Welsh Political News

This appears in this week's Golwg: In an irony of minor proportions Peter Hain’s resignation fell on the day a review of one of his legacies was published. The Government’s Review of Voting Systems since 1997 (long since slated for Thursday, lest anyone suspect the burying of bad news) trod an impossibly thin line between affirming the myriad systems now in operation in the UK and concluding

The Boundary Commission for Wales has decided not to alter the boundaries of the Brecon and Radnorshire constituency, which poses one question: what does it mean for the future leadership of the Welsh Liberal Democrats?
Choosing not to run against Mike German for the leadership last year, the constituency’s AM Kirsty Williams said that she had a “large constituency to cover and that has to be my priority”.
Well, it’s not going to get any smaller now. Can we therefore safely assume Ms Williams will rule herself out once more when Mr German shuffles off to the Lords following May’s local elections?

Well blow me down,sat watching Dragons Eye and here comes Ciaran "Blammer" Jenkins reporting on odd going ons in Talybont about a caravan park.
Nice to see him and hear him after all this time.
Good report too and good interviews.
Hope to see more of him,Dragons Eye could do with some bite.
Blammer did a lot to encourage me when I first started blogging.

Let today's Daily Mail be a warning to you commenters who post anything remotely scurrilous about Montgomeryshure MP, Lembit Opik. According to today's Daily Mail he has called in the lawyers. The report claims that his new brief has sent a letter to his former fiancee, Sian Lloyd, demanding to see a copy of her forthcoming autobiography - before it is published. It looks as if nerve ends are jangling a touch - or could this be be an attempt to put the frighteners on! Whatever, it sounds a threatening gesture - if the Mail has got it right that is. It is reported that the demand has been rebuffed.

Last time I was talking to Sian, the working title of the book was 'Sunshine and Showers'. The title referred to in today's Mail is 'A Funny Kind of Love'. Hmmmmm. Doesn't sound good. The reason given for this legalistic activity sounds a bit odd to me. He's supposedly afraid she will refer to him as a 'Love Rat' and accuse him of breaking off the engagement to move on to one of the Cheeky Girls, who also feature 'briefsly' in today's edition. He seems very keen to ensure we all believe that Sian dumped him. Funny this. When I was young, every crashed romance saw two ex-lovers desperate to claim that they were the ones who did the 'dumping'. I suppose nobody cared about the 'sympathy vote' in those halcyon days. Anyway, I care deeply for the financial welfare of those who kindly comment on my site - so I'm deleting anything that might fall foul of a litigous lawyer on the prowl.

The Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs is responsible for culture, the church, media, sport and the gaming and lottery sector. The Ministry is also responsible for coordinating government policy in relation to the voluntary sector.

Responsibility for the lottery in Wales should be held by a Welsh Government. The way that lottery money is used must be decided in Wales - the British should not take it. Just as in Norway.

Was down in Cardiff yesterday to do AM/PM for the BBC. Enjoyable hour and a half on the settee with John Marek and the Beeb's Phil Parry. It had been arranged for weeks. Just my luck that the Derek Conway story had blown up - particularly since I employed Mrs D part-time for the whole 8 years that I was an Assembly Member. And then I called in to say 'Hello' to the Western Mail's David Williamson in the adjacent office - and what was he doing but writing a story on 'You've guessed it'. That's how I came to feature in David's piece in today's edition.

I didn't make any comment on Derek Conway's position - that's secondary to the main question and just too sensitive for me. The bigger issue is how we react to what has happened. I've probably taken an unusual upfront stance on the issue from Day 1, in that I've never ducked being interviewed about it. I've always reckoned that if I'm spending taxpayer's money, I should be publicly accountable for it. Downside is that I finish up being the one who is always interviewed. Over the last few years I've featured in several programmes discussing the issue - and same thing happened today. No-one else was 'available' to appear on Richard Evans' phone-in on Radio Wales.

