Plaid defeated in referendum bid
A BID by Plaid Cymru to persuade Members of the Welsh Parliament to support the right of the Senedd to call a referendum has failed.
Labour said such a referendum should only be called if a Welsh Government had been elected on a manifesto commitment to hold one.
Plaid’s deputy leader Rhun ap Iorwerth told a Senedd plenary session on Wednesday that during the lockdown many people had come to believe that a government based in Wales was better able to handle a crisis like the pandemic than the UK Government.
He said: “The UK has the highest number of deaths in the world, behind the US and Brazil. Together they have formed an axis of incompetence, accounting for over 250,000 deaths – almost half the global total.
“I’ve been critical of the Welsh Government for most of its response to the pandemic but I hope the Health Minister considers that I’ve tried to do that constructively, and will have noted that there’s much that I’ve welcomed from the Welsh Government’s approach to it. I think it’s arguably been strongest when diverging from Westminster, by sticking to the message that people should stay at home, for example, for longer – taking a generally more cautious approach.
“For so many people, this period has changed the way they view Wales and of the way we are governed and can be governed. There’s been a real realisation that we can do things differently.”
Mr ap Iorwerth said he had always taken the view that Wales should be an independent country. At a time in the future when there was a move for a referendum on Welsh independence, the decision on whether to hold one should be taken not by MPS sitting in Westminster, but by Members of the Senedd. Welsh Conservative MP Darren Millar said Welsh independence was not popular in Wales, and that at last December’s General Election the only party standing on that prospectus – Plaid Cymru – secured less than 10% of the vote.
Pontypridd Labour MS Mick Antoniw said there should be a constitutional convention across the UK to decide on future arrangements. He said as a socialist he would want such a convention to develop a framework based on justice, equality and a fair distribution of resources.
Deputy Minister and Government Chief Whip Jane Hutt said: “Regarding the proposition for a referendum, our view is that if a Welsh Government has secured an electoral mandate to call a referendum on a fundamental constitutional question, we would expect the UK Government to make appropriate arrangements for a legally binding referendum.
“The Scottish independence referendum in 2014 was made by the UK Government after a majority was won by the Scottish National Party in the 2011 election. That precondition is essential. For Westminster to be asked to make the arrangements for a referendum on the constitutional status of Wales, that request must come from a Welsh government with a mandate to do so. And no such mandate exists.
“Those who seek a referendum in the next Senedd, whether for independence or indeed abolition, can make their case to the people of Wales next May.
“But the view of this Welsh Government is clear. We believe Wales’s interests are best served by a strong devolution settlement within a strong UK – and the UK is better and stronger for having Wales in it.”
Nine voted in favour of Plaid’s motion with one abstention and 43 against. Instead a Labour amendment adopting the position taken by Ms Hutt was passed by 29 votes to 24 with no abstentions.