ALL four Welsh party leaders urged further devolution during evidence to a parliamentary committee yesterday - but differed over whether a referendum on income tax raising powers was needed.

First minister Carwyn Jones warned the select committee meeting at Cardiff Bay, including Newport West MP Paul Flynn, that the current “piecemeal” approach to devolution risked breaking up the United Kingdom.

All party leaders advocated more clarity regarding relationships between the four UK nations.
But they differed on what the future of Wales should look like with Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood saying she wanted to see an independent Wales eventually, but not until this was economically viable.

The comments were made in evidence to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, which is holding an inquiry into the future of devolution and is expected to report back in January.

Carwyn Jones told the committee: “There is a desperate need to deal with the UK's constitution or my fear is the UK won't be there in future.”

A written constitution could be a solution, but it would need to be flexible, he said.

He said: “I’m wary of any suggestion, leaving aside what I said on income tax, that somehow every change in Wales needs to be approved by a referendum.”

And he said Wales was still suffering from underfunding from the Barnett formula, which works out how much money each devolved nation should get from Westminster.

There appeared to be a discrepancy between the approaches to Scotland and Wales, he said: “It seems whatever Scotland asks for, Scotland gets. We have to beg.”

He added that recommendations from the Smith Commission, which looked at which powers should be devolved to Scotland, were likely to be accepted in full but recommendations from the Silk Commission which did the same in Wales had been “cherry picked” and seen instead as a starting point for debate.

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies gave evidence, saying he was “open minded” about the need for a written constitution and the need for a referendum on income tax.

He said he saw no disagreement amongst Welsh parties over financial responsibility with questions only over whether a referendum is needed.

He also revealed he had not voted in the 1997 referendum on devolution to Wales, saying in those days he was “not a political animal”. He said the BSE outbreak prompted his involvement: “My community (farming) suffered considerably and I wanted to make a difference”.

Dame Rosemary Butler, presiding officer of the Assembly, told the committee she wants urgent action to increase the number of AMs to more than 80, up from the current number of 60.

Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Kirsty Williams said it was important to codify the political relationships between UK nations to make clear where powers lie.

She advocated moving to a reserved powers model where the default is that powers rest in Wales and not Westminster unless otherwise specified.

And she said a referendum on income tax wasn’t necessarily needed if it was discussed in parties’ manifestos.

Leanne Wood, leader of Plaid Cymru, said parity with Scotland regarding both funding and powers offered was important.

She added that tax raising powers were likely to be devolved to other areas of the UK without a referendum and said: “Tax powers should be able to be triggered by the representatives of the people of Wales via this institution.”

When quizzed by Paul Flynn MP about a potential coalition between Labour and the nationalist parties in Wales and Scotland, Ms Wood acknowledged a hung parliament in May was a possibility but would not be drawn on Plaid Cymru’s “detailed programme in such an eventuality”.