5. Assembly Commission Motion: Consultation on Assembly Reform

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:13 pm on 7 February 2018.

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Photo of Mr Simon Thomas Mr Simon Thomas Plaid Cymru 3:13, 7 February 2018

And I think, finally, Deputy Presiding Officer, it really is time to ensure that this Assembly is transformed into a Welsh Parliament in name, and not just in name, but in composition and status as well. This is because of the history that we've had. Make no mistake: giving Wales an assembly instead of a parliament was quite deliberate; we were intentionally shackled from the start. No legislative powers until the 2011 referendum, of course. No tax powers at all. We didn't even have a Government in the first days of the Assembly. That's how shackled we were, and the description of a 'county council on stilts' was a little too close to accuracy for my tastes. But we have moved on; we have become, in our deliberations, in the way we've worked on the tax legislation over the last few months, we've become a real Parliament. It's time to acknowledge that in conjunction and consultation with the people of Wales. But I'm certainly hopeful that that will come to a time where we now have true parliamentary scrutiny of all the Government, whichever political colour it is.