Reasons to be positive. Vote YES March 3rd.

Speaking at a Yes for Wales meeting. Chapter Arts Centre, Canton, Cardiff.
February 10th 2011.

With thanks to Cardiffian News.

Celyn

A special Yes For Wales issue of Celyn is out now, featuring former First Minister of Wales, Rhodri Morgan, former leader of Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Wigley, authors Rachel Trezise and Mike Parker, Jeff Evans, David Llewellyn Davies, Katie Dalton, Ian Ross, Joy Kent and Gordon James from Friends of the Earth Cymru.


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slippery slope

This week, the Electoral Commission took a decision which will almost inevitably lead to a low turnout on March 3rd. The rules governing referendums mean that two sides have to be designated by the Electoral Commission to be the official Yes and No campaigns.

True Wales, the group which have been campaigning for a No vote for at least two years and who were the only people likely to get official designation, chose not to apply. Under the rules, if there is no official 'No' campaign, there cannot be an official 'Yes' campaign.

With designation, both sides would have been able to send a leaflet to every house explaining the case, with free delivery by the Royal Mail. They would have had free TV and radio time to put the arguments across. Not so now.

The latest polls, while positive for the 'Yes' side, show a very high number of people who are still undecided. My experience on the streets so far is that levels of knowledge and understanding are low.

The question is far from straightforward. We will be asked if we want the Assembly's law-making process to change so that laws can be made in the 20 devolved areas, without first having to ask Westminster for the powers. There will be no radical transformation with a 'yes' vote, but a 'no' vote could have devastating consequences, beginning the slippery slope which will lead to the end of Welsh devolution. A low turn out with those currently undecided persuaded to vote 'No' could make for a close result. On a low turnout, anything could happen.

Those who ultimately want to abolish the Assembly are using simple messages about the Assembly being a 'waste' with 'incapable politicians' presiding over an under-performing economy. These messages will undoubtedly hit home with people who have every right to be cynical about mainstream politics. However, these points could be equally made about Westminster. Politicians there have been shown to be corrupt money-wasters, who presided over a catastrophic economic failure which will have a long and lasting impact on health, education and other public services used by 60 million people. Yet do we conclude that it's the fault of the system, that the solution lies in the abolition of both Houses of the UK Parliament? No, we call for a change in the politicians or the party in power if we don't like thier policies. So why is it different in Wales?

Wales loses out to the tune of £300 million every year because of the inbuilt unfairness of the outdated Barnett Formula, is it any wonder Wales's economy is under-performing? Although this referendum is not about funding arrangements, no-one seriously thinks there is any chance of positive reform unless there is a strong 'Yes' vote in the powers referendum. And as for saving money, so far the system whereby Wales has to persuade London to pass over the powers to make laws has cost 3,000 hours and £2 million in civil servants and legal experts.

And claims that people in Wales don't have the ability to make laws should be treated as a joke.

It now falls to the Yes campaign to make sure the real issues are explained to as many people as possible over the next month. We have hundreds of committed volunteers in every part of the country and so we should be able to reach hundreds of thousands of people. If you've not signed up to the yes campaign yet, you can do so here.

Old rivals join forces for Wales

Assembly Members Leighton Andrews and Leanne Wood joined forces this morning to hand out leaflets for the Yes campaign in Tonypandy Market in the Rhondda.

It is the first time that Mr Andrews, the Labour Minister for Education and Rhondda AM, and Ms Wood, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales Central since 2003, have ever campaigned together.

Mr Andrews said: “The cross-party Yes for Wales campaign is now up and running and taking the message to the people of the Rhondda. We had a great reception in Tonypandy today despite the weather.”

Ms Wood added: “Over the years Leighton and I have not always seen eye-to-eye on a range of political issues so I wouldn’t be surprised if our presence on the streets together in Tonypandy surprised a few people.

“Although we have our differences, when it comes to securing a stronger voice for Wales, we are in full agreement. We had a positive response from the shoppers and I hope the message is getting across to people that this is a positive step.”

From the Yes for Wales website (IeDros Gymru yn Gymraeg).
Rhondda Says Yes is now on Facebook here.

Wales wins praise for waste law

"We bin 10 Wembleys full of food a year – what a waste of energy" says the headline in today's Independent on Sunday in an article by Kate Youde. "Wales has shown the way by collecting and reusing kitchen rubbish, but most UK councils lag behind"

Its not mentioned in the article, but Wales's success on this front is down to the Environment and Waste measure which set Welsh waste targets. The measure came about after a wait of almost three years for the Environment Legislative Competence Order which had to be granted by Westminster before the Assembly was free to legislate.

The referendum on the Assembly's law-making powers which takes place on March 3rd will get rid of the costly and cumbersome LCO system, which requires us to ask Westminster's permission before laws which only affect Wales can be made. Why not make it your new year's resolution to vote YES for Wales in March?

What's this referendum all about?

On 3rd March, people in Wales will go to the polls to decide the future of Wales's law-making system. This explanation is taken from an interview for Celyn magazine issue#3 - Autumn 2009


What’s wrong with the current legislative system, given that it has been in place for a relatively short amount of time?

