As we have seen, during the last three Assembly Elections, it is almost impossible for the Labour Party to gain a List AM. Voting Labour on the list has been a wasted vote for the past 17 years.
With the fascist party UKIP standing on the list in this year's elections, wasting a list vote on Labour could make a difference, it could let the fascists into our National Assembly by default.
I understand party loyalty, I know why you want to give both votes to Labour, but you must consider the consequences of doing so. By lending your second vote to Plaid Cymru, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party even the Monster Raving Loony Party you reduce the value of the UKIP list vote, you make it less likely that the fascists can gain a foothold in Our Assembly.
A wasted list vote for Labour is a defacto vote for UKIP!
Showing posts with label Labour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Labour. Show all posts
15/03/2016
21/02/2016
Nevada or Nan Conwy, BBC?
I'm sure that few will be shocked at the revelation that I am not a great fan of the Labour Party, but having said that the Welsh branch of the Labour Party held its pre Assembly Election Conference in Llandudno this weekend. If Labour win the next Assembly Election (of course I hope they don't, but IF) a lot of aspects of my life will be influenced by Welsh Labour.
I am forced to buy a BBC TV licence in order to view BBC broadcast news, so I know what's occurring, I don't think I got my money's worth this weekend as a Welsh viewer. 100% of the sparse coverage of the Welsh Labour Conference was about the EU referendum 0% was about the Welsh General Election.
I saw more coverage of the US Democrat / Republican elections on the BBC than I saw of coverage of the National Assembly Elections; I saw more coverage of the US Caucuses than I saw of the Welsh Labour Conference.
The BBC has a legal remit to Educate and Inform; it is failing in that duty when it ignores Wales in favour of a foreign election!
I know what Trump, Clinton, Saunders, Cruze etc had to say in Nevada, but I don't know what Carwyn said in Llandudno – that isn't Welsh News that isn't coverage of Welsh Democracy it is an unequivical fail by the BBC to respect Welsh politics!
I am forced to buy a BBC TV licence in order to view BBC broadcast news, so I know what's occurring, I don't think I got my money's worth this weekend as a Welsh viewer. 100% of the sparse coverage of the Welsh Labour Conference was about the EU referendum 0% was about the Welsh General Election.
I saw more coverage of the US Democrat / Republican elections on the BBC than I saw of coverage of the National Assembly Elections; I saw more coverage of the US Caucuses than I saw of the Welsh Labour Conference.
The BBC has a legal remit to Educate and Inform; it is failing in that duty when it ignores Wales in favour of a foreign election!
I know what Trump, Clinton, Saunders, Cruze etc had to say in Nevada, but I don't know what Carwyn said in Llandudno – that isn't Welsh News that isn't coverage of Welsh Democracy it is an unequivical fail by the BBC to respect Welsh politics!
10/11/2015
UKIP and Immigration into Wales
I had a YouGov survey today that asked about voting intentions and issues that would affect my vote. One of the questions caused me some difficulty, a question about whether "immigration" is an important factor in the way I vote; it is, but not in the way that a British polling company like YouGov could appreciate.
Immigration is a huge factor in my political outlook, the immigration of English people into Wales; many of whom import their racist policies with them, and make UKIP and its intolerance of indigenous Welsh people and our acceptance of others into part of their political diatribe.
There are so many of these White Flight English Racists living in Wales now, that they may get a foothold in the Senedd. They already represent English intolerance, on behalf of Wales, in the European Parliament.
English racism colonising Wales is an issue that no party is willing to tackle, despite the fact that it is a major problem and one that Labour the Lib Dems and Plaid, if they had any conscious, should attack head on; it's a sad fact of modern Welsh political cowardice that none of these parties will make the case for Wales, until it is too late!
Immigration is a huge factor in my political outlook, the immigration of English people into Wales; many of whom import their racist policies with them, and make UKIP and its intolerance of indigenous Welsh people and our acceptance of others into part of their political diatribe.
There are so many of these White Flight English Racists living in Wales now, that they may get a foothold in the Senedd. They already represent English intolerance, on behalf of Wales, in the European Parliament.
English racism colonising Wales is an issue that no party is willing to tackle, despite the fact that it is a major problem and one that Labour the Lib Dems and Plaid, if they had any conscious, should attack head on; it's a sad fact of modern Welsh political cowardice that none of these parties will make the case for Wales, until it is too late!
21/04/2015
Election Launch Site?
Whatever you think about the party, its policies or it's personalities, hardly anyone can disagree that the SNP is the winner of the battle to make a manifesto launch in the most stunning location.
The Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, has had millions of pounds worth of free publicity by the world's media gathering there to report on what's included in the SNP Manifesto. That makes me wonder why the Welsh parties didn't have a similar vision?
Think of the impact that Leanne could have had by publishing her policies at 100 MPH in Zip World, imagine Carwyn bouncing Labour policies in Bounce Below, or Andrew RT publishing his policies in the fitting setting of the Dinosaurs of Tan yr Ogof, or Nick Clegg launching his party's manifesto in an iconic Welsh venue that might be big enough to hold next year's LibDem conference:
The Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, has had millions of pounds worth of free publicity by the world's media gathering there to report on what's included in the SNP Manifesto. That makes me wonder why the Welsh parties didn't have a similar vision?
