Welsh Affairs – annual debate on 27 February 2020

David Torrance; Paul Little; Tomas Robertson

There is no debate pack for this debate but links to relevant briefings are provided below.

The first debate specifically set aside for discussion of “Welsh affairs” in the House of Commons took place more than 75 years ago on 17 October 1944.

That debate was led by Megan Lloyd George, the Liberal MP for Anglesey, who considered the debate “somewhat overdue”. She said: “We welcome this Debate as a recognition of the distinctive problems and needs of Wales, not as an area, not as a part of England, but as a nation with a living language of its own, with hundreds of years of history behind it, and with its own culture.”

Not all Welsh Members supported the idea of a dedicated debate. Aneurin Bevan, the Labour MP for Ebbw Vale, said that while Wales had “a special place, a special individuality, a special culture and special claims”, he did not think “this is the place where any of them can properly be considered”: “There may be an argument—I think there is an argument—for considerable devolution of government, but there is no need for a special day in Parliament and this Debate has demonstrated it completely. Do not let us indulge in the humbug that this Debate to-day has had the slightest relevance to any important Welsh problem.”

Commons Library briefings

Commons Library Briefings

Brexit: devolved legislature business, A record of Brexit-related business in the devolved legislatures, updated each Monday. The paper includes a links to statements made by Ministers in the Welsh Assembly. On 20 January 2020, Counsel General and Brexit Minister Jeremy Miles made a Written Statement on The Future UK/EU Relationship: Negotiating Priorities for Wales.

Constitutional implications of the Withdrawal Agreement legislation

This briefing paper explains the constitutional and legal implications of those two Acts, taken together, and what it means for the next part of the Brexit process.

How will Brexit affect the Union?

In October 2019, the Welsh Government published Reforming our Union: Shared Governance in the UK, which considered how the UK might face “the potential challenges resulting from Brexit.” It argued that as a “voluntary association,” the UK “must be open to any of its parts democratically to choose to withdraw from the Union.”

Introduction to devolution in the UK

Prior to the 1997 referendum on devolving power from Westminster to Wales, the then Secretary of State for Wales, Ron Davies, memorably referred to devolution as “a process, not an event”. This briefing paper looks at both the “event” of devolution in 1997-99 and the “process” of its development since then, outlining the structure and powers of devolved institutions in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, London and parts of England.

In September 2017, the then First Minister Carwyn Jones established a Commission on Justice in Wales to review the operation of the justice system in Wales, including the prospect of a separate jurisdiction (which did not form part of the Wales Act 2017). The report was published on the 23^rd of October 2019.

Welsh Affairs Committee

Current Welsh Affairs Committee Inquiries

Responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Wales (The Committee questions the Secretary of State for Wales on a wide range of issues affecting Wales.)

Recently concluded Welsh Affairs Committee Inquiries

Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station – Inquiry announced 7 February 2019