Plaid Cymru ready to turn Burnham’s ‘warm words on devolution into action’

Stephen Price

Plaid Cymru MPs have written to Andy Burnham calling for a constructive relationship to advance devolution to Wales, after the Prime Minister made it clear that he was “open” to devolving policing to Wales during a recent visit to the nation.

Last week, Andy Burnham visited Wales for the first time in his capacity as Prime Minister where he made it clear that he was “open” to devolving policing to Wales, saying that now was a good time to look at the issue given the current plans of wider reforms to policing.

The Plaid Cymru Welsh Government has made securing control of the Crown Estate in Wales a priority, arguing that profits generated from assets including the seabed used for offshore renewable energy should remain in Wales.

Scotland has controlled Crown Estate assets north of their border with England since 2017, with revenue generated from them retained in Scotland.

Plaid pledged in its Senedd election manifesto to open negotiations with the UK Government over securing the same powers for Wales, arguing there was “no reason” Wales should not benefit from its natural resources in the same way.

Welsh Labour also promised during this year’s Senedd election campaign to make the case for devolving the Crown Estate.

Plaid Cymru has long campaigned for more powers over policing, the Crown Estate and rail infrastructure in line with the devolution settlement of Scotland and these calls are outlined in a new letter to Andy Burnham.

This point has been made repeatedly by Plaid Cymru since the Home Office announced its plans, yet were dismissed until now. This has been reiterated in the letter, along with the conclusions of three independent commissions (Silk Commission 2014, the Thomas Commission 2019, and the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales 2024) that policing should be devolved to Wales, as it already is in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

On his visit, the Prime Minister also said that he will give a ‘fair hearing’ to the Plaid Cymru Welsh Government’s calls for the devolution of the Crown Estate.

On rail, the Prime Minister said that Welsh rail connectivity is “not as good as it should be” but did not mention any openness to devolving responsibility of rail infrastructure. The Plaid Cymru MPs state in their letter that Welsh taxpayers pay towards major rail projects in England, including HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and East West Rail, and Wales does not receive consequential investment that should accompany such spending.

Andy Burnham confirmed that he would honour Keir Starmer’s £14bn plan for railways in Wales. However, this pledge is unfunded with the only money having been guaranteed for Welsh rail by the UK Government is £445 million over 10 years.

Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP has said that devolving these powers “could unlock significant economic opportunities” and strengthen the “resilience and security” of communities in Wales.

Mayoral model

Mr Burnham has suggested Wales and Scotland could consider further devolution within their own nations, drawing on the mayoral model being developed across England.

He said the issue would also be discussed when the leaders of the devolved governments gather for the National Economic Council in October.

Mr Burnham said: “Maybe there’s an argument for deeper devolution, so more power into the cities and the regions of Wales, to north Wales working more with the North West, or mid Wales more with the West Midlands, of the kind of devolution that is developing now quite quickly across England.

“I’m open to conversations, though, with the Plaid Senedd Government about those things, and I’ve called a National Economic Council with the devolved nations for October to discuss precisely those things.”

The comments came during Mr Burnham’s visit to Port Talbot, where he said he wanted to send a “big sign of support” for the reindustrialisation of Wales.

“Constructive relationship”

The First Minister said he believes Andy Burnham is “open to listening, perhaps in a way that Keir Starmer wasn’t”, ahead of the meeting of the two leaders.

Rhun ap Iorwerth told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he hoped to work constructively with the new Prime Minister to take devolution of powers in Wales to the “next level”.

Speaking to the Today programme on Wednesday 22 July, Mr ap Iorwerth said: “I had a conversation with Andy Burnham yesterday, congratulated him on becoming Prime Minister, and we both made it clear to each other that we wanted to have a positive relationship, a constructive relationship.

“I know that he understands devolution for Manchester. I want to help him understand what devolution means in Wales and what tools we need to make it work better.

“I have a mandate to lead a government which stood on a platform of wanting powers over policing and justice to be devolved in Wales, rail powers and funding to be devolved to Wales, the right to be able to control our own natural resources.

“So there is a list, if you like, of things that we need to devolve now in order to move the story of Wales, the story of devolution, on to the next level.

“Now it’s clear that we have now a Prime Minister that is opening, open to listening, perhaps in a way that Keir Starmer wasn’t, and I’m eager to do everything that I can to make the case for Wales.”

His comments came a day after Mr Burnham told Mr ap Iorwerth, and the leaders of Scotland and Northern Ireland, he was “focused on practical measures, not constitutional changes like further referendums”.

Mr ap Iorwerth is in favour of Welsh independence but has previously said he does not plan to pursue a referendum in the first term of a Plaid Cymru government.

Dafydd Trystan Davies, Welsh Government cabinet minister for government effectiveness and the constitution, said conversations with Andy Burnham in recent weeks had been “positive”.

Mr Davies said the Government had made a “strong start” on delivering on its ambitions and had “already begun to make a tangible difference to people’s lives”.

He said: “One of the key priorities we’ve set out as a government is standing up for Wales and the initial meeting of the First Minister and the Prime Minister of the UK was positive and constructive.

“I had a conversation with the PM last Friday, which, equally, was constructive and positive.

“I am hopeful that, if that is followed through, we will be able to make progress working constructively between the Welsh Government and the UK Government on things like rail funding, on the Crown Estate, on the devolution of policing, for example.

“I am by nature an optimist and those conversations give me ground for optimism about the co-operation between the Welsh Government and UK Government.”

Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP said:“We have reached out to the Prime Minister because we want a constructive relationship that allows us to work together to deliver for Wales and improve people’s lives.

“Plaid Cymru is clear that devolution is a journey, not a destination. Yet in Wales, that journey has stalled for far too long. The people of Wales gave Plaid Cymru a mandate to move our nation forward and secure the powers our communities need to thrive.

“That means devolving the Crown Estate, policing and justice and rail – powers that could unlock significant economic opportunities while strengthening the resilience and security of our communities.

“The Prime Minister has said he wants to see ‘good growth in every postcode’ and has placed devolution at the heart of his agenda, recognising that decisions are often best made closer to the people they affect. If he wants to deliver that ambition in Wales, transferring these powers would be a practical and meaningful step towards doing so.

“The next step is ensuring that the Prime Minister’s warm words are turned into action.”

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