Prime Minister’s leaked cabinet memo highlights Labour’s ‘contemptible attitude’ towards devolution, say Plaid Cymru leader
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of a “direct assault” on devolution over comments he is said to have made in a leaked memo.
Rhun ap Iorwerth accused the Prime Minister of treating Wales with “contempt” in a memo addressed to his senior Cabinet colleagues.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions in the Senedd, the Plaid Cymru leader said his party had obtained a copy of a memo sent in December in which Sir Keir tells colleagues to resist opposition from devolved governments.
In a copy of what appeared to be the letter, seen by the Press Association, the Prime Minister insisted the UK Government needed to demonstrate it had a hand in people’s lives in areas of Britain with devolved governments, especially ahead of May’s elections.
The letter said: “The importance of next year’s elections in Scotland and Wales cannot be underestimated.
“Their results will not only shape public services in those nations for years to come, but also have a significant impact on how we govern at a UK level in the second half of this Parliament.
“Each of us will maintain a professional and respectful working relationship with our counterparts in devolved governments.
“However, an overly deferential or laissez-faire approach to devolved government engagement almost inevitably creates political challenges or misses positive opportunities.
“We should be confident in our ability to deliver directly in those nations, including through direct spending, even when devolved governments may oppose this.”
Mr ap Iorwerth told the Senedd: “There we have it in black and white, Keir Starmer’s own version of Boris Johnson’s muscular unionism, not only dealing with devolution in bad faith, but undertaking a direct assault on the democratic views of devolved governments.
“By staying ever loyal to him, the First Minister (Eluned Morgan) is aligning herself with efforts to undermine her own Government.
“Why has the Labour Party turned against devolution to this extent, and why has the First Minister allowed the UK’s Labour Prime Minister to treat our Parliament, our Government, and the people of Wales with such contempt?”
Lady Morgan said: “Well, devolution must be respected, and I’ve always been very clear with the Prime Minister on that issue.
“It is a respectful relationship, and there are times, of course, when the UK Government should be working directly within Wales.”
Responding to the leaked memo, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said: “After 26 years of Welsh Labour running Wales and a Labour government now in Westminster, the public is watching Labour argue with itself over devolution instead of getting on with the job.
“Trying to bypass the Senedd from Westminster is the wrong approach. But it’s also clear that Welsh Labour ministers in Cardiff Bay have too often failed to deliver the results people in Wales deserve.
“The Welsh Liberal Democrats will save devolution from Welsh Labour’s record and restore people’s trust in the Welsh Parliament. It isn’t the Senedd that’s broken, it’s Welsh Labour’s management of it.”
The Cabinet Office was contacted for comment.
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Clark of the Cinque Ports and his three ‘weird sisters’ are a Stasi in Embryo, and then there is @Lemmy not Lammy ‘, in all a many headed dictatorship…
Ten years after Brexit we remain in the starting blocks with laces tied in cat’s cradles…
Let’s just cut to the chase and declare UDI in May…
That lost weekend in London when Gething and Drakeford sold us down the river and to prove it brought the little princess back as an Albatross around Cymru’s neck…frozen in time…until this May…
Supercilious Sais, makes you sick…
So does bombing a city with total air-superiority like Tokyo and Hamburg. It should be a war crime…
I’ve said many times that this UK Labour government has shown Wales as much contempt as the previous Conservative government. They are not the architects of Welsh devolution, but its demolishers. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens regard not only the Welsh Government with contempt but also the people of Wales. From denying us the devolution of our criminal justice system , bypassing the Senedd, to their HS2 consequential slur, Wales will always come last in the pecking order. It’s no wonder that First Minister Eluned Morgan has failed miserably to persuade Whitehall to devolve the powers… Read more »
Central government should worry about what it’s responsible for before meddling in what it’s not. Qatar has stopped sending us gas and we only have two days worth in storage, thanks to Liz Truss deciding we didn’t need gas storage. Yet central government is more interested in deciding which high street gets to have new flower pots.
Stan, I think you’ve been misled by some of the headlines. A few key points: • Qatar hasn’t “stopped sending us gas.” They’ve had temporary LNG export disruption, but the UK only gets a small share of its gas from Qatar anyway. Most of our supply comes from Norway, the North Sea, and the US. • We do not have “two days of gas left.” That’s a misunderstanding. The UK has low storage, yes, but we have constant daily supply through pipelines and LNG terminals. National Gas has already said claims of imminent shortages are scaremongering. • The decision about… Read more »
Truss was Chief Secretary to the Treasury when they refused to spend the money needed to keep it open. Once again, Qatar’s global exports are disrupted with no timetable for normal service. The UK has other sources but the rest of the world is competing for them. In the case of European sources we’ll get what’s left over being at the end of the pipe. At best the UK has ten days storage with the partial expensive reversal of Truss’s decision while our peers typically store closer to 100 days. Even when the seat of the pants plan works we’re… Read more »
Thankfully Starmer’s poodle in Wales will have more time to spend with her car after May 7th
Please stop insulting clever and socially intelligent dogs
Why hasn’t she got a bike or walking boots ?
England’s colonies, know your place. What a dweeb.
Labour despise Cymru.