6. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance: The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:04 pm on 25 April 2018.

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Photo of Siân Gwenllian Siân Gwenllian Plaid Cymru 5:04, 25 April 2018

(Translated)

I do understand, of course, that a great deal of hard work has gone into it, but that's our job—to work hard on behalf of the people of Wales. As a Welsh person and a democrat, I've been shocked at how easily you've given in to the Tories and have transferred these powers to them in London—the powers that the people of Wales have stated in two referenda that the Welsh Parliament should hold.

I will restrict myself to one question. You do say in your statement that the outcome of the negotiations with the Tories aren't perfect, and that this agreement is a compromise. Now, we need to compromise, of course; we need to compromise occasionally in politics and I’m enough of a pragmatist and a realist to compromise, quite regularly if truth be told. But compromising on the democratic future of Wales is unacceptable. A power grab is a power grab, and we cannot compromise on such a fundamentally important issue as that.

A little over a month ago, this Parliament voted in favour of a continuity Bill that would have ensured that the UK Government couldn’t have undertaken that power grab. All of the cards were in your Government’s hands. So, why on earth did you need to compromise on this?