Government of Wales Bill

As the hon. Gentleman said, the amendments would allow three weeks before the Assembly first had to meet either after an ordinary election when the date had been moved by up to a month or after an extraordinary general election. That might be convenient for political parties to consider the implications of the election results, but the public would fail to understand why, if they elected an Assembly, it did not get to work immediately. Until a new First Minister is elected, the person who was in that post before the election will continue to hold office. The Assembly will have 28 days from the date of the poll in which to nominate a new First Minister and I fail to understand why it would benefit even Assembly Members and political parties for the Assembly not to have to meet for the first three weeks of that period. The Assembly has to elect a Presiding Officer and a Deputy Presiding Officer at its first meeting. The public might take a poor view of an Assembly that did not manage to achieve what Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the Assembly itself have achieved after each general election. The offices of Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officer should stand above politics. It should not take potential candidates long to decide whether to stand and it should not take Assembly Members long to decide, according to Standing Orders and the choice before them, how to vote. I believe that the amendment would bring the Assembly into disrepute and I urge the hon. Gentleman to withdraw it.