Randerson to concentrate on education - Really?

Deputy prime minister  Nick Glegg has said he pushed to expand the Welsh Office department to three ministers.

The department includes a Lib Dem for the first time to "fly the flag for the kind of Wales we want to see," he said.

But he portrays either an ignorance of devolution or a desire to interfere in the workings of the Assembly when he announced on a visit to Cardiff yesterday that new Liberal Democrat Wales Office minister Baroness Randerson will concentrate on education,  - even though the policy is devolved.

Education like Health is always something opposition Parties have an advantage.Since you can always claim that there's q need for a great deal of improvement.

But are we going to see the main thrust on Education Policy coming not from their Assembly Education Spokesman Aled Roberts but from a Westminster minister who has no responsibility for Education here.?

And is going to see her role Randerson is to  undermine the Assembly education minister Leighton Andrews or simply to present a LibDwm viewpoint from a Westminster perspective.

Reading Peter Blacks Blog you can't help feeling the latter at least will be part of his her purpose as he writes...

But it is not just the Welsh Government that needs to be kept in the loop and listened to. The Welsh Conservatives and the Welsh Liberal Democrats are in government in Westminster and in opposition in Cardiff Bay. We need to have an input too, not least because Welsh Government Ministers occasionally use us as a conduit to send a message to their opposite number on the other side of the Severn Bridge.
I have been able to facilitate meetings between Ministers for example, whilst my ability to pick up the phone and talk to the right people was crucial in getting the Housing Legislative Competence Order approved back in the early days of the coalition Government.
In a coalition government situation, and given the nature of Wales Office Ministers' jobs, it was absurd that the Conservatives had this additional line of communication, but the Welsh Liberal Democrats did not. That is why Jenny Randerson's appointment is so important, it gives us a formal input into Government discussions.

I may be misreading Peter but it looks to me that he sees Randerson appointment as a means of linking the Welsh LibDems with the coalition government and therefore claiming some influence inn the way Wales is run.

Was Nick Harvey sacrificed as  Minister of State for the Armed Forces so that Nick Clegg Quota of MPs can have a foothold in Wales . Where they have been haemorrhaging  votes?

Will we see a Welsh Office Minister putting forward a different viewpoint from her coalition partners? I doubt it and I can't see Randerson seeing her role being there merely to act as a contact point for her party in Cardiff bay.

The real likely result of this appointment will be to link the LibDems in the bay with the Westminster Government and make it even harder to claim their hands are clean of Westminster Politics. They can hardly claim "Its not us we didn't doit" with a Minister pushing the coalition agenda in the Welsh Office.

 

A LibDem in the Welsh Office . Trouble ahead?

The Wales Office have appointed the first  Liberal Democrat, peer Jenny Randerson was made a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

She was joined by Tory MP Stephen Crabb.

Their appointment came a day after Clwyd West Conservative MP David Jones succeeded Cheryl Gillan as Welsh Secretary, and the new junior ministers pledged to work with the Labour Government in Cardiff to grow Wales’ economy (though what else they would promise evades me).

The arrival of Baroness Randerson at Gwydyr House means there are now two former Assembly Members at the Wales Office – Mr Jones was briefly a North Wales AM.and if David Jomes  was to take Glyn Davies was to be taken on Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) from Cheryl Gillian then this would take the number up to three .

OK if you think we need Politicians who have  an insight of the Assembly but a bit  worrying if thier former colleagues see them as Lording it over them.

For the Liberal Democrats Jenny Randerson appointment may be a mixed blessing .

True they have a place in the Welsh Office but its a member of the Lords who they have been trying to reform and someone who was seen as a rival to La Pasionaria (Kirsty Williams) when she was part of the Liberal Democrat group in the Assembly.

La Pasionaria as the leader of a Federal party may be worried that although she may be still referred to the leader . Randerson wil be seen as the spokesperson for the Welsh Libdems and that it is going to be even harder for her to distinguish her federal party from the Toxic effect of the Coalition wiyth the Tories in Westminster .

And La Pasionaria must be vexed that she appears to have been snubbed when it emerged that conference organisers have failed to find a speaking slot for the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats at thier annual conference .and who can bet against the organises finding space to give  the new Welsh Office Minister an airing?

It could be that the Party leader in Wales of the Liberal Democrats who so far unlike those pf "Welsh" Labour and the "Welsh "Conservatives in the assembly  could claim her position was clear is going to have to work hard to show she still in charge of her party in the minds of the rest of us.

Quebec PQ win but no plurality.

