‘Delivery not division’: Kinnock expects ‘destabilisation’ if Wales gets parity with Scotland
Stephen Price
Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock has been criticised for saying he is not “entirely convinced” of the case for giving more powers to the Welsh Government.
Speaking to LBC in a widely-shared interview, the son of Lord Neil Kinnock and newly-announced Welsh Secretary said: “There is a strong case in my opinion for the police to work as they currently work, for the Crown Estate to work as it currently works.
“Because if you change it, the destabilisation that comes from that, you could end up, if you like, throwing the baby out with the bath water and I don’t think that’s anything that anyone wants to see.
“So I am absolutely ready to listen and engage in dialogue about what is best for the people of Wales.
“What I don’t want to do is get caught up in endless constitutional wrangling. Because we should be about delivery not division.
The new Secretary of State for Wales has hinted to LBC News devolving some key powers may not be on the cards.
Stephen Kinnock has suggested there’ll be a better relationship between Wales and Westminster, though. pic.twitter.com/kDb0B7rmEk
— LBC News Wales (@LBCNewsWales) July 22, 2026
Responding to the video on X, Liz Saville Roberts MP wrote: “Wales has given a clear mandate for powers over justice, the Crown Estate and rail.
“The new Secretary of State says no.
“It seems the commitment to ‘empower communities through devolution’ stops at the Welsh border.”
Others on X were quick to share their thoughts, with one writing: “Really doesn’t sound like the start of “a better relationship” does it?”
While another from Scotland wrote: “There you go Wales. You voted Labour out the door in May and yet they still call the tune. We’ve had it for years in Scotland. Things need to be different.”
All of Wales’ 22 local authorities have now backed a call for control of the Crown Estates land and seabed assets to be devolved to Wales.
The Crown Estate controls vast areas of Welsh land and sea, including 65 per cent of the foreshore and riverbed and over 50,000 acres of land, and returns profits to the UK Treasury.
YesCymru Director Rob Hughes said: “With unanimous support across all local authorities and the Senedd, the message from Wales is loud and clear. We call once again on the UK Government to do the right thing and transfer control of the Crown Estate to Wales.”
“Decisions affecting Wales should be made in Wales”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham will hold his first face-to-face talks with Wales’ First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth today, with the Welsh Government set to press the case for greater powers and a fairer funding settlement.
The meeting in Glasgow, which will also include Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, comes as the new Prime Minister begins engaging with the devolved governments following his election victory.
While Burnham has long backed further devolution, both Rhun ap Iorwerth and Swinney lead parties that support independence for their nations.
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Ahead of the talks, the Prime Minister ruled out discussing independence referendums, saying his focus was instead on economic growth and improving living standards across the UK.
“When I say we need good growth in every postcode, I mean every postcode across the whole of the UK. Every place and every person matters,” he said.
“I’m not focused on point scoring or discussing constitutional changes like referendums, I want practical measures to help people live well and bring back hope.
“That’s why I’m giving families more breathing space with help on the cost of living, which I have started this week by taking VAT off electricity bills, saving money for millions of households.”
Rhun ap Iorwerth said he would use the meeting to argue that Wales should have powers comparable to those enjoyed by Scotland and to press for changes to how Wales is funded.
“I look forward to meeting the Prime Minister in Glasgow today. It is fitting that we meet in Scotland, as it underlines Wales’ case for parity of powers and a fairer funding model that reflects our needs,” he said.
“‘Number 10 North’ must not become just Whitehall with a different postcode. I agree wholeheartedly on empowering communities – it’s at the heart of my politics – but decisions affecting Wales should be made in Wales, and it is for the Welsh Government and our Senedd to work with the people of Wales on how power is exercised and shared within our nation.
“At a time when families are still feeling the pressure of the cost of living, I am also keen to discuss how our governments can work together as equal partners to deliver improvements to the lives of people in Wales.”
The Glasgow meeting will be Burnham’s first with the leaders of both Wales and Scotland since entering Downing Street and comes ahead of a wider tour of the UK, with meetings planned with Northern Ireland’s leaders next month.
The Prime Minister is also due to attend the opening ceremony of the 2026 Commonwealth Games while in Glasgow.
