Wales Bill

I have intervened on the Secretary of State twice, and this will be the last time. On transport m...

Discussions are ongoing between the Department for Transport, the Wales Office and the Welsh Gove...

The Secretary of State said that he would get to this point, but he has not answered my question,...

I am happy to clarify that matter. The Bill gives provision for who votes rather than for compuls...

Will the Secretary of State clarify—I should possibly know the answer to this—on what the tax is ...

It is residence in Wales. There will be further technical issues that we will want to clarify in ...

Personally, I am very disappointed that, in this clause, we have broken a manifesto commitment. I...

I have two points to make in response. First, it was the Wales Act 2014 that devolved tax-varying...

To develop the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Chris Davies),...

My right hon. Friend played a significant part in the development of legislation relating to Wale...

I am greatly enjoying the right hon. Gentleman’s speech, but has his enthusiasm for referendums b...

The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting point. It is fair to say that many of us might have refer...

It is said that devolution is a process, not an event, a journey rather than a destination, and t...

My hon. Friend will remember from the Welsh Grand Committee debate on 3 February that the right h...

Indeed, it was laughable at times when he noticed things to which we assumed he had already given...

What concerns me about the devolution of powers to the Assembly on elections is that 16-year-olds...

Indeed. As a long-time supporter of votes at 16, which is now Labour policy, I share my hon. Frie...

Does the shadow Secretary of State accept that the new electoral legislation might enable a Welsh...

The Secretary of State has told us that he will clarify that, so we will know whether that will b...

The shadow Secretary of State for Wales will be aware of the comments of the shadow Secretary of ...

It comes as no surprise that an intervention from the hon. Gentleman focuses on his party’s deter...

The hon. Lady mentions what she sees as the need for the Assembly to consent to the devolution of...

We have moved on since the last Wales Bill, but it is vital that there is a mechanism to establis...

I begin by thanking all the members of the Welsh Affairs Committee who took part in the pre-legis...

I am listening to the hon. Gentleman’s speech carefully. I commend to him the work of the all-par...

I had to think hard about this, but I think it was the hon. Gentleman himself who, during the dis...

As someone whom my hon. Friend cajoled into becoming a member of the Welsh Affairs Committee unde...

This certainly came through rather late in the day, and I think we made it clear in our report th...

Does the hon. Gentleman think that the evidence of the momentum of Welsh opinion is enough for us...

I have to admit that it is certainly evidence that the public have accepted the Welsh Assembly an...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T. C. Davies) on his speech. I agree with him ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that at the conclusion of the passage of the Bill and after the EU refe...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who makes a very important point. There has to be a time limit i...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on the work that he has been doing on this matter in Ynys Môn, ...

In the past couple of years we have highlighted the importance of giving the energy regulator mor...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the result of a referendum that asked the question, “Do you want t...

I understand what my hon. Friend is saying, but he is a democrat, like me.

Up to a point.

Well, I am a total democrat by comparison with my hon. Friend. The tax-varying powers that the Sc...

Will the hon. Gentleman concede, however, that framing a proper and understandable question that ...

I have not thought of the wording, but I agree with the hon. Gentleman that democracy is difficul...

rose—

I give way to the Secretary of State. I realise that I have taken up more time than I wanted to.<...

The hon. Gentleman is making a considered speech. I have had further information since the earlie...

That is excellent news, and it is on the record. It is a victory for the three of us on the Labou...

rose—

I am sure the Secretary of State is going to reconsider his considered view.

I just want to underline the fact that it perhaps provides even more justification for the justic...

It is the Secretary of State’s job, with his extra responsibilities and wages, to decide on the d...

I congratulate the Secretary of State on introducing the Bill. I have to say, however, that that ...

I hesitate to accuse the right hon. Gentleman of scaremongering, but the pace of development of r...

That is not the point that I am addressing, which is about competence. Given that the upper limit...

The right hon. Gentleman is being generous with his time. I have two TAN 8—technical advice note ...

That may be the case, but I say with huge respect that I think the hon. Gentleman is missing the ...

Congratulations to the Government on the improvements to what was an ugly draft Bill. We have bef...

Would the hon. Gentleman therefore like to dissociate himself from suggestions that voting for in...

If the hon. Gentleman reads his local paper, he will find that I did precisely that the other day...

Order. While I am certainly enjoying the hon. Gentleman’s speech, the House would appreciate it i...

The point is, of course, that the Bill covers how we deal with income tax. I challenge anyone to ...

The hon. Gentleman is making a great speech,

as ever. It st...

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. In 1953 I took part in a march in Cardiff in which I ca...

The point the hon. Gentleman has just made illustrates the fact that when people are free from me...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. As my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn said, let us no...

Just to take the hon. Gentleman back a little and pick up one point, the Welsh language is being ...

At business questions last week that was emphatically turned down by the Leader of the House. I h...

The hon. Gentleman is making some very valid points. Does he agree that the huge investment by en...

Absolutely. It is the untapped resource. I know that there are objections to various other forms ...

The hon. Gentleman is making a very good point. Does he find it telling that in my constituency t...

It is a great shame. The Rheidol station is of that order, at 45 MW. The stations exist. They enh...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn). I begin by thanking my ...

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says about scrutiny in both this House and the Assembly. I chaired...

That is a difficult question to answer. Should we increase the number of Assembly Members, partic...

Is it not right that we should be debating this? The whole point about devolving electoral arrang...

I agree with my hon. Friend, who makes a very good point.

This is what concerns me regardin...

It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The Bill is the la...

The Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee is no longer in the Chamber, but I should like to thank ...

How comfortable is my hon. Friend about being asked to break a manifesto commitment?

Well, the world moves on. I cannot say that I am ever terribly comfortable about breaking a manif...

My hon. Friend stated that his constituents are unhappy with what has already gone on under the W...

I thank my hon. Friend for making one of his classic interventions. I touched on this when I spok...

I was talking about the fact that we need certainty now in the constitutional settlement. I would...

I accept that point, but I hope the hon. Gentleman sees where I am coming from. Complacency sinks...

The short answer is that I am sure the head of the law department at Aberystwyth would enjoy teac...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. We debated this matter in the Select Committee ...

But surely the hon. Gentleman would acknowledge that the creation of the working group that the G...

I am going to touch on something that the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) said. I agree th...

In that case, does the hon. Gentleman agree that the findings of the working group will be extrem...

Being a new Member of Parliament, I am guessing that that will fit into the timetable of the Bill...

After the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, the Prime Minister promised the people of Wal...

rose—

There might be a reason for that, and I am sure that the Secretary of State will enlighten us.