Think of the impact that Leanne could have had by publishing her policies at 100 MPH in Zip World, imagine Carwyn bouncing Labour policies in Bounce Below, or Andrew RT publishing his policies in the fitting setting of the Dinosaurs of Tan yr Ogof, or Nick Clegg launching his party's manifesto in an iconic Welsh venue that might be big enough to hold next year's LibDem conference:
10/04/2015
Mud Slinging Labour Hypocrits
The information I gain from Social Media is biased, about 80% of the people I follow on Twitter are members / supporters of Plaid Cymru , the SNP or Mebyon Kernow. I have a bias towards family and "real" friends on Facebook but many of those are political too.
When the Daily Mail made it's disgusting slur about Ed Miliband, his father and his wider family in 2013, most of my nationalist friends / followers supported Miliband and expressed their revulsion at the way he had been unfairly treated by the extreme right wing press.
On Wednesday, when a very dodgy report about a Plaid Cymru Candidate, who is an English born and bred incomer to Wales was stigmatised for opposing BNP white flight incomers to Wales as "calling all English in Wales Nazis" Labour members and supporters jumped on the bandwagon to vilify him.
Today's very odd slur against Mr Miliband in the Daily Mail which seems to amount to an accusation that "a young man had many girlfriends – shock horror" has been almost universally condemned on my social media timelines by nationalist friends.
That is an important difference between Plaid Cymru and Labour - Plaid is opposed to mudslinging in any direction
Labour just opposes mud thrown in it's direction but is always happy to throw it back!
Hypocrits!
When the Daily Mail made it's disgusting slur about Ed Miliband, his father and his wider family in 2013, most of my nationalist friends / followers supported Miliband and expressed their revulsion at the way he had been unfairly treated by the extreme right wing press.
On Wednesday, when a very dodgy report about a Plaid Cymru Candidate, who is an English born and bred incomer to Wales was stigmatised for opposing BNP white flight incomers to Wales as "calling all English in Wales Nazis" Labour members and supporters jumped on the bandwagon to vilify him.
Today's very odd slur against Mr Miliband in the Daily Mail which seems to amount to an accusation that "a young man had many girlfriends – shock horror" has been almost universally condemned on my social media timelines by nationalist friends.
That is an important difference between Plaid Cymru and Labour - Plaid is opposed to mudslinging in any direction
Labour just opposes mud thrown in it's direction but is always happy to throw it back!
Hypocrits!
13/02/2015
Vote Labour - Vote England
I have had an interest in electoral politics since the 1970s. I can't believe that was 45 years ago! Doesn't time fly when you are enjoying your elections?
During the whole of that time I cannot remember a single general election (or other election) where the Labour party hasn't tried to blackmail the electors with the same old mantra Vote Liberal get Tory, Vote SDP get Tory, Vote SNP get Tory, Vote Plaid get Tory etc.
Electoral statistics show that to get a majority Labour needs to win in England, it doesn't depend on the Welsh and Scottish vote. In 1951, 1955, 1959, 1970, 1979, 1983, 1987 and 1992 Wales gave massive support to the Labour Party, but still got a Tory government. If Wales had voted for 40 Monster Raving Loony MP's in 1997, 2001 and 2005 we would still have suffered Tony Blair's Labour Government.
If you are a Labour supporter don't waste your time canvassing in Wales, English marginals are more important to your cause / gravy train.
The sad thing about the Vote SNP get Tory, Vote Plaid get Tory crap, isn't the historical inaccuracy or the slogan, but the full stop! Plaid and the SNP stand to get the best for Scotland and Wales. If Labour went further than the full stop and explained how Scotland and Wales would benefit from voting Labour they would lose votes in England and absolutely scupper their ability to form a government – voting Labour is not in Wales' or Scotland's best interest.
The Labour deal seems to be please vote Labour so we can win in England -for England's beneft. Labour offers nothing for Wales!
During the whole of that time I cannot remember a single general election (or other election) where the Labour party hasn't tried to blackmail the electors with the same old mantra Vote Liberal get Tory, Vote SDP get Tory, Vote SNP get Tory, Vote Plaid get Tory etc.
Electoral statistics show that to get a majority Labour needs to win in England, it doesn't depend on the Welsh and Scottish vote. In 1951, 1955, 1959, 1970, 1979, 1983, 1987 and 1992 Wales gave massive support to the Labour Party, but still got a Tory government. If Wales had voted for 40 Monster Raving Loony MP's in 1997, 2001 and 2005 we would still have suffered Tony Blair's Labour Government.
If you are a Labour supporter don't waste your time canvassing in Wales, English marginals are more important to your cause / gravy train.
The sad thing about the Vote SNP get Tory, Vote Plaid get Tory crap, isn't the historical inaccuracy or the slogan, but the full stop! Plaid and the SNP stand to get the best for Scotland and Wales. If Labour went further than the full stop and explained how Scotland and Wales would benefit from voting Labour they would lose votes in England and absolutely scupper their ability to form a government – voting Labour is not in Wales' or Scotland's best interest.
The Labour deal seems to be please vote Labour so we can win in England -for England's beneft. Labour offers nothing for Wales!
21/11/2014
Labour's Problem with the Patriotic English Working Class
In the days when the Lord Chamberlain's office use to have to censor the morality of stage productions one of the ways in which the Music Hall, in particular, and other production companies use to avoid censorship was by the use of the double entendre A phrase, saying or sentence that can be interpreted in two different ways. One of which is usually dirty. A classic example would be the Mari Lloyd song She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas a song which is clearly about a lady gardener. If you can see a less innocent meaning to the words it is because you have got a dirty and corrupted mind, and if you have a dirty and corrupted mind you are not fit to be an arbiter of public morality.
