Plaid AM calls for 'UK in united Europe'

The presiding officer of the Welsh assembly has said that devolution in England would help deliver a "United Kingdom in a united Europe."

 

In an interview with the Parliamentary Monitor magazine Lord Elis-Thomas said giving people in England a similar say in their domestic affairs would help achieve a more secure constitutional settlement.

 

Despite being a member of Plaid Cymru - which advocates the break-up of the United Kingdom to gain independence for Wales - the former MP said devolution could ensure the future of a politically unified Britain.

 

Asked for his response to a recent Sunday Telegraph poll that found a majority of Scots and English voters favoured a split 300 years after the Act of Union, Lord Elis-Thomas said it showed that devolution needed to be extended to England. 

 

"It was a very interesting response. In terms of Scotland, I think we have been here before," he said.

 

"I remember polls that indicated that Scots wanted independence, but then it doesn't translate in any meaningful way.

 

"In England I detect there is a strong feeling that the consequences of devolution for England must now be addressed, in other words England must be free and have devolution as well.

 

"I think it is important for those of us who campaigned for devolution in Scotland and Wales to support that.

 

"There should be a proper English parliament, and that could be arranged very easily if the Commons sat on a Tuesday or Wednesday as an English parliament.

 

"We could see how that worked and then look at a proper written constitution that formalised the new relationship between the nations of the UK," he said.

 

And surprisingly - given his own party's policy of independence for Wales - he added: "I think it is quite possible to have a United Kingdom within a united Europe.

 

"The UK and its geography is already very complicated and we shouldn’t be worried about that – we should simply reflect the self-determination of the people and what they want."