CAMBRIA POLITICO

State of the Welsh Assembly

Aug 252011

There’s not a single doubt that Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones is dog-tired, although he puts in a stout and dogged performance during the weekly ritual of First Minister’s questions. But, behind the public bravado, Ieuan is sad and disappointed. He is a gentleman – although that’s not quite the right term for the son of a Welsh nonconformist minister – who has been dastardly traduced during six months of bear-baiting by those who claim to represent what’s left of the unthinking working class.
In the meantime, First Minister Carwyn Jones is desperately keen to avoid any repeat of those troubles in past Assemblies which could so nearly cripple an administration that relies on only 30 votes (however unstable and rocky some might prove) in a house of 60 members. But after the treatment Ieuan Wyn Jones has received, it looks as if Carwyn Jones will have to whistle for the support of Kirsty Williams’s Liberal Democrats if he is ever in need of help.
In the Senedd, Plaid is a sorry sight. In a crisis, you need to show strength, and Plaid’s London press office know that, and they succeed in getting their message across. Cardiff’s staff should really go back to their mother’s apron strings as it’s a tough world out here. To some extent, the situation in Cardiff is a reflection of how Ieuan works: he’s too much the son of a minister who preaches to the saved and the faithful, and avoids the sinners. Unfortunately, there are times when it seems there are more of the latter than the former. Plaid AMs agree that Dafydd Wigley – Ieuan’s predecessor, whom he prevented from returning as leader when medical problems proved far less serious than feared – would not have put up with the treatment that is now crippling both Ieuan and his party. Instead, someone would have ended up with a metaphorical bloody nose.
Fortunately, a revival is at hand. It’s being planned for Llandudno, where Plaid’s annual conference meets in September. And, it’s being planned by our ‘lord on earth’, none other than Lord Elis-Thomas, the AM for Dwyfor-Meirionydd, and recently the pioneer, longserving and deservedly-feted Presiding Officer of the Assembly.
Elis-Thomas is 64 and is spoiling for a new challenge. Plaid needs rebuilding fast and Dafydd has the background, knowledge and overall perspective to realise that the party’s tactics must be much broader and cleverer than believing that Labour voters are the only group House of Lords worth attracting.
Two other Plaid AMs are also stern critics of Ieuan’s belief that he can chose when he departs sometime during the next two years over the next two years when he departs. The mobile phone-shy Elin Jones is justifiably annoyed that her party’s failed election tactics have ensured that the farmers she fought for as a well-regarded minister are now suffering from Labour’s shilly-shallying on badger culling. Certainly the Ceredigion AM has for a long time been quietly thinking she could do a good job as party leader, but has always refrained from coming forward for fear of the intrusiveness into an individual’s private life which fighting for and holding that position nowadays involves. Also considering his position is the Mid and West AM, policy-wonk Simon Thomas. While Elin suffers from the public view that she is too rural and Welsh-speaking, Simon is a son of Aberdare who can trade it with the most-unreconstructed in the Labour Party.

Tory leadership
Angela Burns waxed eloquent in the closing days of the contest to replace Nick Bourne as the Assembly’s Conservative Party.
“We need someone to appeal to all parties, not just to our own faithful,” opined the AM for Carmarthen East and South Pembroke in the Assembly canteen. And her man is Nick Ramsay, Monmouth AM. Thanks to his speaking and debating ability, Nick has apparently wiped the floor with his opponent Andrew Davies during the party hustings,. But Nick is 36, and most of his life has been spent in politics, which the party faithful sometimes despise. However, Andrew is 43, and boasts the outside occupation of farming, which appeals more to the faithful. Nick lost, although closely (53-47). Which means the issue is still open.

