Leaders of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have pressed Theresa May for a greater role in Brexit talks, as Westminster prepares to debate the triggering of article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty on Tuesday.
The prime minister met the first ministers of Scotland and Wales, DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Féin’s northern leader Michelle O’Neill at a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) in Cardiff.
Britain’s supreme court ruled last week that the prime minister cannot invoke article 50 without first securing parliamentary approval at Westminster. However the court said the devolved administrations had no right of veto over the start of Brexit negotiations, and did not even have to be consulted.
Ms May sought to reassure the leaders that the concerns of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would be represented in the negotiations and that there would be no “land grab” of powers from the devolved administrations after Brexit. But she left no doubt that responsibility for negotiating with the EU would remain in London.
‘Opportunities ahead’
“The UK government has a responsibility to deliver on that mandate and secure the right deal for the whole of the UK. We all have to play a part in providing certainty and leadership so that together we can make a success of the opportunities ahead,” she said.
Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon expressed disappointment with the meeting, warning that time was running out for the prime minister to show she was listening to Scotland.
“There has been no willingness to meet in the middle on the part of the UK government. In terms of me getting a sense of whether Scotland is going to be listened to at all, that period between now and triggering of article 50 is absolutely crucial,” she said.
Ms O’Neill said she had restated Sinn Féin’s demand for a “special, designated status” for Northern Ireland in the EU and criticised the DUP for standing with the Tory party on Brexit against the majority of voters in the North.
“I told prime minister May that the government at Westminster should respect the vote of the people in the North and that we should be designated special status within the EU,” she said.
