BORIS BOOED DURING VISIT TO CARDIFF
THEY met face to face, but didn’t see eye to eye.
Boris Johnson’s “State of the Union” tour brought him to the Senedd yesterday for his first meeting as Prime Minister with First Minister Mark Drakeford.
Mr Drakeford summed up the political divide on Brexit by saying “we have fundamentally different views”.
It was a day in which Mr Johnson:
■ Gave assurances on farmers’ support at a chicken farm near Newport; ■ Failed to turn up for an apparent walk-about in Brecon;
■ Was booed by protesters at the Senedd;
■ The PM’s team also told Welsh media outlets no interviews with him could be filmed or audio recorded.
A Welsh Government spokesman put out a relatively diplomatic communiqué after the meeting between the Prime Minister and the First Minister.
It said: “The First Minister of Wales and the Prime Minister had substantial discussions today, but clearly there are fundamentally different views on Brexit.
“The First Minister repeatedly warned of the catastrophic impact Brexit would have on Wales and pressed the Prime Minister on what support would be available for Welsh industry and agricultural sectors – no details given about new or alternative markets.
“The First Minister pressed the Prime Minister to hold a second referendum to test the views of the people.
“The First Minister set out his views on reinventing and strengthening the Union – the Prime Minister recognised the need for a strong Union and welcomed the opportunity for a further discussion.”
Mr Drakeford last night expanded on the points at a press conference.
He said he was told by Mr Johnson that the chance of leaving the EU with no deal was “vanishingly small”.
Asked to describe the nature of support that would be available, Mr Drakeford said, “I’m afraid there’s a deeply concerning lack of detail available to people whose livelihoods are on the line.”
Mr Drakeford said he thought the future of the UK was “more at risk today than before in my political lifetime”.
He said “handing out Union Jacks and renditions of Rule Britannia” would not be enough.
Mr Johnson agreed to look at ideas from Mr Drakeford about how to bring UK together.
The First Minister said Mr Johnson “believes what he says at the moment he says it”.
But Mr Drakeford said there was nothing that persuaded him that there was anything “behind the headline to back up that sense of optimism [Mr Johnson] wants to exude”.
Mr Drakeford said: “He’s not new to this; he led a campaign to take us out of the European Union.
“He’s been foreign secretary. He’s been involved in it from the very beginning and I think it was very legitimate to expect a better grasp of the detail on show today.”
Mr Drakeford added: “When he told me the chance of leaving with no deal was ‘vanishingly small,’ I was very pleased to hear him say that.
“I have to take it that if a Prime Minister says that to me, that he means what he says.
“I urged him that in negotiating a deal for Brexit he took into account things we’ve been saying about the way things can work
“My anxiety isn’t about the headline, it’s the detail. Where is the detail? The plan? The thinking that would give you confidence. I didn’t hear that detail today, I’ve not heard the detail in the things I’ve heard reported. It’s absolutely urgent that detail is put in place, otherwise we will end up leaving without a deal and all the catastrophic effects that would have for Wales.”
Mr Drakeford said there was no discussion about the shared prosperity fund.
The First Minister said he pushed the PM for the “nature of protections” and asked what will happen to lambs this autumn, but “there was no sense at all”.
Mr Johnson had earlier visited a farm in St Bride’s Wentlooge, between Newport and Cardiff, where he said the EU would be to blame for a nodeal Brexit.
Mr Johnson saw egg production at Shervington Farm, where he said the Government would intervene to support farmers’ incomes following Brexit.
He said: “We’ll make sure [farmers] have the support they need. If their markets are going to be tricky, then we will help them to find new markets. We have interventions that are aimed to support their incomes.
“What the Government is working on now with a great deal of energy and confidence is to ensure the farming sector is totally prepared.”
He added: “We’re not aiming for a no-deal Brexit and we don’t think that’s where we’ll end up.
“This is very much up to our friends and partners across the Channel. We cannot go on with the withdrawal agreement as it currently is, everybody understand that, it’s dead.
“If the EU understands that I think we’re going to be at the races. If they can’t compromise then clearly we have to get ready for a no-deal exit.”
The farm’s owner, Victoria Shervington-Jones, said Mr Johnson told her “it’s all going to be OK” when she brought up how a no-deal Brexit could affect her business.
She said: “I told him quite a lot about our business and what we do and talked a little bit about how Brexit would affect eggs and egg products such as liquids and powder coming in from the likes of Ukraine and the USA, how that would be a really bad idea, and obviously that would happen with a no-deal Brexit because the welfare standards out in other countries are nowhere near as good as ours.
“He seems pretty confident that whatever happens it’s all going to be OK, apparently. That’s what he said. I didn’t get a chance to ask him to clarify that but that’s what he said.”
After the farm visit, Mr Johnson had been expected to visit Brecon for a walk-about in the run-up to tomorrow’s crucial by-election in Brecon and Radnorshire where, if the Conservative candidate Chris Davies fails to regain his seat, the Government’s majority in the Commons will be jut one. This visit did not happen, however, and he arrived at the Senedd with Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns to boos from protesters and shouts of “not my PM”.