Wales and Scotland should consider deepening devolution by following England's model of giving more powers to cities and regions, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said.
Speaking during a visit to Port Talbot, Mr Burnham told reporters he would discuss the idea of further spreading power within Wales and Scotland when devolved leaders gather for the National Economic Council. He also said Wales's appeals to get control over the Crown Estate will be “given a fair hearing” when the first ministers of the UK's devolved nations hold their first meeting with him in October.
Deeper devolution for Wales and Scotland
The Prime Minister said: “Maybe there's an argument for deeper devolution, so more power into the cities and the regions of Wales, to North Wales working more with the North West, or mid Wales more with the West Midlands, of the kind of devolution that is developing now quite quickly across England.”
He added: “I'm open to conversations, though, with the Plaid Senedd Government about those things, and I've called a National Economic Council with the devolved nations for October to discuss precisely those things.”
Crown Estate questions in South Wales
Mr Burnham faced questions about the Welsh Government's calls for devolution of the Crown Estate, which administers the holdings of the Monarch, including the seabed where offshore wind farms are placed, as he visited South Wales on Thursday.
Scotland was granted control over Crown Estate holdings north of the border after a law was passed in 2016, with money from its properties and enterprises flowing directly into the coffers of the Scottish Government. Wales's Plaid Cymru Government has asked for parity with Scotland. Welsh Labour's manifesto for the Senedd elections earlier this year also promised to make the case for devolving control over the Crown Estate in Wales.
Fair hearing promised
Asked by reporters if he saw merit in giving Wales's devolved Government control over the company, Mr Burnham replied: “I've called the National Economic Council for October, and one of the messages that I will want to give to all of the first ministers, but including the new First Minister of Wales at that meeting, is that No 10 North is as much at your disposal as it is at the disposal of the devolved areas of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and as requests come for further devolution, they will be given a fair hearing.”
He continued: “I'm not making any commitments today because it needs to be done carefully in a proper way, but obviously, that is what devolution should be about. I used to do it myself, as mayor of Greater Manchester, we would make requests and it's proper for devolved entities to make those requests. But you know, there then has to be a process for considering the issues involved. So that is part of why we've called the meeting. But I do also want to consider where we may deepen devolution here to get the growth mission being felt in a real way in all parts of Wales.”
Support for reindustrialisation and rail funding
During the visit to the steel town of Port Talbot, the Prime Minister said he was “sending a big sign of support” for the reindustrialisation of Wales. There, he also vowed to honour a pledge by former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to spend £14 billion on upgrading the railways in Wales.
Mr Burnham said: “Growth comes if you've got good infrastructure, but without the infrastructure, often you know you are making the growth mission much more difficult. Setting Wales up for the future requires for that £14 billion to be honoured, and it will be.”
