Remainers in Wales pen ALTERNATIVE Brexit to KEEP free movement and stay in single market

The scheme to be unveiled by Labour party First Minister Carwyn Jones and Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood tomorrow is unlikely to be a vote winner for the majority of the Welsh population.

A total of 854,572 or 52 per cent of voters chose to leave the EU, compared with 772,347 47.5 per cent supporting Remain.

However the White Paper appears to fly in the face of the majority.

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First Minister Carwyn Jones is plotting a Welsh Brexit strategy

People voted to leave but they didn’t vote to undermine thousands of jobs, two thirds of Welsh exports or foreign direct investment into Wales

Carwyn Jones and Leeanne Wood

Both politicians will argue Theresa May’s proposal to leave the Single Market would be disastrous for the Welsh economy, and for that of the UK as a whole.

In an open letter to the Prime Minister Theresa May, who will find out about the outcome of her Supreme Court case on Tuesday, they argued they have a sensible starting point.

They also appear to undermine the reason why people voted to exit the EU, insisting they did not know what they were voting for.

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Leanne Wood will unveil the plans tomorrow with Labour's Carwyn Jones

They write: “Talking of a ‘Global Britain’ as an aspiration rather than a reality ignores the success that Wales already enjoys on the world stage.

"We have always been outward looking; in business and trade, in sport and culture, Wales has much to offer the world and already does.

"We need to build on this success not start anew.

“Tomorrow we will publish our own Brexit plan. It is a comprehensive, credible plan, based on solid evidence that places Wales’ priorities centre.

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Carwyn Jones meets Nicola Sturgeon who have both presented plans to thwart Brexit

"It balances the message which the Welsh people gave us that we should leave the EU with the economic reality that makes participation in the Single Market so important for the future prosperity of Wales and all of us who live here.

“This White Paper is not just a shopping list of demands from Wales but a sensible starting point for negotiations that should deliver for all parts of the UK.

“At the heart of this plan is the importance of continued participation in the Single Market for our businesses and our economy.

"People voted to leave but they didn’t vote to undermine thousands of jobs, two thirds of Welsh exports or foreign direct investment into Wales.”

The Office for National Statistics estimated there were 2.1 million EU nationals employed in the UK in the first quarter of 2016 – 224,000 more than in the same period in 2015.

There were 630,000 National Insurance Number registrations by EU nationals in the 12 months to March 2016, and 195,000 by non-EU nationals.

But while England has taken the majority of those immigrants, Wales plans to outline a new policy aimed at shaping how Number 10 approaches the debate.

The open letter adds: “We need a system that is fair, a system that people can clearly understand and, crucially, a system that does not damage our economy or public services.

"If we get this wrong and fundamentally weaken our economy, it will only worsen the social fabric of those ‘left behind’ communities who voted Leave and that is in no-one’s interests.”

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Mrs May met Mr Jones in July following the Welsh Brexit vote

The Welsh government proposes “a twin-track approach of establishing a much clearer link between future migration by EU citizens to the UK to employment and much stronger enforcement of existing UK legislation which should protect workers, particularly the low-paid, from exploitation”.

However Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies told the Sunday Times the Welsh economy has become too dependent on the EU.

He said: “Carwyn Jones and his government’s reaction to Brexit has careered from doom-mongering and denial, to dithering and confusion. Wales is run by a Labour Party that now clings so tightly to its urban ‘Guardianista’ values that it can no longer empathise with the voters on which it has traditionally relied to make up its core support.

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Continued cooperation with the EU to tackle terrorism and international crime.

“Voters from constituencies with high levels of deprivation, who have never felt the benefits of EU membership in the same way as the likes of Lord Kinnock.

“It is these families who must be prioritised as we leave the European Union. In many ways, this vote was their cry for help, and it was reassuring to hear the Prime Minister describe this moment of change as an opportunity to build a fairer society by embracing genuine economic and social reform. To do that we must build a stronger economy, with greater opportunities for all.

“In recent years the Welsh economy has become all too reliant upon the EU market, which now accounts for more than two thirds of all Welsh exports, and we now have an opportunity to develop a trade strategy to maximise trade with new partners. In particular, to take advantage of the new US President’s willingness to cut a trade deal with the UK.”

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