By Paul Dicken
11 February 2010
Welsh Assembly Members have voted to hold a referendum on whether Wales should have full powers to legislate over devolved areas without input from Westminster.
The vote, held on February 9, gave the Plaid Cymru/Labour coalition government cross-party support for the motion, with 53 AMs voting in favour, well in excess of the 40 needed to trigger a request for a referendum.
This request will now be made in writing to Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, who would then have 120 days to lay a draft order before the UK Parliament for a vote to be held.
Hain said: ‘I fully support the first minister’s approach and now look forward to receiving his letter so I can begin the necessary preparatory work to take this forward.’
It is unlikely a date for the referendum will be decided ahead of the UK general election, with the earliest date likely to be in the autumn. Both First Minister Carwyn Jones and Hain have said the general election campaign is a priority.
Jones said the vote would be a ‘big ask for our people’, but added that he believed the Assembly and the UK government had shown they could ‘handle legislation responsibly’.
‘We have shown that we can deliver quality Welsh laws that can make a real difference to people’s lives in Wales,’ he said.
11 February 2010
Welsh Assembly Members have voted to hold a referendum on whether Wales should have full powers to legislate over devolved areas without input from Westminster.
The vote, held on February 9, gave the Plaid Cymru/Labour coalition government cross-party support for the motion, with 53 AMs voting in favour, well in excess of the 40 needed to trigger a request for a referendum.
This request will now be made in writing to Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, who would then have 120 days to lay a draft order before the UK Parliament for a vote to be held.
Hain said: ‘I fully support the first minister’s approach and now look forward to receiving his letter so I can begin the necessary preparatory work to take this forward.’
It is unlikely a date for the referendum will be decided ahead of the UK general election, with the earliest date likely to be in the autumn. Both First Minister Carwyn Jones and Hain have said the general election campaign is a priority.
Jones said the vote would be a ‘big ask for our people’, but added that he believed the Assembly and the UK government had shown they could ‘handle legislation responsibly’.
‘We have shown that we can deliver quality Welsh laws that can make a real difference to people’s lives in Wales,’ he said.
