12. 11. Debate: Renaming the National Assembly for Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:13 pm on 5 July 2016.

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Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 6:13, 5 July 2016

I welcome the Government moving the debate this afternoon. I will most probably replicate the First Minister in keeping my comments brief, because I think the Presiding Officer, in her introduction, highlighted the process that was available to this Senedd, or parliament, or Assembly—call it what you will, because there’s going to be a discussion about that.

But, some years ago, I obviously put my name to the renaming of this institution, because I do think what’s important is that people in the community actually understand the function of the legislature vis-à-vis what the Government does. And if I had a pound for every time people had criticised the Assembly for this, the Assembly for that, because, in a lot of people’s minds, they’re still back to that corporate body, where everything was run from the Assembly in the early days, and people still do not make the distinction between what the Government does and what the legislature does on their behalf and in their name.

I do think that any renaming has to be able to be taken on board by the electors who put us here to act on their behalf. And I have no objection, obviously, to the amendments that are put down today, but I do think they need to be considered in the full, because I don’t see why we couldn’t have ‘Senedd’ and ‘parliament’, because, obviously, for people there is a complete understanding of the word ‘parliament’, in the way that UK democracy works, and, over time, I think the word ‘Senedd’ could be readily taken on board. But, for a lot of people, the way this institution has developed—and, in particular, its legislative capacity, its tax-raising capacity, going forward, once the Wales Bill is passed, and, ultimately, the function of Government—