Papers reveal Blair said voters had no appetite for more Welsh powers

"Tony Blair believed his Labour government had defeated the threat of a breakup of the UK by delivering devolution to Wales and Scotland, newly released documents reveal. Rejecting calls in 2004 for the then-Welsh Assembly to have full law-making powers, he said voters in Wales and Scotland had "no appetite" for more powers and that his government had "lanced the boil of separatism". The then-prime minister made the comments during a significant government cabinet discussion on further devolution for Wales - the minutes of which have just been released."

"Hain laid out some of the arguments against full primary law-making powers for Welsh assembly, saying: "There was no consensus in Wales for radical change. What Wales needed was better administration, not extra powers for the National Assembly." According to the minutes, Hain said the proposals in the commission were a "minimalist solution and the least worst available" if the UK government was to head off a severe split among its supporters in Wales."

Newly released government minutes show that in 2004 Prime Minister Tony Blair and his cabinet rejected recommendations from the Richard Commission to grant the Welsh Assembly full primary law-making powers. Blair argued voters in Wales and Scotland had 'no appetite' for additional powers and said the government had 'lanced the boil of separatism'. The meeting, led by Secretary of State for Wales Peter Hain on 22 July 2004, considered a limited extension of powers as a compromise. Hain warned there was no consensus for radical change and described the commission's proposals as a 'minimalist solution and the least worst available' to avoid a party split in Wales.

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