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Let’s All Play Welsh Legislation Bingo!

Politics and Policy, ,

Richard Wyn Jones dissects the Welsh legislative process

Announcing an exciting new game that anyone can play!

Simply score 10 points for every one of the following observed:

  1. Government announces intention to legislate accompanied by rhetoric including the phrases ‘world leading’, ‘international best practice’ and ‘new rights’.

  1. Government subsequently publishes Bill that is vague, non-committal and contains no judicable rights.

  1. Following objections to the gulf between the initial rhetoric and Bill contents, the Government provides an obfuscatory and evasive response referencing ‘legal advice’ that is never shared nor properly explained.

  1. Government marginally strengthens Bill following pressure from Opposition and civil society organisations.

  1. Following these concessions, civil society organisations pressurise Opposition into passing Bill using arguments that focus on the original rhetoric that rather than actual contents of the legislation.

  1. Despite their misgivings, Opposition vote to pass Bill for fear of appearing to oppose something that is claimed to be ‘world leading’, as embodying ‘international best practice’, and as creating ‘new rights’.

Score a bonus 20 points for every non-judicable ‘right’ that reaches the statute book!

Professor Richard Wyn Jones is Director of the Wales Governance Centre.

17 thoughts on “Let’s All Play Welsh Legislation Bingo!”

  1. Amusing but difficult to believe that this could happen in practice. I wonder if anyone has any real world examples.

  3. A brilliant Article Prof Jones – People of Wales deserve better from their elected leaders. Quality of most AM’s is appalling and as you summed it up they are nothing more than simply confused sheep going to the slaughter, whilst people with an agenda rule and in my view to the detriment of Wales and Welsh people – Look at the ground breaking legislation put onto ‘Welsh Statute on 24th March and the ‘debating process’ before then – Disgrace!

  5. Love it, succinct and pointed. I note no bonus points for judiciable rights reaching statute book as presumably want to keep in bounds of realism! Query does a non- enforceable right remain a right or merely a statement of intent. Still King John got the Magna Carta annulled within 10 years but ongoing pressure from below kept alive a lesson?

  7. A brilliant summary – except it leaves out the additional Rule 7, introduced by the Government of Wales Act, 2006: ‘While play is in progress, players must refrain from any interest in the improvement of administration and service provision, which are dull, boring subjects, incompatible with an exciting game like this one.’

  11. I have been boring on about the displacement activity of passing pointless legislation instead of tackling problems with actions and resources. Now that Professor Jones has made the point with wit and humour, is there any chance our politicians will grow up and cut it out?

  12. A nice [stricto sensu] summary of the character of public life in this country. A Taffia Government, drawn from a talent pool whence most talent was filtered out at the pre-electoral selection phase, pretends to make policies, and a civil service renowned for its epitomizing of the Not Frightfully Good pretends to execute them.

  13. Richard has another good point in drawing attention to the way in which the Taffia treat what are termed civil society organizations as its succursals.

  14. I’m surprised that the good Professor is ‘surprised’ that the WG produces laws that are a)vacuous,b)pointless but seek to appeal to the trendy lefties/greens that now go for ‘civil society’ in this benighted part of the UK. How can one legislature seek to restrict any future legislature as in time issues/priorities change due many factors,and hopefully this GREEN rubbish will be binned and practical policies/development get back in place. Never mind at least James Bond will not be travelling in his a)powerful gas guzzling cars b),helicopter to Cardiff Bay as we couldn’t have our PARLIAMENT sullied by world class publicity!!.

  16. Rather than the dynamic SNP government trying to take control of the Scottish economy and improve the lot of the people of Scotland – the limp Labour lot in Wales are just happy to be in charge of extended version of West Glamorgan County Council.

    Lets face it the Welsh Government is run by a bunch of uninspiring career politicians and bureaucrats who where never in favour of devolution in the first place but find it a surprisingly useful way to give themselves nice jobs.

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