Key facts
- Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has formally asked UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham for a "new deal" on devolution.
- Ap Iorwerth seeks to put Wales on an equal footing with Scotland regarding fiscal and constitutional settlement.
- The proposed deal includes transferring powers over policing, justice, rail infrastructure, and the crown estate.
- Ap Iorwerth stated his government has a "clear mandate" for devolving more powers from Westminster.
- Plaid Cymru won the Senedd elections in May, ending Labour's 100-year dominance in Wales.
Rhun ap Iorwerth, the first minister of Wales and leader of Plaid Cymru, has formally called on UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to deliver a "new deal" on devolution. In his first address to a Plaid Cymru annual conference since taking office, ap Iorwerth told party members in Llandudno on Friday that his government has a "clear mandate" for devolving more powers from Westminster.
Ap Iorwerth, who led his nationalist party to a historic victory in May's Senedd elections, stated he had written to Burnham on Thursday to request "a new deal to redress the historic unfairness of our fiscal and constitutional settlement and to put Wales on an equal footing with Scotland as a bare minimum".
He added that this "new deal" would involve the UK government treating Wales "not as a region of England but as a nation in its own right" and securing powers to grow the economy and improve outcomes for citizens. The letter reportedly makes the case for transferring powers over policing and justice, rail infrastructure, and the crown estate.