“The Devil Will be in the Measure”

So the Welsh Language LCO's finally being published tomorrow – and so what will undoubtedly be the long process of procrastination on the part of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee will soon be underway (I'll have to consult Dewi Un on the exact amount of time this whole process is likely to take...although if the Affordable Housing LCO is anything to go by his answer is likely to be something like “How long is a piece of string?”).

Having just seen Betsan Powys on the Politics Show Wales exclusively revealing the contents of the LCO there doesn't seem to be much that can be complained about: the WAG is supposed to have control over Welsh Language policy which this LCO seems to reinforce.

However, the point that has been argued (by people commenting on our blog amongst others) is that this isn't the right time to be talking about language when people's priorities are on keeping their jobs and paying the mortgage – but in all fairness, this LCO will in itself make no difference to businesses or to people in Wales – questions as to what extent Welsh businesses and authorities should be forced to go bilingual will have to wait until another day when (or indeed “if”) the Welsh Language Measure is proposed.

So the question right now is this: should the WAG have the power to legislate over language in Wales?

Answers on a postcard...

Note to self: might be a good time to start establishing myself as a professional translator...

Dewi Tri