Teleri Glyn-Jonesand
David Deans,Wales political reporter
PA Media
First Minister Eluned Morgan raised concerns about powers the UK government was using in Wales with Prime Minister Keir Starmer last month
A law which gives the UK government the power to intervene in areas that are the responsibility of the Welsh government should be “removed from the statute book”, according to Mark Drakeford.
The Westminster government will decide how cash from the second phase of its scheme for town centre improvements is spent in Wales.
Drakeford, the Welsh finance secretary, said although he thought “there are better ways” the relationship between the two governments could be navigated, he understood the “impatience” of his colleagues in London “to get things done”.
A UK government spokesperson said: “repealing the UK Internal Market Act could cause significant disruption and uncertainty for Welsh businesses”.
Plaid Cymru have accused Wales’ First Minister Eluned Morgan and the Welsh government of having “no voice and no influence over Keir Starmer”, while the Welsh Conservatives have said “rows about the devolution settlement are a distraction”.
Earlier this month, 11 Labour Senedd politicians had written to the prime minister to complain the Pride in Place scheme rolled back devolution, going over Cardiff ministers’ heads.
When Drakeford was first minister, he took the last Conservative UK government to court over the UK Internal Markets Act, (known as UKIMA).
It was argued that the act undermined the devolution settlement and was “an unwarranted attack on devolution”, but it was ultimately dismissed by the High Court in 2022.
The UK Labour government has since used the law to give money directly to local government, which is usually funded by the Welsh government, to improve town centres as part of its Pride in Place scheme.
Drakeford told Sunday’s BBC Politics Wales he had “sat in meetings where First Minister Eluned Morgan, takes a very robust position in relation to our colleagues”.
“I think the UKIMA Act, the UK internal markets act, should be removed from the statute book,” he said.
“I think there are better ways in which that relationship can be navigated, in which we do it through agreements and frameworks, and all the things we’ve talked about in the past.”
Challenged on whether it was hypocritical to take the previous Conservative UK government to court, but not to do the same for a UK Labour government, Drakeford said “the policy of the Welsh government, of the Welsh Labour Party, is clear, we should not be relying on powers in the UKIMA act”.
He said he hoped as “parliament develops those powers will be used less and less and we’ll demonstrate that there are better ways of making decisions”.
But he added that the Labour UK government had come into “power after 14 long years, 14 difficult years for Wales of Conservative government, and it’s impatient to get on with things, and sometimes that means it uses powers which are readily to hand to get things done”.
Labour’s ‘bloody civil war’
Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor said it was “absolutely right” that the act should be repealed, as it was something the party “have said from the beginning”.
“It’s obvious there’s a bloody civil war going on in the Labour party right now between the Senedd group and the Westminster group that they can’t agree on what’s best for Wales.”
The Welsh Conservatives said: “Wales has two governments. Both should work together to improve the lives of the people of Wales.
“Rows about the devolution settlement are a distraction from getting to grips with the everyday challenges facing Wales.”
‘Wales deserves the same respect’
Phase one of the UK government’s Pride in Place scheme allocated millions to communities across the UK to fund town centre improvements.
In Northern Ireland phase two of the scheme would be distributed through the Northern Ireland Executive, however this is not the case in Wales.
“The decision was made in consultation with the Northern Ireland Executive,” he said in a written answer to a parliamentary question from the MP for Ynys Môn.
“Wales deserves the same respect and transparency,” she said.
In Wales the second phase of Pride in Place will see nine local authorities receive £20m each from the UK government over ten years.
The funding for Pride in Place has come from a pot of cash known as local growth funds, most of which will be handled by the Welsh government and is designed to replace EU economic aid.
The UK government referred to comments from Starmer last week, where he denied he was rolling back devolution.
He said: “I am a big believer in devolution and I am a big believer in the benefits of devolution when you have a Labour government, a Welsh Labour government here, and a Labour government in Westminster, and we are already making a massive difference in terms of what we can do together.”