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Welsh Secretary Peter Hain was on Today this morning outlining the changes he wants to see to devolution in Wales.
He wants to do away with the top up list section of the vote for the Welsh Assembly. In other words he wants to ensure that diversity in the Assembly is minimised and that Labour stands a better chance of forming a majority government. In Scotland the top up list system has meant the arrival of genuine diversity in the parliament with independents, pensioners, hospital campaigners, socialists and greens all gaining a voice.
In discussing the additional powers he would like to see the Assembly have, Peter Hain also celebrated some of the achievements that the Assembly has gained before England such as bus passes, student learning grants before England. What he didn't mention was those which are opposed by his Labour colleagues in England and Scotland such as the abolition of prescription charges.
What struck me was that the interviewer did not challenge him on these points. Many national journalists just don't seem to follow or understand what is happening in the devolved areas of government. They are failing to keep up with the increasingly divergent political scene in Britain. A political scene which will only become more divergent with the arrival of regional assembly's in England.
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