Sooner or Later

You just knew it had to happen sooner or later Iain Murray commenting on the current crisis over at ConservativeHome sees the current problems and anger over MP’s expenses as an opportunity on behalf the right to entrench a conservative agenda across the UK for some time to come.

He wrote ‘It strikes me that in the depth of this severe political crisis, there is a genuine opportunity for the conservative movement in Britain. We can capitalize on the anti-politician sentiment most effectively if we adopt, explain and push a series of policies that reduce the power of politicians and their opportunity, not to put too fine a point on it, to rob us blind’


And to think that David Cameron was doing so well this week compared to Gordon Brown, its must seem like one step forward and two steps back for the Tory Leader.

Bankers bonus culture contributed to the current recession

A statement of the obvious you would have thought, but it was confirmed as one of the main findings in a report by MP's on the Treasury Committee into the Banking Crisis and near collapse of the British Banking system last autumn published today.

The report criticises bankers and a also government minister for failure of handling over RBS and its former Chief Executive Fred Godwin who walked away with a £700,000 per year pension, although given the current crisis MP's probably didn't see the problem i bet.

The main recommedations from the report are below

• Bonus culture in banks needed to be overhauled
• Shareholders failed to scrutinise decisions by company board and management
• Auditors failed to highlight developing problems in the banking system
  The media acted "generally responsibly" in its coverage of the financial crisis

The Committee's report is HERE, its also worth reading Robert Peston's blog on the continued bonus culture in UK Banking.

Obama at the Whitehouse Correspondents Dinner

This is President Obama's speech to the Annual White House Correspondents Dinners (the one where they get to crack a few jokes) he has some good jokes and make some powerful points about journalism and democracy which are worth our elected representatives listening too.

Coalitions 50% of the time ..... does it matter with the same policy agenda?

Welsh Assembly Government’s to date have been a mix of the left, the hard left and the left overs, you can take your pick as to which party from Labour, Plaid Cymru and Lib Dems is which.

If you look at the 2007 elections Manifestos (even Conservative) you could have put a fag paper between the four main parties in policy terms, the resulting negotiations reinforced this as many of the policies in the One Wales Coalition Government of Labour and Plaid Cymru were also in the All Wales Accord of Plaid Cymru, Conservative and Liberal Democrats.

Adding to this the Additional Members System in the Assembly which is designed not to give an overall majority to any party further highlights the problem as the majority of Assembly Members left leaning and agree with WAG rather than putting new ideas forward to debate. So maybe the question after 10 years of devolution should be why the party’s haven’t adapted to the new system rather than bemoaning the fact they can’t win an overall majority more often.

More HERE

Incase you missed it ......

We in Wales have a legitimate gripe of often being ignored by the UK media so when the BBC's Daily Politics show comes lives from the Senedd to celebrate 10 years of devolution, its worth flagging up, the interviews with our AM''s start about half way through after the expense scandal stuff, its also worth noting that Plaid Cymru got an interview separate from the other three parties, do the BBC know something we don't?

The programme is available here

Leave Your Imagination at the Door

Labour are in big trouble there is no doubt and are facing wipe out across the UK in the European and local elections in England, here in Wales the commentariat were agreed that Rhodri Morgan was the saving grace for Labour in the 2007 Assembly Elections avoiding total melt down as they did in Scotland, the diagnosis at the time from Rhodri Morgan was that it was UK wide problems and no blame was to be attributed to him or his Government despite grumblings from AM’s, MP’s and party members.

It seems as though nothing has changed in 2009 in a speech to celebrate 10 years of devolution, Rhodri Morgan seems to believe that a Tory Government will send the faithful rushing back to the Labour Party for fear of a dose of Thatcherism Mark 2, now there maybe some truth in that argument but it shows just how much denial the Welsh Labour leadership is in about the problems is faces.

