‘No turning back’
PM signals more powers for Assembly as letter triggering Article 50 is handed over
THERESA May triggered the start of the Brexit process yesterday, declaring it “an historic moment from which there can be no turning back”.
And the Prime Minister also signalled that the Assembly would gain “significant” new powers.
Mrs May held out the prospect of a stronger Assembly as powers are returned from Brussels.
She said the devolved administrations should see “a significant increase in their decision-making power as a result of this process”.
The Conservative leader pledged to “consult fully on which powers should reside in Westminster” and which should go to the devolved legislatures, but she also made it clear the Welsh Government will not be able to hold its own negotiations with the EU.
Mrs May insisted her Government’s Brexit team will negotiate as “one United Kingdom”.
First Minister Carwyn Jones did not hide his irritation, saying the triggering of Article 50 was “the culmination of a deeply frustrating process in which the devolved administrations have been persistently treated with a lack of respect”.
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said: “[We] will be pressing for another Wales Bill [to] ensure that the Prime Minister makes good of her remarks today and to enable decisions over crucial areas such as policing, energy and broadcasting to be taken closer to the people they affect.”