A BETTER DEAL FOR WALES

Today, once again trying to put Wales first, Plaid Cymru has tabled a series of amendments to the remaining stage of the Wales Bill, which is currently being debated in the Commons. The amendments seek to strengthen Wales’ economy and our democracy by boosting borrowing powers and give the National Assembly powers to hold binding referenda.

Plaid Cymru Treasury spokesperson Jonathan Edwards MP said:

“Throughout the course of the Wales Bill, Plaid Cymru has sought to deliver the best deal possible for our nation by tabling ambitious amendments which would strengthen the Bill and provide the Welsh government with as wide an array of job-creating powers as possible.

“If passed, the amendments we have tabled would empower the Welsh Government to issue financial guarantees for infrastructure projects - if the Welsh Government secured 5% of the UK Government’s spend on guarantees it would underwrite £2bn of investment.

“Our amendments would also remove the handcuffs which prevent the Welsh Government from choosing what infrastructure projects to spend on, rather than being told to spend on the M4, for example. All four corners of Wales need ambitious infrastructure projects and the Westminster Government shouldn’t stand in the way of this.

“The Labour party regrettably, rather than strengthening the hand of the Labour-run Welsh Government to intervene in the Welsh economy, has tabled several wrecking amendments aimed at delaying progress in implementing the Bill. This is the only piece of Welsh legislation we have seen during this five-year parliament.   As the Bill stands Wales would still be playing catch-up with where Scotland is now. 

“Rather than make panicked pledges to Scotland and treat Wales as a second class nation, the Westminster parties should be taking this bill – and our nation’s best interests – seriously.”

Hywel Williams MP added:

“As far as Plaid Cymru’s constitutional amendment goes, it would ensure that the National Assembly for Wales had the power to hold binding referenda in order to honour the will of the Welsh people. 

“However, the Edinburgh Agreement which provides for a clear legal base for the referendum on Scottish independence in September has set a precedent for this.

“Plaid Cymru believes that Wales too should be granted this same power. Of course, not all referenda centre on questions of independence – it is the principal that the people of Wales should be able to decide what powers they have and when.

“It is simply a matter of democracy that if the National Assembly is to be granted further powers, that institution should have the power to ask the people of Wales whether they support certain measures.”

It will be interesting to see how the representatives of those Westminster based political parties with electoral representation in Wales vote on Plaid’s amendments to the bill... 

TALKING THE TALK...

The Wales Bill 2014, despite its flaws, will go some way (despite Peter the Pains selective moaning) towards strengthening our fledgling democracy.  That said, having read through the draft bill and its amendments I find myself left thinking that the bill remains a missed opportunity when it comes to making devolution work for Wales.

The London based parties having repeatedly and regularly stated that they are committed to further meaningful devolution, yet they have failed to demonstrate any real ambition for Wales. So it comes as no surprise that Labour in Westminster, nominally a party that makes much of its claims to be focused on strengthening the Welsh economy, has tabled nothing but wrecking amendments.

It should have been possible to suggest relatively widely supportive and positive changes which could have delivered some of the tools to do the job of making Wales a more prosperous place. Plaid tabled a wide variety of amendments to improve and strengthen the bill including:

·        Devolving control over setting the number of Assembly Members,

·        Reforming the UK funding formula which sees Wales lose out on £400m a year, and

·  Granting the Welsh Government the power to issue bonds (similar to the Scottish Government).

Most reasonable observers would probably agree that the National Assembly needs more powers to help deliver a sustainable recovery for the Welsh economy and ensure that it becomes a more accountable institution. Whatever is said about the current Wales bill when it is eventually passed it will deliver some more powers, but, nowhere near enough to deliver the real and significant economic change that Wales needs.

Too many powers still remain with Westminster and too many aspects of Welsh people's lives are decided by largely indifferent Westminster based and Westminster focused political parties. We in Wales have to jump through far too many hoops (and there may be many more hoops yet to come) simply to gain the tools needed to deliver for our country economically. 

The Wales Bill could have been Labour in Westminster’s opportunity to show its support for devolution. The choice was a simple one either stands up for Wales or supports the Con Dem Government's attempts to dismantle our welfare state, justice system and meddle with other matters that remain controlled from London. 

NO SURPRISE THERE THEN...

The debate surrounding the debate around the Wales Bill (and the important related issue of fair funding for Wales) which took at Westminster has flushed out some blatant contradictions within the party formerly known as New Labour both in Wales and in Westminster. So rather than bringing clarity to the Labour position on devolution in relation to further financial powers and fair funding for Wales we have ended up with an increasingly bizarre series of contradictions.

Differences of opinions (which have existed for some time) have now fully emerged between Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones, Labour leader Ed Miliband and Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith MP (an individual with diverse and contradictory opinions on the tax lockstep as he is both for it and against it) in relation to devolution and how it should or should not develop. Whatever Labour in Wales and Westminster is or is not saying about devolution in Wales, they are saying something different in relation to Scotland.

People may well ask just exactly who speaks for Labour on devolution and just exactly who speaks for Wales. Some of this, I think, can be put can be down to simple ineptitude and some of it can be put down to  barely disguised self-interest on the part of Labour in Westminster MP’s. I suggest this as some of these peoples comfortable jobs will be on the line if Wales gains more powers and the number of Welsh MP’s are understandably reduced.

Most of the responsibility for this  confused and inherently contradictory Labour vision for Wales is down to the fact that Labour in Wales remains deeply split over devolution. The problem is that this shambolic situation does not help the people of Wales very much who are struggling with the effects of the Con Dem Government’s ill-thought out austerity programme. It also further strains the paper thin credibility of Labour in Wales's claim to be standing up for Wales.