Government of Wales Bill

This is a modest demand, and a perfect opportunity for the Government to concede one amendment to the Opposition parties. We are only talking about a name change—it does not change the concrete constitutional settlement one iota, so I hope that the Under-Secretary will find it in his heart to offer us some charity. Names are important—we know that is the case in Wales, which has a logocentric culture—because they are part of the means by which people understand their political institutions. The separation of powers is one of the most important principles in the democratic tradition, and it has been enshrined belatedly but happily in the new settlement. The problem is terminological inexactitude, which was cobbled together—[Hon. Members: ““Oh!]. All without notes, I hasten to add. An informal arrangement was cobbled together in about 2000, but it is now being formalised, unfortunately. The phrase is inelegant, infelicitous and inaccurate, and it does not allow us to clarify for the Welsh electorate where political responsibility lies. There is an important principle at the heart of accountability. The National Assembly for Wales includes all the parties that are represented, and its Government includes the party—[Interruption.] I am reminded that it includes more than one party in coalition. We therefore require clarity on the issue. I am all for constitutional innovation, but I could find only one other example of a national assembly Government in history. The Turkish republic had two Governments at one time—an Ottoman Government in Istanbul and a national assembly Government in Ankara under Kemal Atatürk. That was a difficult period in Turkish history, and it is the one example in history of something like a national assembly Government. It is a misnomer and we should take the opportunity offered by the Bill to bury it. We do not have a United Kingdom Parliament Government. We do not have a Scottish Parliament Government. Why should we be left with the strange phrase, ““Welsh Assembly Government””? It mystifies most of us, it will certainly mystify the Welsh electorate, and the Minister should accept this not unreasonable demand from the Opposition parties.