Power Grab. The Father Ted excuse.

Plaid Cymru warning over the Westminster Power Grab over Brexit powers  that the “Welsh people are not stupid” may be right but unfortunately they are not being informed and it is probably only a few, who are really paying attention.
Last week the UK Government published details of the 24 areas where the devolved governments are not expected to be able to make their laws when Britain leaves the European Union.

As Wales online State.

Talks between the different governments have so far failed to reach agreement on what should happen to key powers held today by Brussels in areas of devolved responsibility such as farming. The Welsh and Scottish governments argue that “frameworks” setting out common standards that will allow trade to flow between the different UK nations should be negotiated and not imposed by Whitehall.
If the UK Government cannot address the concerns of the governments there is the potential AMs and MSPs will refuse to grant consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill.


The UK Government will today table its own amendments to the Bill ahead of a meeting between Theresa May and the Welsh and Scottish first ministers.
The amendments tabled today will allow the “UK Government to maintain a temporary status quo arrangement over a small number of returning policy areas where an agreement for a UK framework had not been reached in time for EU Exit”.

Now what does that remind me off? 


David Lidington, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is leading the talks process with the devolved governments, stressed that discussion will continue.
He said:

 “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.
“Our amendments respect and strengthen the devolution settlements across the UK but still allow the UK Government to protect the vitally important UK common market, providing much-needed certainty and no new barriers to doing business.
“Parliament will now be able to consider the proposal that we have been discussing for some time with the devolved governments, while we continue to hold constructive discussions in the hope of finding an agreed way forward.”

Plaid Brexit spokesman Steffan Lewis was unimpressed, saying: 

“Because the Westminster Government repeats that ‘it respects devolution’ it thinks that becomes true. The Welsh people are not stupid.
“They realise that Westminster are undertaking a power-grab against their country on an unprecedented scale.
“It is beyond patronising by the Westminster Government to claim we should be grateful because they are offering back to us powers we already have. It seems even when British politicians try their best to sound reasonable and conciliatory, they just cannot escape that trait of British elitism: that because they are British, they are entitled to whatever they want.
“Plaid Cymru will never accept Westminster’s encroachment on Wales. The Labour Welsh Government must not now capitulate.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: 

“We’ve been clear all along that the UK Government need to make significant changes to the EU Withdrawal Bill for us to recommend it for legislative consent to the National Assembly.
“Discussions at last week’s [Joint Mnisterial Committee] suggested UK Ministers were starting to move in the right direction and were willing to consider further changes. We will continue to work to secure the amendments necessary to properly protect the devolution settlement, notably on Wednesday when the First Minister meets with the Prime Minister.”

The danger from the Westminster proposals is that Wales , Scotland, and Northern Ireland will never see these powers reach Cardiff Bay, Holyrood or Stormont but set a prescient  for clawing back powers .

Indeed we can wonder what Labour MPs  at Westminster  think about this.

Jeremy Corbyn's,  actions or rather inaction over Brexit indicate that he belongs to the Pre-devolution mindset in the Labour party that socialism can only come from a government in Westminster.

If all the opposition MPs in the Commons oppose this there a real possibility of preventing this power grab, we know what the Tory government want to do, bit  what are the views of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition,