I think ex-Labour chief of Bridgend, Jeff Jones' solution to the problems caused by the Devolution Experiment would be different to mine, but this is still a cracker of an inditement on the present system and for good measure a kicking for Peter Hain:
“If you follow his (Mr Tango Man's) logic then this means that Welsh MPs will be second raters. I cannot see anyone in the future from Wales making an impact on the UK political scene. Our ill-thought-out devolved system will never develop into a proper federal system on the lines of many European countries and the United States. In those countries it is normal for politicians to show their quality at a regional level before being asked to lead at a national level. Can anyone honestly see any AM or MSP being seen as a future UK Cabinet Minister as would be the case in Germany where success at the Länder level is essential if you want to be a successful national politician."
4 comments:
The difference is that very few AM's or MSP's sees London as any sort of "step-up". Many more MP's have decided to become AM's/MSP than the other way round.
In Wales at least only some Tories consider being an AM's as a stepping stone to becoming an MP. Being an AM is MORE important to most of them than being an MP (exactly how it should be in my opinion but I'm sure your view will differ!)
Well, yes it does, as long as Westminster remains sovereign.
But on the more relevant point it was a very valid criticism of Hain's weakly thought out argument that full lawmaking powers would lead to better quality AMs. It won't mean that at all, it'll simply mean the present AMs with their present level of ability have more power.
Still not a "step-up" in terms of the job of MP/AM though.
Your actual power to change things is much smaller as an MP (one of 600 or so) which I guess is why so many MP's decided to switch to the Assembly.
The only thing that you'll be stepping up to in becoming an MP is a much larger expenses packet to abuse!
Agree that it won't change the quality of AM's though. It will just give them more power to demonstrate their high ability (for some) or lack of ability (for others)
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