Neither Sunak nor Truss inspire optimism for the future of the Senedd

It has felt like a longer summer recess than normal, which probably hasn’t been helped by what at times has seemed like the longest ever Conservative Party leadership election contest in history. Naturally, the future of Welsh devolution hasn’t been at the top of either candidate’s agenda, but we did have a taster of their attitudes – or perhaps I should say hostilities – towards it at one of the earlier hustings in Cardiff. In this month’s ‘View from the Senedd’, I wanted to share my thoughts on how I see their stances impacting devolution in Wales and where it might go with the next Prime Minister.

In the last three years, the Welsh government’s relationship with the UK hasn’t been the easiest. Ministers in Westminster have been trying to slowly chip away at the devolution settlement in Wales, most notably through the UK Internal Market Act. In a written statement last week, Mick Antoniw MS, our counsel general and minister for the constitution, said it was an “unwarranted attack on devolution and the right of the Senedd to legislate without interference in areas devolved to Wales”. What this means in layman terms is that decisions around infrastructure projects, for example – which should be made by our own democratically elected Welsh parliament – could be rode roughshod over by those in London. 

A new Prime Minister should be an opportunity for a reset or a fresh start between both governments. But, on the evidence of their only Welsh hustings, I don’t hold out much hope for this being the case with either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss. 

Let’s begin with the latter, who I have already crossed swords with (through the column inches of the South Wales Argus) on her criticisms of the Welsh government for not building an M4 relief road. Resorting to personal insults are never a good starting point. Not content with just saying the First Minister of Scotland should be “ignored”, when Truss was asked about Wales’ First Minister, she juvenilely described him as a “low-energy Jeremy Corbyn”. It’s the type of attack that other Tory frontbenchers have used in the past. But they would do well to remember that, under Mark Drakeford’s leadership, Welsh Labour has enjoyed its best Senedd result, which was then confidently backed up with excellent council results this May, including taking control of Monmouthshire, which had been the only blue council in Wales (and covers some of my Newport East constituency).

Truss’ attitude reeks of the arrogance which has become the norm among many in her party in recent years. I should stress it hasn’t always been the case with the Tories since 2010. To his credit, former Prime Minister David Cameron worked constructively with the Welsh government and didn’t try to disrupt the referendum on whether the then assembly should be given primary law-making powers. I am not convinced this would have been the case had it been Boris Johnson or Truss in charge a decade ago, given how she has spoken in recent weeks.

It’s also been interesting to observe that the moderates (in itself debatable) in the Welsh Conservative ranks have mostly put their support behind Sunak’s candidacy. From what we have seen, he might at least attempt to work with the devolved administrations, as opposed to simply dismissing their existence. Where the alarm bells do ring, though, is when he speaks on his government’s so-called ‘levelling up’ policies, which would bypass and undermine the Welsh government who set the funding for councils.

Also, for someone who clearly prides himself on knowing the detail, it was concerning to see him draw a blank when he was asked about the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act in Wales. This is arguably one of the most important pieces of legislation to have been passed in the last ten years – putting a requirement on public bodies, such as local authorities and health boards, to put long-term sustainability at the forefront of their work. Sunak clearly hadn’t done his homework, and his Welsh Conservative colleagues hadn’t bothered to brief him on the subject.

Seeing both PM hopefuls taking lumps out of one another has been an interesting feature (and sometimes a mildly entertaining part) of these televised hustings. But I thought Mark gave the perfect and witty answer to it all when he was asked to respond to Truss’ criticism of his leadership. He said: “Of course, the two contestants were welcome to make one of their rare visits to Wales, and there’s nothing that I could say about either of them that they haven’t already said about each other.”

Sadly though, whoever is elected in just less than two weeks (hurrah, it’s almost over), I am not optimistic for the strengthening of devolution in Wales and support for our Senedd (at a time when it is needed more than ever) under the next Conservative Prime Minister. We will only achieve this one way. That’s by having a general election and electing a UK Labour government who can work in partnership with our Welsh Labour government.