Welsh shadow minister accused of undermining devolution
Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Wales has been accused of undermining devolution after voicing her opposition to granting new powers requested by the Welsh Government.
Cardiff Central MP Jo Steven’s confirmed on ITV’s Sharp End political programme earlier this week that she backed Welsh Secretary David TC Davies’ opposition to giving the Welsh Government powers to change gender recognition laws.
The Welsh Government unveiled its new LGBTQ+ action plan last week and said it would start negotiating with the UK Government to devolve powers relating to gender recognition but Mr Davies said: “I don’t want to see the Welsh Government getting powers to do what they want to do.”
Ms Stevens was then pressed on her position in response to his comments and said she would not approve giving those powers to Wales, “because equalities legislation is UK-wide legislation.”
Hoarding powers
Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Robert’s, who also appeared on the programme, said: “We’ve come to expect the Tory Secretary of State for Wales hoarding power in Westminster regardless of the dismal quality of services.
“It is, however, mind-boggling to see the Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Wales reject outright the devolution of powers requested by her own Labour Welsh Government colleagues.
“Welsh Government’s main offices are based in Jo Stevens’ Cardiff Central constituency. She should perhaps consider going to discuss policy with her Labour colleagues every now and then.
“Labour claim intergovernmental relations would improve with a change of government in Westminster. But from justice and policing to LGBT rights, to the Crown Estate, UK Labour are more than happy to undermine the Labour Welsh Government at every turn.
“Plaid Cymru have produced an action plan with Welsh Government to promote LGBTQ+ rights in Wales. Rather than cosy up to the Tories – Labour should follow through with their promises and focus on improving vulnerable people’s lives in Wales.”
Last month Westminster ministers formally blocked a law passed by Scotland’s parliament creating a self-identification system for people who want to change gender.
Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said the decision to use a section 35 order marked “a very dangerous moment” while the SNP called the decision “an unprecedented attack on the Scottish parliament” and on devolution.
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Oh dear! Jo Stevens seems to be prioritising her own, along with Westminster Labours’, position over the interests of her own party in Y Senedd and aligning with T.C. is a terrible look which surely won’t go down well with those likely to vote for her in a general election.
The far-right are using transpeople as a political weapon to undermine not only devolution but democracy as well, just look what they have done to Scotland…and now this stupid cow is showing that she is a Tory in Welsh Labour clothing. She needs reigning in, taken to the office and replaced with someone who is up to the job, someone who won’t throw themselves on the floor the moment a Tory tickles their own bigotries. Welsh Labour won’t get my vote, not until she and all like her are gone from the party. Plaid are the people to trust with… Read more »
Is it possible that people who are not the biggest fans of the Trans-rights agenda, might also not be ‘far-right’?
Not surprised – she’s a unionist not going to get any of these parties to put the people of Wales first
“because equalities legislation is UK-wide legislation.”
Err its devolved in Scotland which is still part of the UK.
“Labour claim intergovernmental relations would improve with a change of government in Westminster”
Only because Labour would be in power in both Westminster and in the Senedd. The Welsh government will be lackeys to the UK government. Labour may very well have been advocates of further devolution. But once they are back in power in London their enthusiasm will fade.
Saesneg bigotries, racism, xenophobia, hatred and lies have no place in Cymru.
Welsh Labour need to start representing the varied people in Cymru, standing g up to the Tories and singing from the same song sheet.
I can’t trust a party that on one side of its mouth says it wants to be a welcoming place for LGBTQIA people and on the other side of its mouth is agreeing with Tories who are using transpeople as a political weapon and costing children their lives.
“saesneg bigotries”, iesu wen tragwyddol what a winning way to start a post – beautifully ironic, a real triumph. Nobody here is a fan of unionism, the tories or the continued knee bending from our Labour careerist class. But these sorts of flagrantly exploitative bloody shirt arguments and the “no you” blather are the only thing keeping us from our freedom. You are free to say and think whatever you like, and I will defend your right to my last breath; but I also have those rights – your rhetoric is hurting our movement, the exact same flavour of malcontent… Read more »
Generally agree, CJPH – although you’d be wrong of course to say that, “these sorts of flagrantly exploitative bloody shirt arguments and the no you blather are the only thing keeping us from our freedom.
Labour MP Jo Steven has no right to deny Wales the devolution of any power if requested by the Welsh Government. In 1997 similar was done when Unionist Labour MPs Neil Kinnock, Lew Smith and other cohorts influenced the Blair government by watering down Welsh devolution in 1996 leaving us with a talking shop Assembly and 12 wasted years until Plaid Cymru in coalition forced Welsh & UK Labour’s to give Wales a referendum to vote to change our then toothless Assembly into a powerful legislature which has blossomed into a Senedd Cymru. And is it no wonder why Wales… Read more »
That Ms Stevens toes the London UK line is no big surprise. I’m no big fan of unlimited gender flexibility – men just saying they are women by ticking a box and signing a form – but Wales and the rest of the UK need to address this issue, help those who need reassignment with the transition processes, and remove the scope for attention seekers and other wallies to hijack the issue for their own deviant purposes.
Wales is a nation-state. You haven’t got a bloody clue what you are talking about? Whether you agree or not with the gender regognition law power requested by the Welsh Government to make such a blinkered statement the reason not to devolve the power by effectively stating Wales isn’t a country in its own right shows how ignorant you are.
Following recent statements coming from Labour MPs in London, this, and the rejection of devolving justice, I think that the Labour party should add “unionist” to its name, just like the Tory’s, so voters here know just where they stand when election time comes.
Should have straight up asked, are we too stupid to do things for ourselves?
Can;t think what her logic might possibly be, but she could be thinking that Wales is incapable of confronting difficult questions in the world of realpolitik, and is actually full of wishy-washy shallow liberals masquerading as hardcore leftists, and that, left to our own devices, such a country with such a complete absence of masculine energies and tough realism, would be an instant disaster. If she thinks that, she may have a point. But then, she may also just be a unionist.
Indeed, and if we were to translate Unionist, we would get English Nationalists. They want Britishness to be seen as indistinguishable from Englishness, I wonder if these Cymro Unionists realise this fact? Historically, for 2000 years, Britishness solely meant the Britons of Wales, Cymru, Cambria, whatever you want to call it. It should still mean, and solely mean the Cymro of Wales. We really shouldn’t be denying our Britishness, we should be denying the Anglos right to it.
She is just one of several remants of the Old Labour anti devo faction that unfortunatly still hangs around while not at their cosey Westminster base….awaiting and awaiting the call from the good knight Sir K of Islington.
After the next election Wales will have less MPs and far more MSs. Career politicians within Welsh Labour will focus more on the Senedd rather than Westminster. However their enthusiasm for further devolution will not be there & will want to keep things ‘England and Wales’ with Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
Equalities legislation and devolution is complex area – thought experiment: imagine how LGBTQ+ people would be treated if we had Reform, UKIP, Welsh Tories coalition in Senedd – but this subject area is more about Westminster feeling prejudice against one group is moderate (and desperation to appear moderate) rather than reflecting potential complexity of devolution.
Let’s be honest, if we accurately translate “Unionist”, what we get is English nationalism because that’s what they what Britishness to be, they want it to be called British but based on Englishness, instead of what it was for two thousand years, based on the Cymro people of what is now Wales. So any Cymro politician who are in favour of this is quite simply, a Traitor!