(Wales Labour Party Executive member, personal capacity) THE WALES Labour Party at its recent conference in llan. dudno has strengthened its policy on the Welsh Assembly, which a Labour government is pledged to establish during its first year in office.
The Assembly is now to be crocica oy proportonas represen tation (PR) rather than first past the post (FP 1 P) as proposed. This represents a small but significant bour adopted in 1995.
These envisaged an Assembly elected by FPTP with the power to only scondary ickistadon, applying rather than overruling lerislation from Westminster. It would be funded by a central gor. cramcnt grant ratace toan naving the power to raise its own taxes.
Such an Assembly would obviously have little power to challenge a hostile London government.
The proposals fell far short of Labouts plans tor scotush devo lution, promising a parliament with law-making and taxaton powers, elected by PR and with equal representation for men and women (someining for waica no provision has been made in Wales. not represent a viable basis for Welsh self-government. Election by FPTP would create an Assembly in the image of the current Weish parliamentary group at Westminster. It would certainly not be inclusive enough to embrace the diversity of political opinion in Wales.
It could not bridge the divide octwcen tae largery rural me po litically heterogenous North and West. where large swathes of opin ion would go unrepresented, and Any Assembly worth having will need a the industrial south, where Labour's solid block of support would enable it to maintain its stranglehold over Welsh politics. It would also remain male-dominated (only one Weish MP out of 38 is female).
Any Assembly worth having will need a popular majority, and politically narrow body under the contro! of Labour's reactionary South Wales bureaucracy:
Fortunately, Labour has now taken a step towards broadening Ine oase of support tor is plansThe party's proposals still stand to deny the Assembly any real powers, but the adoption of PR at least creates the possibilities of fair representation for other parties and an improved gender-balance.
The form of PR chosen, a version of the Additional Member System (AMS) is far from ideal, however. An Assembly member wil be ciccica by reer tom caca of the 40 Westminster constituencies. A further 20 scats will then be allocated, four from cach Euro-constituency, in proportion to cach party's percentage vote.
The size of this Assembly and likely this Assembly will be more roprcschat.
Single Transferable Vote (STV) side the party would be more likely to ensure a sender balance. as faced with multi-member constituenobliged to field a balanced slate of canorastes in oract to appeal to all sections of the electorate.
Grass roots
Some credit for the move to PR may be claimed by Welsh Labour Action (WL.A), a left-leaning pressure croup made up ol grassroots party members. WLA bas campalened tor PR. gender balance.
tax-raising and legislativé powers.
WLAs elforts, torether with behind the scenes lobbying by Welsh secretary Kon Davies and others, put pressure on Blair to instruct the Weish Labour Executive to include "an element of proportionality" in their proposals.
Tronically the advance towards PR was formally agreed at a conferstage-managed than the Tories' best efforts.
Resolutions from CLPs were dropped in favour of debates on the party's key pledges, at which ne votes were taken. The only speakers were MPs and prospective candidates.
There was no opportunity to amend the Executive's proposals A glimpse into the future? Glasgow's Labour council opted for cuts fully equipped for disabled access. on which over €100,000 has recently been spent, is to close. Award winning Museum restoration teams are being disbanded, libraries shut and residential child care services reduced.
Many of the cuts are openty admitted to breach statutory requirements Sleaze Meanwhile as a background motif, investigations into allegations of sleaze and corruption within the Labour Group made by the Group leader are being conducted by Labour's NEC. for electing the Assembly, and a unanjmous vote was secured by some discreet arm-twistng. lais was presented as a one-off necessity in ine lead up to une gencral election. Activists should however oc conceraco that tais will Occome a permanent arrangement.
more posaveiy, win ncia a well attended fringe meeting, and had three supports elected to the Welsh Executive, giving them greater leverage in their campaign sor greater acmocrausaton.
WLA members are also workPlaid Cymru, the Communist Gymracg (the Welsh Language Societys to organisc & contercice of the socialist arguments for a Welsh This will be held shortly after referendum on devolution which is to be staged by an incoming Labour government. All sections of the left in Wales will be invited.
This will be central to the efforts of socialists in Wales to build a mass campaign in support of ar Assembly which isable to fight any attacks on the Weish people and the working class which come from a London government. Tory or New Labour.
The strugele against these cuts will continue. A one-day strike by UNI. SON is being held on April 3 to coincide with the next council meeting.
A 24-hr picker, and sleep-in around the Chambers has been called for April 2 by the *Save our Services" community groups and the SSA. These decisions were taken at meeting representing thousands of Communers Alongside this the SSA will be contesting every Glasgow seat at the General Election, with a central plank resisting the cuts and defending services, and tasing ae slogan Resist or Resign'.