Fairness for Wales

Within the current governance structures, Plaid Cymru would remove the anomaly of the Secretary of State for Wales, and transfer their remaining powers to the Welsh Government. The Secretary of State acts as Westminster’s voice in Wales, not Wales’s voice in Westminster. Wales is not junior to Westminster, we have our own democratic institutions, and we do not need ‘a seat at the Cabinet table’.

There should instead be a duty of co-operation and parity of esteem between the governments within the UK. This would prevent UK Government over-reach: stopping it from legislating or making decisions in Wales without the consent of the Welsh Government and Senedd.

As part of that, the Sewel Convention – under which legislative consent from Wales is required for Westminster to act in devolved areas – should be placed upon a statutory footing, to prevent the UK legislating in areas of devolved competence. Current constraints on Welsh Government finances – including limits placed on the Welsh Government’s powers to borrow to invest – should be removed.

We will protect the Senedd’s powers through a Government of Wales (Devolved Powers) Bill, which will require a super majority of two-thirds of Senedd members for any reduction in powers.

Plaid Cymru supports the transfer of further powers from Westminster to the Senedd in a number of areas, including criminal justice, broadcasting, natural resources such as water and energy, railway infrastructure, the Crown Estate and welfare, and expert groups should be established to facilitate this process. We will also transfer the powers to introduce gender quotas for Senedd elections.

Now that the Senedd in Wales has been increased to 96 members following the 2026 election, similar to the 90-member Northern Ireland Assembly and 129-member Scottish Parliament, we are better placed to innovate and scrutinise government once these additional powers are transferred.