WELSH Labour Senedd members have accused Keir Starmer of "rolling back devolution" in a scathing letter.
A total of 11 Welsh Labour Members of the Senedd (MS) – including former cabinet and senior figures in the party – have written to the Prime Minister expressing fury at the Labour Government's failure to devolve further functions to Wales, accusing ministers of "rolling back the existing devolution settlement".
The MSs said the UK Government use of the Internal Market Act to act in devolved areas is "at best deeply insensitive, at worst a constitutional outrage".
The letter states: "We have increasing concern about the failure to move forward with agreed steps to devolve further functions to Wales.
"In opposition we raised expectations of reform of the Barnett formula, devolution of rail infrastructure, policing and justice and of the Crown Estate.
"Not only is the Government not progressing these but it is rolling back the existing devolution settlement."
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The MSs said the UK Government's Pride in Place programme – which gives funding to local areas around the UK – has caused "considerable unhappiness among Welsh Labour Senedd Members".
"This is a UK Government programme operating in a wholly devolved area that is being designed and delivered from Whitehall," they wrote.
"Why is the UK Government directly funding Welsh Councils to fix bus shelters, reopen park toilets, and provide bins?"
The letter continues: "As well as top-slicing funding from the Local Growth Fund – which we would have expected to have been passed to the Welsh Government as an EU successor fund – Pride in Place is being imposed using powers in the UK Internal Market Act 2020 [UKIMA].
"Regeneration is a devolved matter. Yet UKIMA is being used to give the UK Government authority to provide financial assistance without requiring consent from the Senedd or Welsh Ministers.
"You will remember the Welsh Government brought a Judicial Review against the last UK Government because, in its view, the Internal Market Act represented an unwarranted attack on devolution.
"The Conservative legislation repealed parts of the Government of Wales Act 2006, reduced the Senedd’s legislative competence, and gave UK Ministers broad “Henry VIII powers” to amend primary legislation, which could undermine devolution.
"For our own Government to then come in and use the very same powers to act in devolved areas is at best deeply insensitive, at worst a constitutional outrage."
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The MSs said the design of the Pride in Place programme "has cut out the democratically elected Welsh Government in a policy area that is fully within its remit".
They added: "Whilst there is a genuflection in the neighbourhood selection criteria to the Welsh Government policies, the UK Government is, nonetheless, requiring Welsh local authorities to seek Whitehall approval for spending that cuts across existing programmes.
"This is ineffective and wasteful, and no way to spend public money."
The letter continues: "If this was being done by a Tory Government, we would be calling for a judicial review. This must never happen again.
"Wales needs and deserves to be treated as an equal part of the UK and the UK Government has a responsibility to act to deliver this equality.
"The signs are clear that the public understands this, we must demonstrate that we do too."
The letter was signed by the following Welsh Labour MSs:
- Mick Antoniw
- Hannah Blythyn
- Alun Davies
- John Griffiths
- Lesley Griffiths
- Julie Morgan
- Jenny Rathbone
- Rhianon Passmore
- Carolyn Thomas
- Mike Hedges
- Lee Waters
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Responding to the letter, SNP MP Chris Law said: "Devolution is not the answer to Scotlands future. Only Scottish independence will be.
"Don’t take my word for it. Take the words of the Welsh Labour Party."
Devolution is not the answer to Scotlands future. Only #ScottishIndependence will be
Don’t take my word for it. Take the words of the Welsh Labour Party @theSNP 👇 https://t.co/1MgQu5S5PU— Chris Law MP (@ChrisLawSNP) December 3, 2025
Meanwhile, SNP deputy leader Keith Brown said: “The SNP has warned for many months that Labour are rolling back on devolution, and the powers of the Scottish Parliament, and now their own Labour politicians in Wales are saying the same.
“Before the election, Labour promised more powers for Scotland and Wales, but whether it’s on the internal market act or Pride in Place funding, their abysmal record shows the opposite. It’s no surprise that this is another broken promise from Starmer’s Labour Government."
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Brown added: “These eleven members of Welsh Labour are right – whether it’s in Scotland or Wales, Labour are rolling back devolution and can’t be trusted to protect the powers of our Parliament.
“The only way to do so, and to improve lives in Scotland, is with the fresh start of independence."
A UK Government spokesperson said: "We're working hand-in-hand with the Welsh Government to deliver real change for communities across Wales in partnership.
"Providing well-targeted funding will help achieve this – with Pride in Place putting local people in the driving seat to decide their priorities, whether that's their high street, local businesses, or community spaces.
"And it provides extra investment on top of the record funding we've already given to Wales, as we make sure communities get the support they deserve."
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