All sorts of messages from Wales welcoming my proposal that any primary legislation proposed by the Welsh Assembly be subject to approval by resolution of both Houses of Parliament, including the majority of MPs sitting for Welsh seats, before proceeding to Royal Assent. Most of them saying the same thing: the potty or pernicious schemes of what many of them term "the Taffia" would never be passed if this were the case, and especially if the Welsh MPs had such a specific veto.
Wales and Scotland both have towering records of producing towering political figures, and solid records of producing solid political figures. They are both still doing the second, and the Scots are still doing the first; the Welsh have to explain why there is no Lloyd George or Bevan in this generation. And they are both still doing what they have always done, sending them to Westminster. Scottish Conservatives may now need to seek seats in England in order to get to Westminster. But apart from that, things are unchanged.
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They say that Gordon is going to give up the wooden act that he adopted in recent years and return to the dazzling performances of his early years in the House. Most of us do not know why he ever gave them up, but we all know that it was intentional. Some marketing boy, probably. Gordon will never be on the front bench again, so he is going back to enjoying himself. If only he had enjoyed himself on the front bench, he could still be doing it.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardiff Bay lot are a proper Second XV, if that, and I have heard the same thing about Holyrood. The real talent still heads to Westminster, partly because you can still get on there without absolute fluency in a language spoken by only 20% of people in Wales, all of whom are absolutely fluent in English. By all means give the First XV the last word on laws affecting their constituents.
ReplyDeleteYou can tell the Taffia, they give their children names they themselves cannot pronounce. Obviously no expectation of employment for them outside the public sector middle class in Wales.
ReplyDeleteI always get so many communications whenever I do this one. The key point to remember is that they are as much the enemies of Welsh-speaking as of English-speaking communities.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 19:21, I hope that you are right.
Your proposal seems to go directly against the wishes of the Welsh people though.
ReplyDeletePolls show that Welsh people trust AM's way way more than their MP's. The last poll on trust found that 62% of Welsh people did not trust their MP to look after the country while only 27% felt the same about Assembly members.
On the other hand 68% of them trusted the Welsh Government when only 46% felt the same about London.
You propose whatever scheme you want, but every single poll conducted in Wales in the past few years has made it very clear that the people of Wales don't agree with you. Less control in London and more in Cardiff is the request every time.
Following opinion polls is not how a parliamentary system works. And if this was what Parliament legislated for (it probably wouldn't pass anything less), then that would be that. That IS how a parliamentary system works.
ReplyDeleteParliament should never blindly follow opinion polls - but such positive opinion polls do give a clear counterweight to your doom and gloom devolution ramblings. They simply show that for the people actually living under devolution it is a perfectly fine thing.
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