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 5:14 pm on 31 January 2023.

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Photo of Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw Labour 5:14, 31 January 2023

Thank you for that, and again, I'm grateful to the Llywydd for her generosity, or shall I say extravagance? [Laughter.] The point you make on sovereignty is an important one, and I have been saying at every opportunity I get that the concept of Westminster sovereignty disappeared some time ago. It may not be completely recognised and maybe our constitutional structure may not have caught up with it, but where you have four Parliaments that elect and have primary legislative powers, with mandates from the people by whom they were elected, then there cannot be anything other than shared sovereignty. And it is the failure of our constitutional system to adjust to that that I think has resulted in the dysfunctions that we are continually facing every day, and one of the reasons why there has to be reform. The democratisation of finance, the accountability of the Treasury, I actually agree are absolutely fundamental. The HS2 debate is a classic example of that. It should not be capable of happening in an area where there is clear delineation of the conventions and the powers and the responsibilities. So, beyond that, I think I agreed with most of the other points you made as well.