Starmer defends Welsh and Scottish devolution stance after leaked memo row
ReutersThe prime minister has defended his approach to working with Welsh and Scottish governments a day after a leaked memo sparked accusations he was undermining devolution.
On Tuesday it emerged Sir Keir Starmer told members of his cabinet in December to be prepared to take decisions and spend cash across the UK's nations even if it was against the wishes of devolved governments.
In the Commons on Wednesday Sir Keir said he would make no apologies "for spending more money in Scotland or in Wales to improve people's lives".
The UK government said it is "fully committed to devolution and continue to work in genuine partnership with devolved governments".
The memo has sparked anger from the backbenches of Wales' parliament, with two Welsh Labour Members of the Senedd (MS) criticising its contents and one suggesting the post of Welsh secretary within the UK government should be scrapped.
The letter, obtained by Plaid Cymru, recorded Sir Keir warning senior UK ministers against showing an "overly deferential" approach to the devolved governments, which he said "almost inevitably creates political challenges or missed positive opportunities".
"We should be confident in our ability to deliver directly in those nations, including through direct spending, even when devolved governments may oppose this," he said.
In Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, the SNP's Stephen Gethins said the memo showed a "muscular unionism Boris Johnson would have been proud of".
"When Scottish and Welsh voters go to the polls, will he respect that decision?" the Scottish MP asked.
Sir Keir said: "I'm not going to make any apologies for spending more money in Scotland or in Wales to improve people's lives," adding there had been "record investment under this government into Scotland".
PA MediaLater, in response to a question from Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones defended the memo.
Jones said: "I will just remind the house that devolved governments are important but in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland there are two governments: the UK government and the devolved government, and that's why we retain the right to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland as well as in England."
Cardiff Central MS Jenny Rathbone told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast the memo was "pretty disgraceful" but was "from a past era".
"It has Morgan McSweeney all over it", she said, referring to the prime minister's former chief of staff who resigned in February.
She said she was "hoping that everybody's moved on from that sort of nonsense because governments have to work together, there needs to be respect between different governments."
Rathbone added: "That memo absolutely doesn't demonstrate that."
Mick Antoniw, MS for Pontypridd and former counsel general for Wales, said he was "really quite angry because I thought it was quite an underhand memo".
He added it was "almost like a re-emergence of backward, introverted politics - the sort of politics we had under the last Tory government", referring to the UK Internal Market Act (UKIMA) which became law when Boris Johnson was prime minister.
The law, which allows the UK government to spend money on things usually governed by devolved governments, was "brought in to actually undermine" devolution, Antoniw claimed.
He called for a "change of direction at UK government level", although he conceded there were "a lot of positives" that had come from discussions between First Minister Eluned Morgan and Sir Keir.
Senedd CymruAntoniw, who like Rathbone is standing down at the Welsh Parliament election in May, also said he expected the Welsh Secretary, Jo Stevens, "to respect devolution".
He said her department, the Wales Office, was a "pre-devolution set-up" and the functions need to be "redefined, because at the moment I don't think there is any great clarity".
Asked if he thought Wales needed a Welsh secretary he added: "No, I don't think we do."
One Welsh Labour MP, speaking to the BBC anonymously, defended the Welsh secretary, saying: "Jo has been the most effective and hard working secretary of state for Wales we've ever had.
"She has ensured Wales has not just a voice or seat at the cabinet table but is listened to and has helped shape policy in our interests."
A spokesperson for the UK government said it "always has and always will deliver on the priorities of people across all four nations of the UK and, as the memo makes clear, this is a priority for the prime minister and cabinet".
"We are fully committed to devolution and continue to work in genuine partnership with the devolved governments, while delivering directly across the UK where we have the powers and responsibility to do so," they added.
A Wales Office spokesperson said it and the Welsh secretary "carry out a crucial role representing the interests of Wales within the UK and around the cabinet table, helping drive economic growth, encouraging inward investment and ensuring that the devolution settlement functions correctly for the people of Wales".
The Wales Office pointed to investment for steel workers in Port Talbot and a deal to build a new nuclear power station on Angelsey as part of the work that Jo Stevens has been involved in.
Reform UK said: "People in Wales want functioning public services and real change. Labour and Plaid have totally failed to deliver that."
Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds said: "After 26 years of Welsh Labour running Wales and a Labour government now in Westminster, the public is watching Labour argue with itself over devolution instead of getting on with the job."
After the memo was published, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan had "run out of road when it comes to apologising for and defending the prime minister", accusing Welsh Labour of "working against the interests of Wales".