The meeting follows criticism from Swinney over the expected appointment of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar to the House of Lords and a ministerial role, with the Scottish First Minister accusing him of hypocrisy after previously saying he had no interest in joining the upper chamber.
Speaking on Wednesday, Burnham also suggested raising the income tax personal allowance could be considered at the Budget, although he made no immediate commitment to do so after reintroducing the £2 cap on bus fares in England as part of measures aimed at easing the cost of living.
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There we have it, no change from the Colonial Governor, just lie back and be grateful for what Westminster thinks is good for you. Clearly the Kinnocks are all unionists and have no time for these pesky nationalists trying to secure a better future for their nation.
Why on earth would you think Baby Kinnock would be any different from Daddy Kinnock?
The choice of a Kinnock reflects badly on Burnham’s intent for any meaningful dialogue with the Welsh Government. This is evident in the first statements that the new Colonial Governor has delivered. Plaid will have an uphill battle with the Labour Government on any additional devolution.
Another feckless useless union at any cost clown. I said where he would stand from te minute his appointment was given. He lives in London, not far from daddy, so has no heart for anything Welsh. His father couldn’t wait to wash Cymru off his shoes and move to London
Wedi’i gerfio o’r un pren melltigedig a’i dad.
Carved from the same accursed wood as his father.
Stephen Kinnock has just stated that he will be the next in a very long line of Secretary of States for keeping Wales down. He plans to leave our country exposed to further harm and intended eradication from ever increasing Tory extremists when the whim of English voters decides to vote them in again. It won’t be any good when he is back in opposition to tell us he was any good. We, the Welsh electorate, will prove again, as we have for a quarter of a millennia, that WE DO NOT WANT IT but it won’t help. He, like… Read more »
Do you know what creates division and destabilisation? Treating Wales like a second class nation!!! Its not just parity with Scotland that Wales are seeking, it is parity with everyone else.
Meanwhile Ardudwy burns while NRW watch from their, in truth, useless little snoopers helicopter…
Was Dwr Cymru implicated in the gross criminality of their English Brethren (a word we will see more often on here, I bet)
Would this be the same Stephen Kinnock that is married to Helle Thorning-Schmidt who just happens to be a director of Vestas Wind Systems?
I wonder why Mr. Kinnock is trying to prevent the Senedd from controlling vast areas of land and seabed held by the Crown Estate?
Just to check, has the £14bn rail investment pledge disappeared with Starmer the way the promise of electrifying the north Wales mainline disappeared with Sunak?
What a bunch of Westminster clowns and money grabbers. The current system is not working in the favour of Wales and his comments prove that Labour are not what Wales need. Hopefully Burnham will call an election sooner and realise how much Welsh folk want Labour, and any other political party that shares their ethos on Wales, voted out.
Dic Siôn Dafydd os bu yna un erioed.
You’d think that everyone would be fed up of this by now and it would cause wide protests. Not in Wales though. We just grumble and have a cup of tea.
Here we go. It only took him ten seconds to show his true colours. Same old story from each Secretary of State. Pathetic.
New colonial governor is the same as the last.
I’d expect a little more radicalism from the man who single-handedly saved Port Talbot Steel Works…Oh no! He didn’t, did he? Kinnock Jnr’s appointment has been welcomed by the Loyalist and Unionist Right. That says everything. It exposes Burnham’s ‘plastic devolution’, which is simply an English decentralisation project, ultimately designed to shore up the Labour vote in urban areas,especially in the post-industrial north of that country. As for Cymru, we may as well have an AI bot as Secretary of State. At least that would save the Exchequer £72,000 per annum. Who knows, Stephen may wish to suggest that that… Read more »
Isn’t he bound by collective responsibility to support Burnham’s devolution agenda? Saying it causes “destabilisation” will be gleefully weaponised by devoseptics in England to resist the change Andy wants to deliver there.
Cymru must always know it’s place. Cymru must always come begging to our Westminster masters. I bet he makes his dad proud.
The only thing that would be ‘destablised’ in Wales gets parity with Scotland is the status and prestige of our new viceroy and his Swiss bank accounts. Burnham has made his first error by appointing this lackey.