Starmer to lead new Council of Nations and Regions with devolved First Ministers
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed he will lead a new Council of the Nations and Regions, which will involve the first ministers of the three devolved administrations.
The new body will take the place of joint ministerial councils, which previously operated and brought ministers from Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast together with UK Government ministers.
However, Sir Keir claimed that under the Tory government the “prime minister didn’t bother turning up” to such meetings – with the then-Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove often involved in the talks.
Sir Keir pledged his new body would be a “a proper council”, revealing he had spoken about his plans to Scottish First Minister John Swinney when they met in Edinburgh shortly after Labour’s general election victory.
“Challenges and opportunities”
Speaking to Scottish lobby journalists at a briefing in Downing Street, Sir Keir confirmed: “The council of nations and regions, which we promised to set up, we will set up.”
He added: “A proper council, where Scotland is properly represented by the First Minister in a formal setting with me and the other First Ministers, meeting on a regular basis, where we can look at challenges and opportunities together.”
The Labour leader stressed again his party’s desire to “reset the relationship” between the Scottish and UK governments.
Sir Keir insisted: “Yes there are political differences between the two governments but I want to work to deliver for Scotland with anybody who will work with me in that endeavour.”
His comments came as Pat McFadden, the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the Prime Minister had set out to “bring responsibility for intergovernmental relations back into the centre of government”.
Mr McFadden added that while there were “political differences” between the SNP government at Holyrood and the Labour one at Westminster, he hoped they could have a “respectful relationship”.
He said he had had an introductory call with Mr Swinney, but said the two men had known each other for almost four decades.
Mr McFadden told journalists: “It’s a small world, I have known the First Minister for many many years, in fact almost 40 years ago we shared the same dishwashing job in a Mexican restaurant in Edinburgh, Viva Mexico.”
Looking forward he said he wants to have a “respectful relationship” with Mr Swinney and his government.
Mr McFadden said: “If you set out trying to have a respectful relationship that is a good place to start and we will see if that’s possible – that’s what I would like to do.”
A spokesperson for Mr Swinney said: “The First Minister fondly remembers his time washing dishes.
“It is a huge complement to the magnificent Viva Mexico that it proved to be such a great training ground for a successful career in national politics.”
Scotland’s Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson said: “We look forward to more details on the formation of the council and welcome the opportunity for a reset in relations between the UK and Scottish governments.
“The Scottish Government is ready to work with the new UK Government to agree a collaborative, co-operative approach to intergovernmental relations, which respects devolution and all of the powers of the Scottish Parliament.”
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Not to get carried away as we’re in ‘wait and see’ territory but I do like the language of ‘Nations & Regions’. By its’ very nature, it represents recognition of our nation which is a huge improvement on the democracy crushing ignorance of the previous imperialist dictatorship.
There should be 2 intergovernmental councils. One for England which includes all the English regions, and one for the UK, which includes representives from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the UK Government and the English Council.
The problem with the Council of Nations and Regions is that it puts Wales and Scotland on par with Yorkshire, Manchester, Cambridgeshire etc, and it denies England its own distinct voice. The governance of England needs to be separate from the governance of the UK.
I view it as Nations, meaning Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland AND England yes, but it is the identity of English ‘regions’ and how they are mapped out that needs clarifying. No county or region of England is a nation but Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland will fall into the ‘Nations’ category.
Though you could argue Northern Ireland is a region of the island of Ireland.
Oh and yes, the governance of England needs to be separate from the governance of the UK.
Actually I disagree about the language.
The phrase “Nations and Regions” I can only remember being used by the BBC, and the implicit message is that the non-England nations, although labelled as nations are tacitly treated as regions.
Exactly this! It remains a British Nationalist outlook and construct.
Wiĺ Starmer,when he meets Wales’ First Minister ask why The NHS in Wales has the longest waiting list of all the devolved governments,especially as he constantly blames the Tory government for the situation in England?
