First Minister, good to
:25:25. > :25:30.talk to you. Thank you very much. But is it from Cardiff Bay with the
:25:31. > :25:34.First Minister here. The very last edition of The Wales Report. Thank
:25:35. > :25:38.you for watching for the past five years and thanks for supporting our
:25:39. > :25:41.efforts relate to maintain the level of scrutiny in politics and public
:25:42. > :25:45.life in Wales. It has never been more important than it is today. So
:25:46. > :25:47.from the First Minister, from me, all of the team on The Wales Report,
:25:48. > :26:21.thanks watching. Press the red button now
:26:22. > :26:23.to get all the