'The Union from the Uk hasn't within my lifetime been under such strain' | Mick Antoniw
There is perhaps no challenge greater than those of the constitutional future of Wales. There are those who state that these problems are unimportant and that we should just be focusing on post Covid recovery and related issues.
Well obviously, post covid recovery, jobs, our youth guarantee, tackling the weather emergency , restarting NHS operations and many other issues are incredibly important priorities. But failing to determine the very ability to deliver on all of these is very dependent on the allocation of powers and resources within Wales and the UK. That's the reason constitutional reform is so important; it is the means whereby we can deliver what we should have promised to folks of Wales and also to generations to come. It is the means for improving prosperity and employment; it's the means whereby we deliver those vital public services we have arrived at recognise to be a part of our essential economy.
It may be the means whereby we build a fairer, more just and more confident Wales and also the contribution we can make towards the wellness from the UK in general. If I am right in this, a failure by governments over the UK to deal with these constitutional challenges could be foolhardy and wholly irresponsible.
The Union of the Uk hasn't in my lifetime been under such strain. My position and also the position of the Welsh Government is the fact that we want that union to operate better in the interests of the people and also the communities of Wales which will require radical reform.
Welsh Labour fought the election using what In my opinion is the most radical proposal for constitutional reform in our recent history. I was elected with a popular mandate for change.
So I'll be aiming today a bit more detail concerning the Constitutional Convention we will be establishing here in Wales, against that context of continuously growing concerns concerning the state of our Union.
The Welsh Government believes inside a strong, prosperous and progressive Union of nations.
We see it as a voluntary association of four nations that has the possibility to become a positive force permanently – for Wales and for all nations there. We take advantage of the pooling of resources which support all of us in times of need. I will put this in my own words, when the UK means anything and it is to have a future it must be according to principles of partnership, justice, the rule of law , of greater equality and a fairer distribution of wealth between all the nations and parts of the united kingdom.
Despite our many disagreements with the UK Government, there remain many areas of common and mutual benefit. Many of these fail to work as they should, might be a lot more effective and much more progressive. Nevertheless they exist and supply a framework to build upon. In recent months the furlough scheme is becoming and example of the powerful and important support it can provide – support for people and businesses according to principles of common interest and collective support. Something that individually all of the nations of the UK would have struggled to achieve.
The UK is really a powerful engine of redistribution – systems of welfare and healthcare testament to the criticality from the power collective provision, but could considerably much more. Actually I recommend that over the past decade the development of inequality, the undermining of the welfare state and common principles of mutualism, on an unprecedented scale is really a major cause of the increasing instability from the UK.
Yes, there are lots of differences, but the collective strength of what we can do together is one thing people across the UK In my opinion do recognise and value.
And as we sit here now in 2021, it is clear in my experience that just through radical reform – through genuine devolution and the recognition of shared sovereignty that may we build the strong and durable partnership that is so vital for future years.
The Welsh response to Covid has shown how important it's been so that you can take distinctive decisions in Wales to reflect the needs of people and communities in Wales based on Welsh circumstances.
The distinctiveness we have seen in policy responses across the devolved governments – response which are themselves innovative and creative responses towards the challenges which face us – are often not given the recognition and the respect they deserve.
That distinctiveness that actually causes us to be stronger, yet is too often seen as an weakness and a threat by the UK Government at Westminster. There are increasing concerns. Concerns growing over the political spectrum. Concerns that, today, the Union looks neither strong nor stable. As well as for anyone dedicated to a long-term future for that Uk, , the way we address and rectify that fragility is among the major questions in our time.
Recent, unwelcome developments have led to that fragility and I'll say much more about those who work in a minute.
Some from the threats towards the union are deep-seated.
In some ways the Union has failed to keep pace with, things i see, as the bold and radical switch to britain's Constitution that individuals voted for in 1999.
The full and incredibly real implications of the development of legislatures in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is not met through the UK Government with what it ought to have – a fundamental and honest consider the way the UK was itself governed from the backdrop of that newly devolved landscape. In short, insufficient attention continues to be given, by successive governments, towards the manner in which our four nations should talk and act together on matters of shared interest and which affect every part of the UK.
