Welsh First Minister Demands Policing and the Crown Estate
Rhun ap Iorwerth has written to the Prime Minister setting out a detailed case for transferring powers over policing and justice, rail infrastructure and the Crown Estate to Wales. In a 2,000-word letter he argues that “Wales should be able to benefit from the same constitutional and fiscal tools already available in Scotland”. He addresses his first Plaid Cymru conference as First Minister in Llandudno today.
His argument rests on a mandate rather than a principle: May’s Senedd election, he will say, “delivered a clear mandate from the people of Wales for positive change that makes a tangible difference to their lives”, and that mandate “includes extending devolution” so the Senedd has the powers, funding and financial flexibilities to deliver it. The Scotland comparison is the sharp end, because policing and justice are already devolved there and the Crown Estate’s Scottish assets were transferred in 2017 — so the ask is parity, which is harder to refuse than novelty. The Prime Minister has previously said he would be “open” to giving Wales control over policing, and that he would give a fair hearing to whatever is put to him. The context is a coordinated push: ap Iorwerth hosted the first ministers of Scotland and Northern Ireland in Cardiff last month, where they jointly declared that Westminster’s time was coming to an end, and the three expect to meet the Prime Minister at the end of this month. Watch whether Downing Street concedes policing first.