Not for the
first time, I’m struggling to make any sort of sense out of a statement by the First Minister on Brexit. What seems indisputable is that he has said
all of the following:
a. all four of the UK's parliaments and
assemblies should have to "agree to
any deal the UK government comes to"
b. he could not "envisage consent being given by Wales" [without access
to the single market]
c. he "never
called for a veto" [for the Assembly]
Whilst all
three of these statements make some sort of sense individually, when put
together they are self-evidently contradictory - unless…
The one explanation
that does make sense is if it were to be a requirement that the Assembly has
to agree the deal, but with the condition that the Assembly has no right not to
agree it. It’s just a question of
placing the correct interpretation on the words ‘the Assembly should have to
agree’; it’s not a pre-condition for the outcome being accepted, it’s a
statement of fact about the option being given to the Assembly. It’s democracy, Henry Ford style: ‘You can
vote however you like, as long as you vote the way Westminster tells you to
vote’.
The sad thing
is that it seems to fit quite well with the Labour Party’s notion of what home
rule should look like.
Posts
5 comments:
Under normal circumstances Carwyn’s woolly, incoherent statements would be bad enough, but on Brexit where Wales has hardly any negotiating cards the First Minister’s backtracking is damming and will have severe consequences for Wales when we end up in an England and Wales entity after a hard Brexit with visa access to Europe and tariff only access to the EU market which will cost thousands of jobs.
Im afraid the reality is carwyn jones - or whoever was wales first minister - can say whatever they like on brexit but it wil make no difference. The senedd has no powers to block whatever brexit 'deal' is eventually cobbled together by the May government. And the fact - however unpalatable to some of us it is - wales voted for brexit on june 23rd means we in wales will almost certainly end up with a like it or lump approach from the british government with regards to their brexit negotiations.
In many senses the vote in wales on june 23rd can be compared to the vote against devolution in 1979 in the harm it will likely inflict on wales - on both occasions grievous self inflicted wounds.
Leigh Richards 14:00
Like it or not it might just be that the electorate of Wales is telling us something, that same something it has been trying to tell us since 1979.
A scary thought!
I cant argue with what you say there anon.
If I recall my constitutional history correctly, there is only one place that agrees a deal and under the oath taken in the coronation and that is what is called the “Queen in Parliament” that is where sovereignty lies. – like it or not and that rests in Westminster.
As long as HMG has the confidence of the monarch, and she in her first minister, there is no need to ask for and election or further referendums in this matter – both of which are only consultative anyway.
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