"Wrong button" Rhodri is Holding Wales Back

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 17th Jun 2008

First Minister Rhodri Morgan has confessed he pressed the wrong button, when he voted for a Welsh Liberal Democrat proposal to give the Assembly more powers.

His confession came at First Minister's questions, as Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Mike German quizzed him on why the Labour Party is blocking the devolution of powers to Wales. Powers which the devolved governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland already have.

Mr Morgan told AMs: "I didn't intend to vote for the measure (sic). I had a computer malfunction. I apologise, I voted the wrong way."

Speaking afterwards, Mr German said: "Given that Rhodri and Jane Hutt both pressed the wrong button when it came to a vote, I'm only glad that Wales doesn't have its own nuclear deterrent.

"But the failure of the Labour Party to support Peter Black's bid for more powers shows that the Labour Party are now the road block when it comes to devolution. They are holding Wales back.

"Rhodri's claim that he intended to vote against, means that every Labour AM intended to vote en bloc to reject more powers. What other institution in the world votes not to take powers available to it?

"It seems that Labour have abandoned devolution at the exact point we should be going further and faster to make a positive difference to life in Wales. They seem to believe that uniquely, the people of Wales can't be trusted to decide how to elect their own councils.

"If Labour AMs intend to argue that Wales should have more powers in a future referendum, rejecting more powers as the opportunity arises seems a funny way of going about it."

Notes:

On Wednesday 13 June, Peter Black AM brought forward a proposed LCO to devolve powers over local government elections.

The motion was supported by Welsh Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru. Rhodri Morgan and Jane Hutt also voted in favour. The motion was defeated by three votes, as the remaining Labour AMs voted against, and Tories abstained.