And therein lays a problem with the Labour response to Emily Thornberry's controversial tweet:
The picture IS just an Image from Rochester, that the Labour Party, as a whole, can see a double entendre in the picture - that is so damaging that it has lead to Thornberry's registration / sacking, revels a great deal about Labour's corporate thinking about those who live in terraced houses, work in white van jobs, are proud to be English – that they saw the "joke" reveals as much about the rest of the Labour party's thinking as it does about Ms Thornberry's.
And therein lays a problem with the Labour response to Emily Thornberry's controversial tweet:
Image from #Rochester pic.twitter.com/rOjTgpskmF
— Emily Thornberry MP (@EmilyThornberry) November 20, 2014The picture IS just an Image from Rochester, that the Labour Party, as a whole, can see a double entendre in the picture - that is so damaging that it has lead to Thornberry's registration / sacking, revels a great deal about Labour's corporate thinking about those who live in terraced houses, work in white van jobs, are proud to be English – that they saw the "joke" reveals as much about the rest of the Labour party's thinking as it does about Ms Thornberry's.
10/06/2013
Socialism = Middle Class Tokenism
One of the reasons that I hate Socialists is because I don't think that Socialists have a fringing clue about the real life experiences of the real people that they claim to support!
I have seen two real life examples of Socialists opposing the realities of poverty recently.
The first is the proposal that energy companies will be "forced" to give the "cheapest" tariffs to poorer people.
No thank you!
My 80+ yr old parents have been paying the most expensive tariff since time immemorial; they have been paying PAYG before PAYG was a term! And that is the way that they want to continue paying – putting a couple of quid on the gas or the lecy when they need and can afford to do so.
The Labour Party's idea of forcing the cheapest tariff on the poorest people, worries me, because it doesn't appear to have any basis on the experience of those of living in poverty, it is based on their own middle class experience.
The other example of them "protecting" the poor without any experience of poverty is the campaign against payday loans. The 3000% APR interest rate is a fallacy. Nobody borrows £100 today and pays back £300000 at the end of the year, whatever the small print says!
A Payday Loan is what it Says on the Tin. If I have a direct debit for the phone bill to be paid on Monday, but I don't get paid till Friday a payday loan will be a damned site cheaper than the bank and phone company's Bounce Fees. And 3000% APR when calculated between Monday and Friday is probably the cheapest loan available and a dammed site cheaper than bounce charges. No a Credit Union will not cover such short term loans, so the credit Union Argument is a myth!
I may NEED my Payday Loan. Middle class Socialists who cannot perceive that "need" because it is out with their experience make me sick!
I have seen two real life examples of Socialists opposing the realities of poverty recently.
The first is the proposal that energy companies will be "forced" to give the "cheapest" tariffs to poorer people.
No thank you!
My 80+ yr old parents have been paying the most expensive tariff since time immemorial; they have been paying PAYG before PAYG was a term! And that is the way that they want to continue paying – putting a couple of quid on the gas or the lecy when they need and can afford to do so.
The Labour Party's idea of forcing the cheapest tariff on the poorest people, worries me, because it doesn't appear to have any basis on the experience of those of living in poverty, it is based on their own middle class experience.
The other example of them "protecting" the poor without any experience of poverty is the campaign against payday loans. The 3000% APR interest rate is a fallacy. Nobody borrows £100 today and pays back £300000 at the end of the year, whatever the small print says!
A Payday Loan is what it Says on the Tin. If I have a direct debit for the phone bill to be paid on Monday, but I don't get paid till Friday a payday loan will be a damned site cheaper than the bank and phone company's Bounce Fees. And 3000% APR when calculated between Monday and Friday is probably the cheapest loan available and a dammed site cheaper than bounce charges. No a Credit Union will not cover such short term loans, so the credit Union Argument is a myth!
I may NEED my Payday Loan. Middle class Socialists who cannot perceive that "need" because it is out with their experience make me sick!
01/12/2012
The Evolution of Devolution project has Failed
I canvassed in favour of a Yes vote in the 1979 Devolution Referendum. At the beginning of the campaign there was a considerable amount of enthusiasm for the proposal in Merioneth. As the campaign progressed I saw that enthusiasm wane into indifference and even into outright hostility. As the likes of Neil Kinnock, Leo Abse and Donald Anderson made their tirades against the Welsh language, Welsh culture and the dreaded monsters that lived to the north of the Beacons the opposition to devolution grew stronger. The starting message of the 1979 campaign was that Wales was being ignored by Westminster so we needed a parliament of our own. As the campaign went on fervent Nationalists were telling me that they would prefer Welsh issues to be ignored by Westminster rather than be oppressed by the likes of Kinnock etc in a Welsh parliament.
One of the arguments made by Plaid Cymru in favour of campaigning for enhanced devolution rather than ought right independence is that if devolution works well for Wales, then the people of Wales will embrace the process and demand more and more powers for Wales. Opinion Polls suggest that there is an element of truth to Plaid's theory and as time has gone by support for devolution has increased substantially, but every attempt to move the process of devolution on is stymied by the same old opponents of Welsh self determination – the Labour Party.
In the four years prior to the 2011 referendum all of the talk was about parity with Scotland which seemed to have massive support amongst the electorate. It was only in the statuary period three weeks before the vote, that honesty entered the campaign and we were told that the actual referendum would be on a cosmetic issue!
