UK could shatter if not rebuilt as solidarity union, says Mark Drakeford | Constitutional reform

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The UK could collapse if it is not rebuilt as a united union where the rights of all citizens to public services and financial security are protected, the First Minister of Wales has warned.

Mark Drakeford said the social and political ties that bind different parts of the UK have been beset by 40 years of neoliberalism, a trend started by Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and then reinforced after Brexit by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

In order to persuade people from all parts of the UK that their future is together in a restructured UK, we need to recreate a united union, the Welsh Labor leader said in an interview with the Guardian.

This included rebuilding the safety net for people who are sick or out of work, with basic rights, he said, to environmental, consumer and trade union protection, human rights and affordable public services.

We need to rebuild the safety net, so you know that being in the UK entitles you to that collective security that it represents, Drakeford said, implying that without it, Scotland and Northern Ireland could choose to leave the UK.

If you leave Scotland for Wales, you know you will take these basic rights with you as part of your citizenship. These have all been gradually eroded by conservative governments, particularly since 1979.

The long years of neoliberalism have been a sustained assault on the idea that citizenship means rights and the next Labor government needs to rebuild those rights, do it explicitly and tell people this is what you get, that’s why it’s worth belonging [to the UK].

Drakeford is expected to expand on that position at a June 1 conference in Edinburgh hosted by Gordon Brown, which will explore Labor proposals for significant reform of the UK. Organized by the Our Scottish Future think tank of former prime ministers, speakers will include Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar.

Drakeford is one of Labour’s most prominent advocates for comprehensive UK reform, saying it is the most credible response to demands for Scottish independence and the reunification of Scotland. Northern Ireland with Ireland.

Wales, where Labor has a co-operation deal with the nationalist Plaid Cymru party, has seen a slow rise in support for independence, although it remains well below independence orders of almost 50% in Scotland. The demand for greater devolution in Wales is, however, well entrenched.

Browns’ proposals, which have been endorsed by Keir Starmer, Britain’s Labor leader, include abolishing the House of Lords and replacing it with an elected second house to represent the nations and regions of the UK.

His committee is proposing greater political and financial powers for Scotland, Wales and the English regions, and legally binding structures to ensure that the devolved parliaments of Edinburgh, Cardiff and Stormont cannot see their powers canceled by Westminster.

Drakeford said that since Brexit, the Anglocentric Tories in London had shown a fundamental disrespect for the Welsh and Scottish parliaments by imposing internal trade rules and failing to recognize that Wales and Scotland had autonomy in health policy during the Covid crisis.

Rishi Sunak has shown greater respect for the devolved nations of the UK, even if it doesn’t translate to very practical effects.

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In his speech on Thursday, Drakeford is likely to challenge the Brown commission’s position that Westminster would still retain sovereignty over the legislatures in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Drakeford said the reality now is that sovereignty exists in four different places.

He added: What we should be doing is thinking of a UK where sovereignty rests with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and then we voluntarily choose to pool that sovereignty for some important common key objectives.

That prospect helped Drakeford establish a close working relationship with former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during their battles with the UK government over Brexit and during the Covid crisis. Drakeford is widely respected by senior politicians in the Scottish National Party.

Drakeford said the crisis in England over privatized water companies siphoning off profits while providing appalling services demonstrated the need for Labor to ensure essential services operate in the public interest.

Until Thatcher’s privatization spree, voters had a stake in public services. I’m not at all advocating for an old-fashioned 1945 nationalization program [but] since the public invests huge sums of money in bus, rail and water services, they are entitled to a better return on that investment, he said.

We need to find new ways fit for the 21st century to ensure that when decisions are made, the voice of the public is at the table to advance those interests and that you get that by being a member of the UK.

So my solidarity union is to build a union based on these citizenship rights.

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