More powers not just ‘nice to have’ – but a necessity
Today, Senedd Members hold a debate about handing the Welsh Parliament further powers. Here, Plaid Cymru MS Rhys ab Owen and MP Liz Saville Roberts suggest why that has to happen
LAST month, the people of Wales voted by a margin of more than two to one for parties that stood on a platform of greater powers for the Senedd.
Westminster’s reaction to this mandate so far has been not just to ignore it, but to seek to reverse it.
They have a plan for Wales; it just does not involve us.
Today we have one message to send to Westminster – hands off our Senedd, and hands off our powers.
Plaid Cymru believes the Welsh Government must have the levers to improve the lives of our citizens and to rebuild as a greener, fairer and more prosperous Wales after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic has shown that when Wales takes its own decisions on public health, it usually is far more effective than following Westminster’s lead.
The threat posed to Wales’ current powers by the Westminster elite attitude towards us is becoming increasingly evident.
Just this week, under plans being drawn up to strengthen the union, the Westminster Government has said staff should stop referring to Wales as a country, with civil servants told to change the way they refer to the UK – referring to it as one country rather than talking about “the four nations of the UK”.
There is no doubt that Boris Johnson’s Government is using the postBrexit settlement as a tool to reimpose London control over the devolved nations of the UK by grabbing powers and chipping away at our devolution settlement.
Do we settle for this?
Plaid Cymru will not settle for this. We have always said that Wales should have full control over itself – and that means full powers over our economy, infrastructure, our future. Not just as a “nice to have” but to enable us to control our destiny and to make the lives of the people of Wales better, richer, fuller.
And hasn’t the coronavirus pandemic shown that when Wales takes its own decisions on public health it usually is far more effective than following Westminster’s lead?
There is a roadmap for the newly elected Welsh Government to start to enhance our powers.
Ministers in Cardiff Bay could initiate the process outlined in the Government of Wales Act 2006 to seek powers for Wales over matters currently reserved to Westminster, including policing and justice, rail, welfare, broadcasting, energy projects, the Crown Estate, and the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
If we had powers over Welsh police forces here in Wales, we would receive an additional £25m a year, the equivalent of 900 extra police officers, to protect our communities. Without powers over policing, Wales is at the mercy of Westminster’s police funding formula which gives more money to big cities in England.
After over 20 years of devolution, it is also bizarre that the Welsh Government does not have full control over criminal justice matters.
Putting aside the unworkable anomaly of Wales having a legislature but not a justice system, and thus being without the means of effectively putting the laws we pass into action, imagine how much better we could do if we could manage criminal justice for the greater good of victims, offenders and the communities in which they live?
Proper rehabilitation, an effective and compassionate victims’ charter and preventative work to sweep aside the root cause of crime – that is what our communities need. Sadly, all these principled aspirations will remain beyond our control until we have the means to make Welsh justice in Wales.
Devolution of powers over justice is essential to deliver a fairer, more humane and more accountable justice system. It would allow us to implement initiatives such as “problem-solving courts” which require the close co-operation of probation and health professionals.
After swingeing cuts by the Conservative Party in Westminster, the Welsh Government now makes a huge contribution to the functioning of the justice system, with up to 40% of expenditure on justice coming from Welsh funds, but without the necessary scrutiny.
With enhanced powers we could stop the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill in its tracks. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill currently taking its legislative journey through Westminster is another example of why we need to devolve justice to Wales. The Bill’s raft of significant changes, including new powers to restrict protest and expand stop and search, are certain to exacerbate the existing inequalities in our criminal justice system.
More powers for Wales are not just a “nice to have” – it is a necessity to make the lives of the people of Wales better and to ensure we can fully recover from the pandemic.
It is time for all who care about Wales and the people who live here to refuse to allow Westminster to take our powers – and demand instead the powers that we are due.