The first volume of the Silk Report suggests another referendum on another cosmetic issue that won't be held for at least another 10 years, I'm sure that the second volume will contain even further obstacles to attaining what many thought they were voting for a year and a half ago.
In the meantime the Labour Government in Cardiff is doing what the cynics of 1979 were predicting: Ruling Wales poorly in order to prove that Wales can't run its own affairs. We have had a Labour Government since the beginning of Devolution and in that time it has lowered Wales' economic performance, worsened the health of the nation, inflicted poorer education on our kids and encouraged maximum immigration of non Welsh speakers into the Welsh Language Heartlands.
Broadcasting has been administratively devolved to Wales since the 1950's. Before the creation of the Assembly we had Teledu Cymru, TWW, HTV Wales, BBC Wales, BBC Cymru, The Welsh Light Programme, Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, S4C and a number of regional broadcasters. Local broadcasting within Wales is likely to expand over the next few years. As the media has been practically devolved for so many years, one would think that the governance of broadcasting should naturally be devolved – but Labour is opposed to devolving broadcasting!
Some have laughed at the unfortunate timing of the Welsh Labour Government asking to pull an episode of a soap opera on the day that Lord Levison published his report on statutory control of the press. I don't think it's funny, unfortunate nor an accident. It is another case of the Labour Party deliberately creating a situation which proves that Wales shouldn't have broadcasting devolved, because Wales can't be trusted, even in the case of the editorial independence of Soap Operas. Labour attitude through and through.
The Evolution of Devolution project has failed, and failed miserably, it's high time that all of us who support the National Cause - Left or Right- In Plaid or anti-Plaid – Cultural, Political, Economic and every other sort of Nationalist to give up on the Devo project and go four square for independence, because at the current rate Wales will become extinct before it evolves or devolves much further.
One of the arguments made by Plaid Cymru in favour of campaigning for enhanced devolution rather than ought right independence is that if devolution works well for Wales, then the people of Wales will embrace the process and demand more and more powers for Wales. Opinion Polls suggest that there is an element of truth to Plaid's theory and as time has gone by support for devolution has increased substantially, but every attempt to move the process of devolution on is stymied by the same old opponents of Welsh self determination – the Labour Party.
In the four years prior to the 2011 referendum all of the talk was about parity with Scotland which seemed to have massive support amongst the electorate. It was only in the statuary period three weeks before the vote, that honesty entered the campaign and we were told that the actual referendum would be on a cosmetic issue!
The first volume of the Silk Report suggests another referendum on another cosmetic issue that won't be held for at least another 10 years, I'm sure that the second volume will contain even further obstacles to attaining what many thought they were voting for a year and a half ago.
In the meantime the Labour Government in Cardiff is doing what the cynics of 1979 were predicting: Ruling Wales poorly in order to prove that Wales can't run its own affairs. We have had a Labour Government since the beginning of Devolution and in that time it has lowered Wales' economic performance, worsened the health of the nation, inflicted poorer education on our kids and encouraged maximum immigration of non Welsh speakers into the Welsh Language Heartlands.
Broadcasting has been administratively devolved to Wales since the 1950's. Before the creation of the Assembly we had Teledu Cymru, TWW, HTV Wales, BBC Wales, BBC Cymru, The Welsh Light Programme, Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, S4C and a number of regional broadcasters. Local broadcasting within Wales is likely to expand over the next few years. As the media has been practically devolved for so many years, one would think that the governance of broadcasting should naturally be devolved – but Labour is opposed to devolving broadcasting!
Some have laughed at the unfortunate timing of the Welsh Labour Government asking to pull an episode of a soap opera on the day that Lord Levison published his report on statutory control of the press. I don't think it's funny, unfortunate nor an accident. It is another case of the Labour Party deliberately creating a situation which proves that Wales shouldn't have broadcasting devolved, because Wales can't be trusted, even in the case of the editorial independence of Soap Operas. Labour attitude through and through.
The Evolution of Devolution project has failed, and failed miserably, it's high time that all of us who support the National Cause - Left or Right- In Plaid or anti-Plaid – Cultural, Political, Economic and every other sort of Nationalist to give up on the Devo project and go four square for independence, because at the current rate Wales will become extinct before it evolves or devolves much further.
12/10/2012
Let's suppose that my cynicism is wrong - What happens next?
Let's suppose that my cynicism about the reason why the first two Assembly Bills have been subjected to judicial review is wrong (as nationalist and socialist commentators alike suggest in response to yesterdays blog post).
Let's suppose that the fact that at least one and possibly two other Bills are in line for judicial review has nothing to do with the Assembly Government / the Labour Party deliberately picking a fight with Westminster, what happens next?
The Supreme Court will not make its decision on the validity of these contentious bills on the morality of the Assembly being able to pass them; they will just look at the dry bones of law and the law will unequivocally find against the Assembly.
If, after it finds against the Assembly, we all condemn the law for being an ass and we complain that such laws are morally indefensible even if legally sound, what happens next?
Will the Labour Party mount a vigorous campaign for a more robust devolution settlement? Will the Conservatives and the Lib Dems admit that there is a flaw in the Government of Wales Act and insist that it is rectified by their colleagues in Westminster? Will even Plaid say that the Campaign for Devo Max / Independence starts today?
Sorry! I'm still a cynic - the answer to all of those questions is No! No! No!
Creating Bills that will be challenged in law has everything to do with the right to moan it's not fair but absolutely nothing to do with creating a system that is fair!
What happens next? – The answer is nothing other than the traditional Labour Evil Tory hissy fit rant.
