Those early promises ring hollow now

TIME after time, Assembly instigated “independent” panels such as the Richard Commission, the All Wales Convention, the Silk Commission and the Remuneration Board, have predictably delivered the verdict that senior voices in the Assembly have long been calling for.

How refreshing it would be just to see one Assembly-appointed commission delivering an outcome that diverges from long-held Cardiff Bay orthodoxy.

Prior to the 2011 vote, Assembly politicians indignantly denied that a Yes vote would lead to more AMs. It seems - and always has seemed - inevitable that that pledge will be broken. There is a serious risk that an already sceptical public, enduring ongoing austerity and witnessing the unrelenting expansion of a greedy political class, may increasingly view the Assembly as a failing institution which will never deliver for the people of Wales.

Not so long ago, we were represented in our constituencies by just one national politician, an MP. That has burgeoned into 10 highly paid politicians: one MP, five AMs and, for now, four MEPs. There has been no corresponding uplift in living standards, other than those enjoyed by national politicians.

Bay politicians should understand that incessant demands for more AMs following the recent 17.7% pay hike will not please a public whose vote for Brexit suggests an appetite for revolt. We were told that devolution would herald a new era in Wales in which idealistic politicians would “do things differently”. The fat cat pay rises and constant cries for more politicians make those early promises ring hollow. Rachel Banner Barry