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Government of Wales Bill

Yes, I know something about the subject. I knew that the hon. Gentleman was going to say that. The reality is that there is precious little evidence. The Secretary of State knows that I understand that he can put forward arguments in defence of the change, but we have not heard them yet. A large aspect of the defence might be public opinion, but we can safely say that that defence does not stand up to scrutiny. Let me turn to the abuse of position by list Members. The Secretary of State told the Welsh Affairs Committee that the existing electoral arrangements had been subject to"““systematic abuse for party advantage by Opposition parties.””" He cited the fact that 15 out of 20 list Members had set up offices in their parties’ target seats and said that taxpayers’ money was thus being used to fund constituency offices for party political gain. If such an activity is the Government’s other key reason, they must explain why the change will prevent it. Indeed, they must go further because they have to tell us the changes that they will make to ensure that such a thing does not happen in other circumstances, including in the event of a general election. To the best of my knowledge, not one single regulation—either in force, or proposed by the Government—would prevent me from basing my party office in Neath, Rhondda, Ogmore, Ceredigion, or anywhere else. Will the Secretary of State explain exactly why he thinks that it is so pernicious for a representative of a regional seat to be based in a target constituency that he wishes to change the very basis on which a person can stand for election?