The Election in Quebec has resulted in disappointment for nearly all the parties 

The opinion polls had pointed to a PQ victory even a plurality.

Polling firm	Last date of polling	Link	QLP	PQ	CAQ	QS	ON	GPQ	Other
Forum Research	September 3, 2012	PDF	29	36	25	6	2	2	0
Ekos	September 2, 2012	PDF	23.2	36.0	24.5	10.7			5.5
Léger Marketing	August 31, 2012	PDF	27	33	28	7	3	1	1
CROP	August 29, 2012	HTML	26	32	28	9	2	2	1
Forum Research	August 28, 2012	PDF	28	33	27	8	2	2	0
CROP	August 26, 2012	HTML	26	33	28	7	3	3	1
Léger Marketing	August 24, 2012	PDF	27	33	28	7	2	2	1
Forum Research	August 20, 2012	PDF	35	29	24	9	1	2	0
Léger Marketing	August 16, 2012	PDF	28	33	27	6	3	2	0
CROP	August 14, 2012	HTML	27	34	25	7	2	3	1
Forum Research	August 13, 2012	PDF	31	35	25	6		2	0
Léger Marketing	August 8, 2012	PDF	31	32	27	6	2	2	0
CROP	August 8, 2012	HTML	29	32	21	8	2	3	4
Forum Research	August 7, 2012	PDF	32	34	24	6		3	0
Forum Research	August 1, 2012	PDF	38	39	14	4		3	0
Léger Marketing	July 31, 2012	PDF	31	33	21	7	2	4	2
2008 Election	December 8, 2008	HTML	42.1	35.3	—	3.8	—	2.2	16.7

[show]Opinion polling from 2008 to June 2012

However the final result was that they fell far short of a majority and although they have recovered a great deal of lost ground,  the fact that they can't even raise a majority with Quebec Soladire, to push through a referendum wil be frustrating.

e • d Summary of the September 4, 2012, National Assembly of Quebec election results

Party[37]		Party leader[37]	Candidates[38]	Seats					Popular vote
				2008	Dissol.	2012	Change	%	Number	%	Change (pp)
	Parti Québécois	Pauline Marois	125	51	47	54	+3	43%	1,393,540	31.94%	-3.23
	Liberal	Jean Charest	125	66	64	50	-16	40%	1,361,618	31.20%	-10.88
	Coalition Avenir Québec	François Legault	125	7†	9	19	+12†	15%	1,180,758	27.05%	+10.68†
	Québec solidaire	Françoise David Amir Khadir††	124	1	1	2	+1	2%	263,233	6.03%	+2.25
	Option nationale	Jean-Martin Aussant	120	*	1	—	*	—	82,857	1.90%	*
	Green	Claude Sabourin	66	—	—	—	—	—	43,517	1.00%	-1.1

For the Liberals who lost their leader Jean Charest and several ministers the scale of their defeat was far less than polls had predicted where at times they were running third.to CAQ

For the new Party CAQ it was also a disappointment they had received a reasonable percentage vote but they like PQ had not gained as much predicted  from disillusionment with the Liberals and they failed to raise to the heights of the party they replaced the similar  right wing anti -sovereignty  party ADO  who won 41 in the 2008 election seats and forced PQ into second place.

Quebec Solidaire  will be celebrating Françoise David joining co-leader  Amir Khadir in the Assemblée  but failed to make a break through else where.

Option Nationale  a centre-left party that saw PQ not promoting Independence  enough saw leaderJean-Martin Aussant lose it seat. Though it was always going to be  a tough call for a party formed just a year ago and failed to get any media support as CAO had done .

They did manage to produce the star performer of the election in Catherine Dorion whose  youtiube video on why she joined ON went viral.

The chance of PQ managing to push through a Independence referendum and they are likely to  to forge deals with either the Liberals or the CAQ or both in order to govern.Who will support them on francophone legislation . Defeat on a confidence motion would prompt a new election.

A former PQ minister and one-time proponent of Québec separation,CAQ  leader Legault now advocates taking the sovereignty question off the table for the foreseeable future.

Of course unless its forbidden under the constitution the Liberals and CAO could form a government.

There unlikely to be any enthusiasm for another referendum an PQ leader Pauline Marois may decide that the next Election will result in a majority but with the Fedral party and current oppostion  NDP who made big gains in Quebec in the last Federal election at the expense of Bloc Quebecois   announcing they will contest the next Quebec election there may be even greater complications in the Elections . Particularly as some NDP members have has  also members of PQ and QS

Any Nationalist in Wales and Scotland who hoped that a PQ victory would result in a new Nation emerging and that this might somehow boost their own aspirations, should be disappointed for now  bit the future of Quebec is still undecided and perhaps we will get a clearer  idea at the next election.

