Last week, I had the great pleasure of congratulating the hon. Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn) on regaining his seat on the Front Bench after a gap of 27 or 28 years. That was in a slightly different role to the one he has taken today, but I am delighted to see him there. I am also more than delighted to see the hon. Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) sitting next to him. Many Members will not know that a certain television company did a programme—it should have been a series—about two MPs trying to get to Westminster. They were me, now the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire, and the hon. Lady. She was my leading lady and I was her leading man, and I am delighted to see that the star is now shining brightly on the Labour Front Bench. That, I am afraid, is where the pleasantries stop, and pleasantries they are, I say to the hon. Lady.
I, too, have reservations and concerns about clause 16. I made my objections clear on Second Reading just a few weeks ago, and here we are, too quickly for my liking, already at Committee stage. I have great concerns about a referendum on income tax. I stood on many a doorstep, on many a street, on many a farm throughout two and a half years of the election campaign, and as we got closer to the election, it was a clear manifesto commitment that we would deliver a referendum on this very important matter. I am deeply disappointed that the Government have decided to do away with that referendum. I have made these feelings clear to various members of the Government and I have made my views clear in this place. Sadly, the Government have decided to go on with the clause and I, too, will vote against it today.
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Do the people of Wales want this clause? Do they want the possibility of the Assembly raising a proportion of their taxes? I have yet to hear one person mention that they would like the Welsh Assembly at Cardiff Bay to have this opportunity. During many hours, over many weeks, and what seem like many months I have, as
a member of the Welsh Affairs Committee, heard specialists, lawyers and academics saying that it would be a very good idea, but I have not heard one constituent or one member of the public from Wales request that. It would be a great shame to go ahead with the clause today.
Scotland had the opportunity of a referendum; Wales does not. Bringing forward the clause is wrong and the timing is wrong. The Assembly has not yet, over 17 years, fully delivered on many matters for which it has responsibility. I could go on for hours about health, education and agriculture.