THE Wales Act 2014 of Parliament, first introduced into the House of Commons in March last year, finally hit the ground hobbling on December 12.

This was the result of the Silk Commission’s recommendations on further devolved powers to Wales, which was first set up in October 2011, so no-one could say it was ill-considered. But even then we have only part one of the Act in place, part two being put aside until the next parliament.

The Act’s provisions include the following: devolution of stamp duty, business rates and landfill tax; a Welsh referendum on whether an income tax element should be devolved; new borrowing powers for Welsh ministers; elections every five years, allowing candidates in assembly elections to stand a constituency and on the regional list; a ban on Welsh AMs from also being MPs; and giving Welsh ministers some power over the housing debt of local housing authorities. 

This was no revolutionary change inspiring nationalists onto the streets to herald a new dawn for those aspiring to the cause of Owain Glyndwr. More a step for Wales’s devolutionary devotees. 

This was an Act born with hardly a whimper in Wales’s admittedly parochial press. 

So does it matter much? Well, yes.

Take a look at the the Silk Commission’s part two. Its bones are likely to be picked over further unless there is progress in the fight towards a real parliament for Wales with AMs empowered with a democratic structure.

Part two, published in March 2014, made 61 recommendations including an increase in the number of assembly members at the National Assembly to deal with an overstretched legislature which causes problems for effective governance. 

It was hinted that there should be at least 80 members, 20 more than present.

Then there is the suggestion for increased assembly power to decide on energy projects in Wales, raising the limit to 350 megawatts, up from the current limit of 50MW, plus regionalisation of governance of the BBC Trust and responsibility for spending for S4C. 

Also in part two is devolution of responsibility over the water industry, of regulatory powers over transport including ports, rail, buses and taxis and a greater say in determining the rail franchise, of responsibility for drink-drive and speed limits; plus devolution of policing to Wales, with youth justice and criminal justice as a whole to be reviewed in 10 years’ time to see whether distinct Welsh law had developed to merit it; and a Scottish-style “reserved powers” model for the constitution. There is a list of policy areas to be reserved to UK jurisdiction, with everything else considered devolved.

This is the reverse of the current system where a list of issues is devolved and everything else is considered reserved to the UK. 

The current system has been criticised for creating confusion over the extent of the National Assembly powers, with three Bills passed by the assembly referred to the Supreme Court in London.

The public reaction to part two was muted, and Westminster government ministers argued against radical change to the devolution settlement in their own submission to Silk, so progress is likely to be slow.

The then Welsh secretary David Jones pleaded insufficient time for discussion and  sadi it was thus a matter for the next government. 

Labour MPs suggested that the proposals may not be UK Labour Party policy in the 2015 general election campaign. 

The Labour assembly government led by Carwyn Jones (pictured) has hardly shown a great interest in moving quickly with part one of Silk, never mind contemplating the kind of campaigning needed to make Welsh governance fit for purpose by the introduction of some, if not all, of part two.

The first thing is to get Welsh devolution and as much of Silk part two onto the Labour Party’s general election manifesto as soon as possible. 

This will take the trade union and labour movement’s best efforts and must be prioritised. 

Wales is moving towards dealing with its own affairs rather than responding to diktats from Westminster and the nearer to home decisions are being made the more likely the best policies for Wales will be adopted.