‘We won’t let UK government rob us of our powers’
WALES and Scotland will not let the UK Government “rob” powers and rewrite the devolution settlement, Welsh Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford warned after a meeting between ministers of both nations in Cardiff.
The First Ministers of Wales and Scotland have denounced the UK Government’s flagship Brexit Repeal Bill as a “naked power-grab” and the two administrations are also strongly opposed to the Conservatives’ £1bn deal with Northern Ireland’s DUP. They argue their nations are entitled to a boost in funding totalling £4.57bn.
Speaking shortly after meeting with Scottish Brexit Minister Michael Russell, Mr Drakeford warned that the Repeal Bill – which will put EU legislation onto the UK statute book but empower ministers to make multiple changes – “tramples all over devolved arrangements within the United Kingdom”.
He said there was an “urgent need” to reconvene the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) which brings together ministers from across the UK’s different governments.
There is also concern about the future arrangements which will be put in place concerning areas such as agriculture and fisheries in post-Brexit Britain. The Welsh Government is adamant that new frameworks must be agreed by the various governments and not imposed from London.
Mr Drakeford said: “[I] think both governments and indeed I believe both parliaments will agree that the UK Government’s refusal to pursue the approach that we have both advocated with them is a genuine threat to devolution.”
Insisting that the Welsh Government recognised the need for agreement on such areas, he said: “The real argument, [and] it’s a really important argument, is how to achieve it. We see that the first port of call should be to call the component parts of the United Kingdom together around the table and form an agreed way forward.
“We would come to that table very constructively, very purposely and with the ambition of reaching agreement. Instead of doing it that way, the UK Government has decided that the right way to do it is to rob the devolved administrations of powers that we have had since 1999 and then to tell us what we are to do with them, and that’s just so unacceptable as a way of organising the United Kingdom that we are bound to take them on on that.”
He also warned of the likelihood of the legislatures refusing to vote to consent to the Repeal Bill unless major changes are made, saying: “I think it’s very hard to imagine the Assembly would willingly connive in its own diminution.”
The Welsh and Scottish governments have launched a formal dispute resolution process within the JMC in the wake of the DUP’s deal with Theresa May’s administration. The Welsh Government is pushing for £1.67bn.
Mr Drakeford said he had gone down this route “reluctantly” but said the governments had been “left with no alternative once the UK Government had unilaterally decided to provide money to one part of the United Kingdom”.
When asked if he expected recent developments to drive support for Scottish independence, he said: “Our ambition, the Welsh Government’s ambition – led very much by the First Minister – is to find ways in which the UK can work effectively together and have a very important future together.”
The SNP’s Mr Russell said: “Today’s meeting was another positive and useful opportunity to discuss some of the shared concerns both countries have around the UK’s exit from the European Union... We have agreed that we can’t back the Bill as it stands and will continue to work together to reverse the attempt to take powers from Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales.
“We will continue to press the UK Government that they enter into negotiations with both devolved administrations on the bill on the basis that we are equal partners on an issue that will have a hugely significant impact on the future of our economy and society.”
A UK Government spokeswoman said: “We have been clear that the Repeal Bill will not take away any decision-making powers from the devolved administrations immediately after exit. Instead, to protect the UK internal market, some decision-making powers being transferred into UK law will be held temporarily to allow intensive discussion and consultation with the devolved administrations.
“As the Secretary of State has made clear, it is our expectation that the outcome of this process will provide a significant increase in the decision-making power of each devolved administration and we are committed to positive and productive engagement with the Scottish Government.”