Drakeford: ‘It is the unionists who will see off the UK.’
Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford has said that the United Kingdom will come to and end because of the carlessness of those who claim to defend it.
He was speaking at a news conference in Westminster alongside Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, with whom he has joined forces to oppose Boris Johnson’s Brexit Bill.
Both said the Scottish and Welsh parliaments were likely to refuse to give consent for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
“In the end it is the unionists who will see off the union, because of their carlessness about it,” Mark Drakeford said.
“About their unwillingess to give the kind of time and attention and thought that needs to be given to how the United Kingdom will operate successfully the other side of the European Union.
“And in a position in which the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parlliament were asked for their consent, were both parliaments to deny that consent, that is a very serious constitutional moment and the UK government needs to give it the serious consideration that it deserves.”
‘No role’
Boris Johnson however signalled at Prime Minister’s Questions that he would ignore the Scottish and Welsh parliaments in his bid to get his Brexit Bill passed into law.
Speaking at the House of Commons, he said they would have “no role” in approving the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
The SNP’s leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford, had asked Johnson to “stop ignoring Scotland and confirm that he will not allow this legislation to pass unless consent is given by the Scottish Parliament”.
Johnson said he noted “very carefully” what Blackford has said but then insisted that the “Scottish Parliament has no role in approving this”.
“On the contrary, it is up to the members of this parliament to approve the deal. I’m delighted to say they did,” he said.
“It didn’t proceed with the support of many Scottish nationalists, or any of them, if he really still disagrees with this deal and if he disagrees about the way forward then can I propose that he has a word with opposition parties and he joins our support for a general election to settle the matter.”
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In 2016, the Brexit leaders promised ease of trade, health service supreme, and easy trade deals.
Now it looks like a Brexit for the reckless, very rich, and the extreme right wing.
Plaid Cymru are taking a responsible line here, and we should all support them.
The welfare of the people of Cymru is dear to my heart, so I back Plaid on this one.
Now then, who would gamble with the lives of ordinary people like this?
Well, just look at the comments that will appear below.
Johnson and the right wing Tories care little for anything other than getting Brexit sorted. The Union means nothing to them, it’s all about saving Johnson’s ego and keeping the Tory party together and in power. The First Ministers of Wales and Scotland can cry all they like but they will be ignored. Westminster will only wake up once both countries have voted to leave the Union. Brexit will benefit none of us but no one in Government is listening.
Most countries around the world and certainly the developed economies are trading in custom unions. The situation has soon changed since the 1960s when GB was outside the EEC: there was still a commonwealth trading block. Now, the biggest country India is the founder member of BRICS, Australia and NZ are in a pan-Pacific trade block, Norway is in the EU customs union. Africa is still developing (Is there enough trade there?). There is the USA – do you really want to be a real colony? Not much trade around? Economy shrinks, job losses. Where is the Brexit dividend? What’s… Read more »
If the UK does break the link with the EU customs union, it will hit the Welsh and Scottish economies really hard.
The demand to leave this UK will grow and the independence movements must lead the way.
Plaid Cymru needs to be a broad movement ready to take the challenge of leading us as a independent Wales into the new Europe: A people’s Europe. A reforming EU.
Simmulary for the SNP in Scotland. Sinn Fein/Fienna Fail in Ireland.
.. And the Liberal democrats in England.