‘I fear there might be some people within the Welsh Government who rather like the idea of getting rid of the Secretary of State for Wales so that they can be seen as the only government within Wales’
In this exclusive interview with Political editor-atlarge Martin Shipton, Secretary of State for Wales David Davies talks devolution, the significance of his role and Brexit
HE CAME to the fore as a No campaigner during the referendum campaign in 1997 that resulted in a narrow victory for those who wanted Wales to get its own National Assembly.
Elected as the first AM for Monmouth, David Davies quickly developed a reputation as a maverick right-winger who sometimes wound up his group leader Nick Bourne.
In 2005 he was elected to Westminster, winning the seat from the incumbent Labour MP.
Now, after more than a quarter of a century of political campaigning, he sits in the Secretary of State’s office on the 11th floor of the recently built UK Government tower block in the centre of Cardiff.
Asked at the start of the interview whether he saw himself as Wales’ man at the Cabinet table or as the UK Government’s representative in Wales, he said: “A bit of both, but primarily as Wales’ representative in the Cabinet – although I can’t separate that from the fact that I’m representing the UK Government and this building contains hundreds of civil servants from I believe nine different departments.”
He rejected the notion that in a post-devolution Wales, his role was redundant: “I think it’s important that Wales has a strong voice in the Cabinet,” he said.
“There are issues that are specific to Wales which we need the government to be aware of. Perhaps the most obvious one is the Welsh language, and it’s part of my role to make sure that the UK Government understands the absolute importance of the Welsh language to Wales and within Wales.
“That means having discussions with DCMS about the role of S4C, for example – making sure that government departments when they’re questioned about the Welsh language understand that there’s a particular context here.that they wouldn’t necessarily understand.”
Asked whether he considered himself to be some kind of rival to the Welsh Government, Mr Davies said: “No – not at all. We’ve got two separate roles. But I fear there might be some people within the Welsh Government who rather like the idea of getting rid of the Secretary of State for Wales so that they can be seen as the only government within Wales.
“Respectfully, they have a very important role in that they’re responsible for the health service, education, local government funding and a whole raft of other things. But we in the UK Government have our own responsibilities, so Wales has two governments effectively.
“While I can understand why some people in the heart of the Welsh Government may think it would be a good idea not to see anyone from the UK Government in Wales so they can try to have it their own way, that’s not how I see it – and
I want to gently, politely and courteously remind everyone in the Welsh Government that the UK Government is doing a huge amount within Wales and wants that to be acknowledged.”
Mr Davies added: “There’s always going to be tension. There’s no hiding the fact that we have two governments run by two different political parties with very different views. But I’ve always found that people are willing to work in a professional way.
I’ve never had a loss of temper or had anyone lose their temper with me, or anything but courteous discussions with Welsh Government ministers.”
Asked whether he thought Brexit was going well, he said: “Yes I do. In 2016 we were told that if Britain pulled out of the EU, it would practically end all trade with Europe, that we would run out of fresh fruit and veg..”
When it was pointed out that such exaggerated claims had been made by former Tory Chancellor George Osborne, Mr Davies said: “I think George Osborne did go over the top with his Project Fear. Simultaneously, we were told there wouldn’t be enough people to fill jobs and that there would be mass unemployment. And none of that has happened.”
Responding to the fact many business people in Wales were exasperated by the extra red tape they were faced with when importing and exporting goods to and from Europe since the UK left the single market and customs union, Mr Davies said: “The people who would have found it more challenging would be people who were running very small businesses – importing and exporting small amounts of goods.
“Those who are sending out full loads I don’t see having problems – and even people who are sending out pallet loads of goods to the conti