Revolts and Standing orders

Efail-Wen in Carmarthenshire and an agenda item amending Standing Orders in the Welsh Assembly at a glance don’t seem to have a lot in common. But they do. Why?

It’s because next week sees again the onwards march of devolution. The Assembly is set to change its rules to allow for Private bills. Now what are these? Well, they’re not the same as Private Member Bills which are for back benchers to make laws. 

No, these bills are for outsiders to use. Individuals or bodies outside the National Assembly can attempt to use the Private bill to give themselves powers beyond or that which conflicts with the general law. 

Such measures usually attract a fair amount of objections and take a great deal of time before they’re passed. 


In fact the whole of the proceedings are of a quasi-judicial nature. For the benefit of Jeremy Hunt that means,  careful and balanced as if in a court of law.

Such bills are expensive and are time consuming to pass. Very time consuming indeed. That’s why in Westminster, MPs try to avoid being put on a committee dealing with a private  bill. It’s the parliamentary equivalent of doing time. The Whips have been known to use the threat of being put on the committee of a Private bill to sap the rebellious will of miscreant Members.

It will be interesting to see how long it is before Assembly Members groan at the prospect of being put on a committee that deals with one of these.

But back to the main story. Many of the big infrastructure schemes that formed the background of the industrial revolution stem from the Private Bill. Our railways network and our canal system were all established by using the devise  of the Private Bill. And of course, the development of Cardiff Bay itself was as a result of a much contested Private Bill.

But what’s it to do with Efail-Wen? Well, this was the first place that the Rebbecca Riots struck. They were attacking the toll gate there. At a time of real poverty in rural Wales because of wet harvests, the small farmers vented there anger at having to pay tolls to the various Turnpike Trusts founded to repair and maintain roads. 


There were a web of toll gates around Wales and each time the people passed through, they had to pay.  Around Carmarthen there were about 11 different Turnpike Trusts so little wonder that the natives in the area revolted.  And you’ve guessed it, the Turnpike Trusts were established by Private Bills.

So when Nick Clegg said that the Welsh government should accept more responsibility for raising the money it spent surely he didn’t have such schemes in mind. Or did he?