Hain the 'devolutionist'.

Peter Hain has just addressed the Assembly, but fear not, I am not live blogging. It was far too lively a debate to miss out on! I wanted to intervene to voice my concerns on the sale of student loans bill, and the problems that may arise if a private company chooses to change the rules and regulations with regards the loans system in the future. Nevertheless, I did not get the chance amongst all the ya boo politics, which I'm sure was a sign of comfort to Hain as that is what he is used to at Westminster!

The point of interest for me was Hain's reference to a referendum on a Parliament for Wales. He described himself as a 'devolutionist', yet when it came to making moves to supporting a referendum as agreed between Labour and Plaid, he fell short of supporting it outright- going back on his argument that we need firm public support and cross party support before we can even consider holding a referendum.

Ok, so he doesn't want to be reminded of how we lost the referendum in '79, but times have changed and I don't quite think that he's amended his opinion to coincide with that sea change in Welsh opinion, both in favour of a referendum and to the concept of a Parliament for Wales.

We need a much firmer declaration of support from Hain if this referendum is to happen, let alone win it. He may be appeasing those in his party who are opposed to the referendum at this point- namely those MP's who now have little better to do than to talk about putting a Welsh dragon on the British flag! But we can't sit around waiting for them to feel better about the situation. The Convention is happening, and as far as the One Wales agreement goes, the referendum is too.

Now all we need to know is whether Hain and co. will ever be won over by the need to take this a step further, and create a proper Parliament for Wales. To have to go cap in hand to Hain in the first place is more than I can take- for him to sit on the fence like he is doing presently is unacceptable.

10 years of Devolution

I've written quite a heartfelt article for the Bridgend Post about 10 years of devolution, but I won't reiterate it here as I prefer to keep these posts a bit lighter (not that it gets me anywhere in any of the blog awards;-))

I was 15 when the referendum on a National Assembly took place. I couldn't vote at the time, but I did take part in the rally from Pontypridd to Cardiff with the Yes campaign. I remember that my Dad was involved in the campaign from the Socialist Alliance perspective, and I can recall proudly carrying a banner on the rally, taking in the excitement of the day.

I didn't get involved in the ins and outs of the campaign as such, but I remember that there was a buzz about the referendum taking place, and I watched with interest the live TV coverage of those in pubs and venues across the country sporting t-shirts with 'Yes for Wales'.

I did watch some of the coverage and I distinctly remember scurrying downstairs to switch on the television the next morning, like a Christmas morning- the present being a successful Yes vote. Ron Davies is no Sion Corn but his 'Good Morning Wales' speech still resonates now, and of course I could never forget the powerful image of all the leaders raising their hands in celebration at the result, however narrow the margin.

Following this occasion I did not take part in party politics for some time, but I did decide to study politics at Aberystwyth ( so 97 must have had some sort of effect!) At Aberystwyth, I was told repeatedly by the likes of Richard Wyn Jones and Dafydd Trystan how important Ron Davies's statement that 'Devolution is a process, not an event' was in framing the discussion surrounding devolution in Wales, and how it was vital for us to deliver on the challenges of devolution here in Wales.

At first, I can remember believing that Plaid had taken on the challenge with vigour, and Plaid's election successes conveyed such. Nevertheless, on one level, people began to correlate Plaid with the Government despite Labour being in power, and I think we suffered as a consequence after the early honeymoon period of devolution. Plaid have now become a much more professional, pro-active party, and now, a party of Government with responsibility to deliver.

I would be mindful not to say that we are 'celebrating' devolution today, because we yet have a long way to go. Of course, we have started the process of bringing politics closer to the people, of passing laws in devolved areas of policy, and the opportunity of politicians in Wales to raise local issues on a political stage in Wales.

Nevertheless, we have to be one step ahead at all times, and the next step is the Convention, which will engage the public and key opinion forming bodies on their concerns about the extension of powers in Wales, so as to prepare the ground for a Parliament.

What we have at the moment is a halfway house of an Institution, with a veto from the Secretary of State for Wales, implemented to appease a handful of Labour MP's in Westminster. This isn't sustainable, and those who took part in the Richard Commission will tell you as such.

I am proud, of course, to be part of politics here in Wales at this important juncture in our history as a political party-in Government for the very first time. I have always believed in the importance of the National Assembly, even when other campaign groups were still going to London with their lobbies and campaigns.

Now I am looking forward to our Nation's progression, and to the confidence that we must find to create a Parliament for Wales, to serve the future generations of Wales.