Absent without leave

I liked this post from Andrew so much, I have decided to pinch it and repost it here:

Thursday, 9 June 2011
Attendance for Welsh Assembly as of Jan 2011

Ieuan Wyn Jones, Plaid Cymru – 78%.

Jane Davidson, Labour – 77%.

Sandy Mewies, Labour – 74%.

Christine Chapman, Labour – 73%.

Carl Sargeant, Labour – 69%.

Carwyn Jones, Labour – 67%

Irene James, Labour – 58%.

Lynne Neagle, Labour – 39% (long illness).

Even Lynne, with her long term illness probably has a better attendance record than most MPs.

This is what the House of Commons looks like most of the time during important debates.

And then the division bell rings and 650 votes are casts, despite the fact that 630 MP's couldn't be arsed to listen to the arguments for or against.

The Druid's Shame

Underhand and two faced.

Druid, you have claimed to be non aligned, to be putting Anglesey first; to be criticising Albert and Ieuan because they are the elected reps for Anglesey - and not criticising the Tories and others because they haven't been in charge in Anglesey since dinosaurs were eggs, you now declare that this is a lie.

The truth appears to be that you have been abusing your so called non-alignment in order to build up a following for your own personal and party political ambitions.

I am bitterly disappointed to discover that you are a charlatan and a fraud. Within the last couple of weeks, whilst your nomination for candidate must have been with the party hierarchy, you denied being a Tory. Why?

As you have been ashamed of admitting that you are a Conservative for the past 12 months, and taken offence at being labled as a Conservative by others, why should Anglesey's Conservatives have faith in you; never mind the wider electorate?

When you started your blog you claimed that it was a quest to get honesty and openness into the Islands politics, for which you have had my support. But it appears that you have been neither honest nor open - just a duplicitous snake in the grass. I am very disappointed.

Boring Welsh politics

Rhodri Morgan once said that the politics of Welsh was Boring, Boring Boring, and that the Assembly of which he is First Minister is also boring.

David Cameron for the Tories said on his visit to Barry that Welsh politics was boring.

Welsh Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Öpik is so bored with his job representing his constituents that he tries to spice up his life with even more celebrity appearances.

Is there a party that isn't bored with Welsh politics?

Possibly

But as the voice over on the Weakest Link often asks will the votes reflect the reality?

Probably not! And Plaid members and supporters should be asking themselves why this should be so?

There was a time when Plaid could command the headlines by shouting for Wales, despite its poor election results. Think of Penyberth, Tyweryn, Gwynfor's death threat. Plaid punched a thousand times above its weight and demanded attention in those days.

With every other Party being bored by Wales why isn't Plaid shouting above it weight NOW? Is the leadership of Plaid also bored with Welsh Politics?

Tell me it aint so Jo Ieu! Tell me it aint so!

Socialism in Action?

Whilst I am being condemned by Plaid supporters for daring to oppose socialism and supporting capitalism, I hear odd rumours about the proposed whereabouts of the leader of Plaid Sosialaidd Cymru on March 1st.

I am told that the leader of the Welsh Socialist Soviet, Brother Ieuan Wyn Jones, will be celebrating St Davids Day by ringing the bell to open the Nest of Capitalist Vipers that is the New York Stock Exchange.

Say it ain't so bro, please, say it ain't so
That's not what I wanna hear bro
And I got a right to know
Say it ain't so bro, please, say it ain't so
I'm sure they're telling us lies bro
Please tell us it ain't so

IWJ - Acting First Minister

It has just been announced on News 24 that Ieuan Wyn Jones is to be confirmed as Deputy First Minister by the Queen tomorrow, and that because of Rhodri Morgan's illness he will become acting First Minister immediently on his appointment. I wonder what the Labour opponents to the coalition will make of Labour being part of a Plaid lead government :-)

Salmond, Paisley, Adams - but not Jones

One of the problems about devolution, raised across the political spectrum, is that many in the centre have treated Devolution as an event. It concerned Whitehall in 1979 when it was happening, but now it is long forgotten. Ministers and their mandarins make decisions without any consideration given to the existence of the devolved bodies.

The media is much the same. When health, education or cultural announcements are made by the ministers responsible for these issues in England they are reported as "British news", without the qualifier that they are purely English announcements. The Welsh media fairs no better than the London media in this respect. Sunday's Waterfront, for example, included a discussion about re-introducing museum charges, despite the fact that this is a devolved matter and not a matter of debate in Wales.

One of the reasons for this has been that the functions of the Northern Ireland Assembly have been has been administered by a Labour minister and the Scottish and Welsh First Ministers have been Labour representatives. Agreements that have been made have been made through informal party mechanisms, rather than through formal inter governmental mechanisms. When Labour Ministers have made a cock-up in announcing changes in Wales and Scotland before consultation, we have seen the farce of Welsh and Scottish ministers announcing, after the fact, that that is what they would have done anyway, in order to save the face of a party colleague.

With Ian Paisley in charge in Northern Ireland and Alex Salmond in charge in Scotland, this state of affairs cannot continue with respect to those two countries. To this end the First Ministers of Scotland and Northern Ireland had an historic meeting yesterday to discuss ways of insuring that their responsibilities are no longer ignored by Westminster and means of joining together to lobby Whitehall on reserved issues.

One of the arguments put forward by the Red-Green supporters in Plaid is that only Labour can deliver a referendum on extra powers for the National Assembly. They see these extra powers as an essential part of improving the devolution settlement and as a major step in the process of nation building. However Scotland has enjoyed many more powers than can be obtained through the Government of Wales Act referendum for eight years, but yet Scotland has been ignored.

Having a non Labour First Minister who can join in a tripartite alliance with his Scottish and Northern Irish counterpart to ensure that the present settlement is given full heed in Westminster might do a lot more for strengthening the settlement and nation building than would gaining extra powers that are ignored.

Allowing Ieuan Wyn Jones to join forces with Salmond, Paisley and Adams could be of far greater constitutional significance for Wales than Jones joining forces with Numpti Morgan and seeing Wales sidelined again by the Labour old pals act.

Selling the Goods

For all his faults one has to admit that Rhodri Morgan is always an entertaining speaker. I have heard Ieuan Wyn, Nick Bourne and Mike German speak recently; all three are bloody boring in their delivery.

Nick Bourne's speech to the Conservative Conference last weekend was a perfect example of a man who had something worth saying, but who didn't have they ability to say it in a way that was worth listening to.

Good products are only half the marketing battle; good salesmen are the other half. The three opposition parties have the goods, but they definitely don't have the salesmen

Cymraeg Hen Rech Flin: Gwerthu'r Nwyddau