Denbighshire says: ‘YES FOR WALES’
Extra seating was required when the ‘Yes for Wales’ campaign held a packed public meeting in Clwyd West calling for laws that only affect Wales to be made in Wales.
Welsh Rugby Union chief, Roger Lewis, chaired a panel of the four main candidates for the May Assembly election, who had all declared their support for a ‘Yes’ vote in the forthcoming referendum on Assembly powers on the 3rd March.
Assembly candidates, Eifion Lloyd Jones (Plaid Cymru), Crispin Jones (Labour), Brian Cossey (Liberal Democrats) and sitting Clwyd West AM Darren Millar (Conservative), were united in urging the large audience at Ruthin to give the National Assembly a stronger voice when they vote in the referendum.
There were representatives there from several charities as well who said that they supported a Yes vote in order for the Assembly to be able to do its job properly and respond to the wishes of the people of Wales rather than wait for several years as legislation was being slowed down by a cumbersome process of transferring power.
Mabon ap Gwynfor of the Yes campaign who convened the meeting said:
“It is clear from the turn out and the response that the people of this area support a Yes vote in the referendum on March 3rd. It’s all about the need to get a more efficient governing process. If we voted Yes, then our politicians could draw up legislation based on our experiences here in Wales responding to issues that affect us here in Wales. The current process has meant that new legislation has taken over three years to pass. If we had a No vote it would mean things staying as they are, slow and cumbersome, stunting the Assembly’s ability to respond to our needs. With a Yes vote it would mean the Assembly being far more responsive, and better equiped to do their work.
“Unfortunately the campaigners against a Yes vote want talk about everything but the question at hand, and are even afriad to have a public debate about the referendum. I was due to give a presentation to a group of young people at Bala on the benefits of a Yes vote with the Funky Dragon project, but it has had to be cancelled because the No campaign couldn’t find someone to present their case. Is it any wonder that there is such limited information about the referendum if people are denied this opportunity to debate and discuss the referendum?”
Campaigners say a Yes vote will streamline the system, so instead of asking permission from Westminster to pass laws that only apply in Wales, Assembly Members can use all their time and energy making things better for Welsh communities.
Why vote Yes?
* To give Wales a stronger more confident voice.
* To allow laws that only apply in Wales to be made in Wales.
* For quicker, cheaper and better decision making
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Notes for Editors:
*The Assembly currently has the power to pass laws in 20 broad policy areas, but to legislate on the detail it has to seek specific permission from Westminster, unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland.
*Three years ago AMs wanted to make is easier for families in Wales to get an affordable home. Similar proposals brought forward in Scotland and Northern Ireland were passed quickly, but Wales had to get the permission of civil servants, and go through a long drawn out process in the House of Lords and in the Commons before being able to carry out the will of its elected Assembly.
*Welsh Assembly Members want to make it easier for people to donate their organs when they die. Countless lives are needlessly lost each year for a lack of kidneys and other organs, but attempts to reform the process in Wales have been delayed.
*The referendum will be held on March 3rd.
Further information about Yes for Wales, is available through the website: http://www.yesforwales.com
Mabon ap Gwynfor 