Jocelyn
Jocelyn Davies (Plaid Cymru regional list AM for South Wales East) doesn’t sport the highest profile in the Assembly, but she has several quiet victories to her name. For example, it was the coalition’s deputy housing minister who helped highlight the idiocy of the Labour-authored farce of Cardiff passing laws only after Westminster had acted as a detailed second chamber. Jocelyn doesn’t throw all the blame at Westminster’s door for what was essentially one bill being rejected in London and another having to be submitted. The replacement Legislative Competence Order (LCO) was, indeed, a big improvement. It included a load of items not covered in the original – such as a reinstatement of the requirement that councils have to provide accommodation for gypsies and travellers.
For those with long memories, this requirement was “thatchered” when that particular lady was Prime Minister – so suiting the prejudices of the Tory shires and middle classes. Although the issue became one of the first to be investigated in detail by the Assembly in its very early days, at the time, our AMs could do little more than talk. Little wonder the gypies complained there was too much talk and nothing much (if anything) happening.
But in 2006, the Assembly was allowed to grow a bit and apply for LCOs – and for MPs to object to this new power. The gypsy provisions went into the second version of the LCO. Of course, even now that LCO has been passed, the detailed legislation has still to follow …. but at least that can now happen under the Assembly Acts that Cardiff
can implement without interference.
If necessary, the Assembly can even cock a snook at Tory right-winger David Jones, the Clwyd West MP, minister at the Wales Office, who forced Cardiff to cut back (for purely doctrinaire Tory reasons) on its attempt to restrict right to buy of council houses in regions of housing pressure (such as pretty coastal villlages where David’s friends from England tend to buy up anything for sale, pricing out the locals). But Jocelyn is one of those who doesn’t know whether she wants again to be part of a Labour coalition.

The mindset of the assembly
Once, the Welsh Assembly’s sophisticated information systems were world class. But, it seems, less so. Indeed, the place is going seriously backwards. Many of you will have heard of wi-fi – essentially a radio system which enables computers to work without being plugged into a phone line. Well, during my day at the Assembly preparing this column, an AM asked me to confirm our proposed lunch venue.. he had found me by wandering around the buildings. He had, in fact sent me an e-mail, but I could only read that once I got home. Why? Because the Assembly office building is not provided with wi-fi. There are no means by which e-mails sent to and from AMs can link up with lap-top computers within the building. Worse, when I asked the then head of news at the Assembly why this was so, the reply came back: “What’s wi-fi ?” I fear, also, that Assembly is developing into a mindset which exists purely for the happiness of the permanent ‘village’ itself. Paper versions of agendas are no longer provided: you are supposed to use either download them onto your personal computer before you arrive, or view display screens outside committee rooms. Unfortunately, those screens may not display all the details you require – and without wi-fi, you can’t pick up them up from your own e-mail account. And when the Assembly first opened in 1999, the parties were delighted to provide lists of who was who and their contact details. But not now. Is this because someone has decided their revelation poses some spurious security risk? Have our AMs become too self-important? Or has someone stupidly decided that Google can provide for all our needs?
I have written before about the lack of physical contact between the public and AMs (we have no Westminsterstyle Lobby, for example). The situation is worsening rather than improving. Nowadays, a clear ‘them’ and ‘us’ feeling pervades the Assembly, and we are the excluded ones. Cardiff has tried to ape Westminster, often without
good reason. Hopes for Cardiff being an open institution are being steadily dashed.

gan Clive Betts (republished from the current issue of Cambria magazine)

Phone hack – the best parody

Satire No Responses »

Jul 072011

This parody of the phone hacking scandal and the demise of the News of the Screws is an absolute classic Downfall. Enjoy.

A drama from S4/C’s crisis

Language, Opinion, Press and Media No Responses »

Jun 232011

What of it’s future?

