S is for ...
Oh to be a fly on the wall of Committee Room S in Portcullis House. If you're in Westminster and happen to be passing, that'll be the one with a whole load of political posturing left neatly outside the door, or so those inside have promised anyway.
As I write the steering group of Labour and Plaid AMs and MPs are in Room S meeting for the first time. Their job is clear enough: to decide whether the time is right to start campaigning for a referendum on full law-making powers for Wales and whether a referendum held before or during 2011 would be won. "Winnable" I've heard more than once, usually from those who wish it could be won. "Winnable" won't cut it.
On the agenda today the basic housekeeping rules: deciding on co-chairs and co-secretaries, on how to or perhaps whether to talk to the media. The decision not to involve any Ministers in the steering group means there's no civil service back-up, no secretariat. What will they do about that? When will they next meet? Who gets to sit next to whom?
All of this before they get on with the real job in hand. It's the steering group that must decide who should be part of the All Wales Convention, whether the membership should be voluntary and therefore non-paid, how often should they meet, what method of working they should adopt.
If there are house rules then I gather this is number one: that the Convention's terms of reference should work within the Government of Wales Act 2006. In other words don't start taking evidence about the current limits of the Assembly's powers, the number of Assembly Members and so on. Stick to the remit: can we win a referendum or not?
Will there be a statement? We're guessing if there is, it'll go something like this:
"The talks today have been very constructive, and a number of important issues surrounding the way the steering group will operate have been decided. We look forward to further meetings in the new year to continue our progress towards the setting up of the full Convention."
The phone rings (yes, really - I've just done the honesty course last week ... I wouldn't mislead you guv). The signal is dreadful in Portcullis House but this, as we heard it, is the official statement:
"It has been a very positive meeting, with members of both parties focused on the work that needs to be done in setting the terms of reference for the National Convention. The establishing committee will now meet on a regular basis over the next three to four months with the aim of the Convention starting its work in the summer."
So it's an "establishing committee". Otherwise, not bad eh?
UPDATE:
Co-chairs will be Ian Lucas MP and Helen Mary Jones AM
UPDATE: Important this one: wires got crossed yesterday - my apologies. The co-chair will be Nick Ainger. Ian Lucas sat in yesterday because Nick Ainger couldn't make it. So you may like to revise your comments?
I'm Betsan Powys, 91Èȱ¬ Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on .
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We can see the way things are going to go with the Labour group electing that arch Unionist, Ian (The Parachute) Lucas as Chair, he will guarantee that the terms of reference of the Constitutional Convention will be so watered down so as to be meaningless. Probably all that will come out of it will be the superimposing of a red and blue Dragon on a red & blue Union flag...dream on!!
Ian "Dragon" Lucas eh. He might breathe some fire into the proceedings...sorry - (Smaug my favourite Tolkien character by the way - never really got a fair press)
Best of luck to the establishing committee.
Very disappointed that Lucas is involved. It's effectively a declaration of war by Labour on the whole idea of devolution because Lucas has pointedly stated in the House "I am an Unionist" and made his name as a petty-minded anti-Welsh pointscorer whose main claim to fame is redesigning the Union Jack.
As I understand it Labour's Chair will be Nick Ainger, not Ian Lucas- Lucas was just deputising for Ainger who for whatever reason couldn't be there.
I don't get this. You're either in favour of more power to Wales or your not. How can you have a committee of people of opposing views? The Convention should be to discuss the details of transfering more power.
When there's a convention on say, increasing renewable energy, you don't have people on the convention who disagree with the principle of renewable energy.
We'll end up with another useless compromise like the Assembly we have now which will be weak enough for Lucas to claim Wales needs 40 (mostly Labour) useless MPs. At the mean time Scotland (what ever happens there) will have even more power and become a grown-up country.
Dai Dwl [great name] How can you assume that everyone wants more power for the Assembly ? The recent election showed that they couldn't organise a proverbial in the brewery.
And there is plenty of evidence from this very blog that all they appear to be doing is spending other people's dosh as though it was going out of fashion.
Anyone can do that. I am very cross that whereas the Golden Armadillo got a £13m bailout with no attempt to address the reason it got into that the mess in the first place, the Bristol Old Vic is very close to closing for good [despite being about to celebrate 250 years as a theatre] because the Arts Council will not stump up half that sum to do it up.
For 'law making powers' read yet more taxation and bureaucracy, and another layer of unnecessary legislation to add to that coming from 'San Steffan' and the flippin' EU 'Super State'..
I like the direction this is going: Wales is getting its act together, and moving toward having real autonomy...we hope. For a first meeting, it's not bad, although I suspect that political posturing was not entirely left outside! Still, if they are serious about it, and nobody (like, say, Ian Lucas) takes it into their head to deliberately bog things down, then this committee could move things in a good direction for Wales.
Thank you for the update...I've decided not to update my comments, the fact Ian (Ned Luddite) Lucas is on the steering group is sufficient to justify the comments.
Why are we fielding a second team on this important issue.
the only one with any standing is Cynong Dafis.
Is this just another smokescreen created by Rhodri Morgan.
I just see it as going around Dowlais to get to Merthyr!
re;Betsan Powys's blog 17.12.07
Lucas-Ainger even the Media can get it wrong some times!!!!!
Yesterday morning we were told that to help out Northern Rock it would cost the British tax payer £3,300 per head of population,by evening news we were informed that it would cost us £2,000 per head.
.Don't you think the treasury have done well to have reduced that expediture by 33% in only a few hours?
"A joke"
"People in glass houses should not throw stones" !!!!!!!!
what saddos care about welsh politics!!!! hahaha