Lilght at the end of the tunnel?

As common sense prevails for the first hurdle in what has been a long, dark tunnel for the Welsh Lib Dems and the two disqualified AMs Aled Roberts and John Dixon, the CPS have reported that there will be no charges against the two.

The CPS reported yesterday that there will be no charges against them after it emerged that the two were members of public bodies of which AMs cannot belong. Needless to say, it took more than enough time for it to be confirmed.

The next step is for the Assembly’s Commissioner for Standards Gerard Elias QC, to prepare a report on the findings of the CPS’ report, which expects to be completed sometime next week; probably not before the proposed date for motions to reinstate both Aled and John the 29th of June. It seems, however, that the other parties now feel more at ease and sympathetic towards the two.

That could however change come voting day – we are counting on a very unreliable majority.

If common sense prevails, AMs base their vote on the information from the two reports, and the parties put party politics aside, hopefully both will be reinstated and North Wales and South Wales Central will be represented in the Assembly in time for the next term.

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

Reform of Welsh Funding and the Barnett Formula.

Carwyn Jones has claimed that he wants a ‘better deal’ for Wales and that the UK Coalition Government should reform the way in which the Welsh Government is funded. Many have argued that the Barnett Formula (which also determines funding for Scotland and Northern Ireland), which determines the Welsh Government’s funding has continuously cut Wales short on funding – £300m a year according to a review of the funding last year - which would (we hope) would be spent efficiently on public sector services in Wales. 

There have been promises to review the Barnett Formula, but nothing has been done until now – and even now we shouldn’t expect miracles! First Minister Carwyn Jones said “With Wales losing up to £300m a year, the time has long passed for this to be looked at.” After thirteen years of Labour Government in the UK and Labour governing in Wales since devolution began in 1999, only now there have been moves to realistically reform the way in which the Welsh Government is funded.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have been putting pressure on the Westminster government since the May elections, but Wales however, has remained silent – and there was us thinking that electing a Labour government would ‘send a clear message to the UK Government’ about Wales’ intentions! And how wrong and misguided they were.

Alun Ffred, Plaid Cymru AM, summed up Labour’s actions quite well; “Asking for more money for Wales without addressing the fundamental unfairness in the way Wales is funded is like having a bucket full of holes and asking for more water.” 

Labour have always painted a picture of a party that takes action for its people, but behind that picture there’s a whole different story.

Lab-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 situation 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.