When I was a big boy my Mam told me that the best way to treat boys who think that they are bigger and better than you, who tell lies and say silly things, is to ignore them - then they will go away.
When I first read David Davies comments about launching a No campaign against the referendum clause in the Government of Wales Act 2006, my reaction was Ignore him and he'll go away.
Unfortunately too many people, most of a nationalist persuasion, have chosen not to ignore him and have given his silly comments wings. Mr Davies has not, can not and will not start an official campaign for a no vote yet! Starting such a campaign is not and was not the intention of his press release this week.
If a campaign under the Government of Wales Act Referendum clause ever happens, the question will be Should the Assembly continue with the LCO route of gaining powers or not? That is all that is in the clause.
When Plaid mentions Scottish Powers they are lying - there are NO Scottish Powers in the Act! If we hold a referendum tomorrow and the NO campaign gets 100% of the vote; by 2015 (Labour's preferred date for the referendum) most of the powers of the Government of Wales Act will have been passed to the Assembly by LCO's anyway.
The referendum is not a cause, it is a distraction, David Davies knows that, Labour knows that worse still - Plaid knows that too!
What David is doing is in tune with what Labour is doing - trying to stifle the debate about independence. Plaid cannot campaign for more than what the GOW Act 2006 offers until the referendum is won, because it has hitched its future to the GOW Act referendum.
David is not campaigning against the GOW Act - he is campaigning against independence, and leaving Plaid in its usual lurch of having to say this isn't about independence - rather than campaigning FOR the policy that most of its supporter want!
It is high time that Plaid stopped arsing around with other parties' Unionist agendas and tried to persuade the electorate of the advantages of independence!
Swallowed the Bait:
Devils Kitchen
Peter Black
Right Student
James Johnson
Che Grav-ara
The readers of Adam Price's blog at http://www.adampriceblog.org.uk/silence-is-not-an-option know that at the core of Plaid there is the Separatist, fortunately David Davis has a platform from which he can remind the majority who do not subscribe to the Plaid position.
ReplyDeleteI see this as democracy in action. If David Davis has another more personal agenda that would be for his conscience, I hope not.
"Swallowed the Bait...Devil's Kitchen"
ReplyDeleteEr, no Alwyn.
Posting a translation of an article by a BBC political reporter and adding to it a note EXPLAINING THAT A SCOTTISH STYLE PARLIAMENT IS NOT ON OFFER is hardly "swallowing the bait".
I dont see how its swollowing the bate when all i have blogged on is the impact David Davies comments have on the Tory position on devolution?
ReplyDeleteAlwyn,
ReplyDeletePlaid will always do what it believes best for Wales and despite your protestations, is still the only Welsh nationalist party around. If you feel that we are dragging our feet and holding back Wales, then please feel free to start your own party and prove us wrong.
You're right Alwyn .... and all those naive bloggers fell for it.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting bunch of responses!
ReplyDeleteQuite obviously the swallowed the bait comment was just a variation on the theme of others posting on the same subject - here are some links etc, based on the post context of ignore them and they will go away.
No Big Deal - so why did two of the Plaid respondents felt the need to pick on that wording?
Probably because they are unable to answer any of the substantive points in the original post!
Ian, this might be difficult for a Socialist to accept, but individuals can have opinions, without the need to join parties!
Inclined to agree with this analysis. Everybody is compacently assuming that there will be a General Election in 2010, and that a Tory win will guarantee a vote for greater autonomy. My money is on a GE in 2009.
ReplyDeleteThe Government of Wales Act 2006 is a complete shambles, and there is no guarantee that - even if it gets voted through the Assembly - it will get voted through Parliament or the House of Lords. I think there's a lot of naivety about.
Hain put a "Triple lock" on the process for attaining greater powers. That triple lock is going to cause open warfare between Cardiff and London.