gan Eifion Lewis

Touring a show they had devised themselves about S4C’s on-going crisis my students had quite a shock. The drama – 4 waleS/C england – was the product of intensive discussions they organised on behalf of a channel that they infrequently watch. Indeed, they infrequently watch any television channel. Facebook and other social media applications have generally taken the place of television with regard to this age group. The response of audiences in the village halls and chapel vestries of our Welsh speaking communities was quite a shock to them. Audiences presented them with a depth of feeling and concern about the potential fate of S4C that they were just not prepared for.
At the beginning of this year I took part in an open discussion in my own community about the channel’s crisis. Two emotions were prevalent: anger and anxiety. The anger emanated from the UK coalition government’s high-handed treatment of our one and only Welsh medium channel. The anxiety was focussed on its future. Does S4C have one?
It’s a good question and one that has almost as many answers as there are interested parties. Some media analysts are concerned that the contractual arrangements between S4C and the small group of largely Cardiff based companies that supply the bulk of its output will make it very difficult for the channel to manage the severe budget cuts that the government has enforced.
Although they are too wary to say it out aloud what they infer is simple: S4C does not have a sustainable future. Not, that is, in its present form. Their worst day scenario is a complete – call-in-the-receivers style -shutdown.
Their best guess is that a much smaller and very much less active S4C will be rescued from the ashes. Less active would mean a return to limited hours broadcasting – from 6.00pm until 10.00pm nightly, for example. Such a reduced schedule would mean the end of S4C’s substantial children’s output – an output that is widely acclaimed not only for its high production standards but also for its tangible contribution towards delivering a bilingual Wales. Such a reduction would also raise questions about S4C’s presence at our main communal happenings which include the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show as well as the Urdd and the National Eisteddfodau. Whereas television coverage tends to have an adverse effect on sporting events Wales’ principal cultural festivals have doubtlessly enhanced their appeal and effectiveness since the advent of S4C and its comprehensive coverage.
Ned Thomas, a veteran of the battle to establish a Welsh channel and an academic with wide experience of international media, has commented that whilst many European broadcasters are heavily dependent on the dubbing of American drama and films to fill their schedules S4C, from the start, has managed to provide us with television that is home-produced through and through. But whilst the harbingers of doom warn us that such a service cannot be taken for granted in the future other, more radical voices say that cutting S4C’s working budget does not necessarily mean a less virile service.
Indeed, they argue to the contrary. A slimmer S4C could be more invigorative and much more exciting. Such an argument is based on a presumption that the channel’s guiding figures will translate the funding crisis into an opportunity to re-imagine its role and re-define its raison d’etre to take account of the very different current context of television as a national media and its relationship with the whole issue of the Welsh language in comparison to the days of its inception, almost 40 years ago. In 1982, the Welsh fourth channel was allowed to join BBC 1, BBC 2 and HTV’s collective monopoly of home entertainment. Within the last 10 years the advent of multi-channel digital television followed by the social networking revolution has consigned that situation well and truly to history.
Similarly, the day-to-day status of the Welsh language has changed considerably over the same period of time.
Forty odd years ago hardly any one of the many professional agencies that now plan and promote the language at national, regional and local level existed. Most importantly of all, there was no Welsh Assembly Government to take political responsibility for the language and to instigate progressive initiatives across the boundaries of all devolved matters.
The students who wrote and performed 4 waleS/C england are from a variety of linguistic backgrounds. They would not have gathered together on a Welshmedium university course were it not for the bilingual educational provision whose widespread blossoming is indicative of the changes Wales has undergone since S4C was first launched. Language commentators attribute much of the success of the bilingual schools movement to the change in attitude towards the Welsh language effected by S4C’s early success. From being the language of all our yesterdays it became the lingua franca of a confident and ambitious young and creative energy.
Doomsday could still happen – not least if S4C is to become merely an esoteric department within the BBC’s vast and hierarchical empire. Surely the radicals’ approach is the only possible way of ensuring a meaningful future for the channel. Such an approach would engender the development of a broadcasting strategy that is based on the multi-channel and multi-platform reality of the moment. Such an approach would ensure that S4C, and its world-wide potential, is seen as an essential component within the burgeoning framework of a bilingual nation. In Welsh, ‘language’ opinionis idiomatically partnered by ‘culture’ (iaith a diwylliant). The radical re-imagining of S4C would re-establish the symbiotic link between the language and distinctive culture of Wales. Such a step could be very far reaching. It could even provide us with the power of self-belief.
It was understanding the battle fought by a determined few that enthused my students to create a drama out of S4C’s crisis.

Eifion Lewis

Eifion Lewis is a proud product of the Rhondda Valley. However, it is the rural communities of the west that have provided him with a base of creativity and energy with which to question both the fragility and resilience of Welsh culture. During his time as Lecturer in Charge of Theatr Felin-fach he instigated radical projects that
sought to develop a creative dialogue between cultures. Subsequently he established Cwmni Cydweithredol Troedyrhiw – a co-operative company that produced, in 2010, a whole year of multi-media work dedicated to the re-telling of how the community of Epynt was lost, 70 years previously. In May, 2010 he was appointed Performance and Script-writing Fellow at University of Wales, Trinity St David’s. He has one son, Rhodri, and his wife, Eleri, is part of Tinopolis’ Wedi 3 production team in Llanelli.

