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National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Welsh Language)

I should like to start by looking briefly at the broad issue. The use of the Welsh language in Wales is contested; I think that that is just stating the obvious. I think that I also agree with the hon. Member for Monmouth, perhaps to his surprise. The Welsh language is a contested issue. I also want, however, to step back for a moment and think about the changes— the very welcome cumulative changes—that we have seen over the years. Perhaps we should consider for a moment why one of the two languages that are widely and increasingly spoken throughout our country should be so contested and why, indeed, has there been some limited and welcome change. I do not think that there is any absolute reason why the two languages should not be used widely. A degree of multilingualism is a fact of life in the majority of countries in the world; most countries are multilingual to varying degrees. So why has Welsh been contested to varying degrees? In fact, it has been contested to varying degrees over many centuries, which I will refer to later in my remarks. Clearly, this is not a matter of necessity but of choice. Therefore, we are clearly engaging in a process, and it is a political process if not a party political process. I certainly do not want to see it become a party political process. The LCO does not mark the end of debates on this issue, or the end of possible conflict over the use of languages in Wales. It goes some way—a good deal of the way, in fact—to achieving the historic aim of emancipation of the Welsh language, something that there has been a struggle to achieve for more than four centuries. As such, I want to say that I clearly welcome the LCO as a significant next step. I also want to say right at the start that I pay tribute to the other members of the Welsh Affairs Committee, which looked at this LCO quickly, in depth and in detail. It is a tribute to the Committee that we started out with a certain view and we developed our views as we went along. I was very glad to take a part in that process. Irrespective of some of the remarks that we have heard this morning, we seem to have reached some sort of consensus that there is a need to update the current legislative framework with respect to the Welsh language. Everyone seems to say that responsibility for the Welsh language should be placed down in Cardiff. It seems that it is only the detail that needs attention. Regarding the issue of whether or not Cardiff should have that responsibility, we almost seem to be in the position, sometimes at least, of saying, ““What was the argument about earlier on?”” We seem to have reached a new status quo on that issue.