Government of Wales Bill

The point about scrutiny is a valid one. That is the reason that I am so strongly in favour of Joint Committees of this place and the Assembly. That is a way of dealing with the relatively low number of Members in the Assembly. This is why I asked for some assurance from the Front Bench about the continued role of Members of Parliament in this regard. To return to the issue of a referendum, this place will continue to have a role to play in legislation that is passed for Wales, but if there were a proposal to take away that role, there would need to be a referendum. However, the process that exists here means that I will continue to have a role as a Member of Parliament in proposals that are outside the Assembly’s present legislative competence, and I am content that no referendum will be required as long as that role remains. I would like more reassurance on the early stages of the procedure that is to be introduced, but the Conservative party needs to wake up to the fact that there has been incremental improvement of the process through the development of the Joint Committees and the work of the Welsh Affairs Committee. That process has already happened; we did not need a referendum for it to begin, and we do not need one now.