The New Model Wales

Abstract

The United Kingdom is currently undergoing a rapid process of fundamental constitutional change. One of the chief developments is a redistribution of law-making and governmental powers to different territories of the Union. It is a programme of devolution, as befits an unwritten constitution characterized by the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, and not federalism. The case of Wales, historically closely integrated with England, 1 presents here its own challenges. The aim of this article is to examine the process of change for Wales, to explicate and critically assess the Welsh scheme of devolution, and to consider possible future development in a broad legal and constitutional setting.Wales has always been now. The Welsh as a people have lived by making and remaking themselves in generation after generation, usually against the odds, usually within a British context. Wales is an artefact which the Welsh produce. If they want to. It requires an act of choice.

Learning from the lawyers?

“…It charts with majestic care the development of devolution in Wales -in particular, how the National Assembly has developed from its beginnings, with a growing distinction between the Assembly's 'executive' and 'parliamentary' sides, and how devolution has changed the relationship of Wales to the UK in consequence. Rawlings has been the author of a number of important and interesting discussions of what he has termed 'Wales's interim constitution' (Rawlings, 2003; see also Rawlings, 1998Rawlings, , 2001, as well as of the developing devolution settlement more generally (Rawlings, 2000). The book's major theme is indicated in its title -the way that devolution has involved a process of demarking Wales from the UK and from England, and how institutional change has both been part of that and fuelled it.…”

Evaluating Devolution in Wales

“…For example, they emphasise the need for timely and comprehensive exchange of information, full consultation, and the confidentiality of deliberations. However, they are not legally binding and really only impose a requirement to consult on the different governments (Rawlings, 1998). They have codified the best practice that existed intra‐governmentally prior to devolution, however these were far from being a paragon of smooth public management (Griffiths, 1999).…”

“…Rawlings (1998), in a widely cited paper, has produced the most subtle argument in this area. He argues that Wales does have a thick collective identity but has lacked historical opportunities to establish a Welsh polity on that identity; within Wales ‘... there is the historical legacy of fragmentation and limited development of a “national” polity’ (Rawlings 1998: p. 497). Therefore, one of the ambitions of the Assembly should be about ‘conjuring a new territorial constituency and mature body politic’ to replace the existing ‘fragile polity’ (p. 499).…”

“…However, the relevant question for autonomy is whether there at least exists a Welsh veto on UK primary legislation. In opposition, Ron Davies was positive about the prospect of negative blocking powers to frustrate primary legislation, asserting that the poll tax ‘could not have been implemented in the face of Welsh Assembly opposition’ (quoted in Rawlings, 1998, p. 486). Rawlings (1998) doubts the legal validity of this claim and points out that central government could easily resort to primary legislation and tighter restrictions on, or definitions of, secondary legislation.…”

Law, Territory and Integration: A View from the Atlantic Shore

“…19 Briefly, the scheme in Wales is one of executive devolution, involving the transfer of certain subordinate and not primary law-making powers. 20 The new National Assembly for Wales orders expenditure across a broad range of public activities but there is no power of taxation. The internal architecture is distinctive, the Assembly being a corporate body with no formal or statutory separation between the executive and legislative branches.…”