Plaid Cymru’s leader at Westminster Elfyn Llwyd has claimed that some Welsh MPs are deliberately slowing down the devolution process in an “unconstitutional” way. He has argued in the Western Mail that some MPs on the cross-party Welsh Affairs Select Committee are too keen to amend and water down requests from the Assembly for greater powers:
“They are acting as a second chamber for the National Assembly for Wales,” said Mr Llwyd. “We believe this is wrong, it’s unconstitutional and an inappropriate use of power.”
Under the 18-month-old constitutional settlement, MPs on the Committee scrutinise Assembly bids for more powers. They recently altered new devolved housing powers to include a Whitehall veto over some policies, a move that made many pro-devolutionists uneasy.
“The Welsh Affairs Committee have gone far further than the role intended for them in the process,” Mr Llwyd said, adding that “one or two” members of the committee were acting to slow down the bit-by-bit transfers of power.
He said: “Why should they hold a gun to the heads of all the people of Wales?
“There are some elements of the Welsh Affairs Committee who are there to put a drag on the procedure; I say this with the greatest of respect to the chairman, but I believe he should crack the whip a bit more.”
Mr. Llwyd is absolutely right. The Committee’s behaviour over the Housing Legislative Competence Order was disgraceful. It was unfortunate that Liberal Democrat MP, Mark Williams allowed himself to be carried along with the consensus view but Plaid Cymru are equally as culpable in that decision, their member of the Welsh Affairs Commitee did not even show up.
It is our view that all the pro-devolution parties need to do better in the way that they support the Welsh Assembly at Westminister. That includes both Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats. It is the only way that those who are less than friendly to the process can be constrained.
The link is here.
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Good point, the party I support, Plaid, should take heed too.
This is a good blog – non-tribal, collaborative and so far missing the tedious on-message yah-boo sucks bullshit you find on most of the others.