Destroy v strengthen the union row over the Internal Market Bill

A political row has broken out over the publication of a Bill by the ��Ƶ Government which critics claim will destroy devolution.

The Internal Market Bill seeks to tear up the EU Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between Boris Johnson and the EU last year and give the ��Ƶ Government powers to spend money in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in previously devolved areas.

However, Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart, said it would strengthen the union of the ��Ƶ, with more powers going to Wales and the other devolved nations from the EU at the end of the transition period.

However, there are those who fear the Westminster Government may intend to use the new powers conferred on it by the Bill to build an M4 relief road as it gives it the power to go ahead with it – provided it had the support of MPs and local authorities.

The £1.4bn plan to cut congestion around the motorway in Newport has been rejected by the Welsh Government, and First Minister Mark Drakeford recently said that the “decision is over” and people should move on.

A Welsh Government source said it was unclear from the Bill’s text whether such spending would be deducted from its annual block grant by the Treasury.

But as planning is a devolved matter, the Welsh Government, as it stands, could put up 'road blocks' to stop the ��Ƶ Government trying to build a relief road.

The Internal Market Bill details what will happen from January 1 when the ��Ƶ’s transition period comes to an end and powers held by Brussels are repatriated. It will mean sweeping new powers for the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and will “protect jobs and trade” within the ��Ƶ, the ��Ƶ Government stated, saying the law will allow Westminster to replace existing EU funding programmes.

However spending powers on infrastructure, economic development, culture, sport, and support for educational, training and exchange opportunities will move to the ��Ƶ Government.

The Bill also allows the ��Ƶ Government to impose post-Brexit terms of trade across the ��Ƶ without taking on board any concerns of the devolved administrations, which has prompted fears this opens up the possibility of lower standards in the areas of food, animal welfare and the environment.

The Welsh Government said the bill is “an attack on democracy” which will “sacrifice the future of the union by stealing powers from devolved administrations” – an accusation denied by Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart – while the Scottish government branded it a “Westminster power grab”.

Wales’ Counsel General and Minister for European Transition Jeremy Miles, who said he was only briefed late on Tuesday, said: “Let me be clear – the ��Ƶ Government plans to sacrifice the future of the union by stealing powers from devolved administrations. This bill is an attack on democracy and an affront to the people of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, who have voted in favour of devolution on numerous occasions.

“Their proposals for mutual recognition [of standards] may sound sensible but they are the starting gun for a race to the bottom, undermining the high standards we currently enjoy in terms of food standards, animal welfare and the environment.

“Vital decisions over support for Welsh businesses, important infrastructure and investment opportunities and the safety of the food on the shelves of Welsh supermarkets should be made in Wales, by the government of Wales, and with the consent of the Senedd – and not at the behest of Conservative back-
benchers.

“The ��Ƶ Government is explicitly seeking to rewrite the devolution settlement. The fact that they are also seeking primary legislation shows they are taking those powers from us.

“We believe in the principle of an internal market – but this bill is not remotely necessary to deliver it. We will do everything we can to challenge the power grab and the race to the bottom which this bill represents.”

Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart, insisted that if the bill becomes law it will strengthen the union.

On overriding the Welsh Government's decision not to build an M4 Relief Road he said: "We’re [��Ƶ Government] already committed to it. There’s nothing new our end. We’ve said we would make the funding available, our Conservative colleagues in Cardiff have said they would do the work if they were in office, and what this new mechanism provides is the process we would need in order to do that.

"As far as I’m concerned, nothing really changes apart from if, as we hope, we might be able to persuade Mark Drakeford it actually is in the interests of jobs and livelihoods in Wales to do this and that there are no adverse environmental consequences associated with it…

"We would get on with that work much easier, we can bring relief to the M4 corridor, and we can get people investing in Wales again. It seems odd to me that Welsh Government would want to resist that. Particularly in a post-Covid world where we’re so anxious to restore order to the economy as quickly as we can. Things like that could be a way of doing it.”

He added: "I'm a bit mystified by that because at the moment those infrastructure decisions are taken by the EU with no sense of accountability for Wales at all. So the fact that these powers are coming back and will be exercised by a combination of Welsh Government and ��Ƶ Government, both accountable at the ballot box, by politicians elected in Wales by Welsh voters, seems to me to be very difficult to spin as anti-devolution. That’s absolutely the opposite as I see it.”

Devolution is not a competition. Devolution works best when there is healthy collaboration and I think people think you can either have collaboration or you can have devolution. That’s absolutely not true. You can have both and you should have both. And we’ve seen it during Covid, where the Welsh Government has taken the lion’s share of decisions but has relied on the economic clout of the ��Ƶ as a body in order to sustain the Welsh economy and to keep people in work in that period of time. There’s nothing remotely threatening about that.

"The fact that you might get the ��Ƶ Government working alongside the Welsh Government, that is a good thing. I’ve talked to a lot of businesses coming out of Covid at the moment who shake their heads in disbelief and say, ‘our businesses absolutely depend on the seamless relationship with the rest of the ��Ƶ. 75% of what we make in Wales is sold in the rest of the ��Ƶ, a quarter of our workforce crosses the border every day to make a living.’

