Dictatorship is creeping back into government.

Byline: ian PARRI

THE National Assembly was set up to address a distinct lack of Welsh democracy.

It came after years of abuse of the job of Secretary of State of Wales, when Tory ministers falling out of favour would be exiled here as governor generals.

What they said went, and one man - not once a woman - could push through any policies they fancied.

It was dictatorship, nothing less.

Now it's creeping back. The Senedd wants the power to suspend the sale of council houses in areas with extreme shortages of housing, a laudable enough notion backed by both coalition partners.

But in agreeing, the Labour-dominated Welsh Affairs Committee in the Commons has insisted this provision can be vetoed by Secretary of State Paul Murphy. Slippery slope, or what?

What's the point of the Assembly deciding on the matter, then? Is this the thin end of the wedge?

Democracy is once again dying at the hands of the Labour dinosaurs, who'd prefer to perpetuate a Tory legacy than allow the Senedd to plough its own furrow.

It's back to square one, with one man appointed from London taking precedence over 60 of our democratically elected representatives.

Stalin would be proud of them.

CAPTION(S):

Stalin would be proud of Senedd; The Senedd building