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Proceeding contribution from Susan Elan Jones (Labour) in the House of Commons on Monday, 1 November 2010. It occurred during Debate on bill on Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill.


Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

I am not calling merely for kindness from Her Majesty's Government; I am calling for decent, adequate representation for my home nation of Wales within my other home nation of the United Kingdom, of which the nation of Wales is part. It is ironic that tomorrow, in the United States, millions upon millions of people across that large and expansive land will elect their senators, and regardless of the size of the states from which they come, they will each elect two senators. Theirs was a constitution that developed over centuries, and those Americans realised that we ought not to enter into such changes lightly. How different from those on the Government Benches. Once upon a time, in the ““Encyclopaedia Britannica””, there were the words, ““For Wales, see England””. That is what Government Members are saying today, because they do not understand—or perhaps they do, and this really is just gerrymandering, in which case I am being kind to Her Majesty's Government—that we cannot get rid of 25% of the representatives of a nation within the nation of which it is part, and expect there to be no repercussions. Some Government Members will hop up and down and say, ““Isn't this a bit unfair? Aren't some bits not truly equal?””, but that is not the point. This is about the devolution settlement, which was granted in a referendum. My party was in favour of devolution, but so-called Unionists on the Government Benches were against it—well, some sort of Unionism that shows itself to be this evening! This is a Government who have already decided that Chesham and Amersham is part of Wales, and who decided in the past that Wokingham was too—and the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr Redwood) could not even sing the national anthem. They decided that a representative for Worcester could stand up for the people of Wales.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
517 c669-70 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Boundary commissions Constituency size Alternative vote Cornwall Elections Electorate Distribution of seats Electoral register General elections Isles of Scilly Isle of Wight Local government Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Assembly Members Public consultation National Assembly for Wales Publicity Referendums Public inquiries Scotland Voting methods Reform Wales Scottish Parliament Unitary councils Ynys Môn Na h-Eileanan an Iar Orkney and Shetland
Legislation
Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-12
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk