5. Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: The Constitutional Commission

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:57 pm on 19 October 2021.

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Photo of Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw Labour 4:57, 19 October 2021

Can I firstly congratulate the Member on waking up this morning? And the first thing he did was to exercise some thought. I hope this isn't a one-off.

Can I also thank him for the comments because I think, within the positions he's expressed—I understand why he's making them—obviously it's important to show goodwill to the overlords in No. 10 Downing Street, and I'm sure that features in some of the comments that have been made?

I do find the issues that are raised in respect of constitutional chaos to be very unfortunate coming from a party that has been leading us for the last three or four years in absolute constitutional chaos, as we've seen from the economic factors, from the issues in terms of the situation with our ports, the economy, the petrol, the supply lines and so on. So, I don't think you're really in a position to argue on that.

What I will say is this: when we get beyond the political rhetoric around this sort of thing, I'm sure that you have the ambition, as we do, to recognise that, firstly, there is a mandate for this commission, secondly, that the commission has a broad set of terms of reference, which you will be able to contribute to—you will be able to put your views into that—and that we engage positively and courteously in that particular debate. So, having perhaps gone down the road of responding to some of the political comments, I do recognise that there will be an opportunity for all of us to engage, because I'm sure that all of us have one clear objective, and that is to best represent the people of Wales and the interests of the people of Wales, whatever our specific differences may be.