Dylan Llyod is a Commerce and Law student who is a part-time volunteer for Y Ddraig Goch.

The Senedd has passed a historical motion detailing the Senedd’s support for the Welsh Policing and Justice Devolution Referendum Act. This motion, sponsored by the former Deputy Leader of Plaid Cymru Archism_, was met with a fierce opposition from the Opposition and the resulting vote ended up being divided perfectly down party lines with a 5-4 vote.

Source: The Independent

The Bill itself

The Bill which is facing a division before the House of Commons which led to this motion is the Welsh Justice and Policing Devolution Bill. It is a simple one really in that it devolves the powers of Justice and Policing to the Senedd and the Welsh Government which originates from it. This is a similar process to how such matters are commonly devolved to the various states of Spain and brings Wales into the future where we can act more like a region like Catalonia than as another part of the wider “federal” United Kingdom.

The Bill has been met with both strong support from Labour and the Democratic Reformist Front while being met with opposition by many Conservatives. While most predictions from those we have asked on the subject state that the bill is most likely to pass, we can never be that certain on the issue.

Many of the main concerns addressed by the bill falls under common arguments against devolution with an additional layer of the bill being done against the generally accepted will of the Senedd. Therefore, the motion was forwarded by former Deputy Leader of Plaid Cymru Archism_ to allow for the Senedd to decide on the issue and show that the bill has the consent of the Senedd.

Arguments in the Senedd

The Senedd itself was full of arguments surrounding the subject matter and many different AMs and non-AMs took their turn to speak on the issue of devolution as a whole. Many came at it from a historical perspective of the lack of an independent Welsh judiciary compared to areas like Scotland while others argued against the motion on grounds of the principal bill not being in third reading and on the grounds it would cause division within the United Kingdom.

However, the majority viewpoint which was showed and showed in the voting record was that the opinions of the Senedd was that this motion should be agreed to to address and remedy the concerns of the House of Commons that the original bill did not have the consent of the Senedd. This vote did however go down party lines with no defections from either the Government benches nor the Opposition benches on the issue. This hints at an increasingly partisan nature within the Senedd especially on issues such as devolution and could show how the Senedd will be made up on crucial devolution votes into the future. For the future of Welsh devolution to therefore survive, the First Minister must make certain to not alienate his allies.

Closing Thoughts

The Senedd is in turmoil but it is the firm opinion of Y Ddraig Goch that the motion will benefit the people of Wales and that the bill in Westminster is one which will empower the people of Wales. It is furthermore the opinion of Y Ddraig Goch that the situation in the Senedd is inevitably a precarious one and the support of all Government members parties for devolution is something which should be guaranteed and held onto if the First Minister wants to pass his agenda through.

Dylan Llyod, Senedd Correspondent, Y Ddraig Goch