Blair: I was warned that pursuit of devolution was ‘very dangerous’
TONY Blair has claimed he “steamrollered” devolution into reality two decades ago in the face of deep concerns in the Labour party.
The former Prime Minister has described the “considerable” battle that culminated in the 1997 referendum and the creation of the Assembly.
Mr Blair told the BBC: “There were real worries about it. There were people in the Welsh Labour party, and outside of the Welsh Labour party that came to me and said ‘this is a very dangerous thing that you are embarking upon’.
“To be honest, I am not sure I persuaded them. In the end we steamrollered it.
“We were a new Government and I was convinced that in the end if we didn’t do it, if we betrayed our commitment to devolution, and it was a party manifesto commitment, we were going to have a huge problem on the other side of the debate.”
Twenty years on, Mr Blair defends the decision to push through devolution.
Despite the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and the repeated formation of SNP Governments in Scotland, he argues devolution has enabled the UK to “keep together”.
He said: “I still feel basically that devolution has allowed us, as a UK, to keep together. If, as it looks to me, that separation somewhat subsides in Scotland then we will be left with a constitutional settlement that 20 years on, for all its stresses and strains from time to time, has kept the UK together.”
Mr Blair also had high praise for former First Minister Rhodri Morgan, despite not giving him a Government job and then backing Alun Michael to lead the party in the Assembly.
He said: “Where we had a disagreement was that I was a believer that the whole point of progressive policies is that in today’s world, which is changing very fast, we have to be at the forefront of change – which is why I was in favour of big educational reforms, health reforms, and law-and-order reforms. Now, Rhodri was from the more traditional wing of the party. But as a politician, as a leader, as a figure, and actually as a person, I rated him enormously. I liked him a lot, I found him great company. I had huge respect for Rhodri, we just had a disagreement.”
Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts was unimpressed by Mr Blair’s assessment of his contribution to devolution.
She said: “What the Blair Government offered to the people of Wales reflected Labour’s priority to serve its own interests rather than the interests of Wales. Even our voting system was designed to entrench Labour power. Wales, our economy and our people have been playing catch up ever since, forced to fight a constant battle for more powers and tools with which to build our country. It has given Wales opportunities, albeit ones that this complacent and unimaginative Labour administration has failed to seize.
“Their stubborn refusal to make the most of the resources at their disposal has left key devolved areas such as health and education in a dire state. The full potential of devolution and the benefits it can bring to our citizens’ lives will only be realised through a change of government and a change of gear when it comes to competence and ambition.”