Wales now has over 100,000 people out of work and unemployment continues to rise, welsh GVA is at 74.5% and dropping year on year, last week showed we now have rising Child Poverty and questions over the effectiveness of ProAct and ReAct schemes specifically set up to help welsh firms keep and retrain staff in the recession all point to a failure of policy not that you would get anyone in WAG to admit it, so there has to be more than hoping and praying to go along with Carwyn Jones’s Silicon Valley idea and Huw Lewis’s recycling of Fabian Society policies going on in Labour Party for the welsh public’s sake, as they are likely to still end up as the largest party in Wales and controlling the Assembly Government sadly.

Huw's Views

Huw Lewis, Labour leadership contender for the non contest to replace Rhodri Morgan may have finally woken up to what could be stopping many young people or people in general voting Labour, the fact they are stuck in a time warp fighting old battles that people don't necessarily remember or relate to

In today's Western Mail he claimed Welsh Labour is too focused on the battles of the past and the spectre of the “Tory bogeyman”, and said the party must put together a long-term vision for a post-recession Wales which it can take to the electorate

Huw also isn't a fan of the internet or the crachach either in the same interview he claims following the ridiculing of both Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s use of video-sharing website YouTube and a music video on the AneurinGlyndwr.com website which portrayed Tory leader Nick Bourne as a vampire. The AM for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney also said Labour must never allow itself to be called “anti-Welsh” and, just as US President Barack Obama successfully rebutted allegations he was “un-American”, the party must challenge similar taunts from Wales’ “cultural right”.

Meow!!!!

Quote of the Day

BBC Wales's Political Editor Betsan Powys writing about the close run vote to establish the Assembly on her blog says it very well in my opinion.

'My own conclusion, at the time and since, was the result demonstrated that deep ambivalence which runs through our national psyche. We are a top-sliced country, used to years and centuries in which we had no decision to make, but all the time in the world to complain about decisions made about us by others ...'

A Wales that Works

Last week’s report from the Employment and Skills Board (the body that advises WAG on employment and skills matters) produced their first report entitled A Wales that Works made six main recommendations many of which have been made by business leaders, academics and training providers over the years, so the big question is does this employment and skills report have a chance of being taken seriously and acted on the Welsh Assembly Government particularly in the current crisis or will it be just another report to sit on a shelf as the welsh economy continues its downward spiral?

The reports recommendations are below

1. We recommend that the Government redouble its efforts to eliminate the basic skills deficit within the adult population and ensure that all education and skills providers give far stronger emphasis to basic skills and employability.

2. We recommend that the Government further stimulate the flow of transferable knowledge into the Welsh economy (for example, by funding far more research that bridges the gap between that which can attract support from UK research bodies and that which local employers will fund), and complement it with targeted support for high level skills which places a far stronger emphasis on areas of strong potential growth (for example, by enticing the brightest and best through selective funding
of attractive post-graduate studentships linked to local employers or industry clusters).

3. We recommend that the Government give particular priority to raising the demand for, and supply of high-quality management and leadership training throughout the private, public and voluntary sectors - but with particular emphasis on those SMEs that have growth potential.

4. We recommend that the Government seek maximum policy, financial and administrative flexibility within the Department for Work and Pensions at the Wales level and that users’ experiences - the customer journey - are placed at the centre not just of policy formation but of policy implementation.

5. The Government should focus on these five dimensions of scale, pace, flexibility, simplicity and outcome, not just in introducing new initiatives but in streamlining existing business support, employment and skills interventions to provide a more coherent service from the perspective of the customer.

6. The Government should do everything in its power to reallocate resources so as to increase the quantum available for the employment and skills agenda during the period of the recession.

Barnett Formula needs replacing says Cameron

BBC Scotland's Politics show has an interview with David Cameron today on the Conservatives relationship with the Scottish Parliament after the next election if they win, also in the interview he said that the Barnett Formula needs replacing but he's and his colleagues not sure with what.

This follows Michael White in the Guardian earlier this week reporting that the Calman Commission the one set up be Gordon Brown is going to recommend some form of fiscal powers being transferred to the Scottish Parliament - quiet a big step forward what ever you political beliefs.

Any change in the Barnett Formula will have a really big affect on us here in Wales so where is the debate on what happens next? Are we to leave it to those Welsh MP's who are still arguing and winning the case that Wales is incapable of legislating for itself because if we do we will all lose out.