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THE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 20 2017


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Questions raised overPM’s ON TUESDAY (Jan 17), Prime


Minister Theresa May began finally to spell out precisely what ‘Brexit means Brexit’ might actually mean in practice. The normally cautious Mrs May


was unexpectedly forthright and provided considerably more flesh on the bones of Brexit than had been widely anticipated.


CO-OPERATION, TO A POINT No membership of the Single


Market; no membership of the wider Customs Union; free market trade deals with the EU; global free trade deals: all that was missing was the vision of eating the cake and having it afterwards. And among the fine sentiments


and cautiously phrased sentences there was just a glimpse of preparedness to contemplate something else altogether. "No deal," the PM said, "was better than a bad deal for Britain." Mrs May’s sword moved in its


scabbard when she echoed the words of her Chancellor, Phillip Hammond. Over the weekend, Mr Hammond suggested in an interview with Bild am Sonntag that the UK was prepared to use its position as a key player in the world’s financial markets as a weapon if EU negotiators adopted a ‘punitive’ approach towards Brexit. The EU may not want to do a deal,


but could find itself effectively forced to make one. 80% of the European sovereign debt market is in London. If governments in the EU cut themselves off from this market, it is hard to see where in the Eurozone would make up the shortfall, with potentially disastrous consequences for the integrity of the EU’s financial structures, which are already under considerable strain. In addition, Mrs May made it clear


Jon Coles Deputy Editor


jon.coles@herald.email


that she wanted those EU citizens already living and working within the UK to remain working within the UK and for the same to apply to those UK citizens living and working in Europe. She told the Lancaster House audience there was broad agreement between the UK and the EU that should be the case, with only ‘one or two’ EU member states (which she did not name) opposed. In relation to EU programmes, such


as ERASMUS+, Mrs May said that the UK might try to continue access to those on a case-by-case basis, but that there would be no return to making large annual contributions to Europe. What that might mean for Wales,


and particularly rural Wales, was the subject of a number of responses from West Wales’ politicians that The Herald sought following the conclusion of Mrs May’s speech.


PM IS IRRESPONSIBLE In Mid and West Wales, Labour


AM and Former Minister for Europe in the House of Lords Eluned Morgan said: “The PM’s pronouncement on Brexit will slit the wrists of the Welsh economy and lead to a decade of instability for the UK. “Most leading economists have


recognised that leaving the Single Market will lead to a 5% shrinkage in the economy which will dramatically reduce public expenditure and have dire consequences for our hospitals and schools in Wales. “The irresponsible action by the PM


of tearing up the rule book in the hope that she will land something better is extremely high risk, in particular when we have so few experts to negotiate


Stephen James, NFU: Farmers fear ‘cliff edge’


trade deals. The PM will need to land a new trade deal, not just with the EU but on leaving the Customs Union with the 50 other countries with whom we trade. “Welsh businesses will find no


comfort in this speech; there is no assurance that we will not fall off a cliff edge within two years. This will hit investment and jobs hard. “The tone of the speech will make


it more difficult for us to recruit doctors and nurses to serve in our hospitals in Wales. “There were no assurances for


our poorest areas who have benefitted from EU investment in the past and no guarantees to farmers. “Of course we should honour the


result of the referendum, but there is more than one way to leave the EU, [and] she has chosen the most damaging for our country.”


‘CLEAN BREXIT’ PRESENTS OPPORTUNITIES


Responding to the Prime Minister’s


Mark Williams: ‘LibDems will stand up for membership of Single Market’


speech, the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, said: “This was a hugely welcome speech from the Prime Minister, providing clarity and certainty ahead of the triggering of Article 50. “The onus now, in many ways,


moves onto the EU itself and leaders on the continent will need to determine for themselves if they want to be part of a new trading agreement with the fifth largest economy in the world. “There is no doubt in my mind that


a clean Brexit presents the both Wales and the UK with huge opportunities to become global leaders in trade, and what we heard today was a Prime Minister with a clear plan for the future. “We now know where we stand,


both in terms of the Single Market and in terms of free movement, and that will give businesses across the UK time to prepare – safe in the knowledge that there will be a phased implementation of our withdrawal from the EU. “The Welsh public joined the rest


of the UK in voting to leave the EU, not to reform it. But I have been clear all along that the 52% do not have all of the answers – and we now need to pull together and make the most of the best and brightest this country has to offer in order to get the best possible deal.”


ANXIETIES FOR FARMERS Reacting to the news, NFU


Cymru President Mr Stephen James said: “Today’s announcement brings some clarity as to the sort of trading environment that we might be able to expect to be operating in post-Brexit. Whilst clarity on the direction of travel is to be welcomed, I think today’s announcement will be of concern to many Welsh farmers, who are so heavily dependent on export markets, and in particular EU export markets. With over a third of the Welsh lamb crop going to the EU and around 90% of food and drink exports being sent to the EU, there can be no mistake about how important these markets are to us. “During the course of our recent Brexit consultation with members,


‘Devolved powers must be respected’: Glyn Roberts


it became clear that one of the top priorities for our members was that our access to European markets should not be fettered by tariffs or non-tariff barriers; we do not want there to be barriers to being able to access the EU market. With the UK’s ongoing participation in the Single Market and the Customs Union off the agenda, it means that as a country we will need to negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU if we are to avoid tariffs on our exports to the EU. My anxieties about today’s proposals are two-fold. Firstly, a free-trade agreement with the EU will of course need to include agricultural produce, and secondly, how long such a deal might take to conclude. “In the absence of a quick and


comprehensive free-trade agreement, it is vital that there are phased arrangements to avoid the sort of cliff edge that would be extremely disruptive to Wales’ farmers. “The need for a reliable workforce


from overseas is something else that has come up in discussions with members, especially in the context of Wales’ food processing sector. I welcome today’s acknowledgement by the Prime Minister that access to a reliable workforce is vital for so many industries.”


PM ‘APPEASING THE DELUDED RIGHT WING’


Plaid Cymru has advocated a ‘soft


Brexit’, maintaining membership of the Single Market and the Customs Union, outside of the European Union. Responding to the Prime Minister’s


speech, Plaid Cymru’s Brexit spokesperson, Jonathan Edwards, said: “The Prime Minister has put the British State on track for an ‘extreme Brexit’, isolating Wales and the other UK countries from the rest of the world. “The Prime Minister has put


appeasing her deluded right-wing politicians before protecting the economy and surely the Labour Party must now join Plaid Cymru in voting against triggering Article 50. “The people voted to leave the


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