Politicians owe it to people to take Convention advice - Archbishop

Welsh political leaders should now commit themselves to making the recommendations of the all-Wales Convention a reality, said the Archbishop of Wales following the publication of its report this week.

The Convention, chaired by Sir Emyr Jones-Parry, recommends holding a referendum on full law-making powers for Wales.

Praising the thoroughness of the report, which examined evidence from people all over Wales, Dr Barry Morgan said, “Following exhaustive study and consultation, the All-Wales Convention has found that the case for making the National Assembly into a proper parliament by granting it primary law-making powers is overwhelming. The example of the Scottish parliament since 1997 has shown the enormous advantage of a having a clear set of powers with the responsibilities at the Westminster and Scottish levels precisely defined.

"Granting primary law-making powers to the Assembly would strengthen Welsh democracy and give us a stable and effective system of government. We could then get on with addressing the needs of the people and communities of Wales by developing practical and distinctively Welsh policies and deliver them effectively, free from the constraints of a complex and frustrating process of transferring powers.

"I believe that Wales's sense of national identity, nationhood and heritage are gifts from God in which we should rejoice and which for Wales would be enhanced with further self-determination. At the same time these gifts that we have been given, the distinctiveness with which we have been marked, are not for ourselves alone but for the enrichment of humanity."