Welsh and Scottish leaders to introduce new laws to protect devolution after Brexit

Move places devolved governments on collision course with Westminster after they fail to reach agreement over key Brexit legislation

Carwyn Jones and Nicola Sturgeon said they have so far proved unable to prove unable to reach an agreement with the UK Government (Jeff J. Mitchell/PA)

Leaders in Wales and Scotland have outlined plans to unilaterally protect their own powers after Brexit, setting the scene for a potential clash with the Westminster government.

Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones and Scotland’s Nicola Sturgeon said they would ask their respective devolved assemblies to consider passing legislation to ensure powers coming back from Brussels after Brexit do not get usurped by London.

Both assemblies must give legislative consent to the UK Government’s Brexit plans but are threatening to withhold it, which could spark a constitutional crisis.

Mr Jones and Ms Sturgeon have been negotiating with Whitehall in the hope of finding an agreement that would allow the Welsh and Scottish assemblies to give their consent to the bill.

However, with talks at an impasse they are now preparing emergency legislation that would see EU laws on devolved matters being transferred in Welsh and Scottish law on the day Britain leaves the EU.

The current provisions of the EU Withdrawal Bill would see powers over devolved matters, such as farming and fishing, returned to Whitehall instead of to the devolved assemblies after Brexit, prompting strong opposition from the governments in Cardiff and Edinburgh.

Welsh and Scottish leaders have proposed a solution that would see the powers returned to the devolved governments, which would then agree not to use them until a UK-wide policy had been agreed with the government in Westminster. Government ministers have so far refused to accept the proposal.

Speaking at a conference of the Association of British Insurers in London, Ms Sturgeon said: "We've been trying to avoid getting into the position where we can't recommend consent to the Withdrawal Bill, which the devolved administrations have got to do.

"We've put down amendments, we've been talking for months to the UK Government to try to get a compromise, we even drafted what that compromise looks like and they've failed to really do what needs to be done to get an agreement."

The Scottish and Welsh governments are now taking "contingency steps to protect our position by announcing intentions around legislation that would have us do the necessary steps to provide continuity of law in devolved areas,” she said.

However, there remains confusion over whether the Scottish Parliament has the legal right to pass the law.

Its presiding officer, Ken Macintosh, has taken the unprecedented step of ruling that such a law would be outside the scope of the Scotland Act, which enshrined Scottish devolution.

The verdict comes despite his Welsh counterpart having said the Welsh Assembly would be within its rights to pass the legislation.

Mr Jones said the law being tabled in the Welsh Assembly will be classed as an emergency bill because of the “urgency” of finding a solution.

He said: “The EU Withdrawal Bill, as currently drafted, would allow the UK Government to take control of laws and policy areas that are devolved. This is simply not acceptable to the Welsh Government, or the people of Wales who have voted for devolution in two referendums.

“Decisions taken now will affect Wales for decades to come. It is vital these decisions are made in a way that respects devolution.”

Mr Jones said he still hoped to reach an agreement with the UK Government but warned time is running out for ministers to amend their plans.

He added: “It would be irresponsible to refuse to give legislative consent to the UK Government’s bill while also not being prepared to put in place our own measures to give clarity about EU-derived law in Wales relating to devolved matters.

“The vote to leave the EU was not a vote to reverse devolution. The current devolution settlement in Wales has been backed by two referendums – in 1997 and 2011. This Bill is about respecting the will of the people of Wales.”

The move is likely to place fresh pressure on Theresa May ahead of a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council, which brings together UK government ministers and the leaders of the devolved governments. Downing Street said a meeting is due to take place in the next few weeks, ahead of the second round of negotiations with the EU beginning later in March.