Giving the Welsh Assembly equivalent powers to the Scottish Parliament (Welsh electorate).

After 1066 the Normans gradually established control over parts of Wales.  The death of Llywelyn the Last in 1282 allowed Edward I to conquer the only remaining independent Welsh kingdom but dissent continued with the final significant revolt being the Glynd?r Rising of 1400–1415.  Henry VIII had Welsh blood and passed the Laws in Wales Acts in 1536-43 to incorporate Wales fully into his Kingdom.

Plaid Cymru was founded to campaign for an independent Wales in 1925.  A key progress point was Gwynfor Evans' victory in the 1966 Carmarthen Westminster by election.  However in the 1979 referendum, only 12% of the Welsh electorate voted to set up a directly elected forum with four times as many against.  In the 1980s, the closure of mines and heavy industry brought social dislocation and a succession of non-Welsh Conservative Secretaries of State for Wales was seen as evidence of a 'democratic deficit'.  In the 1992 general election, Plaid Cymru won four seats.  In the 1997 referendum the proposed Assembly won a very narrow majority by only 50.3% to 49.7%, a majority of less than 7,000 votes in over a million.

Initially the Welsh Assembly had no powers to initiate primary legislation.  In July 2002, the Assembly established a cross party commission, with Lord Richard (former leader of the House of Lords) as chair, to review this.  The Richard Commission reported in 2004 and recommended that the Assembly should have more power to legislate in certain areas.  In response the UK Government, in its Better Governance for Wales White Paper, rejected many of the Richard Commission's recommendations which led to significant criticism.  

The Government of Wales Act 2006 did however somewhat increase the powers of the Assembly, allowing it to pass legislation on such matters as health, education, social services and local government.  The Act was heavily criticised by Plaid Cymru for not providing a fully-fledged Parliament but did make provision for a referendum on increasing the Assembly's powers to the level of the Scottish Parliament's if two-thirds of assembly members voted in favour of holding a referendum.  

Important examples of where Assembly powers have been used to create significant differences in Wales from other areas in the UK include the abolition of NHS prescription charges, reductions in charges for university tuition for Welsh resident students at Welsh universities and the introduction of a flat rate of contribution towards charges for residential care.

The 2006 Act also allows the powers of the Assembly to be extended by a mechanism known as a Legislative Competence Order (LCO) if the extension is approved by the Assembly and the Westminster Parliament and is then implemented by an Order in Council.  This effectively adds the area to those already introduced by the Act as a measure which is legally binding and can be enforced by the courts. So far there have been LCOs for Education and training, Vulnerable children, Domiciliary care, Red meat industry and Carers.

This is however a somewhat cumbersome approach.  The argument that the Assembly's powers should be extended to be broadly similar to those of the Scottish Parliament was strongly supported by the All Wales Convention which was established as a key part of the coalition deal which formed the Labour-Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly Government pact in mid-2007. The 130-page report, compiled by chairman Sir Emyr Jones Parry, former UK Ambassador to the United Nations, and his committee, said a 'great fog' surrounded the public understanding of the current system of transferring power on a step-by-step basis from Westminster to Cardiff.  

The document suggests the Assembly should decide on whether or not to hold another referendum by June 2010 - to allow the poll to be held before the next Assembly election.  Sir Emyr said: 'What we found was that the current arrangements for giving the Assembly law-making powers... were seen as cumbersome and slow. Having the powers all at once offers distinct advantages and can only be obtained through a 'yes' vote in a referendum.'

A 2008 survey of Members of the Welsh Assembly found that 90% were convinced the Assembly was ready for an increase in powers, with 82% calling for the same law-making capabilities enjoyed by politicians in Scotland.  The polling undertaken by the All Wales Convention indicated 47% of people will vote 'yes' in a referendum and 37% 'no'.

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