In general, I've always thought that employing family members is an OK thing to do. When I realised that I was likely to be elected to the Assembly, I re-designed our house so that my 'constituency office' was in my home. I reckoned this would allow me more time at home and effectively deliver a 24 hours a day service. Mrs D manning the office was an essential part of the equation. No-one else could have free run of the house. Always felt that there was not much objection to it. Other AMs had their own individual reasons. All fair enough, so I thought. But it was only acceptable if it was totally transparent - which it is in the Assembly. In fact, this debate is 'old hat' in Wales.

Under present arrangements, I would not employ a family member if I was elected an MP. There would have to be some changes. The last few days have been deeply distructive of the public's trust and confidence in our system of democracy. I've winced as commentators report their best guesses about how many politicians employ family members. Seems to me that this information should be volunteered clearly and immediately - in my personal opinion of course. I also think we have reached the stage when positions should be advertised, even if the terms of employment might mean that no-one else could apply (who else would want to work 4 hours a day, 3 of them in London and 2 at our home?). In addition I accept that supporting evidence might have to be provided, via time sheets etc.. This would cause outrage amongst traditionalists of course. And I dislike it as much as anyone - but society is changing. There is less acceptance of the tradition of the 'Honourable Member' today. And systems of accoutability are a bit like pregnancy - not at all or the full works. Anyway, that's my developing personal opinion and that's what I've been saying yesterday and today.

Another candidate for the best PM we never had?

See for yourselves...this is pure parliamentary genius at work.

Leanne Wood AM has a new blog and a new website. Please link to them if you are regular bloggers....

Translastion of a post by Alun Ffred Jones AM

In August 1925 six men came together in a cafe in Pwllheli to establish Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru. One of them was my grandfather Ffred Jones, a minister in the Rhondda at the time. From him I inherited my name and, to a certain degree certainly, my political beliefs.

Although Ive dabbled with politics all my life, in 2003 I became a full time politician, and had the privilege of succeeding Dafydd Wigley as the Assembly Member for Caernarfon. By now of course the boundaries have changed, and I represent the new constituency of Arfon, which includes Bangor and the Ogwen Valley as well as Caernarfon and the Nantlle Valley. It was a great satisfaction for me to receive a fairly good majority in that seat, after a hard campaign, in the 2007 elections. As I promised at the time, I try to do my best for all of my constituents whatever their background and political beliefs.

There´s a lot of heated debate these days concerning Gwynedd Council´s plans to reorganize primary schools. I don´t want to add to the arguments here, but I´d like to make one appeal: good people, reflect for a moment and show some measure of respect for those who disagree with your views. Some of the wild things being said and being written do nobody any credit.

At the moment I´m part of team in Cardiff which is preparing the way for a real parliament for Wales. We´re already half way there, and before long, with prudence, wisdom and discipline, we´ll have the real right to pass laws, for the first time since the days of Hywel Dda.

One thing that has hindered the development of the nation over the centuries is our tendency to quarrel amongst ourselves, without seeing the bigger picture. Although reorganizing Gwynedd schools is so important, we shouldn´t let disagreement on the matter halt the growth of Plaid Cymru, an essential element in Wales´ journey towards the dream that drew my grandfather to Pwllheli in 1925.

Translation of a post by Vaughan Roderick posted on the 25th of January:

For some reason Ive always believed that Peter Hain is a lot younger than Paul Murphy. I got a bit of a shock then when I realised that there are only two years between them with Mr Hain at 57 and Mr Murphy approaching his 60th birthday.

There´s a lot of talk in the Bay about how much of a difference appointing Paul Murphy (a dinosaur on devolution according to Ieuan Wyn Jones) will make to the development of the assembly over the months and years to come. Some AMs have already expressed their expectation that Mr Murphy will interpret the new system of legislation in the strictest way possible making it difficult for the assembly to increase its legislative powers comparatively quickly.

I have a feeling that these fears could be without foundation and that the superficial differences between Mr Hain and Mr Murphy, such as the age difference, could be less than they appear.

The important difference between the two of course is that Peter Hain is a fervent devolutionist. Paul Murphy at best is a sceptisc. But will this effect the way he fulfills his office?