I think that my cynicism is well founded!
11/10/2012
Labour Games and Welsh Laws
The fate of the National Assembly's first attempt at passing a law under the new powers it gained following last year's referendum is currently being considered by the Supreme Court following a complaint from the Wales Office that it is without the competence of the Assembly. Apparently the Assembly Government had been warned by Whitehall sources that there were problems with the Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Bill before the bill had gone through the Assembly's processes but the Assembly Government chose to carry on regardless.
Yesterday it was announced that a second bill, The Official Languages Bill is about to face a similar fate because the bill deals with both the devolved Welsh Language and the non-devolved English Language. I am not at all surprised by this move; back in 2010 when the Assembly was discussing the Welsh Language LCO I noted on this blog that "There is a failure in the devolution settlement. The Assembly has the right to legislate on the Welsh Language, but not on the Languages of Wales. A measure that says that English and Welsh are both official languages would be illegal;" I made this statement, not because I have superior knowledge of the law, but because that was the feedback that those of us who raised the issue of Official Status got from Assembly Members and Civil Servants. So the Assembly appears to have passed the Official Languages Bill knowing full well that that there were elements in the Bill which were not within the Assembly's current competence.
A third bill, dealing with organ donations is, almost inevitably, going to face a similar challenge, but yet again it appears that the Welsh Labour Government is going to press ahead with that bill regardless of any legal warnings too. When the Government of Wales Acts were passed such legal challenges were expected to be very rare, but they seem to be the defining trait of the current Assembly. So the question has to be asked "Why?"
From a nationalist point of view one could see these legal challenges as a way of highlighting the deficiencies in the Welsh devolution settlement and making the case for more devolution, but that is not what the Welsh Labour Government is doing; Welsh Labour, on the whole, is lukewarm about giving the Assembly further powers.
The Labour government in Cardiff is basically having a pissing competition with the Con-Dem government in London in order to prove that they are "standing up to the Tories". They are allowing the governance of Wales to stagnate in silly legal challenges. Rather than using the limited powers that we voted to give the Assembly in the referendum for the benefit of Wales, Labour is abusing that mandate by bogging the right to pass Welsh laws down in petty party politicking and point scoring. Yet again - the Labour Party is putting what's best for Labour before what is best for Wales!
20/04/2012
Peter Hain – Wales' Voster?
Peter Hain was a man for whom I had a lot of respect in my youth.
He was the leader of the Young Liberals whilst I was a leading member of the Merionethshire Young Liberals in the early 1970's.
When my sisters had posters of David Bowie and Donny Osmond on their bedroom walls I had a poster of Peter Hain on mine!
I have nothing but respect for Peter's valiant fight against Apartheid in the 60's and 70's, he was a national and an international hero, but despite his opposition to apartheid, Peter's political legacy seems to have been heavily influenced by SA apartheid PM Balthazar Johannes Vorster's mantra that opposing him was the same as supporting his opponents.
In true Vorster style Mr Hain claims that all votes against his party, be they from Plaid, Greens, Lib Dems, Communists, the SWP, Christian Voice, even supporters of birthday parties or Christmas parties are all closet evil Tories – any party, other than the Labour Party is the Evil Tory Party!
As a former supporter and one who use to have a great deal of respect for you, Peter, please don't transfer that sort of South African politics to Wales – we don't need it, we dont want it!
He was the leader of the Young Liberals whilst I was a leading member of the Merionethshire Young Liberals in the early 1970's.
When my sisters had posters of David Bowie and Donny Osmond on their bedroom walls I had a poster of Peter Hain on mine!
I have nothing but respect for Peter's valiant fight against Apartheid in the 60's and 70's, he was a national and an international hero, but despite his opposition to apartheid, Peter's political legacy seems to have been heavily influenced by SA apartheid PM Balthazar Johannes Vorster's mantra that opposing him was the same as supporting his opponents.
In true Vorster style Mr Hain claims that all votes against his party, be they from Plaid, Greens, Lib Dems, Communists, the SWP, Christian Voice, even supporters of birthday parties or Christmas parties are all closet evil Tories – any party, other than the Labour Party is the Evil Tory Party!
As a former supporter and one who use to have a great deal of respect for you, Peter, please don't transfer that sort of South African politics to Wales – we don't need it, we dont want it!
19/04/2012
Labour's message of support for the Tories
During the 2011 Assembly elections Peter Hain and Carwyn Jones claimed that Wales could send a message to the Westminster administration by using the Assembly vote as a referendum on Wales' opposition to the ConDem government. It was a tactic that failed. The Conservative vote in Wales went up as did the number of Conservative representatives elected to the Assembly.
As a referendum on Tory policies the last Assembly elections actually gave the Tory's an endorsement. Wales was never ever going to vote Yes to Tory policy but as a result of Labour's campaign more people voted Yes than might have been expected otherwise and the Conservative vote was boosted.
Once bitten, twice shy, one might suppose. But no! Labour are trying the same tactic again; despite knowing that using the local government elections as a referendum on Westminster Tory policies will lead to many more Conservative councillors being elected in Wales. The question has to be asked:
WHY?
Simply because it is in Labours interest to have more Conservative councillors in Wales. The Labour party has become so lazy, so stagnant, so bereft of original ideas for the betterment of local communities or for the betterment of Wales that it's only unique selling point is we are not Tories and the more Tory Councillors there are the more negative and not Tory Labour can be!