"If there is some kind of political obstacle to that, the only outcome will be a loss of jobs. No sensible person, dare I say it, thinks that is the way to restore order to the economy. As far as I’m concerned, the fact that we, as a ��Ƶ Government, want to spend lots of money in Wales and want to get lots of people to invest in Wales and lots of people to create new jobs in Wales, I would have thought would be good news for Mark Drakeford and Jeremy Miles. It is especially mystifying that they seem to consider this to somehow be a threat."

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said independence for Wales was the “only way” to resist Westminster and ensure Wales’ democracy is pro-
tected.

The Plaid leader said that the Westminster Government’s Internal Market Bill was “not simply a power grab, but the destruction of two decades of devolution”.

He made the point that new spending rules contained in the Bill would allow the ��Ƶ Government to force projects in devolved areas such as economic development, infrastructure, culture, sport and education without the consent of the Welsh Government – an explicit dismantling of the devolution settlement.

Mr Price challenged the Labour Government in Wales to do more than offer “warm words about devolution”, alleging they had sat on their hands as “Westminster’s slow drip erosion of devolution has turned into a tsunami that risks washing the whole thing away”.

He said: “The Internal Market Bill is not simply a power grab but the destruction of two decades of devolution. Two referendums will be ignored and the will of the Welsh people overturned if this law is passed.

“Independence is the only way we can protect Welsh democracy. Without a pro-independence government in Cardiff, Westminster will continue to bully Wales.

“We need more than words. We need a pro-independence government in Wales that will empower us to resist Westminster’s attacks on our democracy.”

Former Counsel General Mick Antoniw, the Labour MS for Pontypridd, said: “Two decades of devolution are under attack. The ��Ƶ Internal Market Bill is designed to bring an end to devolution as we know it and recalibrate a centralisation of power into the hands of Number 10 Downing Street. It is not accidental.

“The Conservative party’s contempt for devolution, the constitution and the rule of law grows year on year. Consistent use of the royal prerogative and legislation to bypass Parliament or to limit parliamentary scrutiny has become normalised.

“The Bill is an attack on democracy and an affront to the people of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“It is the culmination of a series of Bills and proposals which in similar vein seek to centralise powers in the hands of ��Ƶ Ministers even where they relate to areas of responsibility that have been long devolved by Parliament; powers which will be exercised by the ��Ƶ Government alone, bypassing Welsh consent and even ��Ƶ parliamentary scrutiny.

“The combined impact will lead to the greatest recentralisation of power experienced by any European state since the Second World War.

“There is no room left for polite discourse. Number 10 has declared war on the devolved administrations by its willingness to cast aside decades of devolution.”

Downing Street denied the ��Ƶ Internal Market Bill was a “power grab” and said devolved administrations would instead see a “power surge”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Absolutely not. What the devolved administrations will enjoy is a power surge when the transition period ends in December.

“There will be no change to the powers the devolved administrations already have and the vast majority of powers with devolved competencies returning from Brussels will go straight to Holyrood, Stormont and Cardiff Bay.

“This will be a significant increase in the powers of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Parliament, and the Northern Ireland Assembly, which are already among the most powerful devolved administrations in the world. Where powers are coming back to the ��Ƶ Government this is to protect the economy.”

FSB Wales Policy chair, Ben Francis said the membership body welcomed the principle of an internal market, but said that the replacement for European funding, under the Shared Prosperity Fund, should flow to the Welsh Government.

Mr Francis said: "Businesses on their ability to trade in a way which doesn't disrupt, confuse or disincentivise businesses from developing across the whole of the ��Ƶ. We commend ��Ƶ Government's intention to ensure that businesses can trade without friction across the ��Ƶ - something which disproportionally benefits SMEs in reducing burden"

He added: “FSB has long held the view that devolution is settled and businesses understand and accept the responsibilities of the devolved governments in economic development. Our firm belief has been that money that Wales could otherwise have expected from EU funding streams should come to Welsh Government in full with the Welsh Parliament offering appropriate scrutiny.

"This is a point we have cited many times before ��Ƶ Parliamentary committees and Senedd committees. While we await details of the proposals for the ��Ƶ Shared Prosperity Fund, we note concerns from parliamentarians in Westminster and Cardiff Bay that the proposals on State Aid within the Bill may set a precedent for the operation of the fund and cross over with devolved responsibilities and it is important that these concerns are addressed.

“While we welcome any investment in Wales which might contribute to the growth of the economy and create better operating conditions for Welsh businesses, any investment needs to be co-ordinated and avoid duplication of effort as well as an assurance of the prudent expenditure of public money.

"It also needs to be delivered with shared purpose and proper consultation, not only with governments but with businesses in Wales. There are many questions yet to be answered as to how this will be achieved under the provisions of the Bill and we welcome this clarification in due course during the scrutiny stages."