During a statement in the Assembly this week, the Minister for Health and Social Services Edwina Hart outlined the dangers of alcohol abuse and the measures that the Welsh Assembly Government would like to take to tackle it, including imposing stricter rules on the promotion of alcohol, consideration of reducing demand by introducing minimum pricing and increased taxation, linking levels of tax more closely to alcohol strength.

The powers needed to implement these measures are not currently devolved, and although some progress has been made in lobbying the UK Government, the Minister was very clear that if WAG does ‘not see the action we want at UK level very soon, then the time will come when we seek more powers to act ourselves’.

Allan Little’s item (click here, 30 minutes in) on Welsh devolution that appeared on last night’s (April 26) BBC Ten O’Clock news was highly misleading and misrepresented the current debates about devolution in Wales.

Mr Little interviewed three people in the Vale of Glamorgan, all hostile to further devolution, including a teacher who referred to her class as being anti-devolution en-masse. This may have been representative of those to whom Mr Little spoke, but does not reflect broader public opinion, and the fact that his interviews were so unrepresentative suggests they were chosen with little care.  One of those interviewed was said to fear that further devolution would mean higher taxes.  However, no-one pointed out that there are no powers for the National Assembly to increase taxes, regardless of the result in the forthcoming referendum on primary law-making powers for the Assembly.

Mr Little also said that ‘many in Wales remain sceptical’ about further devolution. However, opinion polls consistently show strong support for enhanced forms of Welsh devolution (and declining support for both independence and abolition of the Assembly). This year, the BBC’s own St David’s Day poll showed that well over half (56%) the people surveyed were in favour of primary lawmaking powers for the Assembly. This compares with only a third (35%) who were against further devolution. Mr Little appears to have been unaware of work done by the Corporation on this very issue. 

South Wales was portrayed as being removed from ‘Welsh-speaking Wales to the north’, which is more supportive of Plaid Cymru and of ‘more autonomy for Wales’. South Wales, on the other hand, is said to be much more integrated into ‘Britain-wide’ political concerns’.  This is a grave over-simplification, and to the extent it was ever true is badly out of date.  Even in the 1997 referendum such parts of , South Wales as Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Methyr Tydfil, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taff and Swansea voted Yes, while such parts of the north as Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy voted No.

In any event, the suggestion that Plaid Cymru is the only party in favour of further devolution is erroneous.  All parties support the idea of a referendum, and in February this year the National Assembly voted unanimously in favour of holding a referendum on primary lawmaking powers for the Assembly.  All four parties in the Assembly – Labour, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, as well as Plaid – supported the motion.  Labour and the Liberal Democrats are committed to campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote in that, as will many individual Conservatives (the party as a whole is committed to a ‘free vote’) .  As the opinion polling clearly shows, support for devolution in Wales is strong. 

On the language issue, the Welsh Language Board states that numbers of Welsh speakers are increasing throughout Wales, and the demand for Welsh medium education in Cardiff and other parts of south Wales shows that it is disingenuous to suggest that ‘Welsh-speaking Wales’ is confined to the north of the country.

Mention is made at the end of the piece of ‘many (in Wales) who want far-reaching change’. However, no representative of such advocates (including Tomorrow’s Wales) is given a chance to express their view, nor is that view articulated by the broadcaster.

It is disappointing that such an item was broadcast in view of the conclusions of the King report, and with political sensitivity currently heightened in Wales given the upcoming general election and the prospect of a referendum on the Assembly’s powers on the horizon. It reflected a badly dated and clichéd view of Wales and its constitutional politics, of the sort that might be expected from a correspondent ‘parachuting in’ with preconceptions which his inquiries did little to challenge.  As a result, this report and did a serious disservice not just to Wales, but also to the many staff of BBC Wales who have sought to report Wales’s developing politics fairly and accurately. 

These are important times in Wales.   Not only is there a UK general election underway, but a referendum campaign may well take place this autumn.  We hope that the BBC’s coverage will reflect these factors from now on, and become more balanced and in tune with Wales as it now is.

Outlining the Welsh Assembly Government’s priorities for the coming Assembly term, First Minister Carwyn Jones said this week:

“We are of course committed to moving towards a referendum on enhanced law making powers for the Assembly.  Since February we have been working closely with the Wales Office and substantial work is already underway on the referendum order.  All options for the timing of a referendum remain open. In the meantime we will continue to use our current legislative powers to deliver on our One Wales commitments.”

Even if you are not an aficionado of social networking on the web it’s quite probable that you will have heard of Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook is a website that connects people, that brings old friends together and it’s a place where people with common interests can share their thoughts and ideas. By now millions use Facebook and it has proved to be a very useful way of letting people know about Tomorrow’s Wales meetings across the country. Almost 700 are members of the Cymru Yfory Tomorrow’s Wales group and there are other groups for the campaigns in Wrexham, Swansea and for Aberystwyth students.

One of the main features of Twitter is that is can tell people about news stories and blogs that might be of interest to them. There’s not much space to write, or to “tweet” but it’s easy enough to put a link to an interesting story or blog. Follow us here.

Tomorrow’s Wales wants to reach as wide an audience as possible to spread the word about the need for the Assembly to have stronger law making powers. And that’s why we have created a new group on the business networking website LinkedIn.

Gaining the support of the business community for a Yes vote in the referendum is of paramount importance. In Cardiff Business Club last week Lord Brian Griffiths, a former advisor to Margaret Thatcher, said that the Assembly by now had established itself as the Parliament for Wales and that it needs stronger law making powers.

