Peter Black says on his blog today that we should get on with the Yes campaign for a Parliament for Wales. I couldn't agree more, but wasn't it the Lib dems who said a while ago that they didn't want a vote on a Parliament on the same day as the next National Assembly elections? Seems a bit disjointed, but now that the Lib dems are changing tactics ( again) and trying to out Welsh Plaid Cymru and the 'Welsh' Conservatives at the moment ( what with Eleanor Burnham's reference to the LCO system as 'swimming through custard') then this doesn't surprise me.
The Convention is set to start its work in the summer, and I see no reason why the Yes campaign cannot start organically regardless of the timeline of the Convention. Surely everything that we are seeking to do in the National Assembly( at least here in Plaid Cymru) is to try and show how and why we need a full legislative Parliament for Wales?
Yes, the current system is complicated and long-winded- but let us not forget that this was instigated as a way to appease the Labour party internally. Again, it was the Unionist vs Devolutionist fight in the Labour party that took precedence over endorsing the findings of the Richard Commission. That is why we are where we are today.
So lets move on, be positive about the Referendum, and enthuse the people of Wales about the importance of the Assembly becoming a Parliament. OK, so the Ian Lucas's and the Don Touhig's of this World probably don't have constituency offices brimming with letter on the constitutional question at face value, but when we delve into the issues, then the importance of enhancing the powers of the Assembly becomes clear.
People want to know why the National Assembly can't decide to keep the Post Offices open, why we can't change the regressive immigration and asylum policies of London Labour. People want to know why we can't make decisions on planning applications above 50MW, and why the Assembly can't reach the child poverty targets alone. There are many things that we can do currently as an Institution, but for the sake of clarity and consistency, as well as for the sake of enshrining the rights of the people of Wales- we must campaign for a successful outcome to this referendum.
Showing posts with label Referendum on a Parliament for Wales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Referendum on a Parliament for Wales. Show all posts
Thursday, 10 April 2008
Saturday, 5 April 2008
The future of devolution
I'm not sure why Ian Lucas has chosen to comment at this point in time about the need for a review of the way devolution is working on a UK level. The terms of reference for the All Wales Convention has been discussed in full during the meeting of the establishing committee, to which sources tell me, Ian Lucas MP failed to attend on numerous occasions. Surely that was the place to make such opinions known, not via the Western Mail over a month later?
He comments that 'The All Wales Convention, by its very nature, cannot resolve these issues because it relates to Wales alone yet it is dependant upon the UK Parliament to achieve its goals.
“When it reports, we do not know the political context in which it will tell us its views. What we do know, however, is that politics in the UK as a whole will impact on whatever it does suggest.”
Yes, unfortunately, we know that any suggestions by the Convention must be accepted by the UK Parliament, but this is common knowledge, and the whole purpose of the Convention is to gather a wide variety of Welsh opinion in making key recommendations to the UK Parliament over the future set up of devolution in Wales. We are under no illusions that reform can happen in any other way, but we need to ensure that the Convention is successful, and that the people of Wales have faith in its processes.
Again, Ian Lucas is right that we will not know the political context when the Convention reports ( I assume he means that after a General election the Tories could be running the show in London) but again, we cannot use this as an excuse to water down the aspirations of the All Wales Convention and that which it has been mandated to perform. The MP protests too much, and in my opinion he is trying to find a way to water down the running, and the affect of the All Wales Convention before it has started.
It is not for us in Wales to push for anything more or anything less than a Convention that will re asses the powers of the Welsh Assembly, and create the environment where a Referendum in 2011 is clearly a reality. An investigation in to the Scotland Act is on its way, and no doubt there will be further calls to look at English regional control in the future.
We must get on with the work of the Convention here in Wales without hesitation. If the UK Parliament is uneasy with its findings and its conclusions, then so be it- democracy will be at work.
He comments that 'The All Wales Convention, by its very nature, cannot resolve these issues because it relates to Wales alone yet it is dependant upon the UK Parliament to achieve its goals.
“When it reports, we do not know the political context in which it will tell us its views. What we do know, however, is that politics in the UK as a whole will impact on whatever it does suggest.”
Yes, unfortunately, we know that any suggestions by the Convention must be accepted by the UK Parliament, but this is common knowledge, and the whole purpose of the Convention is to gather a wide variety of Welsh opinion in making key recommendations to the UK Parliament over the future set up of devolution in Wales. We are under no illusions that reform can happen in any other way, but we need to ensure that the Convention is successful, and that the people of Wales have faith in its processes.
Again, Ian Lucas is right that we will not know the political context when the Convention reports ( I assume he means that after a General election the Tories could be running the show in London) but again, we cannot use this as an excuse to water down the aspirations of the All Wales Convention and that which it has been mandated to perform. The MP protests too much, and in my opinion he is trying to find a way to water down the running, and the affect of the All Wales Convention before it has started.
It is not for us in Wales to push for anything more or anything less than a Convention that will re asses the powers of the Welsh Assembly, and create the environment where a Referendum in 2011 is clearly a reality. An investigation in to the Scotland Act is on its way, and no doubt there will be further calls to look at English regional control in the future.
We must get on with the work of the Convention here in Wales without hesitation. If the UK Parliament is uneasy with its findings and its conclusions, then so be it- democracy will be at work.
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
More power for Wales.
I haven't mentioned that this week I took part in a Monmouth Young Rotary Interviewee competition which was held at Newport Civic Centre on Monday evening. I had to give a short speech on Independence for Wales, and was subsequently grilled by 6 young people about Independence. There was a mixed reaction to my stance, but some of the people who attended did tell me that they managed to learn more about Nationalism in one session than they had in 20 years!
