The headline doesn’t cover his actual words as well as it could:
> Wales should have a gender self-identification system similar to the one approved in Scotland, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.
> …
> **Mr Drakeford said Wales does not have the same powers as Scotland but would seek them from the UK government.**
> …
> Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, Mr Drakeford said that anyone who obtains a gender recognition certificate in Scotland and then comes to Wales would have that document “recognised here for all the purposes that you would expect it to be recognised for”.
>Mr Drakeford said he had spoken to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about the law and noted that it had been supported by “all political parties in the Scottish Parliament”.
>”We will seek the powers and, if we obtain those powers, we will put those powers to work here in Wales, and we will put proposals in front of this Welsh Parliament,” he added.
> …
> The Welsh first minister was responding to a question from the Conservative MS Laura Anne Jones, who said there were “concerns” about the Scottish legislation after it was “rushed through” and asked Mr Drakeford to “rule out” such legislation in Wales.
>**Mr Drakeford refused to rule out the legislation and said he did not accept that Scotland’s rule changes had been passed too quickly.**
>He later added that he was “surprised” by the UK government’s reaction to the Scottish law.
>**”They are threatening to use a power that has never been used in the whole history of devolution,” he said.**
This strikes me as a good political move by Drakeford. In Wales the main opposition he’s likely to face in the near future will be the nationalists (who I have a lot of sympathy with tbh). By aligning Welsh labour with the SNP on areas they diverge from Westminster he’s signalling that the nationalists won’t be able to offer anything that WL can’t deliver more effectively
2 comments
The headline doesn’t cover his actual words as well as it could:
> Wales should have a gender self-identification system similar to the one approved in Scotland, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.
> …
> **Mr Drakeford said Wales does not have the same powers as Scotland but would seek them from the UK government.**
> …
> Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, Mr Drakeford said that anyone who obtains a gender recognition certificate in Scotland and then comes to Wales would have that document “recognised here for all the purposes that you would expect it to be recognised for”.
>Mr Drakeford said he had spoken to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about the law and noted that it had been supported by “all political parties in the Scottish Parliament”.
>”We will seek the powers and, if we obtain those powers, we will put those powers to work here in Wales, and we will put proposals in front of this Welsh Parliament,” he added.
> …
> The Welsh first minister was responding to a question from the Conservative MS Laura Anne Jones, who said there were “concerns” about the Scottish legislation after it was “rushed through” and asked Mr Drakeford to “rule out” such legislation in Wales.
>**Mr Drakeford refused to rule out the legislation and said he did not accept that Scotland’s rule changes had been passed too quickly.**
>He later added that he was “surprised” by the UK government’s reaction to the Scottish law.
>**”They are threatening to use a power that has never been used in the whole history of devolution,” he said.**
This strikes me as a good political move by Drakeford. In Wales the main opposition he’s likely to face in the near future will be the nationalists (who I have a lot of sympathy with tbh). By aligning Welsh labour with the SNP on areas they diverge from Westminster he’s signalling that the nationalists won’t be able to offer anything that WL can’t deliver more effectively