From the Guardian · · 2m
Wales is a nation, not a region
Rhun ap Iorwerth's first big interview as first minister: devolution, policing powers, and a slow walk toward independence.
In brief
Rhun ap Iorwerth's first big interview as first minister: devolution, policing powers, and a slow walk toward independence. Wales's first non-Labour first minister wants policing and justice powers, and he doubts Westminster will hand them over without a fight. Originally reported by the Guardian.
A warning to the new PM
Rhun ap Iorwerth says Andy Burnham has to be serious about devolution and grasp that Wales is a nation with its own government, not another English region to be managed.
“We're a nation. We're not a region of England.”
The man saying it
Ap Iorwerth became first minister in May after Plaid Cymru won the Senedd elections, ending a century of Labour dominance in Welsh politics.
Manchester is not a template
He credits Burnham for making devolution work as Greater Manchester mayor, but says empowering English city regions and empowering a nation are totally different models.
“It's really important that Andy Burnham doesn't confuse the two.”
The policing gap
Wales is the only UK nation without control of policing and justice. Ap Iorwerth notes Burnham had more power over policing as a mayor than he has as first minister.
“Commission after commission and study after study have concluded this really needs to happen.”
The forces around him
Burnham promised not to bypass devolution, but ap Iorwerth suspects the officials and ministers around him are as resistant to giving up police powers as ever. Welsh secretary Stephen Kinnock said in July he was not convinced.
Reform is the opposition
Plaid holds 43 seats in the expanded 96-member Senedd. Reform jumped from two members to 34 in May and now forms the official opposition.
He would work with Labour
Asked if Plaid would cooperate with Labour to keep Reform out of power in Cardiff or Westminster, he said yes, framing it as blocking a kind of politics rather than a party.
“It's not about keeping a political party out, it's about keeping a kind of politics out.”
Not Starmer's gloom
He has warned of a very challenging budget with spending falling in real terms, but rejects the comparison to Keir Starmer, whose government he says gave up on its values when things got hard.
Independence, no timetable
He laughs off a columnist calling his meeting with Swinney and O'Neill a sinister cabal. Independence is the destination, he says, but the pace belongs to Welsh voters.
“I don't come from the base of working to break up the UK. I want to build up my nation.”
The takeaway
Wales's first non-Labour first minister wants policing and justice powers, and he doubts Westminster will hand them over without a fight.
