The decision by the Welsh Liberal Democrats to challenge the provision in the Housing Legislative Competence Order that gives a veto to the Secretary of State for Wales on whether the Assembly can draw down powers to abolish the right to buy continues to attract support.
Welsh Liberal Democrats are concerned that the veto provision is unconstitutional and will set a precedent for other more controversial measures. Their view is supported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments who concluded last week that ‘there is a doubt’ as to whether the clause in the LCO is ‘intra vires’.
On the Politics Show today the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales, Dafydd Elis-Thomas, echoed those doubts. His views can be heard about 32 minutes 30 seconds in on the BBC i-player, but essentially he said that he was seriously considering whether to make himself available so as to vote with the Welsh Liberal Democrats against the Government in the House of Lords on this matter.
Lord Elis-Thomas also said that some senior Lords shared his concerns including former judge and past Labour Minister Lord Elystan Morgan. The possibility of an alliance across parties and the cross benches of peers determined to maintain the integrity of the devolution process now poses a very real threat to the future of this defective LCO.
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