A WHIFF OF DEVO ROLLBACK?

At least from this end of the M4 / A55 there appears to be more than a faint whiff of what could best be described as devo rollback in the air. As the new now unconstrained All Con Conservative government settles in at Westminster, what's in it for Cymru / Wales - potentially nothing good. Scotland, as far as the Westminster unionists may quietly (and honestly) admit over a pint of claret may be perceived as a lost cause (perhaps a literal case of 'when' rather than 'if' in relation to independence). Cymru / Wales on the other hand may yet offer far more constitutional room to meddle with, to tinker with or even rollback parts of our deeply flawed constitutional settlement. 

A weak 'badly' drafted Wales bill (which may well be on the cards) may be the green light to ramp up the rollback process. That's why Plaid Cymru's Lord Dafydd Wigley is absolutely right to seek urgent clarification about Westminster's pre-election hint that control of fracking would be devolved to the National Assembly rather than retained at Westminster. The rejection of planning permission for fracking in Lancashire, in North West England is significant as the active search by fracking companies for new locations is continuing. There is a need for complete acceptance by Westminster that that fracking cannot go ahead in any part of Wales without the express permission of the National Assembly. 

There certainly now appears to be a Westminster wobble in relation to the commitment to complete the electrification of the Great Western line to Swansea. This taken with the news that hard pressed commuters and businesses will face at least another five years of Severn Bridge tolls could be taken as a hint that our national priorities have been put on the electoral back burner by Westminster. Our constitutional settlement, such as it is is even to the disinterested should appear deeply flawed and simply unfair, not coming remotely close to either Scotland or Northern Ireland when it comes to powers which could be used to influence and shape economic matters. 

Now, at least from my perspective, the whole sorry laborious constitutional journey, has never simply been about powers for powers sake, it's been about trying to get the appropriate tools to change our countries economy for the better. That said in Cymru / Wales, when it comes to acquiring a degree of constitutional fairness we always seem to have to jump through hoop after hoop, again and again. This if nothing else should clearly demonstrate the degree of contempt with which Cymru / Wales is perceived and treated, not least by our Labour in Wales representatives in Westminster.

ONLY PLAID CAN DELIVER FOR WALES

Plaid Cymru has responded to the UK Government’s command paper on further devolution. Click here to read Plaid’s full response in the paper, 'Who Speaks for Wales?' Plaid entered talks with the UK Government in a spirit of cooperation but felt unable to celebrate proposals that amounted to a row-back on a compromise. The party said the proposals would still leave Welsh devolution languishing behind Scotland and Northern Ireland and the announcement on funding public services still leaves Wales worse off compared to Scotland. While the powers over fracking that are to be devolved to Wales after Plaid Cymru’s long campaign to protect Welsh communities from the practice until it is proven safe are to be welcomed, this was one small measure amongst the raft of the wider powers that were being discussed. 

PARITY WITH SCOTLAND

It’s not difficult to come to the conclusion; that since the advent of devolution, that the package of powers we have been given in Wales is second rate when compared to both Scotland and Northern Ireland. With the publication of new legislative proposals (Thursday 22^nd January) for further Scottish devolution, a new going-rate for powers has been set and Wales should settle for nothing less that parity with Scotland.

This is a simple matter of basic fairness. Wales is every bit as much a nation as Scotland and we should expect to be treated on the basis of equality. If we settle for second best, then there are also significant consequences for Wales. Scotland will have powers to block fracking for example; Welsh communities will be left to the tender mercy of Westminster. Scotland will have a greater say on how the money it raises is spent while in Wales we will continue to lack the levers to turn around our economy and create jobs.

A recent poll suggested a clear majority agree with Plaid Cymru that our nation should have parity of powers with Scotland. All the other party leaders should join Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru’s Leader to work to secure the will of the people and a devolution package that respects Wales and gives our people the tools that other nations take for granted.

The status quo or doing nothing is not an option. If we choose that course then the gulf between the strength of our self-government and that of other countries within these islands will only continue to widen and to undermine Wales' position and hindering our ability to act in Wales' interests on a wide range of issues.

STANDING UP FOR WALES… NOT

Fracking? On our doorstep or perhaps under it

It may literally be a case of talking the talk but not walking the walk when it comes to the Labour in Wales Welsh governments claim to be standing up for Wales. A recent Parliamentary Question by Jonathan Edwards MP has revealed that the Labour in Wales Welsh Government has failed to press the Westminster Government on devolving powers over fracking to Wales.

Plaid Cymru tabled amendments to devolve powers over fracking to Wales and our country’s Labour in Wales elected representatives in Westminster sat on their hands or like the old News of the World made their excuses and left.  Perhaps it is simply a case of talking the talk at home and then hopping than no one will notice when their colleagues continue to do little for Wales at Westminster.

