The way forward for Wales in the post-EU era is to focus on outcomes, not egos
In June the British people voted to rebalance our relationship with the European Union and if anyone was left in any doubt before the weekend, it is now abundantly clear that the Conservative Government is going to deliver on that verdict.
What we have seen from Theresa May is a clear signal that there will be no rowing back from Brexit, and as the only leader of a mainstream British party to campaign for a vote to leave I am delighted that this process is to start within weeks of the new year.
With the official opposition in disarray, and with some sections of the media still refusing to accept the result, the Prime Minister’s announcement on Sunday of a Great Repeal Bill is the bold step the public wanted to see.
This piece of legislation is the will of the public being written into law, and ensures that from the moment we leave the supremacy of EU law will end. But what should follow the EU schemes, upon which so much British tax revenue has been spent?
Having voted to take back control, for the first time in more than 40 years we have an opportunity to rip up the rule book and start again — and to radically rethink the ways in which we support our communities.
The Welsh Labour Government has abjectly failed to make the most of successive rounds of EU structural funding, and the next generation of schemes which follow our exit from the European Union must be better targeted and deliver positive outcomes.
As my colleague Alun Cairns observed in his conference speech this week, we cannot blithely accept failure for our poorest communities. Frankly, it should be no surprise to anyone at all that pro-Brexit feeling was at its strongest in the very areas said to have ‘benefited’ most from EU money.
Things have to change. This is not business as usual, and outcomes must take the lead — not egos. If that means doing things in a different way to get results, then so be it.
I have been clear from the start that Wales must not lose out financially from Brexit, but that doesn’t mean that the money needs to go to the Welsh Government. I want to see a new generation of regeneration projects which empower local communities directly, putting them in the driving seat — not Labour ministers.
The Welsh Government has had three opportunities to make structural funds work and the poorest parts of Wales remain as poor as ever. They shouldn’t be given a fourth opportunity to fail the people again.
Let’s be clear, I am not advocating a reversal of the devolved settlement or calling for power to be clawed back by Westminster. Instead, as a staunch supporter of the localism agenda I would like the government to explore ways to build capacity in local communities so that they can take the lead on regeneration projects instead of a Welsh Government which has repeatedly failed them.
Britain’s decision to vote to leave the EU also presents us with an opportunity to re-imagine the kind of support that we offer farmers, and we must take that chance.
In recent years Welsh Labour’s failure to prioritise rural communities has shone through, and record-breaking cuts to the rural affairs budget have hit rural Wales hard. This is an opportunity to go right back to first principles.
As a farmer myself, I want to see the industry freed from the shackles of red tape and regulation, with a new UK-wide framework to replace CAP.
A new framework must be flexible enough to allow the devolved institutions to pursue locally driven priorities, but retain sharp enough teeth to guarantee a ‘single market’ for UK farming.
In practice, that would not mean one over-bearing, bureaucratic body replacing another. But the UK Government would need to ensure a competitive — but fair — environment for farmers across Britain. No one would benefit, for example, from a new framework where individual governments were free to offer aggressive subsidies to certain aspects of farming, to the detriment of the rest of the UK.
In addition, the post-Brexit era provides us with an opportunity to change the way the public looks at farming support. It’s clear that the CAP doesn’t fit, and we need to replace it with a scheme which is designed to meet UK needs. But it’s also vital that the unique nature of farming is recognised in this new era. A bad season, with floods or crop failure, can ruin livelihoods in a way that few other industries can be affected, and there are insurance schemes across the world which are built with this in mind.
Brexit presents Wales and the United Kingdom with significant opportunities. It is a chance to reorganise the ways in which we provide support to communities, businesses and farmers, and we have to embrace it, ensuring that Wales sees the benefits of our new relationship with the Europe.