Has Wales become a ‘Third World’ country?

Opinion 5 Responses »

Jun 232011

The Future of Wales

By Robert Heming
Houston, Texas, USA
I have subscribed to your magazine (Cambria) for many years; not quite from the first issue, but fairly close. I always look forward to the wonderful photographs and many interesting articles. Although a work exile from my homeland for many decades, I return often and I closely follow the news from Wales. In all of my readings however I find that there is something vital missing, and in my view that something is a healthy and vigorous debate about the future of Wales.
Cambria has long been a supporter of an independent Wales but I have never seen any thorough debate about whether this is the best, or indeed the only way to preserve and revitalise all that is valuable to the Country. Welsh culture, history, language and many of its institutions are important and need not just protection but invigoration and support from the entire spectrum of the population.
The Welsh economy is in need of support and invigoration also. We would all like to see a Wales that is economically strong, healthy and with a lively and evolving culture.
No argument there your readers might say, but the reality is that in comparison with the rest of the World, Wales is falling further behind in its economy, education and health. The recent news is that despite 11 years and six billion pounds of EU money, the Welsh economy is slipping behind the rest of the EU. Worse, the per capita Gross Domestic Product in the Valleys and in west Wales was at 71% of the EU average and is the lowest in the UK. An article in the Economist magazine on the 9th of December, 2010 about educational performance in Britain versus other countries across the World, highlighted the continuing decline in the educational attainment of British schoolchildren, but worse than that it contained the following statement:

“Though ever greater proportions of British students are passing exams and progressing to university, those tested by the OECD in 2009 did slightly worse than their predecessors in 2006 and much worse than those in 2000. That is almost entirely due to poor performance in Wales, where pass rates in school leaving exams have also been falling compared with those in other parts of Britain. “

On the 8th of March, 2011, in giving evidence to an inquiry on inward investment, Dr John Balls a lecturer in economics at Swansea University made a statement that was reported on the BBC Wales news page as follows: “Wales is not attracting high quality inward investment due to ‘appalling’ skill levels and a poor education system, an academic has told MPs“.
Decades of investment by the WDA in bringing branch factories not resulted in much. Now the daily news contains reports of the closing of many of those same factories. All that money and what does Wales have to show for it? Against these dire results I have seen the usual pablum statements from the politicians saying that the numbers are not as bad as they seem or that they are misrepresenting what is really happening. That cannot be true and my many friends and relatives in Wales know that it is not true.
The sense of many is that Wales is well on course to becoming a “third World country” dominated by ill educated, unhealthy and underemployed people.
It’s not acceptable to just deny everything or blame it on some other malign external influence. The Welsh people need a thorough and honest assessment of what the desired future for Wales should be and how to get there. Failed political, educational and economic policies need to be dissected and if found wanting, thrown out.
Members of the Welsh Assembly need to be challenged too. Are they up to the task? If not they need to either change or leave room for others. Political commentators in your pages have bemoaned the incompetence of many Assembly members. Why are they still there? Plaid Cymru’s big idea is to set up an infrastructure fund. What will the building of bridges and roads do if the business is not there in the first place, or if the business cannot find employees with the competencies that they need?
As far as I can tell the level of debate on these serious matters in inadequate and for that the blame must fall not just on the political parties but also on media and finally on the electorate who should be demanding better. Wales has a serious problem and it needs to wake up and tackle it.
I would hope that Cambria be both the instigator and at the forefront of what should be a vital and spirited National debate. Put everything on the table; challenge; seek the opinions and ideas of as wide a spectrum of people as possible. Let our deeply held ideas be challenged and all of us made to feel uncomfortable with the status quo so that we can really seek out some good solutions to this problem. Let’s face it, our beautiful country is showing many signs of relative decline, if not absolute decline, and none of us should be idle at this time.
Step to the front Cambria!

