WELSH POLITICS COME of AGE Responses to the Richard Commission

WELSH POLITICS COME OF AGE Responses to the Richard Commission EDITED BY John Osmond Published in Wales by the Institute of Welsh Affairs St Andrews House 24 St Andrews Crescent Cardiff CF10 3DD First Impression January 2005 ISBN ISBN 1 871 726 379 © Institute of Welsh Affairs All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publishers. Cover: Detail from roof of the National Assembly debating chamber – the Senedd Building - during construction in early 2004. Welsh Politics Come of Age The Institute of Welsh Affairs exists to promote quality research and informed debate affecting the cultural, social, political and economic well-being of Wales. IWA is an independent organisation owing no allegiance to any political or economic interest group. Our only interest is in seeing Wales flourish as a country in which to work and live. We are funded by a range of organisations and individuals. For more information about the Institute, its publications, and how to join, either as an individual or corporate supporter, contact: IWA - Institute of Welsh Affairs St Andrews House St Andrews Crescent Cardiff CF10 3DD Tel 029 2066 6606 Fax 029 2022 1482 Email [email protected] Web www.iwa.org.uk The ESRC Research Programme on Devolution and Constitutional Change Welsh Politics Come of Age CONTENTS INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1 PROVENANCE AND PROMISE........................................................................................................................5 JOHN OSMOND CHAPTER 2 RICHARD’S RADICAL RECIPE ......................................................................................................................22 CHARLIE JEFFERY CHAPTER 3 THE ASSEMBLY’S FUTURE AS A LEGISLATIVE BODY ........................................................................35 ALAN TRENCH CHAPTER 4 THE BEST ELECTORAL SYSTEM.................................................................................................................51 LAURA MCALLISTER CHAPTER 5 POWER OF THE PURSE..................................................................................................................................63 GILLIAN BRISTOW CHAPTER 6 CULLING THE QUANGOS...............................................................................................................................78 KEVIN MORGAN AND STEVIE UPTON CHAPTER 7 VIEWS FROM CARDIFF BAY .......................................................................................................................100 1. A KEY TO UNLOCK THE FUTURE .......................................................................................................100 Michael German AM 2. AN ACCEPTABLE COMPROMISE.........................................................................................................107 Helen Mary Jones AM 3. CONSERVATIVES WILL DELIVER......................................................................................................110 Glyn Davies AM 4. ENHANCED POWERS WITHIN THE RICHARD TIME-SCALE .........................................................118 Leighton Andrews AM 4 Welsh Politics Come of Age CHAPTER 8 VIEWS FROM WESTMINSTER.....................................................................................................................126 1. STILL EARLY MORNING AFTER THE DEVOLUTION DAWN ........................................................126 Gareth Thomas MP 2. ANOTHER STEP DOWN THE SEPARATIST ROAD............................................................................133 Llew Smith MP CHAPTER 9 WHAT DO THE PEOPLE WANT? ...............................................................................................................154 RICHARD WYN JONES AND ROGER SCULLY CHAPTER 10 THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF 21ST CENTURY WALES......................................................................169 PETER STEAD CHAPTER 11 TOWARDS 2007...............................................................................................................................................177 JOHN OSMOND NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS .......................................................................................................................200 Welsh Politics Come of Age INTRODUCTION This book arises from a conference organised by the Institute of Welsh Affairs and the ESRC Devolution and Constitution Change Programme in April 2004, at which Lord Richard himself was one of the speakers. Other contributions were made by the authors to be found in this volume, joined by Dr Gillian Bristow, Roger Scully, Llew Smith MP, and Stevie Upton. Of course, events have moved on a good deal since publication of the Commission’s report, and this book takes account of these up to the end of November 2004. In particular, following widespread consultation with its membership, Welsh Labour held a special conference on the Richard Commission’s report in September 2004. This raised the question how far the recommendations could be taken in part, as it were, and how far they should be swallowed whole. A good deal of the arguments between the parties on the future direction of the Welsh constitution centres on this unresolved question. What has become clear since the Richard Commission reported is that whatever eventually is put into effect will depend a good deal on the political formation in power in Cardiff Bay following the 2007 Assembly election. The opening Chapter traces the origins of the Commission to the period leading up to the 1997 UK general election. Unlike Scotland Wales did not have the benefit of a Constitutional Convention to hammer out agreement between the parties on the shape of the devolution settlement. The decision that a referendum should be held to approve Labour’s devolution plans led to the commitment that an element of proportionality would have to be built into the Assembly elections. Without proportional representation Labour would not have been able to persuade the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru to co-operate in the referendum. In turn, proportional representation prevented Labour winning a majority of seats in the first elections in 1999 and led to the coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats in October 2000. It was this that produced the agreement that a Commission should be established to consider the Assembly’s powers and electoral arrangements. Welsh Politics Come of Age In Chapter 2 Professor Charlie Jeffery surveys what he describes as the Richard Commission’s “closely argued and in many respects compelling set of recommendations” and provides a frank account of the politics that are likely to determine their implementation. He concludes that in the end another referendum seems inevitable if for no other reason than to clear a path forward. The implications of the Richard recommendations for the Assembly as a legislature are examined by Alan Trench in Chapter 3. He examines some practical implications of the Assembly being able to legislate, including how much legislation would be passed, how the Assembly would relate to Westminster, and what the change would mean for the its internal workings. There seems little doubt that the Richard Commission found the second part of its brief, the electoral arrangements of the Assembly, the hardest. Professor Laura McCallister, Plaid Cymru’s nominee on the Commission, confirms this in the fourth Chapter. She describes with great clarity the intricate process through which the Commission went in coming to what she frankly acknowledges to be the least worst option. As she puts it, “few members of the Commission rejoiced” at being forced by the evidence face up to the advantages of STV. At the same time she says that the report “was deliberately drafted as a holistic, interlinked blueprint for improved devolved governance and inter- governmental relations.” Acknowledging that the Labour Party in particular will be tempted to drop this aspect of the Commission’s recommendations, she argues, “Carving out some of its central proposals weakens the logic of others related to powers and size and, in so doing, jeopardises the workability of the scheme as a whole.” Chapter 5 examines the fundamental question of the Assembly’s finances. On these the Richard Commission’s conclusions were inconclusive. It noted that though tax varying powers for the Assembly along Scottish lines would be “desirable” they were not “essential”. On the complex matter of the operation of the Barnett formula, the mechanism for distributing increases in funding between the countries of the United Kingdom, the Commission pronounced that it was not competent to come to any view on whether it would be desirable to make any change. In her chapter Gillian Bristow argues strongly that Wales stands to gain from the introduction of a more equitable needs- based formula. However, she concludes that, due to political forces outside Wales resolution of the question is a long way off. Welsh Politics Come of Age The question of the quango state and its relationship with the National Assembly was part of the Richard Commission’s deliberations. Again, it did not come to a clear view in its recommendations. It noted that the coming of the Assembly had brought a closer political involvement in the direction of the quangos by the Assembly Government. At the same time, it was critical of the

Load more