Advanced thought at the new Convention

The initial meeting of the All-Wales Convention – tasked with plotting the road forward to a more-powers referendum – revealed a fascinating seating plan.

The meeting was held in a conference room in the Pierhead building – where Ron Davies had planned to install his cabinet, with himself installed next door to today’s meeting in the former dock company managing director’s office,

The 16 members are tasked with recommending to the First Minster and Deputy by the end of next year the next stages in the more-powers saga. Basically, they have to report whether the people of Wales want to move to obtaining Scottish-style powers.

Of course, this job has also been carried out by the 10-member Richard Commission – which worked in an almost identical fashion,  and reported to the aforementioned First Minister in 2004 after spending around £1m on a very similar series of public meetings around Wales. Labour around No 10 then got cold feet – which is why Wales is having to do it again.

One member is common to both organisations – Paul Valerio, once again the Conservative nominee. A senior Tory in Swansea, he got a bit of flak from party backwoodsmen – presumably mainly ensconced around Gwent – when he followed the historic Tory line of looking forwards, rather than concentrating on the past.

Mr Valerio assures me he still retains his 308-page copy of Richard – I hope he also keeps  the several thousand pages of hearings transcripts to hand.

It was fascinating to note that Mr Valerio sat almost opposite the chairman, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, the former UK Ambassador to the United Nations, as if to remind him of the past…

Probably I am reading far too much into a meeting at which many of the participants were still unknown to each other.

BUT…I can see the makings of a political power lobby grouped together at one (very long) end of the table, if the members chose to play it that way.

There was Mr Valerio, with sat next to him the Liberal Democrat nominee, Rob Humphreys, now Director of the Open University in Wales. Both, in fact, live in Swansea.

Next came farmer Rhodri Evans, from Tregaron, the representative of the Young Farmers’ Clubs, which speaks for the “agricultural sector” of Welsh civic society.

Now came a group of “advanced thought” – as old CP members might say. Marc Phillips was nominated by Plaid Cymru, which he chaired for some years; it was no surprise to see him next to young Shereen Williams; although appointed through open competition, she will be seen as linking to new minorities through her job as director of the Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Organisations in Wales.

It is believed she is a Muslim; very appropriately she was flanked on her other side by the Anglican church in Wales in the form of Rev Aled Edwards. Mr Edwards formally represents the Faith Forum, but he possesses an extremely long CV, centred around the Assembly until recently. The former established church in Wales has a history of trying to link with other faiths, trying in particular to draw Welsh Muslims closer to general society.

Next was one of the sharpest minds in Welsh politics – Nick Bennett. Now chief executive of Community Housing Cymru, he’s often better known for his high-level work with the Lib Dems.

The power-edge of the table ended with Steve Thomas – who’s not really a member of the Convention. The Welsh Local Government Association had been asked to nominate. But May’s results – which removed control from Labour and handed it to an Independent-led coalition – are still working their way through the system.

The political line which the WLGA takes on the advancement of the Assembly has still to be decided in detail; with four political groups to be assuaged, it could take a short while. Which is why the director has been shunted along to the meeting.

Having deep experience of a Labour council which turned Plaid – and has since swapped twice – he knows better than to second-guess politicians. Although he no doubt possesses views, I’m sure he’ll keep them to himself, and confine himself, until he departs, to the technical.

Unfortunately, two members couldn’t make the meeting, apparently because of holidays, so they couldn’t be fitted into this game. Alex Aldridge, Labour’s nomination, led Flintshire CC until it went Independent last May.

And Harry Ludgate represents the CBI. He’s worked for many years at senior level at Dow Corning in Barry, a US multinational specialising in silicones. It would be fascinating to know where someone of his background stands.