Welsh MPs revolt against Gillan
Welsh MPs plan on Wednesday morning to revive an ancient Commons committee which hasn't met for almost a quarter of a century.
This move is in protest against the coalition's plans to cut the number of Welsh MPs by around a quarter.
The Welsh Parliamentary Committee was set up in the 1880s, but hasn't met since 1986.
Its past chairmen include Nye Bevan and Leo Abse. It will be convened tomorrow as an act of revolt against the government, and chaired by the Labour MP Ann Clwyd, who qualifies for the post as the longest serving MP in Wales.
"There hasn't been a white paper on the government constitutional plans as they affect Wales," Clwyd told me. "There hasn't been a green paper, and there hasn't been any consultation. We asked the Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan to convene a meeting of the Welsh Grand Committee so that we could discuss the plans with her, but she has refused to do so."
Clwyd says there is cross-party support for the move, and that at least one Conservative MP will attend the meeting. But whether the reconstituted Welsh Parliamentary Committee will be able to compel Cheryl Gillan to appear before them is not clear.
It could be a big test of whether MPs really have achieved greater rights in their ability to scrutinise the work of the government.
I'm Michael Crick, and I'm Newsnight's political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there's usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out. Follow me on
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