There are a few things worth remembering here. Firstly Mr Murphy is a prudent man who likes to play according to the rules. Mr Hain occasionally was accused of interfering in the assembly´s own work. Mr Murphy isn´t likely to do that. He is also, by nature, a diplomat and during his period in Northern Ireland he showed himself to be effective in that role.

Anybody who expects Mr Murphy to throw LCOs in the bin in order to defend the sovereignty of Westminster has misread the man. If there is a controversial LCO (and there certainly will be a few) the new secretary´s natural response will be to seek a compromise between the assembly and Westminster. Due to his scepticism MPs will be more ready to listen to him than to his predecessor.

It´s also worth remembering that there was no close personal relationship between Rhodri Morgan and Peter Hain. Indeed Rhodri´s followers have never forgotten Mr Hain´s part in the bloody conflict between Rhodri and Alun Michael to lead Welsh Labour in the first assembly elections. Despite their different views on devolution Rhodri and Paul Murphy have worked together for decades and understand one another completely. Some AMs could end up being dissappointed in the best possible way by the new secretary.

An interesting article in today's Independent from Sister Marie Thérèse, and her longstanding eating disorder, and its connection with religion.

Well Anne aka Women Voice was right in what she was saying about what would come to St Athan. What are Jane Hutt and John Smith saying about this jobs blow.
PART of a huge £15bn defence training academy ear-marked for St. Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan is being ditched
The two-part project would have seen all UK defence training centralised in south Wales.
But the second part of the scheme, dealing with logistics, photography, administration, policing and language training, is not now going ahead.
It was worth up to £5bn and would have seen 4,500 personnel trained on site.
The rest of the scheme is going ahead as planned, and will see the army, navy and air force trained at a new site in St Athan, due to be opened in 2013. 5,000 jobs will be created as a result.
Defence Minister Bob Ainsworth said the St Athan team was unable to provide an “affordable” way of delivering the second package.

hat tip to poll tax rebel
Assembly Committee to discuss councillors’ allowances
The Assembly’s Local Government Committee will scrutinise new regulations on councillors’ allowances and discuss performance measurement in local authorities at its next meeting.
The meeting takes place at 9am, Wednesday March 7 in Committee Room 2, Senedd, Cardiff Bay.
They have appointed a permanent panel who will undertake a comprehensive review of the range and maximum level of allowances, available to local authority councillors in Wales.The five-member Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales will produce its first report by 31 July 2008. The report will outline the responsibilities and duties that attract allowances and set maximum levels of all allowances that local authorities may make available to their councillors. The panel may make different recommendations for different authorities.The Panel will be required to update their report on at least an annual basis and will meet at least monthly until the completion of their first report. Following this report they will meet less frequently, with a requirement to meet at least once a year.Following a public recruitment exercise Richard Penn has been appointed as Chair and Dr Rita Austin, John Bader, Dr Declan Hall and Gareth Newton as Members. The Members will elect a Vice-chair from amongst their members. The appointments are for four year terms, commencing 1 January 2008 and expiring on 31 December 2011.
Richard Penn is a retired chief executive of Bradford City Council, having commenced his local government career with the then Glamorgan County Council in 1971. Mr Penn is a former Chairman of the Probation Board for South Wales and has been a Commissioner with the Equal Opportunities Commission and a Commissioner with the Legal Services Commission. His is currently Commissioner for Standards for the National Assembly for Wales.
Dr Rita Austin is a medical sociologist and has extensive experience of public service in health, education and criminal justice. In her varied career she has been a Senior Research Fellow at Brunel University, Councillor with South Glamorgan County Council, Director of the South Glamorgan Race Equality Council, Assistant Chief Executive of Bristol City Council and Chief Executive of Cardiff CareerPaths. She is currently the Chair of Audit & Risk Management at Cardiff Local Health Board and a Trustee of the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association.
John Bader is a former Deputy Chief Executive of Tai Cymru (Housing for Wales) and was Director of the Social Justice and Regeneration Department of the Welsh Assembly Government until his retirement in 2005. He is currently Chair of Somer Community Housing Trust, based in Bath.
Dr Declan Hall is a lecturer in Local Government and Politics at the Institute of Local Government Studies at Birmingham University. His particular interest is in Member remuneration and support work, and he has been a Chair or member of numerous Independent Remuneration Panels for English local authorities. Dr Hall is a member of the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee and Chaired the Advisory Working Group on Councillors Remuneration and Support for Northern Ireland.
Gareth Newton was Director of Lifelong Learning with Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council until his retirement earlier this year. He is a teacher by training and has undertaken work for Estyn as an Associate Assessor, participating in inspections of further education institutions. He holds a MSc in the management of education services and is a registered assessor of management competencies.

