What should be the Conservative Response to the Wales Bill and
Devolution?
I only suggested
today's fringe meeting to TRG, the Tory Reform Group, for two reasons, one of
them rather selfish. Firstly I believe the Wales Act passed in 2017, is a very
significant milestone in the history of Welsh governance. It’s easy to
under-rate the significance of a Wales Act, because there have been so many, in
a relatively short time. But I do think the Wales Act that has most recently
made it onto the Statute Book changes the devolution landscape.
The move to
a 'reserved powers' model, and the financial accountability which will come
from devolution of responsibility for levying 50% of income tax are
transformative. And of course it was a Conservative Secretary of State who
took this Wales Act through the parliamentary process without any opposition
amendments - both unusual and unexpected. We as a Conservative Party need to
build on this achievement.
The rather
selfish reason I thought I'd like to make a speech linked to our Spring
Conference, is that it helps me develop my own thinking on 'What should be the
Conservative response to the Wales Act and devolution. Luckily, I'm sharing a
platform with David Melding and Daran Hill, two of the most thoughtful and respected
political analysts’ active in Welsh politics.
I
do think it’s important
for the Conservative Party to look beyond the short-term pressures which impact
on any party in Government, and for the Welsh Conservative Party to reflect on
how we develop a strategy to win future elections in Wales, challenging and
defeating the notion that Wales is a permanent Labour stronghold.
Unusually
for me, I have written a speech, again for two reasons. Firstly, I feared that
8.00 on a Saturday morning might fail to attract much of an audience. I needed
a speech I could circulate afterwards to stimulate discussion amongst some of those
who are just about stirring from beds. And secondly, a written speech
allows for amendment and development of my ideas.
Firstly, I
think we need to create a structure within our party which develops Welsh
Conservative policy, allowing us to look beyond the short-term pressures of
Government, and plan how we can move forward to win power in Wales. We need a
strategy to end the assumption that too many hold, that Wales will always be
run by Labour.
Inevitably
there will be differences of emphasis - driven by political realities. But I do
think we need a formal mechanism, meeting regularly, including AMs and MPs,
plus a representative from the our Party's Welsh Board and the House of Lords
to develop policy and set targets based on what we need to do to become the
largest party in Wales.
My speech is
divided into brief comments on three aspects of what I think the Welsh
Conservative Party should do to take power in Wales, one of which is about party
structure, and two of which are about policy.
My view it
that the Labour Party in Wales is there for the taking, and it's the Welsh
Conservative Party that's best placed to take it. We need to develop a
narrative that the people of Wales relate to as Welsh Conservative policy. We
should not have an Assembly Group policy or a Westminster based policy. As far as possible, we should have Welsh
Conservative policy.
While there
may well be differences of emphasis, our aim should be to develop a distinctive
narrative amongst voters about what our party in Wales stands for. We need to
think about what we want to come to voter's minds when they think Welsh
Conservative. Not everyone will agree with this. In practice, I'm suggesting a
new body, acting on behalf of the Welsh Conservative Party Board, charged with
developing policy.
The other
two, perhaps more significant aspects of my speech are about policy I believe
should underpin our drive to become the largest party in Wales, seeking to
change the perception that many, far too many Welsh voters have of what being a
Welsh Conservative stands for. We need
the people of Wales to see the Welsh Conservatives as unmistakably Welsh, committed
to the interest of Wales, and the unique language and culture of Wales.
It was the
Conservative Party under Mrs Thatcher which established S4C, with hugely
generous funding. It was a Conservative Party which passed the Education Act in
the early 1990s which transformed prospects for the Welsh Language. And it's
the same today.
It's a Conservative
Govt which has just agreed to change the practices of the House of Commons to
allow the Welsh Language to be used in Welsh Grand Committee debates - an
important statement of our continuing commitment to Welshness. I'm looking
forward to delivering my first speech in Welsh in Parliament next month.
If we are to
become the largest party in Wales we need those natural Tory voters in rural
Wales, who vote for Plaid Cymru to see us as their natural home. Across the
world, the parties that are strong in rural areas are usually right-of-centre
parties. Our aim must be to offer them the 'Welshness' they relate to.
And
secondly, we should emphasise our history as the green policy deliverers in
Wales. Nothing is more Conservative than looking after our environment. Our
declared mission is to hand on to the next generation a country with a cleaner
environment that we have inherited.
There was no
greater advocate of this principle than Mrs Thatcher. I'm not talking about
'reform' but about a 'return' to Mrs Thatcher's enthusiasm for supporting
environmental principles. And I don't mean shouting about an impractical
policy position that some green lobby groups tend to do.
I think is worth repeating a couple of quotes
from Mrs Thatcher's speeches. In 1990 she told the Royal Society.
"We must enable all our economies to
grow and develop because without growth you cannot generate the wealth to pay
for protection of the environment."
Britain's first White Paper on the
environment, Our Common Inheritance, was published by the Thatcher Govt. We
were the party that pushed for and secured the Climate Change Act. We have
pledged to create a Blue Belt of marine reserves around our Overseas
Territories - 4 million square kilometres. We are committed to phasing out
energy generation from coal by the mid-2020s.
We know from Welsh Govt stats that the energy
and environment sector is the biggest employer in Wales, followed by financial
services and tourism (which also benefits from environment protection). Any
political party serious about power in Wales must be committed to protection of
our environment and landscapes.
In 1989 she said in a keynote speech "As
well as the science, we need to get the economics right. That means first we
must have economic growth to generate the wealth to pay for the protection of
the environment. But it must be growth which does not plunder the planet and leave
our children with the consequences tomorrow"
I want us to
be accepted as, and seen as the party that delivers for 'Welshness' and
delivers for the Environment. I believe fervently that the Welsh Conservative
Party should be perceived to be "Conservative, to be Welsh and to be
Green" - policy areas where we have delivered, but not sought credit
for.
It's time we stated shouting from the
rooftops about our commitment to the environment.
With a Welsh Conservative commitment to and
focus on our 'Welshness' and 'Environmentalism, we can become the biggest
political force in Wales.
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