Wales deserves better! Wales deserves councillors, of all parties and of none, who put our communities first and who couldn't give a damn about sending a message to either Westminster or Cardiff Bay!
Don't waste this election as a referendum on any unrelated point, please use the election to elect a councillor who wants to represent your local community in your local council chamber as an honourable way of serving your community, rather than voting for nothing better than sending a V sign, that will be ignored, to Mr Cameron!
As a referendum on Tory policies the last Assembly elections actually gave the Tory's an endorsement. Wales was never ever going to vote Yes to Tory policy but as a result of Labour's campaign more people voted Yes than might have been expected otherwise and the Conservative vote was boosted.
Once bitten, twice shy, one might suppose. But no! Labour are trying the same tactic again; despite knowing that using the local government elections as a referendum on Westminster Tory policies will lead to many more Conservative councillors being elected in Wales. The question has to be asked:
WHY?
Simply because it is in Labours interest to have more Conservative councillors in Wales. The Labour party has become so lazy, so stagnant, so bereft of original ideas for the betterment of local communities or for the betterment of Wales that it's only unique selling point is we are not Tories and the more Tory Councillors there are the more negative and not Tory Labour can be!
Wales deserves better! Wales deserves councillors, of all parties and of none, who put our communities first and who couldn't give a damn about sending a message to either Westminster or Cardiff Bay!
Don't waste this election as a referendum on any unrelated point, please use the election to elect a councillor who wants to represent your local community in your local council chamber as an honourable way of serving your community, rather than voting for nothing better than sending a V sign, that will be ignored, to Mr Cameron!
07/04/2012
Is Labour's Wet Dream also Plaid's Wet Dream?
One of the things that makes me hate left wing politics in general, and the Labour Party in particular, is the feeling that the left needs poverty and deprivation in order to justify its existence. If the Labour heartland was lifted out of hardship and became prosperous would it still vote Labour?
The answer is a resounding NO!
Because of that the areas that have voted Labour for the past 100 years are still the poorest and most deprived parts of the United Kingdom; places like the South Wales Valleys and Glasgow have been made poorer under every single Labour Government, voting Labour has worked against them, because if Labour had helped to lift those loyal communities out of poverty and hardship they might not vote for the poor man's party any more.
My feeling about Labour was confirmed this week by a, now erased, YouTube in which a Senior Labour Politician described rising unemployment and inflation as an orgasmic wet dream for the left; claiming, more or less, that the poorer people are the more likely they are to vote Labour – so poverty is good news for Labour.
There is a Nationalist argument, which is largely true, that Wales; since time immemorial, has been the poorest part of England and Wales / Great Britain / The United kingdom because it has been exploited and ignored – an independent Wales couldn't be worse off than an exploited Wales has been for the past 500 years!
Doesn't this make the ability to complain about exploitation and poverty and deprivation a wet dream for Plaid's left wing too?
Or can those of us who want Wales to succeed work together in order to create a vibrant Welsh capitalist / co-operative economy that serves Wales well and leads the people of Wales to believe that we are able to beat poverty and stand on our own two feet - rather than being chained to the left wing poverty trap!
The answer is a resounding NO!
Because of that the areas that have voted Labour for the past 100 years are still the poorest and most deprived parts of the United Kingdom; places like the South Wales Valleys and Glasgow have been made poorer under every single Labour Government, voting Labour has worked against them, because if Labour had helped to lift those loyal communities out of poverty and hardship they might not vote for the poor man's party any more.
My feeling about Labour was confirmed this week by a, now erased, YouTube in which a Senior Labour Politician described rising unemployment and inflation as an orgasmic wet dream for the left; claiming, more or less, that the poorer people are the more likely they are to vote Labour – so poverty is good news for Labour.
There is a Nationalist argument, which is largely true, that Wales; since time immemorial, has been the poorest part of England and Wales / Great Britain / The United kingdom because it has been exploited and ignored – an independent Wales couldn't be worse off than an exploited Wales has been for the past 500 years!
Doesn't this make the ability to complain about exploitation and poverty and deprivation a wet dream for Plaid's left wing too?
Or can those of us who want Wales to succeed work together in order to create a vibrant Welsh capitalist / co-operative economy that serves Wales well and leads the people of Wales to believe that we are able to beat poverty and stand on our own two feet - rather than being chained to the left wing poverty trap!
29/08/2011
Two faced Bryant
Chris Bryant MP's reaction to Roger Lewis' vicious attack on the Welsh:
Chris Bryant MP's reaction to Alun Cairns silly comment about the Italian football team:
Sack somebody for making an ill informed joke about the Italians, but laugh off a scurrilous attack on the Welsh!
Typical Welsh Labour MP!
"I can't believe Jonathan Edwards has risen to the bait," says Chris Bryant, Labour MP for Rhondda in South Wales. "Roger Lewis's piece is fatuous nonsense, but the last thing people want is a moaning version of Welsh nationalism. Wales is at its best when it is triumphantly insouciant about the criticism of others, and if we can't take a bit of scabrous attack without running to the police, it's a sad day for Wales."
Chris Bryant MP's reaction to Alun Cairns silly comment about the Italian football team:
Rhondda Labour MP Chris Bryant said: “David Cameron has had over two months to decide whether or not Alun Cairns should be sacked as the Tory candidate in the Vale of Glamorgan. “It’s very much decision time for David Cameron on this issue.
“Failing to sack Alun Cairns shows how indecisive Cameron really is when it comes to taking tough decisions.”