The aim of the new group “Dyfodol Cymru Wales’ Future” on LinkedIn is to stimulate debate in the business world about the advantages of stronger law making powers for the Assembly. If you belong to LinkedIn please join the group and become part of the campaign to secure a Yes vote in the referendum. 

The Assembly ‘has established itself as the effective Parliament of Wales’, says former key aide to Margaret Thatcher, Lord Brian Griffiths of Fforestfach.

In a speech to the Cardiff Business Club on Monday evening, Lord Griffiths highlighted devolution as one of the major issues facing Wales in the future.  

As well as arguing for a renegotiation of the Barnett formula as a matter of priority and for the granting of greater fiscal powers to Wales in the longer term, Lord Griffiths outlined how his experiences of discussing Welsh issues such as education in London have convinced him of the benefits of the Assembly, which has, he said, brought decision making closer to the people of Wales and led the way in the UK in responding to the recession. 

Lord Griffiths said:  

“Since 1997 the Assembly has been enthusiastically supported by all political parties and established itself as the effective Parliament of Wales. It is the symbol of the emerging political culture of the nation, is much closer to the electorate than Westminster could ever be, and has changed its structure.  

“Instead of being a beefed up version of a local authority as originally it started it has evolved into a competent legislature and to a separate executive supporting cabinet government. 

“The Assembly has improved significantly the quality of the debate over potential policy changes in areas such as education and health. “In some areas such as the speedy response to the recession it has led the way in the UK. Under the £48million Pro Act scheme companies on short term working can receive up to £4000 per employee, half as a wage subsidy and half as training subsidy in order to keep them employed. So far more than £24million had been extended to over 200 companies across Wales supporting 9200 jobs.

“(Public opinion has undergone) a remarkable turnaround in little over a generation. It is now unthinkable that we could return to the previous system of government in which a Secretary of State and two Ministers, not one of which need be Welsh, had complete control of policy in Wales.” 

Lord Griffiths also described how the All-Wales Convention’s report, which recommends that the National Assembly for Wales be given primary lawmaking powers, is backed by the five criteria set out in Tomorrow’s Wales’ Declaration for Welsh Democracy.

Three years… what can happen in three years? Quite a bit! You could meet a partner, get married, have two children and look for a comfortable house in your home village. But what if you can’t afford any of the houses there? What if you have to stay with your parents, or live in a caravan, or have to move away somewhere else and rent a flat that’s too small for your growing family? This problem is all too common in Wales, especially in our rural communities which have seen whole generations of young people being forced to leave to look for a home because they can’t afford to buy a house in their own area. 

Politicians have been greatly criticised over the past few months but for once Assembly Members and the Welsh Assembly Government were trying to do something to tackle this problem. Back in the summer of 2007 they published the first version of a request for powers to make laws in the field of affordable housing. The idea was to give councils the right to temporarily suspend the right to buy council houses in areas where there was a shortage of affordable housing.

The majority of assembly members supported this idea and as per the constitutional arrangements we have now members of parliament and Lords needed to approve the request. And that’s where things started to go wrong. Long delays while the LCO was discussed in Westminster; amendments to the LCO deemed to be unlawful; re-writing the LCO and presenting it the second time and in the end the LCO falls by the wayside in the rush to complete parliamentary business before the general election.

The fate of the Affordable Housing LCO clearly crystallizes the reason why the Assembly needs to have the power to make laws in those areas that have been devolved. Had the Assembly had the power back in 2007 to legislate in this area then the affordable housing measure would have become law two or more years ago. Hundreds of families would have been able to have an opportunity to buy an affordable home in those parts of Wales where there is a shortage.

But the most important lesson about the shambles of the Affordable Housing LCO is that it gives us a foretaste of what could happen if there were governments of different colours in Westminster and Cardiff Bay. So far the Labour party has had a majority on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee – the committee that has responsibility for passing the LCOs. There had already been quite a bit of delay with this LCO but the final nail in the coffin was the Conservatives’ objection to suspending the right to buy council houses. Imagine a situation on May 7th with a Conservative government. They will have a majority on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee and if they disagree with the contents of any LCO in any field it will be possible for them to delay and block that LCO. The potential for conflict and disagreement between Westminster and the Bay is very real.

But what about those families in rural Wales that are still looking for an affordable home? What choice is there now? The Welsh Assembly Government could introduce the LCO for the third time and start the whole cumbersome, complex process again without any guarantee that the LCO would be passed in Westminster if there was a Conservative government.

Or there’s the sensible choice – a Yes vote in the referendum so that the power to make laws on housing in Wales is transferred straight away to the National Assembly. If we have a positive vote in the referendum this autumn or next spring those families in rural Wales might have some hope of getting an affordable home in their own village quite soon.

With the General Election date set for May the 6th, Tomorrow’s Wales supporters across Wales will be calling on parliamentary candidates to endorse the National Assembly for Wales’ unanimous vote in favour of triggering the process of a referendum on the Assembly’s powers.

A spokesperson for Tomorrow’s Wales said:

‘Over the past few months we have succeeded in setting up a strong network of supporters in all parts of Wales.

‘With the General Election having been confirmed for May the 6th, we will be asking our supporters to work hard during hustings and other events to ensure that as many candidates as possible support the principle of the Assembly being given primary lawmaking powers.

‘With MPs having such an important role in the referendum process, their support is crucial in ensuring a clearer and more effective devolution arrangement’.