Martyn Jones

Labour Party | Clwyd South

An Organic Diet

The House Magazine, 7 March 2005

In their haste to extend the Assembly’s powers, last week’s contributors to this magazine’s Wales feature risk leaving the voters behind, argues Martyn Jones
 
After reading the articles in last week’s House Magazine by the party leaders in the Assembly I saw that – Rhodri Morgan apart – they failed to properly emphasise that a move from primary legislative powers is a fundamental constitutional change.

Their discussion rather myopically remained in the short-run, if not the past. Rather than focusing on current provision of healthcare or a party political broadcast on the council tax, we should be considering how we can encourage the natural, organic development of the assembly into a decision-making body of which the population will be proud.
In Rhodri Morgan’s recently published assessment of the proposal to extend powers to primary legislation, he very accurately cited the need to develop a set of parameters that will stand strong in the face of cohabitation between different parties in Wales and Westminster. Like Rhodri, I firmly believe that the Welsh Assembly will continue to improve its record for an agenda that matches the policy preferences of the Welsh people, but as yet commentators have failed properly to discuss the benefits of the current system. We should consider the process of scrutiny as well as the delegation of legislation – the two are by no means mutually exclusive.

The formula for devolution was always going to be a contentious issue. Calls from Plaid Cymru to extend powers even further than primary legislation do not strike a common accord with the Welsh people. There are policy areas that cross borders and will benefit from the broader outlook and enhanced scrutiny of the established institutional structure found at Westminster.

Here I must be clear about what I am not saying: that Wales will never benefit from the devolution of primary legislative power. I am merely stating that at present a better-equipped system of scrutiny exists to properly discuss the implications of such legislation, and I have been involved first-hand in its development.

The House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee has been working jointly with the assembly in the drafting of legislation for Wales. Now, given the adage that two heads are better than one, does this joint working procedure not offer the Welsh people a more plural and representative form of scrutiny?

Focusing on an example, the Welsh Affairs Select Committee with the Assembly Transport Committee jointly considered the draft Transport (Wales) Bill. The experience of all involved was that this formal joint working demonstrated a significant enhancement to scrutiny of draft legislation that affects Wales.

Clearly, such practice serves to aid both parties, the UK government and the Welsh Assembly Government, in scrutinising the agenda for Wales. Inevitably, this is beneficial for those whom we all represent, but it also provides input by backbench members of both bodies. In response to this system’s success, there has been and will continue to be an extension of this joint scrutinising role – I am sure with the blessing of the relevant House of Commons committee.

Nick Bourne’s call for a referendum is yet another example of the Tories’ disregard for the proper organic evolution of the assembly, something that will occur as it establishes itself with the Welsh people. The arguments in favour of devolving are strong; however, the assembly is certainly not a grand-standing institution and often does not properly communicate its success to the Welsh people.

Representing a region in North East Wales as I do, I am fully aware of the misguided opinion that many Welsh people have of the assembly’s work and there is certainly an education deficit that we must consider addressing. My point is that to offer such a ‘preferendum’ to the people would serve only to further entrench hostilities towards the assembly and will do nothing to encourage a national following for this still-new institution.

Constitutional engineering is a tricky business, and finding an ideal balance for Wales is no exception. What is clear is that the overriding question on whether powers should be extended is dogged by misguided attempts to grab power for its own sake, and unproductive ambivalence from many parties.

This is a new institution and we need to take every step slowly and carefully. Its success will stem from a population which believes in its authority – not one that questions it. Furthermore, as I have made very clear here, there already exists a structure for scrutinising all legislation that directly affects Wales. At present, rushing into fundamental constitutional change will not be beneficial, as we are currently improving the system organically. It may not be ideal yet but evolution is usually better than revolution.