Government of Wales Bill

My Lords, the amendment relates immediately to the relationship: the noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, and the Government are putting forward Part 3 as an alternative partly because of the total divide within the Welsh Parliamentary Labour Party on the issue, as the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, pointed out. Therefore, this Machiavellian device—““device”” is the word used by the noble Lord, Lord Richard—was advanced as a solution. That is what we are debating. As has been accepted in almost every part of the House, it is deeply unsatisfactory. In Committee, I quoted the words of the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, when he pointed out on a number of occasions the flaws in Part 3, so I need not do so again. In my view, Part 3 is a Machiavellian and unsatisfactory solution. The point that I was going to make and the reason why it is so relevant, following the points that I have made about the views of the noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, is that, while I sympathise with his position, I firmly and fundamentally believe that the Welsh people should be allowed a vote to decide whether they want to go down the route to home rule. If they do, I will, as I have made clear, wholly support them in doing so. Indeed, my position is like that of my noble friend on the Front Bench, which is that, if we were not being offered a referendum, I would infinitely prefer that solution to the one that we are being offered in Part 3. Part 3 is wholly unsatisfactory. It is a dishonest solution. That is why I will be supporting my noble friend on this amendment. One of my reasons for making these points at this stage is the response of the noble Lord, Lord Davies, to an earlier amendment, in which he tried to argue that because we are against Part 3, we are against devolution. The fact of the matter is that a vote for our amendment is not a vote against devolution; it is a vote in favour of honest devolution. I have faith in the Welsh Assembly and in its decision on when that vote should come. The obstacles that have been erected should not be put in its way. I have total confidence in the decision that will be made when that vote is taken by the Welsh people.