Programme 2
If one of the main headline stories of the first decade of devolution was the change in public opinion, another was the failure of the model of devolution established following the 1997 referendum. That model – incorporated into the Wales Government Act 1998 – proved to be hopelessly inadequate. As a result, ever since Alun Michael's forced resignation as First Sectretary to the Assembly in February 2000, we have seen a process of constant change in the constitutional framework governing Wales. Indeed, in 2006, a second Wales Government Act reached the statute books, only eight years after the first was passed.
One of the fundamental problems of the Welsh model of devolution is its extraordinary complexity. The comparison with Scotland is telling. Their model of devolution is relatively simple and straightforward. While the Government in Westminster has retained the right to legislate on defence, foreign policy, social security and macro-economic policy, almost everything else has been transferred to Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. So if the Scottish government decides that new education legislation is required, for example, it simply presents legislation to that effect before the Parliament, and if it is supported by a majority, it becomes law. If that law does not contravene human rights legislation or international obligations, and does not interfere with London's reserved powers, then that – effectively – is it.
In Wales, the situation is very different. The Assembly's powers vary widely from one policy area to another; the exact powers depend on the exact detailed wording of literally thousands of clauses in hundreds of laws passed by Westminster – most of which were passed without any thought that a body such as the National Assembly for Wales could one day be attempting to act on its own democratic mandate within their strictures. As a result, even politicians and civil servants – let alone electorate – have real difficulties in understanding what exactly the Assembly and Assembly Government can and cannot do. Another problem is that Cardiff is continually beholden to the goodwill of Westminster; a Westminster that – naturally enough - has its own priorities.
But why was such a complicated and inadequate structure adopted in the first place? In this programme we will see how the roots of the 1998 Act can be traced to the late '60s and to a man who never hid his opposition to devolution – George Thomas. It was his influence and political skills that ensured that this model for devolution became the official policy of Wales' most important political party, namely the Labour Party. Constitutionally at least, George Thomas was the architect of devolution!
