Peredur Owen Griffiths has criticised the Labour Government in Wales for failing to stand up to their party colleagues in Westminster on behalf of Wales and its people.
The Plaid Cymru MS was speaking in a debate his party brought to the Senedd following the recent leak of a memo from Prime Minister Keir Starmer which stated his Cabinet members can go against wishes of the Senedd and Welsh Government.
Peredur said the memo represented a continuation of the ‘muscular unionism’ of previous Tory Governments and thoroughly undermined the Labour Party’s claims to be the party of devolution.
During the debate, Peredur said: “At its heart, this motion is simple: it does not ask for special treatment, it does not ask for privilege, it asks for respect.
“Respect for this Senedd. Respect for the people of Wales. And respect for the principle that decisions about Wales should not be imposed on Wales against our will.
Because what we are debating today is principle, a principle that goes to the very foundation of devolution, that when powers are devolved, they are not conditional, they are not optional, and they are not there to be overridden when it suits a Government in Westminster.
“And yet, that is exactly what is happening.”
He added: “Let us be clear: this is not how devolution operates elsewhere. In Northern Ireland, the executive is trusted with full discretion over how funding is spent—full control, full respect.
“So, again, the question arises: why not in Wales? Because what we are seeing is a pattern, a pattern where Wales is too often an exception, but never in our favour, where decisions are centralised, where powers are bypassed, where our institutions are sidestepped. And where the response from those who should defend Wales has, too often, been muted.
This motion draws a line. It says if a policy is opposed by the Welsh Government, if it cuts across devolved responsibilities, if it undermines the authority of this Senedd, then it should not proceed, not here, not in Wales, because devolution was not granted to be managed from afar.
“It was not created to be overridden when inconvenient. It was established that the people of Wales could shape their own future through this institution, through their elected representatives, and through decisions made in Wales.”
Following the debate, Labour voted against the Plaid Cymru motion which urged the Labour UK Government to “not make spending decisions in Wales when they are opposed by the Welsh Government.”
Peredur responded by saying: “This is disappointing but not surprising from Labour in Wales. They have been too timid to criticise their party colleagues in Westminster who are just as anti-devolution as the Tories were.
“Whether it has been on things such as HS2 funding or the Pride in Place funding programme, the Labour Government in Wales has been reluctant to put the interests of the people they serve before the interests of their party.
“Never again can they claim to be the party of devolution when they act against its interests.”