(ermm…we’ll try our best (ed))

Letter to Cambria from:
Robert Heming
Houston, Texas, USA

Pity the land that needs heroes

Opinion, Plaid Cymru, Welsh Politics 1 Response »

May 082011

The title of this post is a quote from an article written for Cambria Politico by Adam Price just after he relinquished his role as an MP.

There is a lot of speculation going on at the moment about the leadership of Plaid Cymru by Ieuan Wyn Jones. Will he go or won’t he? Is he to blame or not for the dire performance of Plaid in this election? Would changing the leader improve things? Probably not. There are more fundamental things wrong with Plaid that need to be addressed first. Price would undoubtedly make a good leader of Plaid but the difficulties of bringing him back into the fold given the state of the Party now, the entrenched hierarchy and the temptations available to him in the USA (or in business) seem insurmountable. As a canny politician, Mr.Price is not the man to commit political suicide even if it would be … for Wales.

As I see it, one of the most important of the problems facing Plaid is that Plaid is not perceived as the Party of Welsh Business. After all it is people’s jobs and the economy that are uppermost in most minds and although Plaid addressed this in part in their manifesto by no means was it top of the agenda lying buried beneath other things that only a minority of people give a flying toss about. One of the reasons for this is that most Plaid politicians appear to come from a public sector or vocational background and appear to have little or no conception of what goes on in business or what needs to be done to make an economy tick. This applies to Labour as well (more so) and Plaid and Labour must bear joint responsibility for the poor economic performance of Wales over the past electoral term. Since IWJ had the economic portfolio in the last WAG then this, in itself, is probably reason for him to take another role within Plaid. He was clearly hamstrung by Labour and ‘consensus’ politics in this role and it maybe needed someone more aggressive or manipulative.

Clinton’s ‘it’s the economy stupid’ mantra has been paid lip service to but otherwise ignored or not understood by the policy makers. The other Master Strategist that Plaid have not learned from is Lyndon Baines Johnson. It’s not necessarily about personal charisma or Media manipulation (there is no real Media in Wales) it’s about the ‘levers of power’ – where they are and how to pull them. IWJ had a major lever of power in his hands (the economic portfolio) and for whatever reason did not use this effectively on his own and Plaid’s behalf to stay or grow in power. LBJ would undoubtedly have used this to great advantage. Political power comes from the distribution of patronage and again Plaid failed to grasp the simple concept that the handing out of jobs, funds and favours is the most effective surest way of building a power base. At its crudest level there was and never has been enough money in Plaid. LBJ was a genius at fund raising. In other words, Plaid leadership has shown almost complete lack of understanding of how politics really works. It has committed the cardinal sin of naiveté.

There is no point in hoping for Adam Price to be Plaid’s Kennedy or even Salmond because this type of politician can only come to the fore in a Party that has thoroughly understood the politics of power, money and patronage. Plaid needs an interim leader that has the naked lust for power and behind the scenes influence that LBJ had in the Democratic Party in the 50s. Now that scant attention will be paid to Plaid for the next 4 years this is a good opportunity for such an individual to emerge within Plaid. However, no such individual will flourish or perform unless there is something in it for them such as … money. Sources of (real) money come from business so until Plaid faces up to the necessity to make itself attractive to business by espousing relevant economic policies and down playing its Left of Labour positioning then it is doomed to fragment and fade from relevance.

Politicians in Plaid seem to think that politics in a Democracy is all about representing the views of the people and implementing their wishes through manifesto policies. Errrm… No. Politics is not about that. Voter wishes and opinions fluctuate wildly depending on economic circumstances, performance of the National rugby team, or mood. So trying to second guess or represent this cannot be done. To put it crudely, success and leadership comes from imposing a personal ambition and vision on the electorate by persuasion, emotional and monetary blackmail and demagoguery. Voters will follow if they are led; consulting them on the direction is pointless and politicians should be skilled enough not to force them down paths or into pens they don’t want to go or to identify policy areas that ‘spook’ them. Focus groups are fine for identifying these spooky or politically boggy areas. There has been too much concentration on manifestos and policy statements but who ever reads this apart from political opponents, anoraks and the Media. The ordinary voter gets his or her voting intention from their families, peers and friends at work, conversations in the pub and their economic circumstance, not from politicians who they never see or political programmes on the telly that aren’t watched.

