Welsh Labour must break from ‘Corbyn Labour’, saysWigley
LABOUR MPs will be unable to stand up for Wales because they will be “squabbling” among themselves in the aftermath of the election, former Plaid Cymru leader Dafydd Wigley has claimed.
Lord Wigley has urged the Welsh wing of the party to break away from UK Labour so it is no longer linked to a “discredited” London leadership.
The former AM and MP said Welsh Labour and “Corbyn Labour” were two different animals but MPs sent from Wales to Westminster would have to follow the UK party’s whip.
In a wide-ranging interview the Plaid peer described:
His hopes that the party’s Westminster team will soon be joined by former Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones, who is standing in Anglesey;
the need for parties seeking a mandate for the Brexit talks to spell out the deal they would pursue;
how Labour gave a “cold shoulder” to the possibility of co-operation with Plaid in this election.
Mr Wigley turned his guns on UK Labour, saying: “Quite clearly, Welsh Labour and Corbyn Labour are two different animals and the MPs that are elected for Labour from Wales follow the whip in London, not the whip from Cardiff.”
He claimed divisions in the Labour Party will stop it standing up for Wales’ interests, saying: “The Labour Party, however much their goodwill may be towards Wales, won’t be in a position to defend Wales. They will be squabbling among themselves after this election.”
Pressing for a split between the two wings of Labour, he said: “It’s high time the Labour Party in Wales constituted itself as a party in its own right.”
He said the party did not “need to be tied to the coat-tails” of the UK leadership, adding: “On things like the devolution of police or the use of capital expenditure and their own priorities in terms of the services provided, they need to be free to develop as they want to. The contrast between Carwyn Jones’ positions and Jeremy Corbyn’s position is stark in this election.
“Carwyn’s trying to distance himself as much as he can but the reality is what we’re doing in this election is electing more members of the Corbyn team by voting Labour and that doesn’t solve Wales’ problems.”
Urging rival parties to give the full details of the deal they hope to negotiate, Mr Wigley said: “It’s a mighty significant election. The first thing is to remember why the election was called. It was to give the government a mandate on their Brexit negotiations. Now, that means that in [the] manifestos, [they] have to spell out clearly what mandate they are seeking.
“There is no point having an election to confirm a mandate for negotiations if they don’t say what the Brexit negotiations are. It has to be more than just to get a good deal for Britain. They have to spell things out.”
Plaid Cymru and the Labour Welsh Government have issued a joint White Paper on Brexit which stressed the need for continuing access to the single market.
Mr Wigley said: “The Labour Party in London is not willing to put its head on the block – unless there are changes in the final manifesto when it comes out next week – with regard to supporting what the Labour Party in Wales has supported with regards to the objective for Brexit.”
A Welsh Labour Government spokesman said: “Our White Paper is a comprehensive and credible plan for a sensible Brexit clearly setting out how the UK government could secure both full and unfettered access to the single market and domestic control of immigration.
“It balances the decision of the Welsh people to leave the European Union, with the economic reality that makes access to the single market so important for the future prosperity of Wales, and indeed, the UK as a whole.
“This has been clearly reflected by [Shadow Brexit Secretary] Keir Starmer, most recently in his recent speech at the end of April setting out Labour’s position on Brexit, and the ideas put forward will form the basis of Labour’s Brexit offer for Wales and the UK.
“That Plaid seem to be talking down a document they only recently signed up to and which Leanne Wood described as an important piece of work in the national interest is simply bizarre. This reckless indifference from Plaid will just confirm what the people of Wales know – only Welsh Labour will stand up for Wales and deliver a sensible Brexit that balances single market access with domestic control of immigration.”
Former Caernarfon AM and MP Mr Wigley is giving strong support to Ieuan Wyn Jones in his campaign to take Anglesey from Labour. The two men were MPs at the same time and Mr Wigley applauded his colleague’s negotiating skills.
He said: “He has not only the experience as a Deputy First Minister in Wales, he’s also had tremendous experience negotiating deals with Conservative governments with regard to the European Union. At the time of Maastricht we negotiated a deal that delivered the Interreg money which helped the six western Welsh counties with regard to the links with Ireland.
“It’s paid out hundreds of millions of pounds over recent years; it now comes to an end because of the Brexit vote unless we can negotiate something as part of a Brexit deal. Ieuan actually had a very good working relationship with [current Brexit Secretary] David Davis...
“He was then chief whip at the time of Maastricht and Ieuan was our whip... Ieuan’s presence back in the Plaid team is significant, not just for Plaid and for Anglesey, it’s significant for Wales.”
Labour has ruled out electoral pacts with Plaid Cymru but Mr Wigley said their shared Brexit priorities could have provided a basis for cooperation.