Sack somebody for making an ill informed joke about the Italians, but laugh off a scurrilous attack on the Welsh!
Typical Welsh Labour MP!
19/08/2011
Undue Influence in London Mayoral Election?
This is a quote from the Representation of the People Act
The threat of a spiritual injury would include telling people that they risked eternal damnation if they vote for a certain candidate, or saying things like The people that don't vote for me will be weighed in the balance, come Judgement Day. The Archangel Gabriel will say, 'You didn't vote for Ken Livingstone in 2012. Oh dear, burn forever. Your skin flayed for all eternity'.
The comments might have been uttered in jest, but uttered they were and as we have seen recently only joking is no defence, so if I was a London supporter of Mr Johnston or any other mayoral candidate I might be very tempted to send a copy of the latest edition of Total Politics to Mr Plod at the Yard
115 Undue influence.
(1)A person shall be guilty of a corrupt practice if he is guilty of undue influence.
(2)A person shall be guilty of undue influence—
(a)if he, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes use of or threatens to make use of any force, violence or restraint, or inflicts or threatens to inflict, by himself or by any other person, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm or loss upon or against any person in order to induce or compel that person to vote or refrain from voting, or on account of that person having voted or refrained from voting;
The threat of a spiritual injury would include telling people that they risked eternal damnation if they vote for a certain candidate, or saying things like The people that don't vote for me will be weighed in the balance, come Judgement Day. The Archangel Gabriel will say, 'You didn't vote for Ken Livingstone in 2012. Oh dear, burn forever. Your skin flayed for all eternity'.
The comments might have been uttered in jest, but uttered they were and as we have seen recently only joking is no defence, so if I was a London supporter of Mr Johnston or any other mayoral candidate I might be very tempted to send a copy of the latest edition of Total Politics to Mr Plod at the Yard
27/06/2011
In defence of Vincent Bailey
If the internet existed when I was in my late teens and early twenties and I had had a web presence on it, my profile would undoubtedly have declared that I was an Adonis, a Lothario and a more successful serial shager than either Casanova or Nick Clegg; I'm sure that it would have declared that I was brave and cool and had done all sorts of things that were seen as "manly" and against the rules including drug taking and violence.
The truth is that I was 22 before I had my first fumblingly disappointing sexual conquest, I have never taken an illegal drug in my life and if anybody had threatened me with violence I would have run home to my Mam as my primary way of confronting the threat; as would the vast majority of the lads in my peer group. If I had been truthful I would have been drummed out of my peer group by friends who were as virginal, clean living and frightened as I was – but afraid to admit it. Young lads lie about sex and their social equivalent of drugs and rock'n roll; always have done and always will do!
When I was a young lad those lies were unimportant, unrecorded and are now only remembered by those of a similar age who know that we all lied together for the same reason. Because my teenage fantasies and bravado were never written down, they can't come back to haunt me now, should I decide to stand for election or decide to give support to a candidate for election.
Vincent Bailey, isn't a bad person who has no place in Welsh politics. When he was doing what I did at his age he was caught up in a new technological system without realising its consequences for his future, something I didn't need to worry about!
I suspect that every possible future politician, political aid or political supporter under 35 could find themselves in the same boat as Vincent. Any young person who shows an interest in his or her country's politics may be threatened and dissuaded from becoming politically active because a silly tweet or a profile or a blog comment might come back to haunt him or her forever! That is bad, very bad, for democracy!
The villain in this story is not Mr Bailey, but the person who decided to trawl through Mr Bailey's internet history in order to embarrass him and in order to embarrass Andrew RT Davies' campaign to lead the Welsh Conservative Party!
Dirty Dave, should be ashamed of himself as should his cronies at Trinity Mirror / Western Mail for regurgitating his dirt digging in the ancient history of a political opponents' puerile web presence!
And if Andrew wants to show some leadership skills he should stand four square with the now (hopefully) mature Mr Bailey, rather than throwing him out as a sacrifice to Dave's dirty tricks!
The truth is that I was 22 before I had my first fumblingly disappointing sexual conquest, I have never taken an illegal drug in my life and if anybody had threatened me with violence I would have run home to my Mam as my primary way of confronting the threat; as would the vast majority of the lads in my peer group. If I had been truthful I would have been drummed out of my peer group by friends who were as virginal, clean living and frightened as I was – but afraid to admit it. Young lads lie about sex and their social equivalent of drugs and rock'n roll; always have done and always will do!
When I was a young lad those lies were unimportant, unrecorded and are now only remembered by those of a similar age who know that we all lied together for the same reason. Because my teenage fantasies and bravado were never written down, they can't come back to haunt me now, should I decide to stand for election or decide to give support to a candidate for election.
Vincent Bailey, isn't a bad person who has no place in Welsh politics. When he was doing what I did at his age he was caught up in a new technological system without realising its consequences for his future, something I didn't need to worry about!
I suspect that every possible future politician, political aid or political supporter under 35 could find themselves in the same boat as Vincent. Any young person who shows an interest in his or her country's politics may be threatened and dissuaded from becoming politically active because a silly tweet or a profile or a blog comment might come back to haunt him or her forever! That is bad, very bad, for democracy!
The villain in this story is not Mr Bailey, but the person who decided to trawl through Mr Bailey's internet history in order to embarrass him and in order to embarrass Andrew RT Davies' campaign to lead the Welsh Conservative Party!
Dirty Dave, should be ashamed of himself as should his cronies at Trinity Mirror / Western Mail for regurgitating his dirt digging in the ancient history of a political opponents' puerile web presence!
