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Government of Wales Bill

The justification for a Wales constituency suggests to me that one would then be representing a country, rather than the people who live in it. Nearly 40 years ago, when I was elected to a parish council in Wales, there were six members of that council. One picked the top six. The people all voted and one represented the parish. One could walk into every street, go into every house and know everybody in the parish. The moment I went beyond that and represented the parish on a rural district council, I represented that parish and the people who lived in it. I did not represent another parish. If we are not careful and if this amendment were accepted, as my noble friend Lord Anderson said, one would represent nobody. In fact, one would appear to be representing a country and would not be representing the people who lived in it because one would not have any commitment to any particular group of people anywhere in the country. That is where this proposal is flawed.