There are two stages to our legislative system in the Assembly. The first stage involves getting the competence to make the laws drawn down from Westminster and the second stage is making the law itself. The first stage is the issue that has caused the problems. It has been slow and due to a limit on UK Parliamentary time there has been a limit on the number of competence orders we can ask for. There have been opportunities for those who are not positively disposed to devolution to interfere in the system and to water down the demands of the Assembly. If we get a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum we will be able to move straight to the second stage of the process. We won’t have to ask for competence from Westminster and will be able to get on and make those laws in the areas where competence is devolved to the Assembly.


What difference would it make to Wales if the Assembly took powers directly in the 20 areas it currently has responsibility for rather than having to go to Westminster initially?

The main difference is that we could make measures and legislation much more quickly than we can at the moment. We would have more capacity for making measures in the Assembly and there would be fewer opportunities to those who are not disposed to devolution to interfere in the process. Although holding a referendum implies there would be a big change, it is, in reality, little more than an administrative tidying up exercise.

The Assembly has had problems trying to acquire the power to suspend the right-to-buy in areas of high housing pressure. The Right to Buy, brought in by Thatcher, is responsible for taking more than 135,000 council houses out of the public sector in Wales. In order to stop the leaching of houses from the public sector we need to stop the sale of those houses. The Assembly wanted to make that law but the MPs in Westminster have prevented that happening so far. The Deputy Minister for Housing, Jocelyn Davies had to make a fresh attempt to draw down the powers after her first application was blocked. Hopefully, we will be able to suspend the right-to-buy at the end of this Assembly term but only when I see the legislative competence order before the Assembly will I believe it. [update: the LCO has now been granted and the affordable housing measure is going through the Assembly – after three and a half years.]


Would making those decisions in Cardiff really make any difference to the lives of the people of Wales and, if so, how?

People can now have a much greater input into the laws that affect their lives. Many organisations, if you ask them, would support a yes vote in a referendum for that reason. People will not be getting up the morning after a yes vote people declaring ‘my life is a whole lot better’ because the Assembly has the power to make laws.

It will be difficult to see any immediate change but in the long term, I think we will gain more confidence in our ability to do things for ourselves and people in Wales will take a much more active role in contributing to the legislation that affects their lives.

A yes vote will not be earth-shattering, but a no vote would indicate a lack of confidence in devolution as a project and in Wales as a nation. From what I see, most people are proud of what Wales has become. They will have a chance to register that pride on March 3rd.

Campaigning for a Better Wales

The annual Plaid Cymru conference kicks off tomorrow in Aberystwyth. I’m looking to catching up with fellow-travellers and discussing politics. The next 12 months, with key elections and, hopefully, the referendum on Assembly powers, taking place, will shape Welsh politics for a generation. This conference is Plaid's chance to make sure we are ready.

Plaid leader, Ieuan Wyn Jones has nominated me as the party’s representative on the all-party steering group to campaign for a ‘Yes’ vote. Meetings have been held over the summer and strategies are being drawn up to make sure we can run a campaign we can win. A NO vote in this referendum would be a devastating blow to our confidence as a nation and to the devolution project, which most people see as a positive development in Wales.

We simply have to win this vote.

It's crucial that the Assembly has the tools it needs to do the job. With public spending cuts likely to have a bigger impact in Wales it's vital that our Assembly is strong enough to help Wales withstand the coming storm.

At the moment, the Assembly has to obtain permission from Westminster to make laws in devolved areas. It's a bureaucratic nightmare worthy of a political satire. The debacle over the Housing Legislative Competence Order (LCO), which was left on the back burner for three years before finally being rubber stamped recently, is a case in point.

This is why UNDEB (Plaid's Trades Union arm) has decided to concentrate on the referendum at this year's Plaid Cymru conference. We have teamed up with Cymru Yfory to officially kick start Plaid’s campaign for a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum. UNDEB’S Ian Titherington will provide the arguments as to why workers and the trade union movement should support the ‘Yes’ campaign and former Ceredigion MP, Cynog Dafis, will provide practical information about setting up campaign groups, messages and communications on behalf of Tomorrow's Wales.

A NO vote will severely weaken the Assembly's ability to act as a shield to protect those people in our communities who will be most vulnerable to cuts and high levels of unemployment, which are on their way.

Everyone who believes the destiny of this country should be in the hands of this country, should get involved in the ‘Yes’ campaign. I’m hoping there will a good attendance and lively discussion at the fringe event tomorrow.

Referendum - bring it on!

Today sees the publication of the report by the All Wales Convention, and it seems that a majority of people favour the Assembly gaining law making powers, and moving to become a Parliament, similar to Scotland's.

The All Wales Convention, chaired by Sir Emyr Jones Parry, has hosted public consultations to gauge opinion on further powers for the Assembly, received 700 pieces of evidence and has spoken to 2,000 people.

We have seen time after time that the current LCO system has acted as a barrier preventing us in Wales from introducing strong legislation. This halfway house system has enabled MPs to put blocks on our efforts to ensure more affordable housing. They've tied our hands as we tried to ensure that our children can travel safely on buses. They've limiting our powers over the Welsh language and ignored our attempt to legislate to tackle climate change. I hope this report will help to change the system into one where people in Wales can have a much greater input into the laws which we live by.