Charmed or Offended?

All smiles, But Gordon Brown's visit to Cardiff - inevitably - polarised political opinion

WITH Parliament and the Assembly in recess, it took a UK Cabinet visit to Cardiff last week to provide a big political story. The Assembly’s Finance Committee, holding an additional meeting on the same day, could not compete. With the Prime Minister and around 30 UK Government Ministers descending on the capital, there was no other show in town. It was a key part of the charm offensive that charmed those who wanted to be charmed and offended those who wanted to be offended.

Indeed, political reaction to the visit was rather predictable. The Liberal Democrats described the event as stage managed and said it could not “replace real engagement with Welsh communities and meaningful reform of our damaged democracy”. The Conservatives went even further and decried the Prime Minister’s visit as “a shallow attempt to pretend that Wales matters to him”. Plaid Cymru officially focused on the announcement of the electrification of the main South Wales line, which was the main news brought by the Prime Minister, while the more provisional wing of the party used blogs and tweets to describe the visit as a form of Norman baronial court or a modern colonialism.

In contrast, every Labour commentator judged the visit a glittering success. They stressed especially the level of active dialogue undertaken by the array of ministers, who spread themselves around, visiting projects across South Wales and who also entertained a large cross section of civic society at a networking lunch, where every participant got at least one Cabinet Minister on their table. Without a doubt it was a well choreographed occasion which made maximum use of media opportunities. And we could expect no less.

The purpose of the visit was to demonstrate a listening administration and also stress the relevance of a UK Government that seems determined to be more visible outside the capital. It was indeed the sixth time such a journey had been undertaken. Whether some people like it or not, Wales remains an integral part of the UK. It is perfectly right and proper that the Prime Minister comes to different towns and cities and that other UK ministers do, too. It is critical that they listen and engage, even though sceptics have suggested they did very little real hearing while they were here.

Yet there were some aspects of the mass visit that didn’t quite ring true, even if the political critics chose instead to object to the principle of the visit rather than its practicalities. The Cabinet didn’t just come to listen, they came to meet. This may seem old fashioned, but the place for Cabinet meetings is the Cabinet Room in Downing Street. From the point of view of an occasional constitutional reactionary, there is something rather glib and unappealing in the prospect of the highest level of the UK Government meeting outside Whitehall. That’s the proper place for such meetings. Who can be convinced, even for a minute, that Cabinet meetings will be as effective when dragged around the country to Cardiff, Leeds, Glasgow, Birmingham, Southampton, Liverpool – or anywhere else, come to that.

The sheer scale of the visit was also cause for concern. Occasional ministerial visits are one thing, even in two or threes, but this event was more akin to a mass population movement. The nature of the current devolution settlement means inevitably that some UK Government departments have more relevance to Wales than others. Thus the Work and Pensions Minister or the Chancellor of the Exchequer is going to be significantly more relevant and worth engaging with than the Minister for Culture, Media and Sport or even the Secretaries of State for Health or Education. Even though no policy area is completely devolved, inevitably there would be a hierarchy of interest and engagement. Some of the civil society attendees for lunch certainly felt more short changed than others by the Cabinet Minister they had seated with them.

The relationship between Cardiff Bay and Whitehall is of course an evolving one. The ways that the two ends of the M4 inter-react has changed markedly over time. Back in the first Assembly, the emphasis was on concordats between UK Government departments and the Welsh Assembly Government in order to improve their relationship and foster effective joint-working. By the third Assembly, the major focus is now on legislative negotiation over Legislative Competence Orders or the content of UK Bills that have a bearing on Wales. But the need for an effective dialogue at different levels and between different departments remains perhaps more critical now than ever.

Above and beyond the events of this week, there is one thing that Gordon Brown should do the next time he visits Wales: the Prime Minister should visit the National Assembly, too. After all, it was good enough for his predecessor, and David Cameron has been, too. It doesn’t need to be overtly formalised. There is already a process in place whereby the Welsh Secretary and his deputy visit the Assembly to outline and discuss the UK Government programme after every Queen’s Speech. This works well and doesn’t need embellishment. All that’s being asked for here is that every few years the Prime Minister of the UK also visits the National Assembly for Wales. Any reason for such a visit should not be based on some constitutional principle but rather because the Assembly would benefit from the attention of the press during such a visit. After all, when Tony Blair came some years ago he brought the UK lobby with him. Their impressions were far from favourable and it would be useful if every now and again the same pack could follow the UK Prime Minister back down so they could see how much the Assembly has changed and matured.

Beyond this, there is nothing which persuades that overly structured show events between UK Government Ministers and the Assembly are desirable. The Conservative suggestion that there needs to be more structured visits by a future Conservative Prime Minister and a Welsh Secretary to the Assembly goes nowhere. The idea that the Prime Minister of the UK should, under Conservative plans, attend the Assembly for Question and Answer sessions does not really appeal. Indeed, it’s hard to disagree with Presiding Officer Dafydd Elis Thomas’ assertion that such a move smacks of “paternal unionism”.

Yet such window dressing is only part of the story. The most important dialogue between the Assembly and Whitehall is a constant and it doesn’t happen with a media spotlight. Every week the Welsh Secretary engages with Assembly Ministers over matters of legislation, policy and finance. There are regular discussions between other Ministers too, at both levels of government, and of course civil servants work together in Cathays Park and Whitehall. None of which merits coverage. It is the natural, quiet process of government. No fuss, no show, no frills. But without it devolution would and could not succeed.