Andy Burnham says Welsh Labour may have lost sight of devolution as party reckons with historic election loss
The prime minister has told members of his party that Welsh Labour may have lost sight of some of the principles of devolution before it was thrown out of power in a historic election defeat.
On Saturday morning Andy Burnham addressed the first Welsh Labour conference since May’s Senedd election.
He suggested the previous Labour government did not do enough to pass powers down to communities, and said it was “hard” to accept the party was no longer in power after 27 years of running the Welsh government.
In a subdued speech, the UK Labour leader said he wanted to see “one Labour team” where “everyone” was “signed up and on the same page.”
Labour lost to pro-independence Plaid Cymru, which is now running the Welsh government.
Burnham spoke ahead of the publication of a review of what went wrong at the election.
Since he became prime minister he has been lobbying the Welsh government to devolve more powers to local councils.
“Somewhere along the way perhaps we lost sight of some of the principles that drove devolution in the first place.
“We probably stopped listening as much as we should have, and actually stopped driving power down into every Welsh postcode which is what the vision to me really should always have been about – about people and places.”
He said the party would accept its defeat and “come back stronger” with a “vision for a stronger Wales in a fairer United Kingdom.”
Burnham said he wanted to achieve the sense of a “one Labour team for Wales” where the party is “pulling in the same direction”.
“Where I’m pulling with you and not creating problems for you or going against what Ken or colleagues want to achieve.
“We will put forward a vision for communities up and down Wales, as well as giving Wales a stronger national voice.”
Addressing the event at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Burnham said he loved “everything about Wales”.
He said his last visit to Wales – to Aberfan – left the “biggest mark”.
Referencing the fight for justice in the years after the disaster, Burnham said he wanted a “country where all people and all places are treated fairly and with dignity”.
He said his vision for the country is a “reindustrialised nation with revitalised high streets”.
Burnham said Labour should be “immensely proud” of the things it achieved in Wales – including free school meals, free prescription and the creation of Transport for Wales.
The prime minister said he wanted to show how “being in the UK is good for Wales because of the partnership that we can develop together”.
Burnham said he had put the full devolution of employment support on the table with the Welsh government.
