Westminster ignores Wales. What a surprise.

It come as no surprise  that  a report claims Scotland has enjoyed better relations with Whitehall than Wales

According to the Wasting Mule 

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee reports that 

“the Scottish Government appears to have experienced a more effective and responsive relationship with Whitehall than can be said of the Welsh Government”.

They go on to say

“It is unacceptable that 17 years after the advent of devolution Whitehall departments, when considering the effect of UK policy decisions, are not better at involving and consulting the devolved administrations, so that their views and interests are positively engaged at the outset, rather than as an afterthought.”

The MPs are  seem to put the entire blame on the UK government

 “The onus for facilitating constructive dialogue between the devolved administrations, while negotiating the process of leaving the EU, is on the UK Government. It is, therefore, vital that the UK Government’s commitment to engage with the devolved administrations is meaningful and is not simply a tool to allay the concerns of the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive.”

 A Welsh Government spokesman said:

 “We will study this report with interest, but we very much agree with the central conclusion, that our inter-governmental machinery needs significant further development if the UK is to meet the challenges of Brexit effectively. We need to see a wholehearted commitment on the part of all the UK administrations to redrawing the relationship between the component parts of the United Kingdom in the post-European Union period, including both the distribution of responsibilities and the machinery of government between the four nations.”

 A spokesman for the Welsh Conservatives said:

“The Prime Minister has been steadfast in her wish to involve all devolved nations in this process of negotiating our withdrawal from the EU. However, it is quite appropriate that the Prime Minister should lead those negotiations.
“The re-establishment of the Joint Ministerial Council was evidence of a commitment to establishing a new grown-up relationship between the devolved administrations and the UK Government – one in which we all work together to forge the future for everyone in the United Kingdom.”

Does this really only lie with the government at Westminster though?

I'm reminded of the old saying

"The squeaky Wheel gets the Oil"

Westminster knows that it cannot ignore Scotland even the most die hard unionist  knows that Scotland needs to at least be given the impression that it is being listened to not only over Brexit .

Cameron may have created English Votes for English Laws in order to show the Scots that , having rejected Independence power still remained with the English Tories (including the Blue- Labour ones).

Northern Ireland will constantly pose a threat to  the Union and it doesn't take a genius to see that Brexit just might convince some of the Unionist majority there that Post Brexit their future might not lie in a sectarian past  and maybe their neighbours  South of the Boarder still in the EU have more to offer.

But Wales what do they threaten .

The people voted for Brexit and therefore tied themselves to England and the interest of London and the South East.

There is no evidence that there is a desire for even parity with Scotland.

The ruling Labour group in the Assembly and that party itself  consider it as no more than a Glorified County Council  and are quite happy to carry on as they are.

The First Minister reflects this and apart from the occasional protest allows to walk all over them.

Scotland has a better relationship with Westminster because it is not prepared to be bullied and roll over, Westminster may be angry about this but they know that if they play it wrong they could lose Scotland.

Wales on the other hand may make a weak protest , but as the Harri Webb poem our Budgie told ( i wish i remembered the whole poem )

If you ignore him he'll squawk and squawk.and rattle the bars of his pretty cage.But he never get out he'' never try it,and a cloth on the cage will keep him quiet

For Wales to have a proper relationship with Westminster we need to show them that unless we are listened to we will try and get out of "pretty cage" maybe just maybe we be treated with respect.