Mr Gareth Thomas: Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that the introduction of the assembly is an exciting innovation in Wales, which will bring in its train considerable economic prosperity for the community which houses it? Would it not be a dereliction of duty for councils within Wales not to try their hardest to attract the assembly to their territory?
Mr Gareth Thomas: Does the right hon. Gentleman not accept that it is extremely expensive and onerous not only to individual litigants but to the Government and to the public purse for cases to be brought in Strasbourg that could be adjudicated in Britain by British judges?
Mr Gareth Thomas: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr Gareth Thomas: I welcome the Bill, and congratulate the Government on introducing it so early in this Parliament. It is an indication of how seriously the Government are pursuing their programme of constitutional reform and modernisation that time has been found to introduce this important Bill. It needs to be seen in the context of the Government's intention to modernise the state and to devolve power....
Mr Gareth Thomas: Yes, briefly.
Mr Gareth Thomas: Opinion has developed since the second world war. After the war, the conventional wisdom was that it was not necessary for countries such as the United Kingdom to incorporate measures such as this. Since then, however, a succession of Governments have, either rashly or blindly, eroded individual rights in this country. That is why this reform is so long overdue. Let me specify four points...
Mr Gareth Thomas: I have been listening closely to my right hon. Friend's argument. I hope that he will forgive me for characterising certain parts of it as overly legalistic. Will he accept two points: first, that those concerned with the regeneration of communities appreciate that there is an artificial distinction to be drawn between economic and social development; and, secondly, that the main focus of the...
Mr Gareth Thomas: Will my hon. Friend accept that there is a real need in Wales to invest in the service sector and the research and development sector? In that respect, why does he not welcome the broader scope of functions of the new enhanced agency in that it encompasses not only industry in the old-fashioned sense, but business in the wider sense?
Mr Gareth Thomas: Does the hon. Gentleman believe that the lack of democratic accountability and transparency in the development of economic policy in Wales may have had a bearing on the fact that there has been an imbalance not only between east and west, but between rural and urban, and between small businesses and large projects?
Mr Gareth Thomas: In speaking in opposition to amendment No. 520, I acknowledge that it raises the converse of the issue explored so well by my right hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Mr. Davies) and my hon. Friend the Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Mr. Rowlands). They asked whether, under the enhanced WDA, there would be a lack of focus in terms not only of the industrial economy of Wales but of...
Mr Gareth Thomas: I speak in opposition to the new clause. It is extraordinarily vague and has the potential for great confusion, disruption and mischief-making. It is not circumscribed in any way. [Interruption.]
Mr Gareth Thomas: If my right hon. Friend had contained himself, I would have gone on to enlighten him, by explaining why I regard the new clause, as drafted, to be extraordinarily vague. It refers simply to an ability for the assembly to conduct a referendum … on any matter affecting Wales. That ability is not circumscribed and is not confined to secondary legislation within the areas of government devolved...
Mr Gareth Thomas: I have finished speaking.
Mr Gareth Thomas: May I welcome my hon. Friend's statement? Those who have been involved professionally in this area know that radical reform to improve access to justice is long overdue. However, as I am sure that he would agree, difficult questions need to be resolved. Will any fixed costs under any fast track for litigation which may be developed take into account the fact that, to some extent, solicitors...
Mr Gareth Thomas: I firmly believe that the Government have no reason to be apologetic or defensive about new clauses 20 to 24. Their commitment to the new clauses reflects their willingness to listen to everyone who is genuinely committed to the idea of a successful assembly—and a successful assembly, which will deliver in terms of the expectations that have arisen in Wales, will need a strong executive...
Mr Gareth Thomas: I agree with the sentiments expressed by the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (Sir T. Taylor) in his very good-natured and cogent speech. His remarks were echoed by my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan). In the light of the Government's programme of constitutional reform, which includes the very important freedom of information legislation, which will give the...
Mr Gareth Thomas: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr Gareth Thomas: Is the Minister aware of any reported sightings of that other endangered species, namely, elected Tory Members of Parliament for Wales? Is he aware that there is a danger of that species being reintroduced to the native Welsh habitat following the elections in May to the National Assembly for Wales?
Mr Gareth Thomas: Hon. Members may feel that it is particularly timely that a Welsh Member should be given the opportunity to raise the important subject of European Union structural funds, when the Council of Ministers is meeting in our capital city of Cardiff, which will soon be home to the National Assembly for Wales, our first ever all-Wales elected body. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for...
Mr Gareth Thomas: My hon. Friend is entirely right. The record on inward investment, particularly in that part of Wales, has been poor and the cause of considerable concern. It gives the lie to the idea that Wales has universally done well out of inward investment. There is a growing east-west divide in Wales. Regions in the east have done better and prospered from inward investment, but that has not...
