Keir Starmer has warned his cabinet against taking an “overly deferential” approach to the governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to a leaked memo.
In the December document, obtained and published on Tuesday by Plaid Cymru, Starmer said ministers should be prepared to make spending decisions “even where devolved governments may object to this”. It came shortly after Labor members of the Senedd wrote to the Prime Minister over fears his administration was revoking devolution powers.
An “overly deferential or laissez-faire” engagement with Celtic administrations “would almost inevitably create political challenges or miss positive opportunities,” he wrote.
The memo is dated 10 days after an unprecedented letter to Downing Street signed by a third of Welsh Labor members of the Senedd over a funding row they called “at best deeply insensitive, at worst a constitutional outrage”.
Members also expressed “growing concern” about what they said was Westminster’s failure to delegate additional functions to Wales – including justice, policing and the crown estate – some of which are Labor Party policies.
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth used the leak to attack Labour’s Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan during First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday, calling the document Starmer’s “own version of Boris Johnson’s muscular unionism”. He also accused Morgan of undermining his own administration by repeatedly aligning himself with Starmer.
Morgan said: “Devolution must be respected, and I have always been very clear with the Prime Minister on that issue. It is a respectful relationship.”
Downing Street said: “We make no apologies for being determined to help people across all four nations of the UK.
“In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, there are clearly reserved areas of government responsibilities and this government is committed to upholding this devolution agreement with mutual respect and partnership.”
However, the leak is seen as further evidence of conflict within the Welsh Labor party as it heads into the election fight of its life. The party, struggling with a 26-year term issue and an unpopular leader in Westminster, is taking third or even fourth place in May’s Senedd election.
Disputes over the coalition make it likely that Plaid Cymru will form the next Welsh government, ending 100 years of Labor hegemony, while Reform UK will become the largest party and form the official opposition.
In the memo, Starmer wrote that the importance of the Welsh and Scottish elections in the spring “cannot be underestimated” and will have a “significant impact on how we govern at UK level in the second half of parliament”.
