First Minister’s statement on referendum
Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 11:56am
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THE First Minister has written to all Assembly Members this morning with the following:
“I wanted to inform Assembly Members that I have today written to the Secretary of State for Wales reiterating that it is our understanding that the drafting work on the Order in Council to be laid before Parliament will have been substantially completed by the end of this month.
“Secondly, we have provided a suggested question in both English and Welsh (attached) for the Secretary of State to consider.
“Thirdly, we have expressed our strong preference for a referendum to be held in late October of this year.
“It is now a matter for the Secretary of State to consider the question and the date.”
More to follow as I hear it.
This is the suggested wording from the Welsh Government on the referendum-
“Do you want the Assembly to have the power now to pass laws on all the subjects which are devolved to Wales?
I am pleased that the Welsh Government has come out strongly in favour of an October referendum, and now the ball is firmly in Gillan’s court. I will blog further about the referenda event that took place last night, but one thing to say is that I am convinced more than ever that the referendum should take place in October.
The experts speaking at the event last night did not favour a referendum on a single issue near or on the day of the Assembly election- this was backed up by research that referenda are generally more unsuccessful if they are held at a time when politicians and political parties are fighting against each other in an election too. The electoral commission will have to consult on the question, but I don’t see what should stop us during that time getting going with the yes campaign -encouraging people to vote positively in said referendum. Getting the message right, and firing people up to get out to vote is something we must all work on, to ensure success.
I also don’t buy the argument that Cheryl has too much work to do on this issue to make October impossible to hold a referendum. The Good Friday Agreement for example was brought to the public of Northern Ireland prior to Parliament approving it, so a pre-legislation referendum here in Wales could happen too.
Reading the con dem coaltion document, I don’t see why they are hesitant on this question given that they’ve now decided to tie the issue of a successful referendum with that of fairer fuding for Wales i.e they will start work on this AFTER said referendum. Why are the two elements attached in the first place? This must be a slap in the face to Kirsty Williams who has been calling for a fair funding deal for some time, only for the new coalition of which her party is a member, to kick it in to the long grass, while Scotland will be given firm promises over Calman.
