I totally disagree with that, of course. When the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 was a Bill before the House, I argued for the referendum to be held on STV, not AV. That was about a vote for the Westminster Parliament, and my preference for developing democracy in Wales is a plural, proportional system. I will get to that point when I conclude my speech.
During the passage of the 2011 Act, I welcomed the clauses that decoupled the Westminster and National Assembly boundaries; it was common sense to include them in the Act. My colleague, the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Owen Smith), had a sparring session on BBC Radio Wales in the very early hours of Sunday morning on that issue. The Labour party was vehemently opposed to the decoupling; its preference was for coterminosity. From the point of view of organising local party structures, I can see the argument. They would be a total nightmare to organise locally with different boundaries for the Westminster and Welsh elections.
Constitutional Reform (Wales)
Proceeding contribution from
Jonathan Edwards
(Plaid Cymru)
in the House of Commons on Thursday, 19 May 2011.
It occurred during Adjournment debate on Constitutional Reform (Wales).
About this proceeding contribution
Reference
528 c155-6WH Session
2010-12Chamber / Committee
Westminster HallLibrarians' tools
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