There are real and serious concerns about the environmental impact of fracking, which is why a number of countries in Europe and several US states have introduced moratoriums on fracking. The way things are at present; Wales will have no power to do so, with the Westminster Government yet again dominating Wales in relation to the licensing or prohibition of fracking.

Now what is interesting is that Scotland is set to have full powers over licensing fracking as set out in the Smith Commission proposals which all Westminster parties support following Gordo’s Vow made to the people of Scotland during the independence referendum campaign, the Labour Government in Cardiff has not been pushing for Wales to have the same powers.

Last Tuesday the UK Westminster government agreed to exclude Scotland from laws making it easier for fracking firms to drill for shale gas. The Infrastructure Bill, which is currently passing through Westminster, is set to allow underground access in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but not Scotland.

In Scotland, the SNP Scottish government, the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Green Party have all opposed the bill provisions of which would apply to residential areas. Scottish MP’s in Westminster had lodged amendments to the bill – the question might be asked is where were our Labour in Westminster elected representatives?

Jonathan Edwards MP said:

“It is absolutely astonishing that despite constantly claiming to be standing up for Wales, and that Wales should have the same powers as Scotland, Labour have yet again revealed that they talk a good game but do precious little to make it happen.

“As part of the devolution of powers promised to the people as part of the vow in the independence referendum, Scotland will have full powers over the planning and licensing of fracking. What is good enough for Scotland is also good enough for Wales, and we should also have the same powers.

“Yet Labour has been shambolic in its approach to delivering this for Wales. Last year, the Labour First Minister said that Wales should have the same powers as Scotland, yet parliamentary questions reveal that away from the press headlines, Labour are not even pushing for those powers, perhaps obeying the commands of their London masters. They are just rolling over and allowing Welsh resources to be plundered for Westminster and City of London profit.

“Wales should have full powers over the licensing of fracking. Plaid Cymru tabled amendments to the Infrastructure Bill in Parliament towards the end of last year seeking to enable Wales to have those powers, yet Labour refused to vote in favour.  

"Plaid Cymru consistently works for Wales in Westminster, pushing for more powers, investment and control over natural resources, and against damaging austerity cuts.”

NORTHERN IRELAND 1 WALES 0

Legislation that should allow Corporation Tax powers to be devolved to Stormont has been published. Corporation tax is levied on the profits made by companies. The current rate paid by businesses in Northern Ireland is 21%, which compares unfavourably with the 12.5% rate in the Republic of Ireland. The Northern Ireland Executive wants to be able to match the tax rate in the Republic. The new powers won't come into effect until 2017.

It is vital that our country has the tools to build a fair and sustainable economy and it is important that power is fairly balanced across the UK, with Wales having parity with the other constituent parts. The Silk Commission recommended that Corporation Tax should be devolved to Wales in the event of it being devolved to other parts of the UK.

The Westminster Con Dem coalition government plans to pass the law before May's general election. All the political parties in Wales agreed to this principle and Plaid Cymru has long argued the case for this important lever to be made available to the Welsh Government. The party, formally known as New Labour, has said that it will not oppose the passage of the Bill. 

AT HAGUE’S COMMAND?

The Conservatives sudden interest in "English votes for English laws” something conveniently happens to put the Labour Party in Westminster an awkward spot, in relation to the status of its Welsh and Scottish elected representatives, may be purely coincidental or it may not. Aside from mixing things up for the Labour Party, one of the main reasons why the Conservative Party has developed a keen interest in all things ‘English’ is because the UK Independence Party has emerged from the shadows calling loudly for the reform of the governance of England – something that has been independently confirmed by the most recent report of the Future of England Survey (FoES).

The survey’s findings don’t make comfortable reading for the Conservative part of the Con Dem coalition government. The study has noted a clear and growing dissatisfaction among English voters at the way the UK’s most populous nation is governed and a preference for an England-wide political institution to represent English interests. Although the current Conservative leaders preferred option of English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) has the most widespread support, it is short of a majority and, when voters in England are asked who best represents the interests of England, both Mr Cameron and the Conservative party are well behind Nigel Farage and UKIP.

Yet when it comes to finding an answer to the English Question, voters continue to place concerns over the governance of England well behind worries about the influence of the EU. However, there is a clear dissatisfaction with the current arrangements for governing England – with no more than a quarter preferring the status quo. The study noted that if somewhat more tentatively; the support for EVEL appears to be the preferred choice of voters – again short of a majority – and has gained popularity compared to the earlier FoES studies in 2013 and 2012.

Support for an English Parliament is of the same order of magnitude as support for the status quo whereas support for localism either in the form of regional assemblies or enhanced local government remains very low. While David Cameron’s suggested answer to the English question may be slightly ahead but there is growing evidence that neither he nor his party is trusted to deliver it. When asked “Which party best stands up for the interests of England?”, the Conservatives ironically came fourth (16%), behind UKIP (23%), ‘None of the Above’ (19%) and Labour (17%), although well ahead of the Lib Dems (4%). Much the same pattern is seen in terms of the party leaders.

