5. Statement by the First Minister: Constitutional Policy

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:29 pm on 15 October 2019.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 3:29, 15 October 2019

(Translated)

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I wish to make a statement on the constitutional policy of the Welsh Government. On Thursday 10 October, we published our new policy document, ‘Reforming our Union: Shared Governance in the UK’.

When the new Prime Minister came to Cardiff in July, I told him that Brexit represented a threat to the future of the union. I said that the union was under greater threat than at any time in my lifetime. But, in terms of the response by the UK Government, there is just silence. That’s why we are publishing this new document. If the UK Government is not prepared to give this issue serious thought, the Welsh Government must do so. We believe in a strong Wales within a strong United Kingdom. So, we are calling for fundamental reform, namely reform of the institutions, processes and culture of the United Kingdom.