How Blair rejected further powers for Wales

FORMER Prime Minister Tony Blair and his cabinet were critical of the performance of the devolved administration in Cardiff Bay and opposed to giving it further powers, recently-released cabinet papers show.

- RUTH MOSALSKI

The former Labour leader thought devolution under his government had succeeded in “lancing the boil of separatism” in Wales and Scotland, but his cabinet felt devolution in Wales “had in practice not worked well.

Blair’s cabinet were discussing the findings of the Richard Commission in 2004, which had been set up by the Labour/Lib Dem coalition in Cardiff Bay to look at the powers and electoral arrangements of what was then the National Assembly for Wales.

The Assembly, which was set up after Blair's government held a referendum in 1997, was made up of 60 politicians, who had responsibility for a £7bn budget. It had no primary law making powers and debate raged about whether the powers it had to run the NHS, education and councils were sufficient.

The Cardiff Bay administration did not get the power to make laws until March 2011, when David Cameron was Prime Minister and Welsh voters backed direct lawmaking powers by an overwhelming 63.5% to 36.5%.

However, newly released papers from the National Archives show that in July 2004 Blair’s cabinet thought the Richard Commission had gone too far in calling for primary lawmaking powers for Wales and believed the people of Wales would not want it.

The commission, chaired by Lord Ivor Richard, also called for an increase in the size of the then National Assembly.