I’m taking a few days out to recharge my batteries, but I shall leave you with a few articles worth a read in my absence.
Arianna Huffington on Obama’s Leadership
Fraser Nelson on George Osborne troubles with the City
The possible end for the Socialist Party in France
Alistair Heath on Boris Johnson sticking up for the City of London
Japan’s Election the vote that really did change the country
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Could an autonomous Welsh Justice System be closer than we think?
There’s an Interesting little snippet from David Williamson on the issue of the devolving of Welsh Justice powers to Cardiff Bay which claims is gaining momentum in his article today on Devolution and the Lockerbie Bomber.
On he issue of Welsh Justice he writes ‘Alan Trench, an expert on Welsh devolution at the University of Edinburgh’s school of law, claimed the idea of greater judicial autonomy for Wales was gaining traction.
He said: “There is a lot of interest in this behind the scenes.”
He maintains that it could be politically convenient for the Westminster Government to have controversial (legal) decisions taken in devolved regions.
There is also a warning for those MP’s who are opposed to further devolution
Mr Trench argues that Labour MPs would be ill-advised to seek to put the brakes on further devolution.
“If [they oppose devolution] they are forgetting why they did this in the first place and they are forgetting how much they have in common with Plaid and the SNP,” he said. “These are both left-of-centre parties.”
On he issue of Welsh Justice he writes ‘Alan Trench, an expert on Welsh devolution at the University of Edinburgh’s school of law, claimed the idea of greater judicial autonomy for Wales was gaining traction.
He said: “There is a lot of interest in this behind the scenes.”
He maintains that it could be politically convenient for the Westminster Government to have controversial (legal) decisions taken in devolved regions.
There is also a warning for those MP’s who are opposed to further devolution
Mr Trench argues that Labour MPs would be ill-advised to seek to put the brakes on further devolution.
“If [they oppose devolution] they are forgetting why they did this in the first place and they are forgetting how much they have in common with Plaid and the SNP,” he said. “These are both left-of-centre parties.”
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Symptom of an wider problem
Today’s news of a Freedom of Information request from Leanne Wood AM about the problems filling 200 Doctor vacancies is one of concern if visa are hard to come by for those wanting to come to Wales to work then WAG needs to get its act together. But it’s also highlights a bigger problem with the Welsh NHS that our politicians, civil servants, heath managers and unions seem unable to deal with – that of planning and recruiting enough staff for the Welsh NHS.
Any vacancies particularly in the NHS left unfilled cause problems leading to more pressure on other staff and a lower standard of patient care, but the sad truth is that this type of story is nothing new, how many times over the years have medical staff shortages been reported in Wales, the answer is too many, just a brief search online I can find Welsh NHS staff shortage stories going back to January 2002.
One direct results of not enough doctors recruited is highlighted in neurosurgery in Swansea where due to lack staff, patients have been transferred to the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff for care causing tier own problems for the hospital.
Whether the situation is brought about though bad planning, not enough training places, too many reorganisations or the inability for the Welsh NHS to shake of Wales reputation as a not very good place to live and work among Doctors and Nurses in the rest of the UK or a combination of all the above who knows, but unless something is done our politicians and health professionals can get used to more freedom of information requests and more embarrassing revelations like this one.
Any vacancies particularly in the NHS left unfilled cause problems leading to more pressure on other staff and a lower standard of patient care, but the sad truth is that this type of story is nothing new, how many times over the years have medical staff shortages been reported in Wales, the answer is too many, just a brief search online I can find Welsh NHS staff shortage stories going back to January 2002.
One direct results of not enough doctors recruited is highlighted in neurosurgery in Swansea where due to lack staff, patients have been transferred to the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff for care causing tier own problems for the hospital.
Whether the situation is brought about though bad planning, not enough training places, too many reorganisations or the inability for the Welsh NHS to shake of Wales reputation as a not very good place to live and work among Doctors and Nurses in the rest of the UK or a combination of all the above who knows, but unless something is done our politicians and health professionals can get used to more freedom of information requests and more embarrassing revelations like this one.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Amid the headlines are there any ideas?
