THE Tories have told the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments to leave the governing to London. David Lidington, the Cabinet Office Minister and Theresa May’s de facto deputy will today announce his party’s planned amendments to Clause 11 of the controversial EU Withdrawal Bill.
Despite Tory promises to work “in the best possible way in the interests of all concerned,” it will see the Welsh and Scottish Governments overruled.
Neither has signed off on the amendment, and neither is happy that Whitehall is taking control of powers they say should be going to the devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff. The bill will effectively transfer all EU law into UK law, with powers currently controlled in Brussels being repatriated to the UK.
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Clause 11 of the bill originally sent all powers in devolved areas back to Whitehall first, with UK ministers then to decide whether they should go to the devolved legislatures or become part of a UK-wide common framework. That was described as a “power grab” by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her Welsh counterpart Carwyn Jones.
Months of negotiations have brought some movement, and the Scottish Government is happy with the idea of those common frameworks in the 24 policy areas that have proved the most contentious.
However, that would be on the condition that it would be asked for its consent to any changes made to those frameworks.
The UK Government has balked at this, unwilling to give Holyrood an effective veto on areas including animal health and traceability, food safety, hygiene laws, food labelling, and chemical regulation.
Lidington said: “In the past few days we have opened up the discussion around the devolved aspects of the EU Withdrawal Bill.
“Our publication of the detailed analysis of where EU powers intersect with devolved competencies has brought an encouraging reaction from our retailers, farmers and fishermen who want the UK and devolved governments to grasp these issues and provide certainty for them as we depart the EU.
“That is precisely what we will do, which is why we are providing more detail on our proposed changes to Clause 11 of the Withdrawal Bill. The amendments being tabled today will allow Parliament, businesses and consumers to better understand how we are intending to manage the transfer of powers from Brussels to the devolved administrations.”
Scottish Brexit Minister Michael Russell said the Tories needed to respect the result of the 1997 referendum on devolution. He said: “This move from the UK Government, in the face of opposition from both the Scottish and Welsh Governments, confirms the biggest power grab attempt on devolution since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament.
“The UK Government is using Brexit to rewrite unilaterally the devolution settlement the people of Scotland voted for so decisively in 1997. Their plans would mean Westminster taking control of key devolved powers in the areas of farming, fishing and the environment.
“But we now know that any other sector could be at risk too if the UK Government decides it wants those powers as well.
“Mr Lidington agreed on Thursday that if he tabled the UK Government amendment in the House of Lords this week he would make it clear that neither the Scottish or Welsh Governments supported or agreed to them. Regrettably this statement manifestly fails to do that.
“Let me make it crystal clear – neither the Welsh nor the Scottish Government has agreed to the amendment that the UK Government is about to table.”
The amendments will be discussed in House of Lords next week.
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