‘Independence vote like giving drunk car keys’
ALLOWING Plaid Cymru to hold an independence referendum would be like “giving a drunk driver the keys to your car”, according to an opposing party leader.
Welsh Conservative group leader Andrew RT Davies criticised a pledge from Plaid Cymru in their manifesto for next month’s Senedd election that independence is the “only sure and sustainable means to achieving social and economic progress”. They vow: “A Plaid Cymru Government will empower the people of Wales to decide the future of our nation in an independence referendum.”
In an ITV Wales debate between Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price, Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford, and Mr Davies the latter said he thought an independence referendum was a bad idea.
Mr Davies said: “I don’t believe that after this pandemic, which has been the bleakest 12 months of virtually every man, woman and child’s life in this country, that we need to go down the road of constitutional chaos.
“Another referendum would be divisive, distractive, and ultimately it would tire and knacker out the next government instead of it looking to do the job that the people of Wales are returning it to do, which is focus on the health service, the economy, education, climate and environment.”
Mr Price responded by saying that Westminster was “rotten to the core”. He added: “Far from it being a distraction, there’s no solution to Wales’ problems in Westminster. The only solution is that we take our future into our own hands.” He told voters who were unsure about independence to “give us a chance to show you what Wales can achieve”.
Mr Davies responded, saying it would be like “giving a drunk driver the keys to your car if you let Plaid Cymru have their independence referendum”.
When he was asked about the issues, Mr Drakeford said Wales already has huge independence. “When we have needed to take action to protect people in Wales we’ve had the power through the Senedd to do that,” he said.
“I think independence in the way Adam talks about is the wrong answer to the wrong question. We’re in an inter-dependent world, we depend on one another, and I think the pandemic has shown when we can work together on the basis of equality we’ve been able to deliver things for the people of Wales.
“We need a UK that guarantees that the powers we have in Wales cannot be ruled back arbitrarily by the sort of Westminster government we have today.”
Asked if he would grant an independence referendum, Mr Drakeford said: “If people in Wales vote for a referendum then they should have one. I don’t think that will be the outcome of this election.”