Interestingly enough when asked which leader best stands up for English interests, Nigel Farage was voters’ first choice (22%) his nearest rival though isn’t even another party leader, it was the ‘None of the Above’ option which came in second place, with 21% of the survey’s 3,705 respondents in England dismissing all of the available political leaders. Mr Cameron is third on 15%, just ahead of Ed Miliband on 13%. The Deputy Prime Minister’s rating matched those of his party and, at 4%, slightly behind Boris Johnson on 9%.

The Con Dems in Westminster have now issued a Command Paper with a number of different options in relation to the problem of English votes for English laws an issue that which been quietly rumbling away in the background since the 1990’s. William Hague’s Command Paper included four main options:

• Simply excluding Scottish and Northern Irish MPs from any role in English and Welsh bills and limiting England-only bills to English MPs
• Basically allowing only English MPs, or English and Welsh MPs, to consider relevant bills during their committee and report stages, where amendments are tabled and agreed, before allowing all MPs to vote on the final bill
• Allowing only English MPs, or English and Welsh MPs, to consider relevant bills at committee stage and giving them a effective veto in a separate vote before their third reading
• There was even a Lib Dem plan for the establishment of a grand committee of English MPs, with the right to veto legislation applying only England, with its members based on the share of the vote.

These, to varying degrees subject to safeguards cold be said to be reasonable options and despite the bluster from Westminster and the Labour Party, potentially sensible and fair solution which could be worked out, given sufficient time and effort on the part of the Westminster based and focused political parties. The problem is that the on-going row over the issue could result in the real issue of the legislative imbalance between the different nations and regions within these islands continuing to remain unresolved.

Part of the problem can be put down to the overly complex nature of legislation, as bills that appear to relate to England only can include some well buried clauses that relate to Wales, some of which could have significant and potentially unforeseen consequences for our country. The way the budget works at the moment, means that if Welsh MPs are excluded from voting on English measures there could be a real negative impact on the Welsh budget. At a very basic level this would be both unfair and unjust.  

What’s needed is the implementation of a much more sensible and balanced devolution settlement whereby the four constituent parts of the British State have the same legislative and executive powers. Unless this happens then any drift (and drift may be a fair description) towards developing “English Votes for English Laws” would be pretty difficult to enforce and could result in the existence several different tiers of MPs.

The consistent failure over the last 15 years to address the imbalance between powers and funding in constituent parts of the UK along with cumulative nature of the fudged and bodged nature of the devolution settlement can no longer be ignored. The way things stand at the moment the Westminster based and focused political parties are treating Wales as a second-class nation and will they may pay for this at the ballot box next May, at least in Wales.

MR SMITH GOES TO WESTMINSTER

The publication of the Smith Commission adds yet another weighty tone to the growing pile of Westminster produced solutions to the problem of devolution in Scotland. The three London based and Westminster centred political parties have come up with a partial solution to what they perceive as the Scottish problem. 

Perception is key here, if you in Scotland your perception of ‘the problem’ is going to be very different to that of the Westminster based parties. Wales needs as wide an array of job creation-levers as possible to help move forward the Welsh economy. Aside form a parity of powers; this must actually mean a parity of resources.

The Barnett formula (deeply flawed as it is) is now effectively enshrined as Westminster’s formula of choice for the allocation of resources to devolved administrations. An unreformed unfair funding formula leaves the Welsh people out of pocket to the tune of some £1.2b billion pounds – this funding gap between Wales and Scotland is yet to be addressed.

The Conservatives, perhaps as a way of destabilising the party formerly known as New Labour, have embraced the touchy issue of English Votes for English Laws. This issue is going to looms large on the horizon before Christmas. It remains clear that, English votes for English laws aside, there is a real need for a symmetrical constitutional settlement for the devolved Parliaments to avoid the creation of 1^st and 2^nd class MPs.

Historically successive UK Westminster Governments have dealt with constitutional issues on a haphazard basis, largely in the hope that the problem of devolution would go away for a while. The Westminster elite has one chance and one chance only to save the Union following recent events in Scotland.

If the Union is going to work, then there needs to be a comprehensive settlement to fully empowers the devolved Parliaments on an equal basis. The years of waffle, delay and time wasting have been frustrating, but unless a decent devolutionary settlement is delivered and is actually perceived to have been delivered then the Union will remain on a very shaky footing indeed.

Not for the first time the Westminster based political parties are out of touch with what the people of Wales want. A recent YouGov poll reported that 63% of people think Wales should have the same powers as Scotland. Details of Plaid Cymru's vision for the future governance of Wales can be found here: Bringing our Government Home.