The current phrase/excuse going around at the moment is that politicians have been ‘hard working’ on our behalf (and are exhausted)!?! The current lot don’t know the meaning of hard work. Anyone who has ever studied the history of politics will know how very much harder older generations of politicians worked to get people’s votes. A current complaint is that nobody has ever seen or met any of the candidates in person – with such a small country as Wales there is absolutely no excuse for candidates not to have met every single person in the constituency no matter up which dirt track or mean street, pressed their flesh looked them in the eye and asked for their vote – if LBJ did it in Texas it can and must be done here. This is what will differentiate Plaid from the others. This is what will work.

Another ‘elephant in the room’ is that the issues of Language and Nationalism are hopelessly entwined to the detriment of intelligent debate on both, to the complete confusion of the electorate, and a happy exploitative hunting ground for political opponents. Nationalism in Scotland has been successfully promoted by the SNP and if Plaid are to pursue Independence and a Nationalist agenda (which they should) they must somehow separate it from the Language. You can be proud of (nationalistic about) your country even if you cannot converse in the language of Heaven. Unless this dichotomy can be avoided the Valleys and English speaking urban areas will always go back to Labour (as they have done in droves this time around). This is a mould that must be broken.

In an earlier post I wrote that I thought that Wales had a good set of politicians on the whole. I think I shall revise that to say that the political class we have in Plaid are well meaning and mostly good people but they are hopeless ‘politicians’. Maybe that is not a bad thing and maybe it is the ‘Welsh Way’ – but as far as getting things done in a dangerous world and difficult competitive economy it is surely not enough nor does it advance the Cause of Wales as a Nation.

Post-Mortem Post #plaidcymru

Opinion, Plaid Cymru, Welsh Politics 3 Responses »

May 072011

Well what can I say?

Big big disappointment. Frustration, anger, contempt – emotions that must be running through all Plaid Cymru supporters this doleful weekend.

So what went horribly wrong?

Did Plaid try to out-labour Labour? Thereby causing people to vote for the real thing?
Did the Labour scare tactic about Plaid forcing people to ‘learn Welsh’ (or else) work?
Was the Plaid refusal to rule out collaboration with the Tories a factor?
Was the Nationalist stance not strong enough? After all it worked for the SNP.
Is the Plaid leadership not charismatic or dynamic enough?
Were the choices of individual candidates mistaken? Ron Davies (duh?)
Did Plaid choose to emphasise the wrong bits of their manifesto? There were some good bits that nobody ever realised were there.
Did Plaid not realise that super online activity is no substitute for on the ground canvassing or TV appearances?
How could the Plaid vote haemorrhage so badly in Llanelli and even down in a heartland like Carmarthen East and Dinefwr?
Why couldn’t Carmarthen West and Pembs be taken easily against very weak Tory opposition?

There is something fundamentally wrong that has been exposed by the electorate in this election. To say that Plaid ‘exhausted itself ‘ in the battle for ‘more Assembly powers’ is just plain pathetic. The winning of that battle should have energised the Party and given it more self belief and confidence not the contrary.

I wish I could be more positive and upbeat and that Plaid will make that ‘come back’ which Helen Mary Jones (ex-AM) has so optimistically declared. Personally, I just don’t see it and it is with the greatest regret that I see my vote, and the Cambria Politico endorsement as having been wasted. I foresee many years in the wilderness.

NoGoodBoyo has the right idea … we should listen to him!

Cambria Politico endorses Plaid Cymru

Opinion, Welsh Politics 2 Responses »

May 022011

On the whole and in comparison with most other nations, Wales has very good politicians. With few exceptions they are hard-working, intelligent, dedicated competitive and ambitious men and women. There is no good reason to class them alongside the crooks and spivs of society or to denigrate their work.