This is exactly why the Welsh Government has for the last decade sought to stimulate a debate about the constitutional future of the UK.
We sought to begin the type of fundamental believe that is vital to the future and that of the united states of the UK and even the regions of England.
As a Welsh Government we've consistently advocated the situation for a constitutional convention. We've attempted to articulate our very own vision based on how a new model of shared governance could work. The policy papers we developed because the debate about our exit from the EU developed, were an authentic, honest and transparent attempt by us to out concrete proposals up for grabs.
In 2021 we took this work on and thru our original 'Reforming our Union' paper set out twenty propositions for the future governance from the UK. Not really a final package; not a finished work – but twenty areas which we've consistently raised and which we believe are crucial to the reform of the UK.
However, the united kingdom Governments has time and time again to determine that there is a major problem, and address the main constitutional questions facing us.
I should stress that does not all the solutions to these challenges require substantive constitutional reform.
For example, for both devolution and the Union to provide the best outcomes for citizens, we want a consistently constructive and collaborative relationship between all governments of the UK.
That needs to be entirely possible within the existing constitutional settlement. But that's simply not our experience, particularly since late 2021. The reform to the intergovernmental structures, such as the JMC, which is essential if this constructive and collaborative relationship is to be placed on a strong foundation, has simply not materialised.
Yes, there have been flickers of positive change, however it has not gone far enough, or fast enough, to provide a substantive answer to the size of the challenges we face. Instead of a constructive and collaborative relationship, based on fairness, social justice and subsidiarity, what we should see out of this current UK Government is definitely an increasingly muscular anglo centric unionism.
A top-down unionism that believes the problem only will disappear if it shouts loudly enough and waves several flags around. A Government that's in denial. Since 2021 whenever we published our original 'Reforming our Union' programme, devolution has found itself under unprecedented assault.
I'll give one illustrative example.
In 2021 there were those who remained hopeful that the UK Government's disregard for that refusal from the Scottish Parliament to accept to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2021 was an isolated one-off decision. Set from the background of the unprecedented upheavals of EU exit, those things were unique to the situation we faced.
But since December 2021, the Sewel Convention continues to be breached with such regularity that the UK Government actions seem to signal a brand new, more combative position.
Perhaps the most damaging breach was that associated with the UK Internal Market Act.
Here, we had a Bill which flagrantly cut across devolved powers, usurping functions that clearly sat within the competence of the devolved governments.
Rushed with the UK Parliament with unseemly haste and minimal scrutiny, it sat in defiance of the refusal to provide consent from both Senedd and also the Scottish Parliament.
It's difficult to understate the degree of such actions.
It's confusing how the provisions within this Act are anything apart from a substantial assault around the Senedd and our policies of social and economic reform by undermining the powers at the core of devolution, and therefore are nothing more than an attempt to attain through this Act what the UK Government has been not able to achieve through the ballot box in Wales.
Powers endorsed in 2 referendums through the people of Wales.
But even if one does not share our assessment of the many flaws of this Act, it's just not possible to reason that the manner in which the balance was rushed through Parliament, and brought into law in defiance from the refusal to consent, demonstrated the proper respect for the democratic institutions of Wales.
It is simply not possible to argue that it respects the conventions where a powerful, stable Union should be based, parliamentary democracy and also the rule of law.
It is largely in response to that particular assault on devolution that we published, last week, a refreshed version of 'Reforming our Union'.
As the first version was, it is not a fresh vision for the future governance from the UK.
The 20 propositions we set out within the original document remain front and centre of the refresh, simply because they themselves remain a practical, pragmatic and coherent group of propositions for the way where the UK ought to be governed. But there are areas where matters have evolved where everything has happened which require to be reflected in the text.
One is in regards to justice. In 2021 our proposition on justice anticipated the report and recommendations of the Commission on Justice in Wales, referring to the substantial evidence we as a Welsh Government had listed in it.
That actually work has since completed and we are in possession of the unequivocal backing of that Commission for that devolution of justice to Wales.
In 2021, we described our concerns about the Sewel Convention.
