Mumbles Labour Party Submission to the Richards Commission
|
| There was a degree of cynicisim in the
branch about this consultation process. Establishing
the Richards Commission before the Assembly elections
was felt to be a sop to the perceived Nationalist threat.
It also has not been charged with dealing with one of
the most thorny issues about its powers, that is the Assembly's
relationships with local government in Wales. |
| The branch were on the whole disappointed
at the powers that the Assembly was established with,
and wanted it to have more. It still felt that an
increase in powers would enable it to have a more positive
affect on the lives of the people of Wales. The
Scottish model was felt to be more appropriate, where
they had the freedom to addesss issues such as elderly
care, student support and taxation powers. However,
many questioned that the timing for this debate was too
soon. |
| Outside of the politically active it was
felt that support for the Assembly was soft, and although
this was building, and the Assembly had started to have
a positive impact, this was not at a point where an increase
in powers could be said to have been earned. In
many areas the Assembly has not exploited its powers fully,
and in only a few cases had it attempted to push the boundaries
of its remit. It wasn't until the electorate could
clearly see the Assembly trying to do something, which
had popular support, and then being prevented from doing
so by Westminster, that a groundswell for more powers
would arise. At the moment, increasing powers would
be said to be running before it had learnt to walk. |
| There was also the feeling that the civil
service needed to learn more about policy development,
not just implementation. |
| There was a need for a bigger say in Westminster.
Wales needed a bigger slot to have Wales's only primary
legislation, or clauses in UK legislation specifically
tailored for Wales. The current arrangement of one
a year, although it had been used well, eg Children's
Commissioner, was totally insufficient for the new arrangements.
|
| A minority thought that by increasing the
powers the Assembly would be embedded deeper and so more
protected as an institution from political attach.
Most thought that the best way of protecting it was by
embedding it deeper in Welsh culture and psychology. |
| As for the electoral arrangements, no one
supported the current arrangements, although there was
again an argument for keeping them at present, so as not
to be seen as tinkering with them. There were many
suggestions on alternatives, such as:- |
1. First past the post, on UK constituency
bases, electing 2 AMs, at least one of which would
be a woman.
|
2. Another added another 20 AMs on a Wales
wide PR list system based on a
|
| It was acknowledged that because of the
salaried vote being such a large number of AMs, there
was a need to increase numbers, but this could not be
justified to the public without increasing the Assembly
powers, and as we have already said, it is too soon for
this. |
| There was general support for PR, and the
idea of basing constituencies in council areas was felt
to be a good idea, and flexibility in terms of changing
the number of AMs, and identifiable to the public, although
having vast areas like Powys may be a problem. There would
also have to be a minimum of 3 AMs in each constituency
for PR to work best. It was important that the Labour
party did not put forward electoral systems that sought
to ensure a Labour majority. What was best was a
system people understood, that elected all AMS on the
same basis, that had constituencies people identified
with, and that reflected the diversity of opinions in
Wales. |
|
|
|
