Today, the Coalition Government has committed to reaching the next great milestone in Welsh devolution by taking forward the key recommendations of the Silk Commission.
As a party that believes in devolution and has campaigned for decades to deliver more power for Wales, this is a huge win for the Liberal Democrats. Can you imagine a Tory or Labour Government devolving these powers from London?
Currently the National Assembly of Wales is unique amongst the rest of the world. It can make laws, spend money, but it can’t control how much it raises through tax. For over a decade, Labour refused to let go of the purse strings. But where Labour failed, the Liberal Democrats have acted.
Wales is to gain significant borrowing powers. This will give the Welsh Government the tools to invest in its priority areas and boost the Welsh economy. Wales is also now to have full responsibility for stamp duty tax, which it is hoped will encourage house building, boost the construction sector and create a stronger Welsh economy.
Finally and most significantly, dependant on the outcome of a referendum, Wales could have the powers to vary 10p of income tax. Giving the Welsh Government the powers to vary income tax is hugely significant. Now, for the very first time, the amount of money a Welsh Government spends could directly be linked to success in promoting economic development. That should sharpen minds in Cardiff Bay and will also bring the same level of accountability to Wales that exists in almost all national parliaments.
These are all major constitutional changes and based on the recommendations of the Commission, expertly overseen by Paul Silk. But let us be in no doubt, this announcement is happening only because the Liberal Democrats are in Government.
The number one priority of the Liberal Democrats in Government is to deliver a stronger economy and a fairer society. Today’s announcement will help do just that. While constitutionalists will pour over the detail on today’s announcement, we want the people of Wales to understand how this will affect their lives. For instance, if used effectively, devolving stamp duty could help lower the cost of buying a house and promote growth in the construction sector. This will help both families and businesses in Wales.
These changes, part of our liberal agenda, will give Wales a stronger say over its future. Borrowing powers will give the Welsh government more scope to invest for the long term future in the way it sees fit and help Wales strengthen its economy on behalf of its people.
As Liberals, we have always championed distributing powers to the lowest possible level. Today’s announcement follows in that tradition. We have both worked tirelessly to see these key recommendation implemented. Liberal Democrats should be proud of what we have achieved – a stronger Wales in a strong United Kingdom.
* Danny Alexander is the Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey and Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Kirsty Williams AM is Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.
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4 Comments
Given that Scotland has the peower ot vary income tax by 3p and it has never been used or as far as I have heard even been seriously proposed – what is the point of this 10p variation ? It is not any sort of fiscal autonomy. That would involve the Welsh Assemby being abel to set levels of multiple taxes and be entitled to the incoem raised from multiple taxes.
We have local councils who can’t put up council tax by inflation (thanks danny) without a referendum that will cost more than most increases – where is the devolution there ?
This is great news for Wales but the big question as ever will Welsh Labour rise to the challenge?
Despite greater powers from the 2011 referendum, the Welsh Labour Government has always been timid in its approach and spends more of its time fiddling away with processes and structures. Combined with this is an obsession with press releases given the false impression that it is doing more than it actually is.
Until the Welsh nation generally breaks its habit of returning mediocre and time serving labour politicians, I don’t think we will ever see progress here in Wales.
Great article and well done to everyone involved. I could scarcely believe the awful devolution settlement labour left us with in 1999. Finally we (in Wales) are going to have a proper parliment with proper powers.
What makes it even better is the odious David Jones has clearly tried to block it at every turn.
Well done guys, keep up the good work!
Jason
>.Finally we (in Wales) are going to have a proper parliment with proper powers.
And their first reaction? “We need another 20 AMs”.
To be paid for how?
One ‘great suggestion’ is to cut the number of councils and councillors. So we’d go back to the county councils scrapped in 1996, lose the local accountability of the county boroughs. But hey, there’d be more politicians in Cardiff Bay. Woo hoo.
Another suggestion is to cut MPs, which means we’d lose influence at Westminster.
The positive, I suppose, is that the Senedd would have to stop blaming Westminster for all the shortcomings here and take some responsibility.
What worries me is where this will lead. Cameron’s idea (quoted when he was in Newport last week) of lower taxes as a consequence is clearly fanciful. The tax-paying base here is small, wages are low, unemployment is high in some areas and the social bill high with it.
If London decreases its settlement to Wales further, will the WG hit us or business with tax increases?
Or will our third rate ambulance service become fourth rate and our special measures schools fail even further, for lack of cash?
When we had the last ‘extra powers’ referendum (that had a very low turn-out, it was so badly publicised and explained), the ‘yes’ campaign said it wouldn’t mean a further grab for powers down the line. That lasted five minutes.
Our houses are already way cheaper than over the border, btw. Especially compared to our immediate neighbours. Cheaper house prices here sounds nice, but if they’re still high in England, it just further limits mobility.