Its non-justiciability, the possible lack of any codification of the items constitutes 'not normally', and the absence of any mechanism for Parliament to consider properly the implications of the refusal to give legislative consent to a UK Bill.
At that point we hoped that the UK Government's disregard of the Scottish Parliaments' refusal to accept to the EU Withdrawal Act would remain a one-off.
But since 2021, we view repeated and sustained breaches from the Sewel Convention, to some extent where it now appears the UK Government views compliance as an entirely discretionary matter.
This only adds weight to the requires codifying Sewel and recognising it properly in UK Parliamentary procedure.
If this isn't done, the case for the more radical solution, where the UK Parliament could be prevented from legislating in devolved areas without the Senedd's consent, will only continue to strengthen.
We recognise, of course, that such a fundamental change could only take place in the context of the much wider constitutional reform.
That's why we need to keep discussing and debating these issues.
We do not have all of the answers, we've never claimed to.
And that in turn is among the reasons for our commitment to establish our very own Constitutional Convention and Commission , to interact with the people of Wales to examine the governance of Wales, devolution and out future relationship with the UK and also the principles which it ought to be based.
We want this Commission to facilitate a genuinely national conversation concerning the way forward for Wales within the UK.
We want it to engage with citizens with civic society.
In particular we want it to reach out to those who may not otherwise come forward to participate in such a debate, to those people and communities who are largely disengaged from politics in other words who have become sceptical about its relevance for their lives and that of the families and its ability to make a difference.
We will set up a commission of citizens. They will be individuals who will represent the variety of our society and communities and who will have the skills and skill to achieve out and engage.
Their task is to aim to identify and make consensus about our values and also the kind of Wales you want to be.
We'll encourage the Commission to consider how its work can support the seven wellbeing goals, as set out in the Well-being of Future Generations Act and to be employed in way that is in conjuction with the five ways of working the Act sets out.
We will let the Commission to identify and gain knowledge from the best types of citizen engagement and to be innovative in the way in which it approaches its task. It must be a peoples commission involved in a peoples conversation , an authentic grass roots engagement . The way we make that happen is going to be our biggest challenge.
We will have to create a new language of engagement, one which avoids the language of politics and constitutions that we're so used to, a language that discusses the things that are directly highly relevant to peoples lives.
To assist the Commissioners, we'll establish an expert panel to advise the Commission.
They will provide the expertise and the hard data and knowledge, which we hope will free up more of the Commissioners' time to focus on the big conversation you want to initiate.
Our first step is to appoint a Chair cigerettes chair or even co-chairs, this is work in progress and that i aspire to have the ability to say much more about this in a statement I'll be making to the Senedd within the next few weeks.
From there, we will sort out the summer and into the early autumn to appoint the Commissioners, to put in place a secretariat and the other structures essential to enable the Commission to effectively fulfil its remit.
That remit is going to be designed by the Welsh Government, but in doing so we'll use the Chair to refine and finalise the Commission's terms of reference.
In appointing the Commissioners, we'll make an effort to ensure that the Commission in general reflects the diversity of contemporary Wales.
Reflects the citizens and the places with which it'll need to engage.
We'll have to strike the best balance between knowledge, independence, and representativeness as we appoint members towards the Commission.
The Commission will be given the job of producing a report with its recommendations and conclusions within 18-24 months and also to include recommendations about the chance of a longer term standing commission to hold forward its work and also the delivery of constitutional reform.
I intend to announce the formal launch from the commission in the early autumn.
I wish to finish – because the First Minister did in his statement towards the Senedd a week ago – on a positive note. I remain from the fundamental view that it's possible to renew and revitalise our union. Convinced that we can discover a way for this to thrive and prosper for that long-term.
Not regardless of devolution, but very much correctly. However, this involves thought, imagination and co-operation.
Genuine statecraft – on the part of many of us to consider through honestly and creatively the difficulties we face. Most importantly it takes an acceptance that the status quo cannot and will not continue.
I am confident that the Commission will play part in this renewal, and in making the positive case for strong devolution within a durable Union that, for all its current fragilities, remains good for Wales.
