6. Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Interim Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:05 pm on 31 January 2023.

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Photo of Rhys ab Owen Rhys ab Owen Plaid Cymru 5:05, 31 January 2023

It's clear, Cwnsler Cyffredinol, from the interim report that the current devolution settlement is both dysfunctional and wholly inadequate for the needs of the people of Wales. What is also clear is that the commission will face an uphill struggle to persuade a Westminster Government of any colour that fundamental change is needed. I read last week your interview with the Law Society Gazette and was shocked that only five of the 78 recommendations of the independent commission on justice in Wales report have been accepted by Westminster. How do you surmount the very real challenge that Wales is an afterthought at best at Whitehall at all times? How can those proud defenders of the status quo there on the Conservative benches and with you, with Labour, in Westminster—how can they defend the status quo, that this union is working for the people of Wales, when we are one of the poorest parts of the United Kingdom, as mentioned by Jenny Rathbone? Our poverty is not inevitable. We have the resources, we have the skills. What we need is the chwarae teg, Cwnsler Cyffredinol. The late Tom Nairn said that the British state,

'has entered into a historical cul-de-sac from which no exit is visible'. 

Well, this commission has the opportunity to guide us toward an exit. However, I think it is very fitting that one of the co-chairs of this commission is the former Archbishop of Canterbury, because you will need all the support in the world and beyond to persuade any Westminster Government that change really is needed. Diolch yn fawr.