• Betsan Powys looks at the different ways to report on Europe.
• Amlwch To Magor highlights the British Patriotism of the Telegraph.
• Guerrilla Welsh Fare looks Welsh language services.
• Normal Mouth looks at the year ahead.

Is Wales losing out because of the 2012 London Olympics? Yes, according to Culture Minister Rhodri Glyn Thomas at least whose letter to James Purnell, his then-counterpart at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport puts a figure on it:...

It has been a good day in the Assembly today. We stood up for the Police and I was disappointed, despite warm words from Labour and their helpers in the Assembly, that our amendments supporting the Police in relation to their arbitration award was defeated.

In the evening there was an excellent lecture given by Richard Wyn Jones to Public Affairs Cymru, with Daran Hill in the chair. Richard concentrated on three areas in the lecture. First a survey of public opinion on future powers of the Assembly, indicating 44% support for a law making Assembly with tax raising powers. This isn’t the option being looked at by the convention so presumably, without the tax raising powers, the support would be even greater. Those favouring abolition has gone down markedly over a period of time, whilst the proportion of the population supporting independence has remained static over the same period.

Secondly, Richard looked at the state of the Welsh constitution and the muddled settlement that we have now. He contended, and I agree, that Peter Hain’s assertion that the Government of Wales Act 2006 would be the last important piece of legislation on the governance of Wales for a generation is incorrect. This assertion of Peter Hain’s is almost certain to be proved wrong. It is hard to see that it could be otherwise.

Finally, Richard turned his attention to civic society in Wales and the part of the lecture concerning the media certainly provoked many questions. It is clear in a way that I had perhaps not seen so graphically before, that Trinity Mirror has a monopoly in Wales. This is not perceived as a monopoly at Westminster because it does not have a monopoly in UK terms but clearly it has a massive impact on news coverage in Wales.

Only the BBC and Trinity Mirror are of massive significance in news terms in Wales. I actually agreed with James Purnell, the outgoing Culture Secretary, when he suggested that a portion of the licence fee could go to other broadcasters in return for public service broadcasting. I thought this was a sensible contribution to the debate on the future of broadcasting in the digital age. It could certainly be used by broadcasters other than the BBC in Wales.

Following the lecture, I attended a farewell dinner given by the Electoral Commission for Glyn Mathias, our outgoing Welsh Electoral Commissioner, in fact Ian Kelsall has already taken over in this role. I have known Glyn for many years and he has made a tremendous contribution already to Welsh public life. He is now to take a gap year or two but I am sure will continue to be active in Welsh life. Glyn is held in great esteem, and the First Minister and all Party Leaders spoke at the dinner in appreciation of his work.

The Electoral Commission, of course, plays an important role in our lives. We have every reason to know this in Wales at the moment although nobody made reference to recent events at Westminster. Also the Electoral Commission will have the role of clearing any referendum question to go on the ballot paper. It is not clear when a draft of the question is to be sent to them, and neither the First Minister nor the Deputy First Minister shed any light on this!

Best wishes to Glyn and a warm welcome to Ian.

The BBC has reported that large businesses and public bodies are seeing the take up of Welsh language services as low as 1%, and this on the day the first Welsh Encyclopaedia goes on sale. A lot will be made of this with the usual anti-welsh language lobby calling it a dead language and a waste of money. The Welsh language lobby will say that it is scandalous that you actually have to request to speak your own language.

For me as a Welsh language speaker I find that the iaith is our identity and gives us a heritage not enjoyed by many countries whose mother tongue has long since disappeared. I am not someone that feels that I am any more Welsh or any less Welsh because I speak the language. That is a division that does not exist. If you ever feel the need to defend your Welshness because you don’t speak Welsh then I don’t think you have quite got the point. Equally if you ever feel as if you have more social standing as a Welshman because you can then you are not doing the language justice.

