ON Tuesday, the Welsh Government, which is run by Labour, will bring forward a motion to repeal the Continuity Act that Assembly Members passed in March. As studious readers of

The National may be aware, continuity bills were passed in both Holyrood and Cardiff Bay following the publication of the UK Government’s Withdrawal Bill.

The Withdrawal Bill set out Westminster’s intentions in relation to the process of leaving the EU, and when it was announced – under the original title of “Great Repeal Bill” – one paragraph in particular raised immediate concerns for Plaid Cymru and the SNP.

Section 4.2 stated that EU responsibilities relating to devolved fields such as agriculture, environment and transport would be claimed by Westminster, making English MPs responsible for devolved matters in Wales and Scotland for the first time since before devolution.

This is what led me to propose unilateral legislative action by introducing a Welsh Continuity Bill that would enshrine all existing EU regulations into Welsh law.

The purpose of this Bill was to ensure that the standards we value, affecting environmental protections, food standards and the rights we have come to take for granted as EU citizens continue to apply in Wales after Brexit.

It was also designed to stop the Conservatives’ EU Withdrawal Bill turning into a Westminster power grab over already devolved matters.

On March 21, 2018, the National Assembly for Wales passed the bill and it looked like we had secured a vital legislative shield to protect Wales from the Westminster power grab. Scotland followed only hours later.

What happens next was a stark exemplar of the difference between having a weak Labour government in Wales and a strong SNP government in Scotland.

The UK Government threatened Wales and Scotland with legal action over their respective continuity bills. Eight days later First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones folded and agreed a deal with Westminster. The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, doubled down.

The Scottish Government’s Continuity Act is now awaiting judgment by the Supreme Court as to whether it is within Holyrood’s competence.

If it finds in Scotland’s favour, it means that both continuity bills are upgraded to being platinum-plated legislative shields, a vital component of our countries’ constitutional armoury.

These acts would prevent Westminster from legislating in devolved fields. The UK Government would then have a choice.

They could respect the decisions of the devolved parliaments and the courts. I would describe the chances of this happening as “unlikely”. Or they could invoke the principle of “Westminster sovereignty” and legislate over the heads and against the will of the devolved parliaments.

If they did this, I can imagine a great many people would conclude that the only reasonable reaction to such an outrage would be to support independence.

Repealing the Welsh Continuity Act would mean consenting to allow the Westminster government to legislate in devolved fields. This would be wrong in principle and also completely anti-democratic.

Wales voted for these powers in 1997 and voted for more powers in 2011. When asked, Welsh voters have twice given a mandate for more powers to be transferred to the National Assembly. They have never voted for powers to be given away.

My fellow Assembly Members should represent the views of the people of Wales by voting against repealing the Continuity Act.

But I’m not holding my breath. When it comes to the crunch, Labour in Wales will always seek an opportunity to align themselves with the other Unionist parties, rather than act in Wales’s best interests.