THIS is a message of solidarity. Labour in Wales has returned to their default position. Cosying up to Westminster and the Tories, whilst having little or no regard for the nation they supposedly represent.
Breaking off from their work with the Scottish Government and throwing away the devolution-protecting Continuity Bill, the Labour Welsh Government has done a deal to support Westminster’s Withdrawal Bill.
READ MORE: Welsh Labour ‘waving white flag’ over Tory Brexit deal
The deal will see critical policy areas removed from the devolution settlement for up to seven years and Westminster’s dominance over Wales written into statute. The list of 26 policy areas once under our control now on their way to London is astounding and could grow longer at the flick of a pen in Westminster.
So drastic is Labour’s transformation in Wales they have gone from working with Plaid Cymru and the SNP, to calling us “flag-waving nationalists”. At least ours is not the white flag of surrender.
At the National Assembly for Wales this week I have been witness to an almost vomit-inducing Labour-Tory-Ukip love-in. Brexit believers created a chorus of congratulation for Labour. But, the question which struck me most was not why did Labour do this. We know a centralising British tendency is at their core. No, the question was, how did we get here? From a position of such strength, where Wales and Scotland had the leverage against Westminster; to the pantomime villain that is Neil Hamilton congratulating the Welsh Labour Government on its capitulation.
It is a tragedy that, like so many others, can be told in three parts.
We started with such hope and optimism. Two devolved governments working in lock-step to defend the devolution settlement that we fought so hard to create.
The Labour Welsh Government even co-authored a report with Plaid Cymru setting out a rock-solid constitutional position, containing the line: “Our core standing policy is that the UK exit from the EU must not result in devolved powers being clawed back to the UK Government. Any attempt to do so will be firmly resisted by us.”
The First Minister went as far as to say that he wouldn’t accept an even time-limited power grab, as it is a “matter of principle”.
With the battle lines drawn, the inevitable second act clash came to bear. Wales and Scotland held strong. Even when Westminster attempted to put on the pressure, Wales and Scotland had answers.
Wales was first to pass its Continuity Bill and soon Scotland followed. We were heading for the third act climax and that looked to play out in the Supreme Court. The highest court in the UK was set to decide on whether Westminster’s power-grabbing Withdrawal Bill or our power-protecting Continuity Bills would win out.
Then came the twist in the plot. Last week the Labour Welsh Government’s decision to do a dodgy deal with the Tories in Westminster saw all this hard work wasted.
The deal contains a huge range of provisions which Labour promised they would never accept. For a start, it includes a seven-year time limitation on Westminster’s domination. Something which, as already noted, the First Minister expressly said he would never accept as a “matter of principle”.
Fundamentally, they have sold my country short and I am not convinced the Labour Government even understands what it has done.
Not a single vote was cast to weaken the Welsh parliament in the Brexit referendum. In fact, the will of the Welsh people, as expressed in two devolution referendums, is being disregarded by this dodgy deal.
This is not simply a by-product of Brexit, however. It is Westminster returning Wales to within its grasp.
In Scotland, the fight goes on and resist Westminster’s grasp you must.
Even if the Welsh Government doesn’t, Wales and Plaid Cymru stands with you.
Leanne Wood is the leader of Welsh indy-supporting party Plaid Cymru.
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