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Government of Wales Bill

To take an example that would carry the direction of my argument to its limit, let us suppose that the Welsh Assembly decided that it wanted to acquire foreign affairs as a new area of operation and that it drafted an Order in Council in the Assembly to that effect. If it could convince the Secretary of State—I admit it is highly unlikely—that that was a desirable thing to do, Parliament could do absolutely nothing to stop it because Parliament would no longer be a part of the Order in Council process. If my illustration is a correct, if somewhat exaggerated, reflection of what the noble Lord, Lord Livsey, is seeking to do, at best this is a vast transfer of power in the United Kingdom from Parliament to the Secretary of State; and at worst it would give the Welsh Assembly, provided that there is a compliant Secretary of State, the power to engage in any governmental activity it likes. So far the noble Lord, Lord Livsey, has been nodding in agreement, so it looks as if my interpretation is not far off the mark.