Part of 2. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:53 pm on 11 July 2017.
The First Minister’s obfuscating here. He knows perfectly well that the aim of the UK Government is the same as the aim of the Welsh Government, and that is to achieve the maximum possible degree of free trade between the UK and the EU. But this is a reciprocal process. If we are not granted free trade to Europe, we will not grant the EU free trade with us, and, given that they have a trade deficit of £61 billion a year with us, it’s as much in their interests as it is in ours—as it is in trade worldwide—that we reduce barriers to the free exchange of goods and services. So, if he uses this opportunity on Thursday to reinforce that message, he may do himself a bit of good with the UK Government by going with the grain. I wholly agree with what he said earlier on about DEFRA Ministers not meeting with Welsh Ministers. I do believe that that was disrespectful and unhelpful, but it may be that the attitude of the UK Government towards the Welsh Government is informed by the approach that he and his colleagues have taken to the Brexit negotiations. They may think, ‘What is the point of meeting with them, because they’re only going to disagree with us?’