Hain, Oh Hain.
Posted on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 11:06am
3 responses
After a positive discussion on Saturday in Pontypridd on the need for the left in Wales to unite, and to mobilise discussion on the way forward- especially in relation to responding to the economic crisis, and the referendum on a Parliament for Wales, it’s disappointing to read Peter Hain’s comments in the Western Mail today regarding the referendum. There is a wide consensus formulating now on how cumbersome and unworkable the current LCO system is, yet Peter Hain is still one of the few people to be ‘quietly pleased‘ with it- but given that he played a key role in creating this mess of a system, why should I be surprised?
Peter Hain says that now is not the right time for a referendum, and neither does he see there being a right time in the ‘next few months or couple of years’.
That’s a very loose comment regarding timelines. Why would it have to fail? People like Peter Hain are setting it up to fail, and the campaign hasn’t even started yet! Nobody wants to be part of an unsuccessful campaign, but surely if people put their heads together, get active, and talk it up then we will at least move some way to pushing it up the political agenda in a positive way. Why is it always doom and gloom? After all, many opinion polls of late shows a growing support for Welsh devolution. We should be using this as a spring board for preparing a yes campaign, of engaging people in the process.
I don’t know who Peter Hain has been talking to in Plaid on this matter, but I haven’t heard anything internally to suggest that we are taking the line of deferring the referendum or talking it down in any way. As far as I’m concerned, it is a key element of the One Wales Agreement, and Peter Hain should respect that. But then again, he sees his role as Secretary of State for Wales as one where he can influence decisions publicly, bully his way in to discussions, and shape the debate to suite his end. I didn’t expect anything less when I heard that he had been reinstated by Gordon Brown in to that position.
Jonathan Morgan AM said in his speech last week on the future of the Conservatives in Wales that his nightmare scenario would be to wake up in 2010- the Assembly will have requested a referendum, and that a Tory Secretary of State will veto that request. This is not an unlikely scenario if the Tories do take power in Westminster.
The very fact that Jonathan Morgan is worrying about it speaks volumes. So, yet again, the challenge for us in Wales is to lead on this agenda now, and deliver on the promise of a referendum before a Tory Government is no doubt elected to Westminster. What do the Labour party want as their legacy in power? Delivering a compromised and complicated LCO system, or playing a part in delivering a referendum on a parliament for Wales?
Perhaps they should look at what their colleagues in Scotland are doing as part of the Calman Commission for some inspiration. We need to be bold, and confident if we want to move Wales forward.