James Murdoch’s lecture at the Edinburgh Festival last week attacking the BBC for its ‘chilling dominance’ of UK media certainly caused a stir and made headlines in the UK and around the world as well as the predictably furious reaction from the BBC, but come on, the head of the UK’s dominant commercial broadcaster Sky calling the dominant UK public service broadcaster the BBC too big and powerful is the pot calling the kettle black and i’m sure both Sky and the BBC’s competitors would love to see the back of both of them.
Besides which, neither the speech or the headlines that followed have done anything to move the media debates forward, firstly what business model will ensure commercial media survives to give us all alternative news and media outlets, now and secondly in the future and also whether the BBC needs to scale back some of its multitude of services for instance to date its only online competitors in financial reach have been Google who have found a way to make big money online unlike their rivals at the moment.
So a lot of fluff, hot air and reworked argument but precious little of tangible benefit I fear.
James Murdoch speech is here and for another view of the BBC’s Business Editor Robert Peston also made a speech at the Festival which is here.
Besides which, neither the speech or the headlines that followed have done anything to move the media debates forward, firstly what business model will ensure commercial media survives to give us all alternative news and media outlets, now and secondly in the future and also whether the BBC needs to scale back some of its multitude of services for instance to date its only online competitors in financial reach have been Google who have found a way to make big money online unlike their rivals at the moment.
So a lot of fluff, hot air and reworked argument but precious little of tangible benefit I fear.
James Murdoch speech is here and for another view of the BBC’s Business Editor Robert Peston also made a speech at the Festival which is here.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Jonathan's less than new ideas
There is space on the right in Welsh politics but why keep pretending the Conservatives can or are willing and able to occupy that ground and Jonathan Morgan’s latest article is just the latest proof of this.
When the Tories are elected to Government at the next Election very few of their Welsh MP’s will be interested in or really care about anything that happens in Cardiff Bay and when Conservative Welsh Assembly Members views are largely ignored in the wider UK party, even Assembly Group leader Nick Bourne’s has had limited success changing minds inside or outside Wales despite the spin, so it makes a mockery of the Welsh Conservative narrative that so many in Welsh politics seem to believe in, which brings me on to Jonathan Morgan’s article.
Jonathan Morgan's piece on positive discrimination for the Tories for the National Assembly for Wales Elections among other things is certainly not a new idea, the Labour Party tore itself apart in Wales over twinning and all female shortlists and Plaid Cymru is changing its rules back to let anyone top the regional lists in the National Assembly Election after allowing women to top lists previously following its own problems, but he and his boss Nick Bourne are right to at least raise the issue because the Conservative seems to have a particular problem with women and ethnic minority candidates.
But does Jonathan think that raising the issue now will change the gender/minority balance in the Tory Assembly Group at the next elections and get them more votes, because his stance has already been attacked by those on the left for not going far enough and those on the right who simply believe positive discrimination is wrong and he’s probably out of step with much of the wider party in Wales on the issue which begs the bigger question who is Jonathan Morgan speaking for and too with this and other political ideas he’s been setting out recently?
When the Tories are elected to Government at the next Election very few of their Welsh MP’s will be interested in or really care about anything that happens in Cardiff Bay and when Conservative Welsh Assembly Members views are largely ignored in the wider UK party, even Assembly Group leader Nick Bourne’s has had limited success changing minds inside or outside Wales despite the spin, so it makes a mockery of the Welsh Conservative narrative that so many in Welsh politics seem to believe in, which brings me on to Jonathan Morgan’s article.
Jonathan Morgan's piece on positive discrimination for the Tories for the National Assembly for Wales Elections among other things is certainly not a new idea, the Labour Party tore itself apart in Wales over twinning and all female shortlists and Plaid Cymru is changing its rules back to let anyone top the regional lists in the National Assembly Election after allowing women to top lists previously following its own problems, but he and his boss Nick Bourne are right to at least raise the issue because the Conservative seems to have a particular problem with women and ethnic minority candidates.
But does Jonathan think that raising the issue now will change the gender/minority balance in the Tory Assembly Group at the next elections and get them more votes, because his stance has already been attacked by those on the left for not going far enough and those on the right who simply believe positive discrimination is wrong and he’s probably out of step with much of the wider party in Wales on the issue which begs the bigger question who is Jonathan Morgan speaking for and too with this and other political ideas he’s been setting out recently?
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