Plaid Cymru leader warns of Westminster renaissance as First Minister teams up with Tories

‘No’ Vote could dash hopes for rebalancing Britain says Leanne Wood.

Party of Wales leader Leanne Wood has warned that the promises of “jam tomorrow” made by the panic-stricken ‘No’ campaign cannot be trusted, on the day that Wales’ First Minister joins the Tories in attempts to thwart the emergence of an independent Scotland.

In an essay published on Click on Wales today, Leanne Wood argues that the result of Scotland rejecting self-rule would amount to a renewed mandate for Westminster rule.

She also highlights the “woeful and incoherent” position of the Labour party in Wales, arguing that Plaid Cymru is the only party to set out a clear path to rebalance political power away from London, and give the people of Wales sovereignty over their own affairs.

Writing about the panicked promises of the ‘No’ camp, Leanne Wood said:

“Plaid Cymru has repeatedly warned that promises from the three Westminster parties cannot be taken at face value. There are two primary reasons for this.

“Firstly, their track record suggests that they seldom keep such promises. As recently as January the Lib Dem Chief Secretary of the Treasury was explicit in a letter ruling out any financial arrangements that could potentially put one part of the UK at an advantage over the others. That is, Wales – or Scotland – should not be free to pursue fiscal arrangements that might deviate from the Westminster’s line.

“He need only have said ‘Westminster is sovereign.”

She continued:

“The second reason to be sceptical of any belated promises from the no camp stems from a deep suspicion that far from ushering in a new era of quasi-federalism, the result of Scotland rejecting self-rule would amount to a renewed mandate for Westminster to run Scotland.

“It is also not inconceivable to envisage a Tory party in the near future led by the current mayor of London and a significant UKIP parliamentary presence at Westminster. That combination occurring within months of Scots voting ‘No’, makes the prospect of any serious devolution doubtful to say the least.”

Writing about the incoherent position of the First Minister of Wales, Leanne Wood writes:

“From a Welsh perspective, Scotland’s debate has significant ramifications. But it has also exposed the woeful and incoherent position of the current party of government in Wales.

“It is worth pondering whether history will judge it as shameful, that during this period of unprecedented opportunity, Wales’ First Minister argued for any new powers on offer to Scotland also to be offered to Wales, and then immediately listed a series of new powers he would reject.

“Before the summer, Plaid Cymru outlined the intellectual basis for the future development of Wales’ constitution.”

She concludes:

“The best context for such rebalancing of political power away from the London city-state would be in the event of a ‘yes’ vote on the 18th.

“Otherwise, we run the risk of investing all our hopes in three parties who are clearly hoping for a ‘no’ vote to act as a precursor for a Westminster renaissance.”