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!

Did my Dad have more from Labour Past?

When I am not doing politics, my other great passion is family history.

Family historians often have to evaluate documents that deal with money in days gone by.

Was great grandfather generous or not when he bequeathed his youngest daughter £30 in 1872?

Was great, great Grandmother guilty of a major crime when she was hanged for stealing 6d worth of goods in 1728 or was she subject to a barbaric law that used capital punishment for petty crimes?

When Dad worked in the 1960's for £15 a week was he well paid or exploited?

The rule of thumb is to double the value of everything every ten years!

So a wage of £15 in 1960 would be £30 in 1970, £60 in 1980, £120 in 1990, £480 in 2000 and £960 a week in 2010 - a very good wage by today's standards

Only part of the double rule is accounted for by inflation, the other part is accounted for in greater expectations: Indoor toilets, television, a home computer etc. Things that my ancestors never had but, one would be considered very poor for not having today.

When the Labour Party boasts that it has doubled the funding of the Welsh Assembly over the past ten years, as a badge of honour, what they are really saying is that they give as much today to the Assembly as they gave ten years ago – no more, no less!

Welsh Lefties

These are 16 Welsh entries in the Total Politics top 100 left of centre awards list:

11 (59) Guerilla Welsh Fare
16 (73) Blog Menai
30 (39) Adam Price MP
31 (60) Welsh Ramblings
33 (-) Syniadau
39 (47) Cynical Dragon
48 (-) Pendroni
61 (35) Bethan Jenkins AM
62 (-) Politics Cymru
67 (-) Borthlas
68 (-) Leanne Wood AM
69 (-) Sweet & Tender Hooligan
78 (-) Gwilym Euros Roberts
82 (90) Paul Flynn MP
87 (19) Ordovicius
93 (-) Huw Lewis AM

I'm not sure that I would class them all as left wing, but what is interesting is that only two of them support Labour. Some might claim that this is further evidence of a Plaid inspired stitch up, I think that it is a sad but true reflection of Welsh Labour's internet presence.

Correction

There are 17 Welsh entries, I missed Plaid Wrecsam at 41. Sorry PW!

Lefty Saxon Gnat

I came across this blog whilst blog surfing earlier today:

Rebellion Sucks

A Socialist English Nationalist Blog. Most Welsh and Scottish nationalist blogs are left wing. English Nationalism seems always to be portrayed as right wing.

Now, being a tad to the right myself, I usually have more sympathy for the English national cause than I do for the lefty Welsh national cause. But it is good to see that there are some lefties who support England's self-determination.

Now where are the right in Wales who support my Welsh Nationalism and me?