In my eyes the Welsh language is for everyone. If you speak Welsh or not you should have the opportunity to speak it. Even if you don’t wish to pursue that opportunity then you should still see it as your language. My father doesn’t speak Welsh, he has no interest in doing so, but he is certainly proud that I do. My mother learnt the language so that I could benefit from having a bilingual parentage. I am the first family member that is fluent in the language. For me that shows how the growth of the language can happen. From non-Welsh speaker – to learner – to first language Welsh speaker in one generation.

In relation to the low number of services being taken up I think it does come down to advertising. Many Welsh speakers simply do not know these services exists. After an advertising campaign took place Welsh Water saw a 50% increase in the number of people that used the service. Clearly there is a big gap in the number of people that speak Welsh and the number of Welsh speakers that are aware of these services. It is also a question of confidence in the language and your proficiency. I do try and do everything in Welsh were possible (ironic considering I do not have a Welsh language blog!) but I am guilty of not always using the Welsh service. With that in mind I shall vow from now on to do all my complaining via my chosen language of Welsh. The Welsh language is not about holding a gun to the heads of public bodies and businesses but about giving equal rights to those who wish to speak Welsh in Wales.

This article appears on OurKingdom as part of the "Year Ahead" series: After a genuinely tumultuous and probably momentous 2007, the augers for 2008 in Wales seem on the surface to be more mundane. It is true that every council seat is up for election, but this holds out the prospect only of modest retreat for Labour, given that its base is already eroded from four years ago. Beneath the

Ben Wallace, the Conservative MP for Lancaster & Wyre, thought he had Our Great Leader Brown stumped at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday: "Why do the people of Wales have a full-time Secretary of State, while our armed forces and the Scots must make do with a part-timer?"

Ouch.

Our impeccably briefed Secretary of State for Change and Prudence replied by listing Paul Murphy's responsibilities:
1) Secretary of State for Wales
2) Overseeing the British-Irish Council
3) Responsible for the joint ministerial committees on devolution
4) Minister responsible for digital inclusion
5) Responsible for data security and information assurance.

Are those in order of importance?

• David Cornock notes David Davies MP’s childhood Tory tendencies and draws attention to Paul Murphy’s other role as does David Jones.
• Peter Black looks at the future of Welsh MP’s.
• Amlwch To Magor also comments on this issue.
• Ceredig looks at Elfyn Llwyd’s recent comments on a referendum, as does
• Miserable Old Fart.
• Guerrilla Welsh Fare gives his views on employing a family member in politics. More here from Valley’s Mam.

O'Neill pointed me towards a part of the Telegraph's site today that would be scary if it wasn't so funny.

Call Yourself British is the Daily Telegraph's attempt to make us all stop calling ourself Welsh (or Scottish or English or Irish) and bask in our Britshness. This follows on from Gordie's attempts last year to wrap himself in Britishness and call for a "British Day".

The site is covered with the Union Jack (and by the way, it is called the Union Jack not the Union Flag - incorrect pedantic fools!), Big Ben, British Bulldogs, the Queen and a British passport. It looks like a proper propoganda machine. But once you look at it closely, it falls apart pretty quickly.

First is their all important poll, headlined "Most of us feel British - for now ", "Only 37pc of us see ourselves as British" and "We are better off British - and proud of it". You'd assume that, in a website devoted to "rally the people of Great Britain around the 1707 Acts of Union", "us" would mean British people. Read the text of the articles and you quickly realise that they only carried out their poll in England - hardly a good example of uniting the UK!

Even better is, at the bottom of the front page, the pictures of the Assembly, Scottish and NI Parliament and the Commons. I'll reproduce it here and will give plenty of kudos to the first person to point out how not in touch with the world outside England the Telegraph is! (Remember that building on the left?)

Then there is their "Journey to the Heart of The Union" - passing through Glasgow, Edinburgh, Hadrian's Wall, The Midlands and into London (I guess Wales and Northern Ireland are just not important enough to be the heart!)

