Leanne Wood Wales Bill Speech

Plaid Cymru has decided to vote against the Wales Bill because it seeks to claw back powers from Wales to Westminster. 

Plaid Cymru's Dr Dai Lloyd AM has confirmed that his party's Assembly Members intend to vote against an LCM (Legislative Consent Motion) on the controversial Wales Bill in the Assembly today.

Dr Dai Lloyd AM said that the deal on offer to Wales represented a significant roll-back of powers to Westminster and was forcing the National Assembly to choose between a bad bill and no bill.

He added that his party cannot, in good conscience, support a bill which undermines the democratic will of people in Wales who voted for more powers in the 2011 referendum.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Dr Dai Lloyd AM, Chair of the Plaid Cymru Assembly Group, said:

"Plaid Cymru exists to put the national interests of Wales and its people first at all times.

"This is an undemocratic bill which represents a significant roll-back of powers. Plaid Cymru cannot, in good conscience, support a bill, which undermines the democratic will of people in Wales who voted for more powers in the 2011 referendum.

"If this Wales Bill was already enshrined in law, the National Assembly would not have been able to pass key legislation such as the organ donation act and laws on education, the environment and the Welsh language.

"The Westminster government is forcing Wales to choose between a bad bill and no bill. Plaid Cymru refuses to settle for that.

"While the Wales Bill may deliver a fair fiscal framework, this should never have been conditional upon a deeply flawed bill, which simultaneously takes powers away from our National Assembly.

"If this legislation passes, the debate must immediately move on to focus on the real empowerment of the Assembly with responsibility over areas such as justice, policing, and welfare.

"The days of Wales gratefully accepting crumbs from Westminster's table must end."

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.