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Government of Wales Bill

The hon. Gentleman has made another excellent point. The Government do not have a very good record of listening to independent commissions when the results of their inquiries do not accord with their own narrow party advantage. That is why we do not propose that the wording should be decided by an independent commission. We should remember that the Government did not listen to the Richard commission. The solution is clear: if the Secretary of State wants the referendum to work on the basis of party consensus, he should take account of the consensus that would have triggered the referendum in the first place. The National Assembly should decide this important matter—not this House or the other place, not English, Scottish or Northern Irish Members of Parliament, but directly elected Assembly Members in Wales.