Boundary Commission proposals will see Labour ‘lose out’.

Seems that Labour, despite their apparent support for electoral reform and better democracy (yet failed to spend anything substantial on the AV Referendum in May) are complaining that Labour will be the worst hit because of  ”Westminster Government’s plans” to alter

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constituency boundaries following the Boundary Commission‘s proposals.

Despite the fact that the Boundary Commission is a statutory committee for the Electoral Commission, which is an independent body, Labour are under the impression – or so Cardiff West Labour MP Kevin Brennan seems to be - that the proposals are attempts made by the Conservatives to secure an advantage for the party at the next election.  He also seems to think that Labour is still the party of the working class. But that’s another discussion.

However, I do agree that changing the law to remove penalties on people who do not register to vote would keep many people off the Electoral Register. But again, this argument by Labour is nothing more than a self-serving, selfish approach. Kevin Brennan even said himself;

“Most of the people who won’t register to vote will be poor people, who would be more likely to vote Labour.”

They also seem to be under the misguided impression that changing boundaries will change support. A Labour spokesperson claims that the Liberal Democrats could be wiped out in Wales;

“reconfigured constituencies [...] will be merged with neighbouring constituencies in one way or another [...] Whichever direction they go, there will be fewer Lib Dem supporters.”

They also seem to think that Plaid Cymru will be left with only one seat.

So why are Labour who were clearly elected by the people of Wales (or so they think) in the last Welsh Election worried about losing a few seats? (May be the minority government bit of it). Their argument isn’t concern for those who will not be registered to vote, or even encouragement for the proposals to equalise the number of voters in constituencies across the UK, this is Labour looking after their own.

Wales Online. 

 

Battling the rhetoric over the Welsh Liberal Democrat’s deal with Welsh Government.

It seems that some Plaid Cymru and Welsh Conservative members are fairly unhappy that they were not the ones to secure a deal with the Welsh Government. I’ve seen many call it a “pathetic deal” and claim that, in the case of the Tories, that the party have “endorsed Labour’s savage cuts to the NHS” – probably a case of sore losers. This shows that the Welsh Liberal Democrats are the effective and responsible opposition that Wales needs, holding the Government to account and ensuring that it delivers for Wales.

The package secures one of the party’s key manifesto priorities - an extra £20m for a new Pupil Deprivation Grant; Wales’ version of the Pupil Premium. It also includes a £38.9m economic stimulus package to stimulate the economy and protect jobs, including extra resources for the young recruits and skills growth Wales programmes.

The Pupil Deprivation Grant will ensure that the Government can reduce the effect of poverty on educational attainment, something that is vital to secure if we are to see the future economy and skills base of Wales progress. Just 1 in 5 children on free school meals gets 5A*-C good GCSE’s – the policy will ensure that each child that receives free school meals will receive an extra £450 in funding. Securing £71,001 for Cardigan alone - £511,200 for Ceredigion – a fair sum of money for a relatively small county.

Teachers and a teaching union have welcomed the new policy.

People have attacked the Pupil Premium claiming that it is just a policy which re-distributes existing money – but the argument is that we can do more for less. We have to do more for less.  However, doing more  for less doesn’t have to carry the same negative connotations it usually would. By effectively targeting new or old money, we can have a real impact on the lives of individuals. We can’t continue throwing money at projects and policies – we need to be far more effective in how money is spent and distributed.

I believed that Welsh politics had moved on following the Referendum, but First Minister’s Questions and reports have often left me doubting Wales’ progression since May – the lack of government programmes, the constant references to Westminster on devolved issues – this policy however, and the manner in which the need to redraft the Welsh budget has been approached, allows me to believe that Wales has moved forward, and we can continue to do so.

Assembly brings back bilingual records.

As I blogged about before bilingual records of Assembly proceedings had been dropped some time ago, at a time when Plaid Cymru – a party which prides itself on their campaign to give the language the same legal status as the English language – were a part of the government.

The records will finally be bilingual with the proper equipment and professional translators to provide “high-quality record of plenary proceedings in an efficient and sustainable way.”

However, it’s unacceptable that bilingual records have to be reintroduced.

You can read the BBC article here.

Why RCT constituents shouldn’t vote Labour next May.

One reason. Just the one.

An article posted on Wales Online outlines the increase Leader of RCT Council saw in his salary as Council leader (not including the other two salaries he receives) whilst other council members saw a cut of 40% in their terms and conditions to “protect front line services”. It seems that even those who work for or on the Council are taken for granted, just like the constituents who keep them in power.

It seems that RCT Labour not only take their constituents for granted, but also the staff that constitute the second largest Local Authority in Wales.

It’s apparent that Leader of RCT Council was being paid £1,800 from public money including £58,962 as council leader, including £1,177 in travel, £23,544 as chairman of South Wales Police Authority and £13,344 from Cwm Taf Health Authority. This included a rise from £57,221 a year in 2009-10 to £58,962 in 2010-11 for being council leader.

