Jeremy Corbyn has condemned as a “power grab” the UK government’s plans to share powers between Whitehall and the devolved administrations after Brexit, despite Welsh Labour agreeing to the deal two weeks ago.

On a visit to Glasgow on Friday afternoon, the UK Labour leader echoed the phrase used consistently by Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, during the long-running dispute over how to jointly manage areas such as genetically modified crops, fishing quotas and farm payments after Brexit.

The Welsh Labour government left Sturgeon unexpectedly isolated last month after agreeing to a consultative mechanism with UK ministers, but on Friday Corbyn described the UK government’s behaviour as unacceptable.

MSPs from the SNP, Labour, Lib Dems and Greens are expected to reject the EU withdrawal bill when it comes before Holyrood on Tuesday, increasing pressure on Theresa May after she suffered a series of defeats on her Brexit plans in the House of Lords this week.

Corbyn said: “I’m very happy that the Scottish Labour party will be voting against [the bill] because frankly there is a power grab going on by Whitehall on the EU withdrawal. What they’re doing is taking powers from Brussels that ought to go to Scotland, Wales and the regions and instead pooling them in Whitehall. That is unacceptable to us.”

In an implicit acknowledgement of Welsh Labour’s differing position, Corbyn said: “Devolution sometimes throws up interesting answers. That is what devolution is about: people making their own decision. But as far as I am concerned there should be the maximum devolution from EU withdrawal for Scotland and Wales.”

Speaking with Corbyn at a shipbuilding heritage centre in Govan, the Scottish Labour leader, Richard Leonard, said that he was “quite relaxed” about the Welsh government’s position, although his own party would “almost certainly” vote to reject the EU withdrawal bill next week.

The Labour leader used his trip to Glasgow to call for all navy shipbuilding contracts to remain in the UK, describing current government policy that non-combat vessels can be built overseas as “trashing” shipbuilding tradition.

His visit comes as candidate selections are under way across Scotland in 20 marginal Westminster seats that will be critical to Labour’s success at the next general election.

While Scottish Labour has not experienced the same level of factionalism in these selections as seen south of the border, party moderates are deeply concerned about the fate of the disability rights campaigner Pam Duncan, who came within 1,000 votes of unseating her SNP rival in Glasgow North at last year’s general election but now faces a selection challenge from Agnes Tolmie, a former chair of Unite in Scotland.

Duncan, who has introduced Corbyn on previous visits to Glasgow, backed Anas Sarwar against the leftwinger Richard Leonard in last autumn’s Scottish Labour leadership contest.



One senior Scottish Labour source said: “Anyone in the Labour party who believes we should oust Pam as our candidate should question if they’re in the right party. Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto recognised there is more to do until parliament reflects the society it serves, so these manoeuvres against Pam are a betrayal of our cause.”

Next Monday, nominations open for the Scottish Labour deputy leadership contest, with the expectation that moderates will avoid putting up a challenger to Corbyn ally and the shadow Scottish secretary, Lesley Laird, to avoid another public split over Brexit.