And if Andrew wants to show some leadership skills he should stand four square with the now (hopefully) mature Mr Bailey, rather than throwing him out as a sacrifice to Dave's dirty tricks!
08/05/2011
Is 50/50 best of both for Plaid?
Because of the 50/50 split between Labour and the others, my favoured coalition - that of a rainbow is now a no brainer. A minority Labour Government might (just) work, a minority rainbow coalition would be an impossibility.
Even if it was a possibility, I'm not sure that I would still back any form of coalition in either a First Past the Post or FPTP plus election, the risks of coalition are too high without the protection of a proper (STV type) proportional vote system.
Plaid Cymru's mantra since 2007 has been that the party has given added value to the Labour led government and stifled some of its excesses; the Lib Dems have made a similar claim about their influence on the Tories in Westminster since 2010. Both narratives are probably true; but neither party has benefited from it.
The problem seems to be that if you like what the Labour / Conservative led coalition governments have done you vote Labour / Tory rather than Plaid / LD. If you don't like what the Labour / Conservative led coalition governments have done you vote against their coalition partners who have enabled them to govern – a lose/lose situation.
There have been rumours that the Lib Dems are considering an agreement with Labour in the Assembly. That would be suicidally stupid! Giving the benefit of their input to two different parties and receiving the blame for the failures of both.
In a funny sort of way Plaid might be in the best possible position, if it resists both a Coalition or a Supply & Confidence agreement with Labour.
There are things that a Welsh Labour Government will want to do that the ConDem Westminster Government won't want them to do. Plaid is in a position to trade its support by squeezing a bit of blood from both sides!
Even if it was a possibility, I'm not sure that I would still back any form of coalition in either a First Past the Post or FPTP plus election, the risks of coalition are too high without the protection of a proper (STV type) proportional vote system.
Plaid Cymru's mantra since 2007 has been that the party has given added value to the Labour led government and stifled some of its excesses; the Lib Dems have made a similar claim about their influence on the Tories in Westminster since 2010. Both narratives are probably true; but neither party has benefited from it.
The problem seems to be that if you like what the Labour / Conservative led coalition governments have done you vote Labour / Tory rather than Plaid / LD. If you don't like what the Labour / Conservative led coalition governments have done you vote against their coalition partners who have enabled them to govern – a lose/lose situation.
There have been rumours that the Lib Dems are considering an agreement with Labour in the Assembly. That would be suicidally stupid! Giving the benefit of their input to two different parties and receiving the blame for the failures of both.
In a funny sort of way Plaid might be in the best possible position, if it resists both a Coalition or a Supply & Confidence agreement with Labour.
There are things that a Welsh Labour Government will want to do that the ConDem Westminster Government won't want them to do. Plaid is in a position to trade its support by squeezing a bit of blood from both sides!
07/05/2011
The Llywydd Conundrum
We know who is going to be First Minister in the Assembly without any doubt.
The big question is who is going to be Presiding Officer?
With Plaid having lost 4 seats in the Assembly Election the party, clearly, can't afford to lose one of its biggest beasts, Dafydd Elis Thomas, by him being tied up in the President's chair. Unless Labour goes into One Wales #2, which is looking unpalatable to both parties at the moment.
Labour can't afford to put up a candidate for Llywydd, if it did it would lose its 50%.
I doubt if any Conservative would want the job, given the fact that they are now the official opposition and need all their amo to prove themselves as an "effective" opposition.
With 3 newbies out of 5 AM's and Kirsty out of the loop as party leader the only candidate the Lib Dems have is Peter Black. Having scraped in on just over 50 votes, and having to give up his high profile blog for the sake of neutrality, would Peter take up the chalice?
I suspect that what will happen is that Labour will attempt to go for One Wales #2 in order to keep Dafydd in the chair.
If Plaid swallows that bait, it needs it's bumps feeling!
The big question is who is going to be Presiding Officer?
With Plaid having lost 4 seats in the Assembly Election the party, clearly, can't afford to lose one of its biggest beasts, Dafydd Elis Thomas, by him being tied up in the President's chair. Unless Labour goes into One Wales #2, which is looking unpalatable to both parties at the moment.
Labour can't afford to put up a candidate for Llywydd, if it did it would lose its 50%.
I doubt if any Conservative would want the job, given the fact that they are now the official opposition and need all their amo to prove themselves as an "effective" opposition.
With 3 newbies out of 5 AM's and Kirsty out of the loop as party leader the only candidate the Lib Dems have is Peter Black. Having scraped in on just over 50 votes, and having to give up his high profile blog for the sake of neutrality, would Peter take up the chalice?
I suspect that what will happen is that Labour will attempt to go for One Wales #2 in order to keep Dafydd in the chair.
If Plaid swallows that bait, it needs it's bumps feeling!
28/04/2011
This Asda be the funniest campaign report this year!
I can't stop laughing at this hilarious report from STV News about Iain Gray popping into an Asda store where Alex Salmond was doing a meet and greet.
Classic!
Iain Gray and Alex Salmond have accused each other of hiding and running away during a visit to an Ardrossan supermarket.
Scottish Labour claimed that Mr Salmond "hid" from Iain Gray when the two leaders found themselves in the same supermarket on Tuesday night.
However, the SNP said that Labour’s claims were "desperate" and that the situation unfolded very differently. An SNP candidate said that Mr Gray "turned tail" rather than face the First Minister.
Classic!
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