Why do we have a Welsh and Scottish First Minister when the views of both countries are apparently voiced by Tories in the Westminster Government ?
Neither Carwyn Jones or Nicola Sturgeon were briefed the Welsh Government on the Brexit deal before cabinet talks opened, although apparently Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo was.
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Compare this between and that of our Third Rate Welsh First Minister , who seems to have simply rolled over after being humiliated by, the Tory Welsh Secretary.
Neither Carwyn Jones or Nicola Sturgeon were briefed the Welsh Government on the Brexit deal before cabinet talks opened, although apparently Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo was.
Welsh Third Rate Minster Jones said there was a "method" that would have allowed the documents to have been shared privately.
But Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said it was a "reserved area of policy" for the UK government to deal with.
The prime minister's cabinet agreed to the draft withdrawal agreement after hours of talks on Wednesday.
After this had concluded, Theresa May spoke to Carwyn Jones over the phone.
"I can understand why she would want to share the agreement with cabinet ministers first," Mr Jones had earlier said.
"But my assumption was that was being done over the course of last night and this morning.
"Once that process had been completed she could have made sure those documents came to use before the formal cabinet meetings, as I understand it they'd all seen the document anyway."There is a method for sharing these documents privately, but that's not been used, it means now here I am, sitting here, same for the first minister of Scotland and everybody else, trying to offer comments on something we haven't seen."
Spoken to @theresa_may this evening who outlined broad terms of #brexit deal. We now need to consider detail of what’s proposed. Consistently made clear the need for full & unfettered access to single mkt & participation in a customs union to protect economy & Welsh jobs
But a source in the UK Government said: "Wales is represented by the secretary of state and he will scrutinise and make the case in cabinet."
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns echoed the view, adding: showing that in his view the opinion of the opinion of the leader of the Welsh Government in Cardiff bay
"This is a reserved area of policy.
"There are two governments in Wales. I don't tell the Welsh Government what to do on health policy and this is a matter that is a European policy as well as a UK government policy."
He said Welsh politicians could run to be an MP or a member of the House of Lords to have a role, adding:
"If Carwyn Jones the first minister wants to do that then of course he is more than welcome to run."The sort of words we could expect from a Governor General.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has claimed that the draft Brexit agreement between the UK and EU would be bad for Scotland as her party pledged to oppose the deal.
Scotland's first minister said the proposals would take Scotland out of the single market while Northern Ireland in effect stays in.
This would have a "devastating" impact on jobs and investment in Scotland, she insisted.
But Ms Sturgeon said it was obvious that the prime minister could "barely unite her cabinet on this deal" and that she would struggle to get a majority for it in the House of Commons.
"In these circumstances it is more important than ever that we are not faced with a false choice between a bad deal and no deal," she said.
"No one should be effectively blackmailed into a choice between the frying pan or the fire.
"This proposed deal would be a bad one for Scotland, taking us out of a single market eight times the size of the UK market alone and posing a huge threat to jobs, investment and living standards.
"If this deal is indeed rejected by Parliament then the UK government must return to the negotiating table to secure a better one.
"Our bottom line - short of continued EU membership - is continued, permanent membership of the single market and customs union."
Ms Sturgeon later tweeted that she had received a phone call from Mrs May and had pointed out that the draft document makes no mention of Scotland.
Not long off call with PM. She tried to tell me Scotland’s ‘distinctive’ interests had been protected. I pointed out that there isn’t a single mention of Scotland in the agreement, that it disregards our interests, and puts Scotland at a serious competitive disadvantage.
It may be that the Scottish Tories are also going to resist their London master's
Sources told the BBC last month that Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who is currently on maternity leave after the birth of her son, and Scottish Secretary David Mundell could quit their roles if a Brexit deal introduced different arrangements for Northern Ireland.
Mr Mundell, who denied at the time that he had threatened to quit, said after Wednesday's cabinet meeting he was content to move on to the next stage on the basis that "arrangements for Northern Ireland will not undermine the economic or constitutional integrity of the UK".
Before Wednesday's cabinet meeting started, a letter from Mr Mundell and other Scottish Tory MPs was hand delivered to No 10 warning against any backsliding on fishing rights for the UK after Brexit.
Wales unlike Scotland may have voted for Brexit , but the idea that as a Nation we should be ignored throughout the whole negotiations is deplorable.
It shows contempt for Welsh Democracy especially as it seems the majority of Welsh voters now strongly back Remain.
But in the corridors of Westminster it seems we have less than that of Gibraltar.
1 comment:
A hefty document weighing in at nearly 600 pages, and no mention of Wales or Scotland anywhere! Er is that what they mean by a 'family of nations'?
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