Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

some chilled out advice for the weekend

What do they think?

We are in to the second week of the Welsh Labour Leadership contest and it has pretty much gone according to the candidates and campaign managers wishes. They have all has had smooth campaign launches with slick online presences, a few YouTube videos and visits to what they would see as an important part of Wales to be courted and there has been little ruffling of feather, no harsh personal attacks or embarrassment to the wider Labour party - but what have the Welsh Labour Party and the wider Welsh public learnt about who will take over as the country’s new leader and how they will govern, that we didn’t know before Rhodri Morgan stepped down?

I ask because there have been a few key moments in Welsh politics since the campaign got underway and we have had no comment from any of the leadership wannabes on for instance WAG’s draft budget which they will inherit and as a result of the tighter settlement it will affect public services across Wales with few services available and probable job losses as well.

There has also be no comment on yesterdays unemployment figures for Wales from any of them, the figures following the lull over the summer seem to have increased with a vengeance in the last couple of months and apart from the ProAct scheme we haven’t heard about any plans they have to tackle it.

These are just two example of issues whoever takes over will have to deal with and that matter to people across Wales aside from the easy platitudes offered up on the Health Service, Child Poverty and Local Government. I don’t see why Carwyn, Huw and Edwina shouldn’t give their views on these more difficult issues, are they afraid of what people might say or is the policy cupboard really bare, we deserve to know.

Another fine mess

There are worrying aspects about the International Business Wales (IBW) revelations today, but how we got here tells its own story.

Firstly if International Business Wales has been under performing for the last 5 years and not reaching it targets, why has nobody in the Welsh Assembly Government, the Opposition parties, the Civil Service or the media picked this up or acted on it. Why did it take Auditors to highlight what the politicians and civil servants should have been aware of before today’s report was published. The lack of proper scrutiny in Welsh politics is one reason that it has so little credibility; stories like this about the lack of scrutiny and accountability are all too common.

Secondly why is the Welsh Labour Party hiding behind others on economic matters yet again, this time Ieuan Wyn Jones, over shortcomings in their overseas economic development division for at least the last five years. Is anybody in Labour actually capable of admitting mistakes because it would help in winning back trust from a skeptical public about it record and actions in Government?

Thirdly Plaid Cymru aren’t blameless either just like the Welsh Conservatives both missed a major arm of Government under performing performing and didn’t highlight it instead it fell to the Lib Dems to do it by accident, but at least Ieuan Wyn Jones might do something about it although i’m not holding my breath. And If the Tory’s had spent as much time looking in to IBW affairs as they do on bashing WAG over domestic economic matters then thing might have been different.

Finally i’m sure the Welsh Lib Dems are really pleased that their Freedom of Information request on IBW staff expenses has caused so much political damage and why shouldn’t they, but even they missed the bigger story of IBW under performing and if this is not to look too much like political opportunism, the default position of welsh politics, have the Welsh Lib Dems come up with alternatives plans to run IBW if they aren’t happy with its performance to date?

Patrick Hannan R.I.P.

I was sad to hear of the death of Patrick Hannan announced yesterday.

I only knew Patrick Hannan like many thousands of others through his appearances on TV and Radio and I thought he was a good interviewer because he never put up with the spin on offer and most of the time got the answers the audience wanted out of the politicians plus he always sounded enthusiastic about what he was reporting on, a difficult task in the cynical world political journalism.

The Welsh media has lost a great talent who will be hard to replace.

FMQ’s Shorter and Sharper

Other people have written about the need to make First Minsters Questions (FMQ’s) more engaging and relevant and if the politicians or anyone else needs a reason to alter the format just ask yourself when was the last time the Welsh broadcast news reported on FMQ’s and you will know why a shakeup is needed.

The reason for raising this now is because an opportunity for changes to FMQ’s has arisen in light of the contest for the new First Minister/Welsh Labour Leader, whoever gets the job will need to build a bigger profile across Wales using any means at their disposal and a revamped FMQ could be one of those means. The reason for leaving things as they are probably has something to do with the rules governing the National Assembly for Wales but former Prime Minister John Major changed the format of Prime Minister’s Questions in Westminster, so what’s stopping our AM’s in the Assembly apart from a lack of vision.

Currently First Minister’s Questions is around an hour long (twice as long as it supposed to be) with 15 questions and 3 supplimentaries allowed for each question and considering it is the main political showcase for the Welsh politics and the National Assembly for Wales it makes little impact even in Cardiff Bay even the print media struggle with write ups of it because so little news is created during the session and most bloggers don’t comment on it either. I think replacing what we have now with a twice weekly FMQ’s of around 20 mins and more direct questioning would sharpen the focus of attack for the Opposition Parties and keep the First Minister on their toes as well as widening Welsh politics appeal by creating some headlines to show our politicians are in touch with our concerns especially in the current crisis.

For the winning candidates whether Carwyn, Huw and Edwina such changes would have real practical benefits, first a twice weekly offers an additional opportunity to get the media and public’s attention, secondly it would show their commitment to the National Assembly for Wales progressing and reaching out to a wider skeptical Welsh public and finally a different format would get the new First Minister out from Rhodri Morgan’s shadow.

It probably won’t happen but surely it’s worth discussing at the very least.

Sarah Brown MP?

Sarah Brown wouldn’t be the first political wife to make the transition from supporter to politician in her own right and she seems to have a wider appeal than her PM Gordon Brown judging by the reaction to her introductions at the last two Labour Party conferences inside and outside the conference hall.

According to reports 'Sarah Brown is reportedly drawing plans for her own political career after her husband Gordon steps down from his post of British Prime Minister.

The former PR executive was said to have a discussion regarding her speculated political ambitions during the couple’s recent stay at Balmoral.

Laura Lee, the chief executive of Maggie’s, the charity of which Sarah is patron, said she was not surprised at the reports.

“She’s much more likeable than other female politicians, who seem so pushy. I think she would be brilliant,” the Telegraph quoted her as saying.

Marcia Blakenham, its vice-chairman, added: “She has great political antennae and is much more attuned than Cherie Blair. Sarah has a very special way of getting herself across.”