Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan has challenged Welsh Secretary Peter Hain over the timing of a referendum on Assembly powers.
During exchanges at Westminster, Mrs Gillan accused Mr Hain of leaving the Assembly’s request for a vote “sitting on his desk”.
She also highlighted comments by Mr Hain on his website that “a referendum held before or in 2011 would be lost” and that further powers for the Assembly should not be granted “today or tomorrow nor even next year or the year after that”.
Speaking after Welsh Questions in the Commons, Cheryl Gillan MP said:
“Not only did Labour First Minister Carwyn Jones dither over writing to Peter Hain after the Assembly’s resolution, Mr Hain himself is happy to let the request gather dust on his desk.
“It’s clear he is waiting for any decisions on this – like so many other issues – to be taken by an incoming Conservative government.
“The question of a referendum was a matter for the Assembly in the first instance and is now a matter for Peter Hain.
“Labour has refused to say if they will lay the Order before a general election and are clearly at loggerheads over the timing of a referendum.”
