Plaid Cymru launches summer campaign to protect rural Wales from the impact of Brexit

The Party of Wales launched a summer campaign at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show to shield rural Wales from the impact of leaving the European Union.

Plaid Cymru unveiled three key demands which the party argues will guarantee a better future for rural communities if Brexit goes ahead.

The Westminster government must meet the three key criteria on funding, trade, and connectivity, to mitigate the impact of Brexit.

Leaflets will be distributed at agricultural shows explaining the campaign.

The guarantees needed include:

·         Not a penny less – demand the Westminster Government gives rural communities a fair deal after Brexit

·         Protecting trade and exports- fight to secure tariff free access to European markets and prevent farmers from facing trader barrier burdens

·         Connecting our communities – strive to ensure that rural areas have better provision when it comes to mobile phone signal, broadband and transport.

At the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show in Llanelwedd, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Climate Change and Rural Affairs Simon Thomas, Mid and West AM said:

“Plaid Cymru believes the current approach to Brexit by the Westminster Government blocks the exercise of devolved powers by the National Assembly and endangers the control people in Wales have over their lives.

“The Conservative Government’s European Union (Withdrawal) Bill rolls back powers from the people of Wales, the Welsh Government and our Parliament, which incorporates the sovereignty of Wales.

“We’ve had 20 years decision making on devolved matters like agriculture and the people of Wales resoundingly endorsed that in the 2011 referendum on the powers of the Assembly.

“We cannot now allow Tories who do not represent Wales making decisions on devolved issues.

“Wales needs a National Assembly European Union Continuity Bill to enshrine all existing EU regulations into Welsh law and to stop a power grab from the Westminster Government.

“The bill will ensure that the standards we value, like environmental protections, food standards, and the rights we have come to take for granted as EU citizens, continue to apply to Wales after Brexit.

“Environmental law will be most significantly affected by Brexit. A large amount of Welsh law is underpinned by over 200 EU regulations that relate to environmental protections and the regulation of agriculture and fisheries.

“Decisions about Wales should be made in Wales. This is particularly true of laws relating to agriculture and our environment, where Wales has different needs that are not understood by a distant Westminster Government.”