My Lords, in his very clear and crisp outline of the reasons for his Amendment 64, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, referred to my speech in Committee about pork barrelling. The noble and learned Lord helpfully informed us about box 3.1 in the Red Book, which I have not yet had a chance to read but which seems deeply revealing about the Government’s clear political intentions. The smell of roast meat is certainly in the air.
Government Amendment 66, offering retrospective annual transparency, is a slight improvement on the Bill, but so slight that I find the words “slightly better than nothing” rather hard to get out. Considerably better improvement is offered by Amendment 65, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, which provides stronger democratic control and devolved Administration involvement. However, that is clearly the opposite of the Government’s apparent intention, as the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay of Llandaff, demonstrated, using their own words. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, that this is also of great interest to the English regions, whether Yorkshire, which I hope will soon have a democratic parliament of its own, or Cornwall, which has similar ambitions.
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Many of the issues have already been well canvassed, so I will not repeat them, but I will finish by remarking on the words of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Thomas, who reflected that he and I have different views on the union. As a Green, I believe in local decision-making, with power and resources going upwards only when absolutely necessary. The best decisions are made democratically and, of course, the devolved Administrations have far more democratic structures than Westminster. Those decisions should be made by the people affected by them.
I believe in self-determination, and of course support the Scottish Greens’ position on independence. I note that last month the Wales Green Party voted that, in the event of a referendum on Welsh independence, the Wales Green Party
“commit to campaigning in favour of seceding from the United Kingdom.”
I remember that very soon after I came into the House —I can date it back to about a year ago—the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, coined, I believe, the neat phrase about Wales becoming “indy-curious”. Everything I hear says that that position has moved on significantly.
I know that your Lordships’ House, and the Government, are firmly pinned to unionism. Despite my different position, I will offer some advice to those holding that view. Seizing more control and trying to take back power and resources from devolved Administrations might seem like a way of taking control and getting a tighter grip on the nations of the so-called United Kingdom, but the effect is likely to be the opposite. Squeezing harder will push nations further away.
So why am I offering this advice if my view is the opposite? Because, when the independence move or moves come, I hope that they can be done in a friendly, co-operative manner, with the kind of political, consensual
approach more typical of the representatives of the devolved Administrations than of Westminster—as we hoped the move out the European Union could have been managed once the decision was made. Now, 36 days from the end of the transition period, with the nation in a state of great uncertainty, let us learn from that experience—and I can promise the Green group’s support for all the moves to try to ensure that power and resources stay with the devolved Administrations.