Getting us the right to have our national flag on our numberplates
The paramount need for “regional” assemblies has been underlined by a move taken by Janet Ryder, Plaid Cymru’s North AM. It has sometimes been said by experts in the ways of governance that Westminster is seriously overloaded with work. Not many of us took that as a serious complaint.
But Mrs Ryder has now overcome the first hurdle to taking an issue about which nothing has happened for seven years out of Westminster’s hands and handing it to Cardiff’s care: the ability to add national flags to car number plates. The present plates came into use in 2001; they consisted of a new numbering system (commencing with ‘C’ in Wales), a specified font for the letters, together with the ability to add the Euro symbol – thus obviating the need to use a GB sticker abroad.
Scots Nationalists quickly realised that there was no legal place for the saltire. London responded to SNP pressure by agreeing to allow use of the dragon, saltire or St George’s cross instead of the EU symbol. The use of soccer club symbols would be banned.
In the years which have passed, a number of Welsh drivers have been successfully prosecuted for carrying the dragon. You see, London has yet to change the regulations to put the 2001 promise into effect. Mrs Ryder got fed up; she decided that Wales should gain the power to change its own plates. She has won the ballot to propose a Legislative Competence Order to the Assembly.
No doubt, she will win. As the DVLA in Swansea told Cambria, “To date the regulations have not been introduced, and are currently under review.” No doubt, next month there will be a short press release stating that the regulations are about to be introduced!
Print This Post
Three cheers for Janet Ryder!
She is definitely Plaid’s most underrated politician!
She has fought a brilliant campagin on the numberplates issue, so it is hardly surprising she is ‘hot’ favourite to take over the Alun Ffred Jones as Deputy Leader of Plaid in the Assembly, in the forthcoming election.
(The vacancy came about as a result of Alun Ffred’s elevation to Government Minister.)
In a recent poll on Bethan Jenkins’ blog, Janet won the vote comfortably, when readers were asked simply:
“Who should be Plaid’s Deputy Leader in the Assembly?”
The result was emphatically in Janet’s favour:
Janet Ryder 37%
Helen Mary Jones 23%
I hope this blog takes time out to congratulate Janet and call on the Plaid Group in the Assembly to return her as Deputy Leader after recess!
The full result of the poll can be seen below:
http://poll.pollhost.com/YmV0aGFubWFldmUJMTIxODc1NTM1MAlFRUVFRUUJMDAwMDAwCUFyaWFsCUFzc29ydGVk/
Janet is very good but sorry Helen is better – if only Helen Mary-Jones had some private sector experience – it would have taken the edge of her silly remarks about the Labour Party and all that left wing nonsense . Pity she could have been good really good .
Rhian – I don’t think Dafydd Wigley would agree with you about this!
His supporters cant stand her!
What a load of utter balls!
The world economic system is in meltdown, people are starving, wars are raging, and all this silly, silly woman can do is worry about numberplates!
No wonder people around Wales despair of this ridiculous talking shop. For God’s sake, let’s get rid of it!
With the world riven by wars and genocide – neither of which currently afflict Wales, whatever happened in the past – I suppose interest in car number plates, as well as in national (although you might say “regional”) postage stamps, might seem a bit absurd.
But a world has to be governed. Who’ll do it ? Mr Brown? Or perhaps you’d prefer Brussels ? Or give the job to the mighty in Pennsylvania Ave ? I look forward to hearing your view when you disagree with their decisions that we should all be the same. Or perhaps you’d agree with them ?
After all, you’d speak their language. None of those tongue-twisting garbled dialects which fewer than a million bother with…
Oh for a happy peaceful world. How’s your Esperanto, by the way ?
Who mentioned the language? It’s got sod all to do with my point – or your point come to that. Your point was about some Geordie woman wanting to stick dragons on numberplates – which loads of people have been doing for years, anyway.
Do grow up!