A government sponsored body set up to survey the Welsh electorate on whether Wales should be granted more law making powers has reported that people are in favour of a more powerful Welsh assembly.

The All Wales Convention consulted over 3000 pieces of evidence from individuals and organisations throughout Wales and beyond - including the Celtic League - who were invited to present evidence on their views of the subject. The Convention also toured throughout Wales and held public meetings and debated the issue on the internet. In addition, the Convention analysed the existing constitutional arrangements between England and Wales and also took into consideration the current devolution settlement in Wales and throughout the UK.

The executive summary of the report stated that:

"Potentially, the National Assembly for Wales can now ask for primary law-making powers in part of any one of the 20 defined areas of Welsh life set out in GoWA(Government of Wales) 2006 and obtain the powers with the approval of the UK Parliament...

"...There is also the option of obtaining primary law-making powers across all 20 areas all at once, but this would require the approval of a majority of the Welsh electorate voting in a referendum." The Chairperson of the Convention, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, said:

"I believe that the issues we have raised merit serious consideration, not just by elected representatives, but by the people of Wales. It is now for the politicians to decide what the next steps should be."

During its consultation process, the All Wales Convention was criticised for the quality of debate on devolution that it instigated and was accused of highlighting the risks rather than the benefits of increased devolution for Wales. The most outspoken organisation of the All Wales Convention was Cymru Yfory/Tomorrow's Wales - a cross party group set up to encourage a positive response among the Welsh public in the debate on gaining more devolutionary powers for Wales.

However yesterday, Cymru Yfory acknowledged in a press release that the All Wales Convention had reached the same conclusion as they have, that "our present system of governance is unclear, complex and needs to change".

Cymru Yfory is now calling for a referendum on the issue and is asking people to sign ` A Declaration for Welsh Democracy' in preparation for an all Wales referendum vote. The Convention recommended that a decision on a referendum should be considered by the government before June 2010.

Links:

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(Article prepared by Rhisiart Tal-e-bot)

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

19/11/09

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