Scotland and Wales's first ministers have told Prime Minister Andy Burnham that decisions on local devolution rest solely with their parliaments, in response to his push to extend English-style regional powers across the UK. Downing Street described the Glasgow talks as constructive, though Northern Ireland's first minister was absent.
Burnham, who was Greater Manchester mayor before becoming prime minister, held discussions in Glasgow with John Swinney and Rhun ap Iorwerth about localised employment and reindustrialisation powers. Wednesday’s budget included measures to give England’s mayors more powers over tax revenues, and Burnham said he did not want Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland left behind.
Ap Iorwerth said he had pushed Burnham on his wish for more powers for the Welsh government. Swinney said he would “work constructively and collaboratively” in devolving more powers to his government, and that Burnham had assured him he “will not bypass the Scottish parliament in this endeavour”.
Tensions surfaced before the summit. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting told BBC Scotland that one critique of the Scottish government is that devolution is often about transferring power, responsibility and resources from Westminster to Holyrood, and challenged it to devolve more power from Holyrood to local government across Scotland. One Scottish official characterised such comments as "lecturing us on devolution".
Ap Iorwerth had also said before the talks that the budget, which the Welsh government said amounted to a real-terms funding cut for the country, showed the prime minister was "not serious about Wales". Plaid Cymru, which won May's Senedd elections and put nationalists in office in all three of the UK's Celtic nations for the first time, has formally asked Burnham to give Wales the same devolved powers as Scotland.
Northern Ireland's first minister, Michelle O'Neill, had been due at the summit but did not attend after a political row between Sinn Féin and the DUP. Burnham said her absence was "disappointing".
Lee Waters, who was a minister in the Labour-led Welsh government and a member of the Senedd until the elections in May, told the Guardian that Burnham should not try to impose an English-style mayoral model on Wales, and said the role he champions for metro mayors is in many respects already performed by the Welsh government. “Transposing an English mayoral worldview on to a very different political geography just doesn’t work,” Waters said.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The exchange tests Burnham's stated ambition of having all four UK nations move at the same pace on devolution: Scotland and Wales have formally limited further devolution within their borders to decisions by their own parliaments.
- Wednesday's budget gave England's metro mayors more powers over tax revenues. Whether Scotland and Wales receive equivalent powers, and how, will show whether the UK-wide push has substance.
- Northern Ireland's first minister did not attend at all, leaving the four-nations framework short of one nation at a summit meant to cover all of them.
Background
Devolution has given Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland their own elected legislatures with powers over areas such as health and education, while England's regional government has developed mainly through elected metro mayors in areas like Greater Manchester. Burnham, who led Greater Manchester before becoming prime minister, is championing that mayoral model as a template for the rest of the UK. May's Senedd elections put nationalist parties in office in all three of the UK's Celtic nations for the first time.
Key Perspectives
John Swinney (Scottish First Minister): says he will "work constructively and collaboratively" in devolving more powers to his government, and that Burnham assured him he will not bypass the Scottish parliament.
Rhun ap Iorwerth (Welsh First Minister): says further devolution within Wales is a matter for the Senedd and only the Senedd, and said before the talks that the budget showed Burnham was "not serious about Wales".
Wes Streeting (Defence Secretary): says a critique of the Scottish government is that devolution is often about transferring power from Westminster to Holyrood, and challenges it to devolve more power to local government across Scotland.
Lee Waters (former Welsh government minister): says transposing an English mayoral worldview on to a very different political geography does not work, with the metro-mayor role already performed by the Welsh government.
Andy Burnham (Prime Minister): says he does not want Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland left behind on regional devolution.
What to Watch
- Whether the UK government's next devolution measures attempt to act across all four nations or adjust to the Scottish parliament and Senedd's asserted authority.
- Whether Michelle O'Neill re-engages with the process after the Sinn Féin-DUP row, and whether Northern Ireland is included in the promised "same pace" of devolution.
- How the Welsh government's claim that the budget is a real-terms funding cut affects ap Iorwerth's demand for more powers and his formal request for parity with Scotland.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedScotland and Wales’s first ministers told Burnham that local devolution decisions rest solely with their parliaments.UK news | The Guardian: “Scotland and Wales’s first ministers have told Andy Burnham that decisions on local devolution rest solely with their parliaments”
- SupportedDowning Street described the Glasgow talks as constructive.UK news | The Guardian: “Downing Street characterised the talks as constructive.”
- SupportedThe summary says Swinney and ap Iorwerth insist further devolution is for Holyrood and the Senedd to decide.UK news | The Guardian: “Ap Iorwerth said: “I also reiterated the point that further devolution within Wales is a matter for the Senedd and only the Senedd.” Swinney’s comments after the summit took a similar line”
- SupportedThe first ministers’ position was in response to Burnham’s push to extend English-style regional powers across the UK.UK news | The Guardian: “decisions on local devolution rest solely with their parliaments, in response to the prime minister’s push to extend English-style regional powers across the UK.”
- SupportedNorthern Ireland’s first minister, Michelle O’Neill, was due at the talks but did not attend after a political row between Sinn Féin and the DUP.UK news | The Guardian: “Northern Ireland’s first minister, Michelle O’Neill, had also been due at the talks, but did not attend after a political row between Sinn Féin and the DUP.”
- SupportedBurnham said he did not want Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland left behind.UK news | The Guardian: ““I don’t want to see Scotland left behind,” Burnham said. “I don’t want to see Wales left behind, but also, crucially, I don’t want to see Northern Ireland left behind.””
- SupportedAp Iorwerth said he had pushed Burnham on wanting more powers for the Welsh government.UK news | The Guardian: “Ap Iorwerth said he had pushed Burnham on his wish to have more powers for his government.”
- SupportedSwinney said he would “work constructively and collaboratively” in devolving more powers to his government.UK news | The Guardian: “saying he would “work constructively and collaboratively” in devolving more powers to his government”
- SupportedSwinney said Burnham had assured him he “will not bypass the Scottish parliament in this endeavour”.UK news | The Guardian: “Burnham had assured him “that he will not bypass the Scottish parliament in this endeavour”.”
- SupportedStreeting told BBC Scotland that devolution in Scotland is often about transferring powers, responsibility and resources from Westminster to Holyrood, and raised devolving more power from Holyrood to local government.UK news | The Guardian: “Streeting told BBC Scotland: “One of the critiques we have … is that for the Scottish government, devolution is often about transferring power, responsibility, resources from Westminster to Holyrood and the challenge Andy Burnham is setting out is: ‘What about devolving more power also from Holyrood to local government across Scotland ?’””
- SupportedA Scottish official characterised comments such as Streeting’s as “lecturing us on devolution”.UK news | The Guardian: “characterised by one Scottish official as “lecturing us on devolution”.”
- SupportedAp Iorwerth said Burnham’s first budget showed he was “not serious about Wales”.UK news | The Guardian: “ap Iorwerth said Burnham’s first budget, which the Welsh government said amounted to a real-terms funding cut for the country, showed the prime minister was “not serious about Wales”.”