ONE YEAR TO BREXIT
TWELVE months ahead of leaving the EU, the launch of a recruitment drive for an extra 1,000 Border Force staff has fuelled fears that Brexit will trigger new checks at Welsh ports that could delay trade and travel.
The Home Office has been handed an extra £395m for Brexit preparations in 2018-19 and expects to have 1,300 additional border staff in place by the end of the transition period in December 2020.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said it was “highly likely” that some will be based in Wales.
She said: “They will be placed across the country. We need to make sure that every area is made secure.”
Cardiff South and Penarth Labour MP Stephen Doughty took this as a signal that a “hard border” will be put in place between Wales and the Republic of Ireland once the UK leaves the EU.
First Minister Carwyn Jones warned last month that “70% of freight from Ireland to the UK comes through Welsh ports” and there are concerns that Brexit could lead to the launch of more direct shipping routes between the Republic and the EU, dealing an economic blow to Holyhead and other Welsh ports.
Mr Doughty said: “The revelations by the Home Secretary today that potentially hundreds of new Border Force and customs officers could be deployed to Welsh ports suggests that the government is very much preparing for a hard border between Wales and the Republic of Ireland while all the major questions on the future status of the Irish-Northern Irish border remain unresolved.
“As has been repeatedly said by Welsh and Scottish MPs, and indeed the Welsh and Scottish governments, it would be unacceptable for there to be a situation where there was effectively no border on the island of Ireland and instead a maritime border down the middle of the Irish Sea. It is clear that the government is preparing for this scenario and the consequences for Welsh businesses, ports and individuals travelling to and from Wales and Ireland could be potentially serious.”
Home Secretary Ms Rudd – when challenged by Mr Doughty – said she was “not saying” there will be a hard border between Wales and the Republic and insisted “there has been no decision on the border arrangements yet”.
Britain is due to leave the EU on this day next year and Theresa May will today visit each UK nation “to hear from people across our country what Brexit means to them”. After having lunch with farmers near Belfast she will go to Barry to meet people from Welsh businesses.
With a nod to controversy over whether any powers in devolved areas such as agriculture should go to the Assembly or be held at Westminster until pan-UK arrangements can be agreed, she said: “Each of the devolved nations will see an increase in their decisionmaking powers. Make no mistake, this government is absolutely committed to the devolution settlements as we have demonstrated beyond question with landmark pieces of legislation over the last few years.”
However, First Minister Carwyn Jones said Mrs May had yet to explain what kind of relationship with Brussels she wants after the transition period, even though more than 20 months have passed since the referendum.
He said: “There still seems to be no agreement at the heart of Whitehall on the kind of post-Brexit relationship with the EU they want... If the government does not budge from its ‘red lines’, we face the prospect of a future relationship with the EU-27 which will do serious damage to our economy.”
Ian Price, director of CBI Wales, warned that “for business the picture remains too hazy”.
He said: “Urgent progress on the final deal by October is needed to give business the confidence and certainty they need to plan for the future.”
Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies was confident that a solution to the issues surrounding Northern Ireland’s border could be found.
He said: “The Prime Minister has been clear that we are not going to let our departure from the European Union do anything to set back the historic pro-
gress that we have made in Northern Ireland. Only last Thursday when visiting the Irish Parliament, I was struck by how optimistic key figures in the Emerald Isle were on the ability for both sides to deliver a solution in relation to the border.”
Plaid Cymru’s Brexit spokesman, Steffan Lewis, said: “Westminster’s Withdrawal Bill will reverse devolution and take important responsibilities away from the directly elected National Assembly and into the hands of appointed ministers in Whitehall...
“[The] National Assembly has made it very clear that we will resort to legislating to protect ourselves from Westminster’s power grab... The Continuity Bill will simply ensure that all powers in devolved areas will remain devolved after Brexit.
“Theresa May needs to use her visit to Wales to reassure our citizens that the Continuity Bill will be respected, and that it won’t be challenged in the courts by Westminster.”