Anthony Christopher’s response to Coun Pauline Jarman’s (Plaid Cymru opposition leader on RCT council) comments regarding Rusell Roberts’ pay show how RCT Labour’s moral authority is broken and in ruins. Whilst I, to some extent, agree that having one individual representing different positions, allowing needs and requirements to be properly represented, receiving a pay increase whilst preaching the “protecting front line services” rhetoric questions the Council and Council Leader’s integrity.

It’s time RCT Labour realised that they can no longer take people for granted, and if RCT don’t take the opportunity to elect an honest and united Council next May, it will be a wasted opportunity.

We live in hope.

We need better Welsh policy.

As the title of my blog suggests these are just ramblings, so ignore whatever you want to ignore. I don’t claim to be an expert.

I’m a firm believer in further devolution of power to Wales, when we’re ready for more powers. The best way to make decisions that will really effect and improve people’s lives is through giving the decision making power to those who can really make a difference – including outside the Cardiff Bay bubble.

The party [Welsh Liberal Democrats] need to make sure that it moves with a more ‘Welsh’ environment. We concentrated on ‘Welsh Issues’ – for whatever reason – during May’s Assembly Election, but our Welsh policy (language, education, legislature etc.) is falling behind. The intelligent people behind party policy say that we are the party with the innovative policies, policies that will work, policies that have been tried and tested – which would explain our success at Local Government level. If we use that same practice to form Welsh Policy we could gain more votes. Or that’s what I think, at least.

I personally believe that if we increased and improved our Welsh Policy, we could take Plaid votes. We were, and to a lesser extent now are, a party of protest, which I also think applies or applied to Plaid. They however have entered government, and have established themselves as a credible party for Wales on the coattails of Labour’s core Welsh vote. In some areas a vote for Plaid is a vote against Labour rather than a vote in support of Plaid Cymru policies, particularly at a local level, which is where we should start with elections in May.

Some local parties don’t translate Focus leaflets, which in some areas may not make a difference and is difficult, but it could prove to Plaid Cymru voters – who seem to think that if you’re proud to be Welsh, Plaid Cymru is the only party for you (something my parents and teachers thought I believed in) – that we are serious about enhancing Welsh Medium Education, the Welsh Language, and ‘Welsh opportunities’ (I’ll come back to that again when I know what I mean by opportunities) then we could have the same ‘Welsh’ edge that Plaid have over other Welsh parties. We could win just one more seat in your local council.

Labour-Plaid Four Years on.

As Labour and Plaid approach the end of their joint administration in the Assembly, we should take a good look at our four years on.

Wales has a weak economy, under-funded schools, and an NHS that costs more but delivers poorer outcomes than the NHS in England. This is terribly disappointing for all of us in Wales. Admittedly, this isn’t a ‘Welsh situation’ and isn’t isolated to us here in Wales, Britain as a whole is faced with the same situation – but our situation is worse again.

The Assembly Government has spent more money on economic development than any other part of the UK, but Wales is the poorest part of the UK, and is getting increasingly poorer. The next Assembly Government must take much more care over how it spends money, targeting those areas that have been left to slip behind. Huge sums have been spent, of Welsh and EU money, but the outcomes do not reflect exactly how much money has been spent.

For the first time, the results from Welsh schools have fallen behind those of England. Many will blame individual schools, but that’s not the case: schools receive £600 less per pupil than schools in England. As for the NHS in Wales, there is more money allocated per person than the NHS in England, but we in Wales have longer waiting times.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe that Wales can do better. Our costed election manifesto will focus on the Welsh economy, health service and education. We believe that the people of Wales deserve a world class health service and education system, underpinned by a strong Welsh economy. We shall be campaigning to put these issues right in the forthcoming Assembly election.

Yours sincerely, Rhys Taylor, Liberal Democrat Assembly candidate for Ynys Mon.

Ieuan Wyn: AWOL

Ieuan Wyn Jones has recently spoken to the BBC saying that he ‘put his family first for the first time in twenty five years’ after missing the Royal Opening of the fourth Assembly and the first week of Assembly business. Ieuan Wyn – who is set to stand down as Plaid Cymru leader within the next two years – has come under criticism from other parties (most notably Labour who jump at the chance to muddy the waters), but also from within his own party.

Possible future Plaid Cymru leaders, and backbench MPs, have been called ‘vultures’ by Plaid MP Elfyn Llwyd for turning on Ynys Mon AM in the way that they have been doing. Ieuan Wyn said the date for his holiday to France had been set before the date for the opening of the Assembly had been announced, and that he decided to put his family first having dedicated most of 25 years to politics.

Whatever angle you look at it, there’s no denying that the whole situation has been handled badly by the party. The incident has been massively blown out of proportion, and has had too much attention from the media and from the other political parties. It’s almost as big a story as the ‘Lib Dem Two’ story!

However, with things – hopefully – getting back to normal over the next two weeks, it’s time the Assembly got back into the swing of things and business as usual, instead of playing pointless games. Our government needs to start delivering on their aspirations for Wales, as Labour is so fond of promising.

Here are a few articles on the issue:
Plaid leader missed royal opening to ‘put family first’
Dafydd Iwan backs Plaid Cymru leader over absence
Plaid MP hits out at ‘vultures’ calling for head of Ieuan Wyn Jones
Plaid Cymru’s French Revolution