Government of Wales Bill

I am not aware of the research to which the hon. Gentleman referred, but if he tells me what it is, I shall read it. On the ground, I know that people are confused, because they have told me so. As my hon. Friend the Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mark Tami) said, when people vote for a party that comes top of the poll, they do not get the Member for whom they voted. I am not suggesting that the minority parties do not need assistance. Some hon. Members have argued that it would be unfair to move away from a dual mandate, but I say that the dual ballot paper is also unfair and that we should examine both systems equally. Finally, the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones) mentioned regional committees, which have been wrongly omitted from the Bill. I believe in real devolution—not the transfer of powers from London to Cardiff bay, but the transfer of powers from Cardiff bay to Colwyn bay and to Cemaes bay in my constituency. One of the purposes of devolution was to bring politics closer to the people of Wales, which has not happened. One of the reasons why it has not happened is because the regional committees are too weak and have become nothing more than talking shops. They talk openly about interesting subjects, but they do not do anything about them. I want the Bill to strengthen the regional dimension in Wales through real devolution to the regions, which could be done by strengthening the regional committees to include open debates and decision making or by the scrutiny committees visiting the regions, taking evidence and examining regional issues. The hon. Member for Clwyd, West mentioned that many people in north Wales feel isolated, which is because of the distance between politics in Cardiff and the rest of Wales—in particular, the areas on the periphery. The Minister represents a constituency on the periphery of Wales, so I hope that he recognises the fear that politics is becoming too Cardiff-central. The only way in which to address the situation is to devolve power out to the regions through a mechanism such as the regional committees.