To cap off the whole doomed project (no new articles since December 2007) is the advert on the left for the Telegraph Family Activity Planner. Here it is......

I guess that's a good map of the United Kingdom as the Daily Telegraph sees it!

Today's Western Mail has an interesting feature on favourite childhood toys.

Two politicians feature - both Conservatives, Nick Bourne AM and David Davies MP.

Both say their favourite childhood toy was a train set.

Nick Bourne says it reflects his lifelong passion for trains and railway travel.

David Davies is perhaps more revealing: "I liked setting up crashes on it. I was a destructive little boy....

"I got fed up with it when I was about 15 and I started to take bits of it to the second hand shop for money to spend on less wholesome activities."

Little wonder perhaps that David Davies grew up to be a Conservative MP when he was already privatising his train set at the age of 15.

The Western Mail today looks at the fact that a quarter of AM’s employed a member of their own family. This is an interesting figure given the current controversy surrounding Tory MP Derek Conway.

Given the donations scandal in recent weeks it appears that any and all financial agreements relating to elected members will come under heavy scrutiny from the media. That is to be welcomed as there must be a transparent approach to how public money is concerned.

I think employing a family member maybe an issue that runs for some time. The Chairman for the committee for standards in public life, Sir Christopher Kelly, has already hinted at a ban on MP’s employing family members. It is a difficult issue to tackle. Personally if I was an elected member I wouldn’t employ a member of my family purely because the public perception it gives. Politics is a press game these days and people just don’t like reading that you have family members on your books.

However, I don’t think a ban would be appropriate. Firstly I can’t see how such restrictions could be legal. Surely there would be laws against discriminating against someone because of their family heritage.

Glyn Davies made a very valid point that the hours MP’s and AM’s work can be very anti-social and will put a strain on the family life. Employing a partner can be one way of maintaining that stability.

Another point I would question is why a politician should have to settle for a lesser worker because they are related to the best candidate. Obviously it is not always the case, but there will be occasions that the best suited candidate is a relative of the employer. Should that MP/AM, and greater still that constituency, be faced with employing someone that is not quite as good simply because they are relatives?

In the case of Derek Conway there seems little excuse. As far as I am aware his son did very little if any work for him and yet received thousands of pounds in payments. That misuse of public funding can not be tolerated. However, I do not think one MP’s actions should impact on the employment rights of everyone else. It should be down to the discretion of the MP and/or AM to determine. If the relative employed is adequately qualified and the best candidate family heritage should not play a part in the decision.

This is in todays WM, but few names

ONE in four Assembly Members has recently employed a spouse, partner or child.
The revelation that Tory MP Derek Conway made £260,000 of taxpayer-funded payments to his wife and two sons has brought the common practice of employing relations into the public spotlight.


Quarter of AM’s have employed own family - icWalese

Here we all were, thinking that a cut (or is that a cull?) in the ranks of Welsh MP's was a forgone conclusion if a referendum was won. We considered Scotland, who maturely accepted in 1997 that there was much less work for their MP's now and that it would be quite unfair for them to continue to be overepresented at Westminster. They duly carried out their cull with a minimum of fuss.

But our new Mr Secretary has shown all these assumptions to be wrong. By carefully looking at each argument and thoroughly discrediting them with slick advocacy and intellectual pondering he has made us all realise that we need all those MP's desperately.

Well, his actual words were that it would be "bonkers" to reduce the number of Welsh MP's - but we must assume that he had done the thinking, slick advocacy and intellectual pondering alone in the shower.

Neath Port Talbot Council has installed a few Wii systems at their elderly care homes. Apparently it helps keep the residents healthy, both mentally and physically. We're all used to the funny smell of old people's home, now there will be the added aroma of Wii caused sweat - If I ever get old, please shoot me!

Try these headlines for size: "Breakfast with fellow blogger"; "EC Vice President calls for all-Wales EU debate"; "Intercourse first night". Eye strangely drawn to the last one? I thought so. Margot Wallstrom, the EC's Vice President thought so too. Thanks...