Wales' former First Minister Mark Drakeford has said Plaid Cymru is letting people down by backtracking on a number of environmental pledges. He was also asked about Andy Burnham returning Brexit to the top of the political agenda, saying he "welcomed" his interventions.
National park pledge under threat
Mr Drakeford was asked about the decision for a fourth national park in Wales to be scrapped. Labour had pledged a new national park, the Glyndwr National Park, covering the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley in north-east Wales.
"A national park brings with it a series of protections and advantages," the former First Minister said, criticising how slow progress has been. "To take a decade from making a promise to seeing it happen is simply too long," he said. "We had already made an investment of over five years and money as well to getting to this stage.
"It is another blow to the good name of this new government in the environment field and I'm afraid there are already signs that it is not the government that was promised when it comes to protecting the environment, here's a very tangible way in which they can demonstrate their credentials. I very much hope that's what they'll do today."
Pattern of environmental concerns
Mr Drakeford scrapped the proposed M4 relief road citing, among other things, environmental concerns. "I think there are a series of ways in which the new government's credentials in the field of the environment are coming under question: its willingness to allow farmers to spread slurry on the land despite everything we know about the state of our rivers and the impact of agricultural pollution; its hesitation on renewable energy, particularly onshore wind; its belief that there is a roads-based solution to the problems of the M4; and now, well let us see, maybe a pulling back from a commitment to a new national park."
"This is adding up to a bit of a pattern, and one that will certainly disappoint those people who voted for Plaid Cymru in areas like the one I live in, in Cardiff, where a very different prospectus was offered at the time of the May election."
Brexit debate welcomed
Mr Drakeford was also asked about Andy Burnham reopening the Brexit debate. In the Commons on Monday, the Prime Minister said there needed to be "serious dialogue" over the UK's future place in Europe, saying the existing relationship is "not good enough".
Mr Drakeford previously spoke about how the will of Wales, which voted against Brexit, and the UK had to be respected. "Brexit had been decided in a referendum. What we wanted to focus on was the form of leaving the European Union, because there were many, many choices about the way that future relationship should be navigated.
"In the end, we left the European Union on very bad terms, terms that have been very damaging to Wales, to our manufacturing industry, to our agricultural industries in particular.
"I really welcome what the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham is doing. He's absolutely right to say that the current relationship is not good enough. We can do it better. We can have a relationship that is better for us economically, better for us in terms of defence, better for us in terms of public health protections, better for our young people. There are many, many ways in which the current arrangements can be improved. I really welcome the Prime Minister's commitment to doing that."
Asked if another referendum would be a step "too far" he responded: "It depends how far the discussions get. Andy Burnham is clear, if they get as far as a fundamentally new relationship, one that might take us back within the ambit of the European Union, that could only be done with the consent of the British people.
"But there are many, many things short of that, many improvements we can bring about while still respecting the fact that we are not members of the European Union. Our relationship with the European Union is a different, stronger, and better one than it is today."