The failures of policy and government is mostly failures of society rather than attempts by political parties to improve life, implement their policies or redress wrongs. For example, WAG has been blamed for the poor performance of Wales (compared to England) in health, education and the economy, but in my view, this is mainly the fault of poor doctors, poor teachers and useless business people. To blame the politicians for teachers who can’t or are too politically correct and frightened to teach is wrong. To blame politicians for a health service that people are afraid to use and spends too much time diagnosing rather than treating is wrong. To blame politicians for a poor economy is to misunderstand the nature of Welsh demographics, its industrial history and the business markets..

That said, on May 5th, a choice must be made as to which pack of politicians should occupy the Assembly buildings in Cardiff Bay to ostensibly ‘represent’ our views. In spite of an inclination to usually vote for personalities (that I like or have empathy with), it is probably best to first read through the various policy manifestos that have been published and to make a voting preference based on these. The manifestos have been analysed and discussed in detail by much more competent commentators than me so, for more detailed, less biased and more intelligent analysis, I refer the reader to Wales Home, Click on Wales or Syniadau.

In summary, my thoughts prior to the election are as follows:

Labour’s main thrust of the campaign is to (somehow) ‘ protect people from Tory cuts’. This basically means protect the public sector from cuts (which they would have made anyway). There is little else of substance and nothing new or radical in their programme. ie. More of the same.

The Lib Dems have been squeezed by being tarred with a Tory brush and have found it impossible to find a distinctive voice. It is a pity that they haven’t made more of their main attractive policy of raising the income tax threshold (a real vote winner). Of course, they seem to have pissed off the students which is probably not a good thing to do since this is where ‘political activism’ stems from.

The Conservatives are on the march again in Wales (because of the change to an older more ‘English’ rural demographic, rapid shrinkage of Labour industrial heart lands, and growth of urban areas) but are still let down by relatively weak candidates, a non-local perception (Cheryl Gillan, duh?) and completely bizarre, inappropriate focus on ‘entrepreneurship’ and PFI as a way out of economic stagnation.

Plaid Cymru have made the most of a relatively weak hand dealt them under the One Wales agreement so they go into the election on about par with last time. The manifesto is the best written of all the parties and actually contains one or two nuggets of interest amongst the usual socialistic platitudes – such as a plan to use credit unions as a way of localising financing mechanisms. Their media and online activity is streets ahead of the other parties and this is an attraction in itself to anoraks such as myself although probably ineffective at getting more votes from the general populace.

Therefore, on the merits of the manifesto, and just plain personal preference, Plaid Cymru gets the vote.

The ‘Bellwhether’ race of this election is Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire where only a handful of votes separate the parties in contention. The candidates themselves, Angela Burns (Con), Christine Gwyther (Lab), Selwyn Runnett (LibDem) and Nerys Evans (PC) seems to embody and epitomise everything about their respective parties. It will be fascinating to see how it turns out – it is too close to call at the moment. I can say, however, that if Plaid lose this it will be much more of a disaster than for the other Parties because it is a ‘must win’ seat if Plaid is to have any kind of a future in mainstream Welsh politics.

No excuses from Plaid

Opinion, Plaid Cymru, Welsh Politics No Responses »

Mar 262011

THERE will be “no excuses” for the Assembly Government after May’s election now that the Assembly has full lawmaking powers, Plaid Cymru leader Ieuan Wyn Jones told delegates at his party’s spring conference in Cardiff.

The Deputy First Minister maintained that Plaid would change the “culture of excuses” and that the next Assembly Government would have to take the initiative and take responsibility.

I wasn’t aware that they had been making excuses. Excuses for what? Failure of the economic policy? Failure of the educational policy? Failure to cull badgers? Public sector cuts?

My overall impression of the Friday at the conference was that it was a pretty low key affair. There was no ‘buzz’ – it was pretty boring. Even the applause of IWJ’s rather good and well delivered speech seemed polite rather than overly enthusiastic.

Just writing this is making me yawn so if any of our readers are really interested they should visit the Plaid websites. They even have somebody tweeting busily on an iPad at #plaidcymru ! Cool or what!?

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State of the Welsh Assembly

Phone hack – the best parody

A drama from S4/C’s crisis

What of it’s future?

Has Wales become a ‘Third World’ country?

The Future of Wales

Pity the land that needs heroes

Post-Mortem Post #plaidcymru

Cambria Politico endorses Plaid Cymru

No excuses from Plaid

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