A GWYNEDD MP has accused the First Minister of living in ‘a fantasy land’ after he said he did not believe in Welsh independence.

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP and Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts has said Mark Drakeford is “living in fantasy land”, after he described the UK as a “great insurance policy”.

In an interview with the Irish Times in Dublin this week, Mr Drakeford said: “I want to be able to articulate that positive case for the current arrangements we have of strengthened devolution. The case is that it is a great insurance policy that we pool our resources and share the rewards where it is necessary at the UK level.”

Mrs Saville Roberts invited the First Minister to “tell families facing extortionate mortgages that the UK is a ‘great insurance policy’”, and to tell households facing “real terms cuts to wages and benefits while the super-rich get richer that we ‘share the rewards where it is necessary at the UK level’”.

The Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP said: “The idea of a family of nations pooling resources for the common good is delightful in theory, but it bears no relation to the grim economic reality of the UK in 2022. I am afraid that the First Minister is living in fantasy land if he thinks there is a positive case to be made for current arrangements.

“I would invite the First Minister to tell families facing extortionate mortgages that the UK is a ‘great insurance policy’. Tell households facing real terms cuts to wages and benefits while the super-rich get richer that we ‘share the rewards where it is necessary at the UK level’.

“I hope that during his visit to Ireland, the First Minister gets a glimpse of how Ireland is succeeding outside the stranglehold of Westminster rule. Ireland is currently an elected member of the United Nations Security Council. Síofra O’Leary has just become the first Irish judge and first woman to lead European Court of Human Rights. Dubliner Tony Murphy has just been elected president of the European Court of Auditors.

“Ireland is punching well above its weight on the international stage. There is no logical reason why Wales should be denied the same opportunity.”

Plaid Cymru have in recent weeks pushed the independence agenda following research from an Irish academic which party leader Adam Price described as a ‘game changer’.

The analysis conducted by Professor John Doyle of Dublin’s City University concludes that the fiscal gap in the early days of an independent Wales would be approximately £2.6bn – significantly lower than the frequently quoted figure of £13.5bn.

The figures are based on the 2019 estimate of total Welsh economic output at £77.5 billion and would be equivalent to just under 3.4 per cent of GDP.

Professor Doyle, whose work has contributed towards Plaid Cymru’s submission to the Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales, said: “It is not for me as an Irish academic to advise the people of Wales on their future constitutional choices, but the figure of £13.5bn, frequently quoted as representing the UK government annual subvention to Wales, is a UK accounting exercise, and not a calculation of the fiscal gap that would exist in the early days of an independent Wales.

“My analysis has determined that the figure will be approximately £2.6bn.”

Mr Price said: “This research further debunks the argument that Wales is too small and too poor to thrive as an independent nation.

“Not only does Professor Doyle’s work further build the body of evidence that supports the case for an independent Wales, it is also a game-changer in the debate surrounding its viability.

Prof Doyle added: “The economic impact of an independent Wales is therefore not hugely constrained by the existing fiscal situation.”

The report was lambasted by Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies MS, who described it as ‘fantasy’ and accused Plaid Cymru of ‘wasting time on voodoo economics’.

He added: “In this scenario the Welsh Government would forgo any responsibility in keeping us safe – abandoning defence spending and ending the current style of UK Aid to developing nations.

“Not to mention having no ambition for a Wales foreign policy with embassies closing around the world.

“And apparently the Welsh state would be able to negotiate a deal with the UK Government to avoid debt coming our way.

“This report is nothing but back of the envelope fantasy figures to justify Plaid’s obsession. Adam Price needs to be honest with the people of Wales and explain what he would cut from our military, diplomatic service and aid budget.

“Instead of tackling the Labour Government on Wales being the only nation in the UK to see increasing child poverty or the endless cost of pain crisis with every growing NHS waiting lists, Plaid have joined Labour cap in hand for more politicians and wasting time on voodoo economics.”