Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates has accused Plaid Cymru of focusing too much on "constitutional process" in his speech at the UK Labour party conference, saying the focus should be on the problems people face trying to see a GP, on challenges in schools or the cost of living.
Mr Skates said the Senedd was hoarding too much power and called for more devolution to "local communities". He said: "The destination of devolution should not be Cardiff Bay. It should be the people. Because people don't care about constitutional process for its own sake. They care about outcomes."
Call for power to be distributed to people
It comes a day after First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth spoke at an Aberystwyth rally for Welsh independence, calling for the Welsh Government to be immediately granted greater powers. He also recently met the leaders of the Scottish National Party and Sinn Féin to sign an agreement that Wales, Scotland and Ireland should have the right to determine their own futures.
Mr Skates, MS for Fflint Wrecsam, told the Labour conference in Liverpool: "What happens to power when it reaches Cardiff Bay? If we believe decisions are better when taken closer to people, why should that principle stop at the doors of the Senedd?"
"The first phase of Welsh devolution was about transferring power to Wales. The next phase must be about distributing power to the people. That means trusting our councils, our regional institutions, and our local communities with genuine responsibility. We didn't create devolution just to reproduce a Welsh Westminster. Our Welsh Government must be strong enough to lead and redistribute, and strength doesn't have to mean central control."
Criticism from other parties
Tory MS Andrew RT Davies also accused the First Minister of prioritising constitutional talk at the expense of other issues. Mr Davies said: "In [Rhun ap Iorwerth's] first couple of months health, education and waiting times stats have gone up... so instead of marching in Aberystwyth he'd be better off behind his desk in Cathays Park sorting the problems he said he would sort out," he told the BBC's Politics Wales.
Reform UK's Joe Martin added: "To be focusing so much time and energy on independence five minutes into the job, it's not what the priorities should be."
Plaid's Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts suggested that Mr Skates had forgotten it was Welsh Labour that centralised power in Cardiff Bay during its 27 years in government. "So when Ken Skates now argues that power should be moved out of Cardiff Bay and into local communities, people are entitled to ask why Labour waited until it lost power to discover the virtues of decentralisation," she said. "Labour can keep attacking the choices voters made in May, but that won't rebuild trust. The challenge for Labour is to understand why so many people wanted change."
Plaid defends record in government
Addressing the claims her party had neglected concrete policies, Ms Saville Roberts said: "Plaid Cymru has been in government for just under five months. In that short time, our government has introduced a permanent 30% business rates cut for hospitality and leisure businesses, invested an extra £145 million in the NHS to cut waiting lists, completed the first phase of childcare expansion, and set out a foundational literacy and numeracy plan to improve outcomes in schools."
She also slammed comments made at the Labour conference by the Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock, who claimed Plaid and Reform "offer the same poison" by sending the message "you’re safer alone; you’re stronger smaller". Mr Kinnock argued Plaid's desire to "keep Welsh power confined to Welsh borders" would limit opportunities for people in Wales. "What are they really saying to the Welsh steelworker? Your world stops here," he said. "To a young Welsh person? Your opportunities are limited. To a Welsh business? Let’s shrink the size of your market," added the Aberafan Maesteg MP.
But Ms Saville Roberts pointed out the similarity to a speech made by former First Minister Eluned Morgan at last year's Labour conference, describing Plaid and Reform as "different poison, same bottle". Suggesting Labour failed to learn lessons from its crushing defeat in this year's Senedd election, Ms Saville Roberts said: "When Stephen Kinnock says Plaid Cymru and Reform 'offer the same poison' he's insulting the many thousands of former Labour voters who chose Plaid Cymru in May. Instead of throwing insults, Labour should reflect on why so many people chose positive change after 27 years of Welsh Labour rule."
In his speech Mr Skates described the election disaster as "shattering", adding: "There are some things which, when they break, you can pick up the pieces, glue them carefully back together, and put them on a shelf. May wasn’t like that. The judgment was too fundamental." He went on: "No more Ming vase politics for Wales. There should be no steady as she goes for Labour... People need to feel progress in their daily lives, because once they stop feeling it, soundbites mean nothing."
