First Ministers lay out proposals for changes to ‘power-grab’ Brexit Bill
THE Welsh and Scottish governments have published amendments to key Brexit legislation, stating they are necessary to “respect the hard-won devolution settlements”.
First Ministers Carwyn Jones and Nicola Sturgeon say the EU Withdrawal BIll currently going through Westminster is a “naked power grab” that would strip their governments of powers.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the First Ministers state that the desired amendments are aimed at preventing the UK government from taking control of devolved policy areas when powers are returned from the EU.
They wrote: “We want a European Union (Withdrawal) Bill that can be made to work with, not against, devolution. The current Bill will need to be substantially amended for us to be able to recommend to our respective legislatures that they give their consent to it.”
The amendments will achieve the following objectives:
Ensure devolved policy areas come back to the National Assembly for Wales and Scottish Parliament on withdrawal from the EU;
prevent UK ministers from unilaterally changing the Government of Wales Act and Scotland Act;
require the agreement of the Welsh Government on necessary changes to current EU law in devolved areas after Brexit; and
ensure additional restrictions are not placed on devolved ministers compared with UK government ministers.
Mr Jones said: “The governments of these islands have a lot of work to do to ensure that the UK leaves the EU with as little disruption as possible. This will only be achieved by working together.
“Theresa May, Nicola Sturgeon and I all have very different political positions, but an issue as important as Brexit requires us to put our political differences aside and work together to provide stability for the sake of our economy, jobs and public services. One government cannot simply hijack powers from the other two.
“Today, Nicola Sturgeon and I have published joint amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill that would enable progress to be made among the governments in a way which respects the hard-won devolution settlements.
“We want a bill that works with, not against, devolution. Until that point is reached, we cannot give it our consent.
“The amendments we have published today are not about stopping Brexit, they are about protecting the interests of the people of Wales and Scotland. I hope they secure widespread support across the House of Commons.
“While the UK government has so far shown a lack of willingness to engage with the devolved nations, and a fundamental lack of trust, we hope today marks a sea change in the way our governments work together on Brexit.
“Only by listening to each other can we find a way forward that protects the interests of all parts of the Union.”
First Secretary of State Damian Green MP said: “The lists which the UK government shared with the Scottish and Welsh governments several weeks ago contain 111 and 64 policy areas respectively that are currently controlled by the EU which are now coming back to the UK.
“We want to continue to work with the Scottish and Welsh governments to make sure we are all ready to take on these new responsibilities.
“The important thing now is to work our way through these lists and find the areas where we will need to maintain a common UK or GB approach, as well as those areas where it will make sense to transfer powers direct to the devolved governments.
“When it is better to devolve then that is what we will do.”