I really enjoyed the night, but found it quite odd that before the young people interviewed me they almost all laid their stall against Independence, so I was ready for a negative questioning session. Nick Partridge from ITV Wales, one of the judges also noted this, and advised that Journalists ( at least publicly anyway!) should remain neutral on their own personal political opinion. I hope that other AMs will take part in such opportunities in the future, as it inevitably gives young people experience in their chosen future profession.
On the same night I was harangued on Independence, Ieuan Wyn Jones launched the local Government election campaign in Pontypridd. The main focus of the evening was Ieuan's reference in his speech on a Referendum, and his challenge to the cynics in Labour and the Tories who are trying their very best to undermine the viability of the referendum, and the Convention. I have read Glyn Davies's blog on this issue, and I would like to say that while he is entitled to question whether or not a referendum will happen before or at 2011, I believe that this is a commitment within One Wales that must be to be kept to.
As far as I know, the establishing committee for the Convention has run smoothly, and does not reflect the negative remarks made by Paul Murphy, Don Touhig and others. We take these discussions seriously as a Party, naturally, and I believe that Sir Emyr will not want to waste time in his involvement in the Convention if there is an assumption against success in this area.
I really enjoyed the night, but found it quite odd that before the young people interviewed me they almost all laid their stall against Independence, so I was ready for a negative questioning session. Nick Partridge from ITV Wales, one of the judges also noted this, and advised that Journalists ( at least publicly anyway!) should remain neutral on their own personal political opinion. I hope that other AMs will take part in such opportunities in the future, as it inevitably gives young people experience in their chosen future profession.
On the same night I was harangued on Independence, Ieuan Wyn Jones launched the local Government election campaign in Pontypridd. The main focus of the evening was Ieuan's reference in his speech on a Referendum, and his challenge to the cynics in Labour and the Tories who are trying their very best to undermine the viability of the referendum, and the Convention. I have read Glyn Davies's blog on this issue, and I would like to say that while he is entitled to question whether or not a referendum will happen before or at 2011, I believe that this is a commitment within One Wales that must be to be kept to.
As far as I know, the establishing committee for the Convention has run smoothly, and does not reflect the negative remarks made by Paul Murphy, Don Touhig and others. We take these discussions seriously as a Party, naturally, and I believe that Sir Emyr will not want to waste time in his involvement in the Convention if there is an assumption against success in this area.
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, 13 May 2007
Talks about Talks...
I've noted how other Welsh bloggers are tackling the issue of coalition deals of late- from reading Matt Withers's column today on a possible Plaid-Labour deal, Glyn Davies who favours a minority Labour Government until a Rainbow coalition takes over, Chanticleer on Lib dem internal wranglings, and Blamerbell, who suggests that a Parliament for Wales should not be a deal breaker due to its inevitability as written within the Government of Wales Act.
What underlines the arguments in the blogs are the red-line issues for each political party- where we are ready to co-operate and sacrifice on policy proposals or political viewpoints, and where we are adamant to remain head-strong and refuse to compromise. The problem with this is that undoubtedly red line issues will differ from member to member, from area to area, and they will also differ with regards to a party's approach to an opposing political party.
It is of course fair enough to say that for us, a New Welsh language Act would be a red line issue as one of many, but I don't think that it would be enough on it's own merit to justify, for example, a rainbow coalition for the next four years. Glyn Davies mentions my 'misguided socialism', but does not outline any clear reasoning for encouraging me to embrace the concept of a rainbow coalition further than that of creating an 'alternative' to Labour in Wales. What is the long term gain of such an outcome for Wales?
However, what is of interest to me is this- If there is a different Government in Westminster to the National Assembly (for example, there could be a Rainbow Coalition in Wales, and a Labour Government in Westminster) how will Hain's veto play out with regards to passing new powers, will a referendum on a Parliament for Wales be off the cards, and could this mean more effective scrutiny of a Labour Westminster Government? It is far from clear how this would pan out.
In my humble opinion, the talks about talks must now develop in to talks about Government here in Wales. We should be discussing our aims and objectives as parties, and whether or not working together is a viable option. It could all culminate with the impossibility of any deal between us due to ideological and practical differences. Until we reach the point where we know when we would be prepared to work with other parties, and under what auspices, we will not be sure of how best to go ahead with forming any style of working Government here in Wales.
What underlines the arguments in the blogs are the red-line issues for each political party- where we are ready to co-operate and sacrifice on policy proposals or political viewpoints, and where we are adamant to remain head-strong and refuse to compromise. The problem with this is that undoubtedly red line issues will differ from member to member, from area to area, and they will also differ with regards to a party's approach to an opposing political party.
It is of course fair enough to say that for us, a New Welsh language Act would be a red line issue as one of many, but I don't think that it would be enough on it's own merit to justify, for example, a rainbow coalition for the next four years. Glyn Davies mentions my 'misguided socialism', but does not outline any clear reasoning for encouraging me to embrace the concept of a rainbow coalition further than that of creating an 'alternative' to Labour in Wales. What is the long term gain of such an outcome for Wales?
However, what is of interest to me is this- If there is a different Government in Westminster to the National Assembly (for example, there could be a Rainbow Coalition in Wales, and a Labour Government in Westminster) how will Hain's veto play out with regards to passing new powers, will a referendum on a Parliament for Wales be off the cards, and could this mean more effective scrutiny of a Labour Westminster Government? It is far from clear how this would pan out.
In my humble opinion, the talks about talks must now develop in to talks about Government here in Wales. We should be discussing our aims and objectives as parties, and whether or not working together is a viable option. It could all culminate with the impossibility of any deal between us due to ideological and practical differences. Until we reach the point where we know when we would be prepared to work with other parties, and under what auspices, we will not be sure of how best to go ahead with forming any style of working Government here in Wales.
