Burnham must act differently to his predecessors in No.10 and listen to Wales’ calls for more powers.

In response to Andy Burnham’s speech, Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP said:

“While there were fine words by Andy Burnham today about empowering communities to deliver good growth in every postcode, his focus was very much on ‘the regions’, which means England. For too long, successive UK Governments have failed to give Wales the tools we need to thrive and so the ‘King of the North’ must be clear that Wales is a nation, not a region, and work with the Senedd to enable growth in Welsh postcode areas. 

“While Burnham seemed open to extending powers to the devolved nations, this must match the ambition that the people of Wales voted for less than two months ago. Plaid Cymru was given a mandate to secure powers over rail, the Crown Estate, justice and policing to unlock investment, strengthen our infrastructure and allow policies to be shaped around the needs of our communities. In the past, Burnham has laid great emphasis on public transport as a symbol of a fair society. Now’s the time for him to talk about how he will come up with the goods.

“Rhun ap Iorwerth and the new Plaid Cymru Government have made it clear they will work constructively with any UK Prime Minister. We live in hope that Andy Bunrham truly wants to deliver for the people of Wales. He must therefore be prepared to act differently to his predecessors in No.10 and listen to their calls.”