Government to challenge Assembly over Brexit legislation
THE UK Government has announced it will challenge flagship Brexit legislation passed by the Assembly.
Bills passed by both the Assembly and the Scottish Parliament last month have been referred to the Supreme Court in London, raising the prospect of a legal showdown between the UK Government and the devolved administrations.
First Minister Carwyn Jones insisted the legislation is “a legitimate means of protecting Welsh interests and devolution settlement” and pledged to “defend any action before the Supreme Court.”
However, he said his “preference is for a UK-wide Withdrawal Bill, which respects devolution and we continue to work with the UK Government to achieve this”.
The so-called Continuity Bill – which asserts AMs’ responsibility over contested powers – was passed in response to concerns about how the Assembly’s powers and its relation with the UK Government could be affected by Brexit. First Minister Mr Jones and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had condemned the UK Government’s original EU Withdrawal Bill as a “naked power grab”.
The decision to refer the Assembly’s legislation to the Supreme Court was taken by the Attorney General. The court will rule on whether the legislation is constitutional and within the Assembly’s powers.
Attorney General Jeremy Wright said: “This legislation risks creating serious legal uncertainty for individuals and businesses as we leave the EU. This reference is a protective measure which we are taking in the public interest.
“The Government very much hopes this issue will be resolved without the need to continue with this litigation.”
The Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer had ruled that the EU Continuity Bill was outside the competence of Holyrood. However, the Assembly’s Presiding Office, Plaid Cymru Ceredigion AM Elin Jones, had ruled it was within the institution’s powers.
Plaid Cymru AM Steffan Lewis said: “The National Assembly for Wales legislated to protect our democratic powers from a power-grab by the Government in Westminster. It demonstrates the contempt that the Conservatives have for the democratic wishes of the people of Wales that they are choosing to challenge the Bill in the Supreme Court...
“Whether you voted to leave or remain, no one voted to strip the National Assembly for Wales of the powers it was granted by the people of Wales in two referenda. The Continuity Bill is Wales’ chance to resist a Westminster power-grab.”
However, Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said clarity is needed if Wales is going to continue to attract investment. He said: “We said from the outset that we wanted to provide the greatest certainty and continuity to businesses, communities, authorities and others. But you cannot have legislation about which there is significant uncertainty...
“I don’t want anyone to interpret this as a challenge to the Assembly’s authority; this is about clarifying where the boundary lies and what the law is. We can’t have a statute book that is being drafted outside the powers which any organisation or authority has...
“The economy is continuing to grow, we are continuing to attract investment; to keep on doing that we need to provide certainty and clarity. We are in a positive space where I’d like to think we can get to an agreement with the Welsh Government.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We have always said our preference is for a UK-wide Withdrawal Bill, which respects devolution and we continue to work with the UK Government to achieve this. In the meantime, our Bill is a legitimate means of protecting Welsh interests and devolution settlement and we will defend any action before the Supreme Court.”