No, course not. He’ll tell her she is doing a grand job enacting London’s instructions and he’ll hammer home Labour’s commitment to put down “the separatists” (as I heard some ‘Welsh Labour’ members say recently).
I hope and believe he will deal with the waiting list issue and will address it whether it was caused by the failure of the Welsh Labour government, by Westminster Tory underfunding or even Tory statistic fiddling from their long term ‘Labour in Wales’ propaganda.
What planet are you on?
Labour has been in charge here since 1999, the responsibility for health is a devolved duty.
I’ve no time for the Tories either, but so long as you and others keep blaming them for the failures and disasters brought about by Welsh Labour things will never improve.
UK Labour and Conservative have no interest in the prosperity of the peoples of Cymru Wales.
They are both sides of the same imperialist regime.
Cymru Wales needs to be an independent nation as defined by the UN.
Another body to interfere with independence, or is he going to fast track the building of the border wall at a new border of his choosing, he seems to think very big of himself with a “proper council ” just watch there must be an imminent funding cut in the pipeline to the detriment of the Welsh nation with him in charge.
Why don’t we just tell the new emperor to jog on?
Will Mr Starmer wear his UK PM hat or his FM of England hat and what happens when the two jobs conflict?
You have hit the nail on the head. England needs its own governance which is distinctly separate from the governance of the UK. This conflict of interest, along with the continued interchangability between England and the UK is whats driving the other nations towards independence. I don’t understand as to why unionists cannot see this.
I praise the Prime Minister for giving ear to the Nations, but surely words like ‘reset and ‘council’ are a bit too Soviet Union for today in this context?
How does this work? Control is with England. Scotland has more devolved powers that Wales:. What a joke.
Reading that article you’ll notice Cymru or Northern Ireland were not once mentioned. The focus was on England’s relationship with Scotland above all else. Starmer stated he wants a proper council where Scotland is properly represented by the first minister in a formal setting with me & other first ministers”. While this may be an improvement on what went on before this still comes across to me as England, Scotland, oh, and err and the others. Time will tell how this pans out but I’m not holding my breath on Cymru getting too much out of it. I doubt there’ll… Read more »
The only interest UK Labour has in Scotland is gaining control of the Scottish parliament.
UK Labour doesn’t mention Cymru Wales is because they still control Wales and we the people have no bargaining chips as they are the party in control of the Senedd and government here.
It is the penalty for not elected our own domestic Plaid Cymru.
Yes, are we on a par it seems with councils such as Manchester which I believe are ‘allowed’ to have their own policing powers. Any further devolution to Wales is seen as a threat to the kingdom.
on a par with Manchester ? You gotta be joking. Starmer will always give his big metropolitan authorities priority over our needs and wishes.
I believe this will put regional councils on a par with the devolved nations and in so doing diminishing the status and limited independence of those devolved nations. It will reinstate Wales as a region of the UK
Reverting England to the Heptarchy is in everyone’s interest.
While the acknowledgement by the British state of the fact that Wales and Scotland are nations is a welcome development, but the fact that our nations are held in the same regard as regions of England shows that we are still seen as important as individual parts of England and will be treated as such.
Should Iceland be part of the “Nations and regions of Denmark”? After all it’s only small. That’s the equivalent thinking here. The people of Wales are sovereign, but our political agency is bound to Westminster and drowned by England’s majority. This constitutional arrangement is profoundly undemocratic. We must turn this on its head. We need a sovereign Senedd with our political agency exercised by the Welsh Government. Where expedient we can pool our sovereignty to be exercised in a genuine Council of Britain. The present council is a talking shop which Starmer and Labour intend to use for the purposes… Read more »
Iceland is an independent, sovereign nation that declared its independence from Denmark in 1944. Perhaps Føroyar would be a better choice for your analogy?
That was the point I was making Padi.
Oh here we go. The centrist weathercock. Pretends to care about the devolved nations but gives nothing but a day out for FMs. If it’s a council of nations he should not be present. This is just him playing at being king in the royal court. Oily git