Scottish and Welsh administrations want more changes to EU withdrawal bill to avoid Westminster ‘power-grab’ on devolved policy areas

The Scottish government is set to refuse consent for the EU withdrawal bill unless it is significantly amended to protect devolution, after crunch talks with Theresa May’s deputy.

The Scottish Brexit minister, Michael Russell, said the Scottish government would continue to push for changes to the bill before it could recommend passing the legislation after a meeting with Damian Green, the first secretary of state, and Brexit secretary David Davis.

“We remain unable to recommend the Scottish parliament consent to the EU withdrawal bill as currently drafted and will not be able to do so until the power-grab is removed from the bill,” he said.

Both the Scottish and Welsh administrations have demanded additional changes to avoid what they describe as a Westminster power-grab on devolved policy areas including fisheries and agriculture.



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In the bill, powers derived from EU law in those areas would be retained by Westminster, with central government deciding whether to devolve them at a later date. Ministers are concerned that a constitutional crisis could be sparked if Scotland and Wales refuse legislative consent for the bill, which transfers EU law directly in British law, post-Brexit.

“I have and will continue to press for the amendments suggested by ourselves and the Welsh government to be accepted, removing the power-grab and providing a clear solution that respects devolution,” said Russell.

The Scottish response to the talks differed markedly from the UK government’s analysis. Green said in a statement that the progress made in the meeting meant “talk of a power-grab is now behind us”.

Russell said he hoped to see further changes ahead of the bill’s final reading as well as progress on the Brexit negotiations. “I hope that as discussion between the UK government and the EU continue over the coming days we will see a way forward emerge. As I have made clear, it is crucial that Scotland’s interests are properly represented at future negotiations,” he said.

The Welsh finance secretary, Mark Drakeford, said the meeting was constructive but Welsh assembly backing for the bill was still not guaranteed. “We agreed the principles that will underline any frameworks but that doesn’t mean that we have stepped back at all from our opposition to the withdrawal bill,” he said. “The Welsh government will take part positively in the discussions that follow.”

The first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, said on Sunday he would recommend the Welsh assembly block the bill unless changes were made. “We do not accept the bill in its current form and have recommended that the assembly does not grant its consent unless changes are made,” he said.

Welsh Labour MPs, as well as Plaid Cymru and SNP MPs have submitted amendments to the bill, which is currently in its committee stage, to protect the devolved powers.

Green said significant progress had been made, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland agreeing a statement of principles with the UK government on how the powers would be repatriated post-Brexit. Northern Ireland is represented by its civil service chief because of the continuing failure of political parties at Stormont to agree a power-sharing deal.

The UK government is understood to believe that EU powers initially need to be returned to Westminster while a common framework for trade is introduced for the UK internal single market, to prevent different devolved nations establishing competing trade barriers.

The Scottish secretary, David Mundell, said the agreement on the principles of how to move forward with powers returning to the UK from Brussels would “underpin the decisions we need to take on which areas go directly to the Scottish parliament and which will be subject to UK-wide frameworks”.

Green said the UK government did not want to see devolved powers diluted. “We’ve agreed that obviously there need to be ways in which we preserve the UK single market so we don’t damage businesses in Scotland or Wales or Northern Ireland,” he said.

The statement of principles says the government will “respect the devolution settlements and the democratic accountability of the devolved legislatures”.

It says the repatriation of EU powers into British law will “lead to a significant increase in decision-making powers for the devolved administrations”, and the competence of the devolved governments will not “normally” be adjusted without their consent.