Wales Act 1978

Wales Act 1978

Long title An Act to provide for changes in the government of Wales and in the constitution and functions of certain public bodies.
Citation c. 52
Introduced by Michael Foot
Territorial extent United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 31 July 1978
Other legislation
Repealed by Wales Act 1978 (Repeal) Order 1979 SI 1979/933
Relates to Government of Wales Act 1998
Status: Repealed

The Wales Act 1978 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to introduce a limited measure of self-government in Wales through the creation of a Welsh Assembly. The act never took effect as a result of the "no" vote in 1979 Welsh devolution referendum and was repealed in 1979.

Welsh Assembly proposed by the Act

Had the Wales Act 1978 entered force, it would have created a Welsh Assembly without primary legislative or tax raising powers. The proposed assembly would have had 72 members elected by the first past the post system and would meet at the Coal Exchange in Cardiff.

It was planned that assembly would have operated under the committee system where subject committees would be formed with representation of all groups in the assembly.[1]

Powers

The assembly would have had the ability to pass secondary legislation with responsibility for primary legislation remaining with the UK Parliament at Westminster. It would have taken over the powers and functions of the Secretary of State for Wales.

The proposed assembly would have had responsibility for:

Referendum

The provisions of the Act were put to the populace in 1979 in a referendum held on 1 March 1979 through the question:

The results of the referendum were:

Choice Votes %
Referendum failed No 956,330 79.74
Yes 243,048 20.26
Valid votes 1,199,378 99.72
Invalid or blank votes 3,309 0.28
Total votes 1,202,687 100.00
Registered voters and turnout 2,038,048 59.01
Source: BBC

As a result, the Act never took effect, and was repealed in accordance with the Act's own provisions by the Wales Act 1978 (Repeal) Order 1979.

References


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