Work Programme, Welfare Reform and Cuts

It was fascinating and disturbing in equal measures to read Valleys Mam’s post on one of the companies delivering the UK Government’s Work Programme in Wales and how the Jobcentre is achieving better result getting the unemployed back to work and how much Working Links is costing us tax payers, because its highlighting another aspect of the welfare changes introduced with little or no debate at political level or in the press here in Wales that are having a huge impact on families and communities up and down the country and local service.

The Welsh Government can’t stop every cut biting, but it should be trying to mitigate the impact of some of the harsher cuts like the increase in food banks we heard about this week or the changes to Council Tax Benefit highlighted by Welsh Ramblings should be a priority.

A useful distraction

The UK entered a double dip recession today for the first time since the 1970’s, investment is weak, unemployment continues rise and anxiety among the public is rising and the media duly reported it, but i'm amazed given the severity of the economic situation that the main focus from the press in Westminster in on Rupert Murdoch’s evidence to the Leveson Inquiry and the fall out for Jeremy Hunt.

Meanwhile here in Wales what’s left of out media is hot on the trail of Labour AM Keith Davies after his altercation with staff in the St David’s Hotel on Monday night after a night out rather than assessing the impact of this for Wales or trying to get some answers.

I'm not saying  the other stories aren't worth covering, but is it any wonder so few people have any confidence that the economic situation in the UK or Wales will improve anytime soon when the Prime Minister, Chancellor, Lib Dems, Opposition politicians and press want to talk about anything but the awful state of the economy?  

This Sceptred Isle Report – Welsh Findings

New Think Tank British Future published a report yesterday called This Sceptred Isle after conducting a series of opinion polls with people in England, Wales and Scotland on changing identities.

No surprise with a name like British Future that the questions were slanted towards Britishness and some of the conclusions drawn are quite crude, but the fact the report was published on St George Day is a statement in itself of changing attitudes across Britain to identity especially since devolution.

The report offers comfort and highlights challenges for all four parties, so here’s a few things that caught my eye from the Welsh perspective – make of them what you will.
 

86% of those polled associated the Red Dragon Flag with pride and patriotism.

In answer to the following question  ‘And which, if any, of the following best describes how you see yourself?’  the answers were 21%  were Welsh not British, 22% were more Welsh than British, 37% were equally British and Welsh, 9% were more British than Welsh and 6% were British not Welsh.

75% of Welsh people were proud of Dylan Thomas compared to 84% of Scots questioned being proud of Robert Burns  and 86% of the English being proud of William Shakesphere .

57% of Welsh people asked were proud of comedian Rob Brydon more than said they were proud of the Queen (35%). Similar findings were seen among the Scots for Billy Connolly and the Queen.

The National Eisteddfod stirred pride among 78% of Welsh participants while 17% were not proud at all.

78% of the Welsh asked had pride in the Welsh language while 19% had no pride in the language.

And two final findings the first ‘Those aged 18–24 are the least proud of the Red Dragon out of all the age groups polled, with a still substantial 75% associating it with pride and patriotism. An equal amount of Welsh 18–24 year olds (75%) are just as proud of the Union Jack as they are of their own flag.’

The second and perhaps the most interesting Welsh statistic was that number of Welsh people who felt proud of the NHS at 59% compared to the Scottish 69% and the English 78%. The number of dissatisfied Welsh respondents were 35% this is one finding that could have a profound influence on welsh politics.

It always good to have opinion polls which start debate,  but I find myself wondering yet again why there are no Welsh Think Tanks or University departments doing this type of thing regularly from a Welsh perspective to better inform Welsh political and civil debate on attitudes to a whole range of issues.

The full report is here with the questions and stats included at the end.

‘Argentina's oil grab is timely retort to rampaging capitalism’

A great article by Will Hutton in the Observer today on the need for countries to protect their strategic assets and the need for a new capitalism.

He writes ‘Many governments would have done the same. Ownership matters. Yet  Argentina has been roundly condemned – the EU, Spain, Mexico and even Britain have all weighed in. The Economist thunders that President Cristina Fernandez's antics must not go unpunished; nationalisation is a sin beyond redemption. The inference is that Repsol should have been allowed freely to dispose of its shares to whichever buyer and at the best price it could achieve. Argentina and its citizens have no right to intervene.

Ms Fernández was certainly high-handed and very arbitrary. She only seized enough shares from Repsol to secure 51% control and has yet to say what the state will pay in compensation; the other shareholders are hapless bystanders with their investment shredded. There is more than a whiff of shameless populism to her actions. But to portray Repsol as an injured innocent whose natural rights have been unfairly suborned is to traduce economic and political reality.

For too long, companies and the rich worldwide, egged on by American Republicans and British Tories, have shamelessly exploited the proposition that there is only one proper relationship between them and society: they do what they want on their own terms. And society must accept this because it is the sole route to "wealth generation". Capital exists above state and society.

Fernández's actions, however clumsy and unfair in their execution, are part of a growing worldwide reaction to the excesses that this proposition has brought. Repsol does not, and did not, have a God-given right to sell control in YPF to whomever it pleases while Argentina's interests can go hang. It exists in a symbiotic relationship with the society in which it trades. The right to trade and to own are privileges that come with reciprocal obligations as the Ownership Commission, which I chaired, argued earlier this year. They cannot exist in a vacuum because companies' actions have profound effects.’

The full article is here