Cheryl Gillan already gone..David Jones In

It seem Cheryl Gillian has already announced she is no longer Welsh Secretary  and has announced on Twitter she is no longer Welsh Secretary . We can only wait to see who will be our next Governor General.

Update 11:20


As Many predicted  David Jones, MP for Clywd West, replaces Cheryl Gillian as Welsh secretary after being promoted from the position of Wales office minister, which he held from 2010. He is not a particularly well-known name outside of Westminister but there had been pressure from Conservatives for Gillian's replacement to be an MP holding a Welsh seat

• Jones was a member of the Welsh Assembly, representing north Wales, between 2002 and 2003 filling the seat vacated by Rod Richards. He made it clear from the outset that he would not seek re-election to the Assembly and stepped down at the 2003 elections.
• He was elected to parliament in 2005, his third attempt, having previously contested Conwy in 1997 and the city of Chester in 2001
• He was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Wales Office on 13 May 20
•  Jones describes his political interests as the environment, law and order and constitutional affairs
•  In his maiden speech in the Commons, Jones bemoaned the fact that residents' representations on windfarms were "largely irrelevant" under the current planning regime   He also expressed concern about wind farms planned for his constituency (the proposed Gwynt y Mor wind farm[4 would be one of the biggest wind farms in the United Kingdom).. He also complained that his constituents had "suffered ... at the government's hands through the ban on fox hunting"
• He used to be an active Blogger  but probably because of his his previous role and his promotion he is likely to cease such activities.

It isA a youthful looking 60 he takes over what is often considered the lowest Cabinet position and may see it as means of gaining promotion . Nevertheless it is welcome that we have a a Secretary State  who represents a Welsh Seat the fist Tory  to do so since Nicholas Edwards in 1987 in between six conservatives representing English constituencies have had the role.

Time will tell whether David Jones sees himself as representing Wales in the Cabinet or representing the Westminster Government in Wales or how he sees the role in the devolution era.

The fact that he declined a almost safe seat in the Assembly however points to him believing that his interest may not entirely lie in Welsh Politics,

Cardiff Professor threatened with deportion by Draconian rules..

In the frightening days after 7/7, John Tulloch was the face of Britain’s resistance to terror: bloodied, dazed, clothes in shreds, his picture appeared on newspaper front pages around the world.

Sitting opposite a suicide bomber on a Circle Line train, he had been saved from death by his own luggage. He was visited in hospital by the Prince of Wales, who proclaimed him an example of the “resilience of the British people”.


But now John, 70, could be kicked out in a mix-up over Home Office rules.
He was born in India to British parents when the country was still part of the Empire, making him automatically a British citizen.

He has worked in the UK for most of his life and his father fought for Britain as an officer in the Gurkha Rifles. But John took up Australian citizenship when he moved Down Under to work, and that has automatically cancelled his British nationality.

On his return to the UK he was granted a work permit but that will expire when he retires shortly, and he has been told he must leave.

He said:

“I was hailed as an example of British courage, an iconic image of British resistance.
“I get blown (Sic) up in the media as a British patriot – then I get kicked out.”

So the argument seems to be that he should have taken out dual citizenship but Professor assumed that this was the case and if he can get it wrong so can thousands of others.
Clearly this a stupid ruling from the immigrations services and another example of the unfairness of our laws regarding our Laws.

I have nothing but sympathy for John Tulloch's case but I can't help feeling that there would not have been such an uproar if his surname was Singh or Gupta for instance.

Lets hope common sense rules here though.

Exams results. Can any one win?.

Thousands of Welsh students could be allowed to re-sit their GCSE English exam after a report found grade boundaries had been changed part-way during the academic year according to the Western Mule..

They claim 

England’s exams regulator Ofqual said on Friday that January’s GCSE English exams were “graded generously” while the grade boundaries for exams sat in June were higher.so its likely the WJEC which is the main examining body in Wales  (but who seem to have simply followed the English regulator)will follow suit

But the Ofqual  maintained overall subject grades awarded were correct and examiners acted properly.

Plaid Wrecsam have pointed out the difficulties in finding out just who is regulation these exams conducted by the WJEC in Wales have a look at here prepare to be confused  despite  Plaid Gwersyllt 's  hard work .in trying to make sense of it .

So whilst Leighton Andrews the Welsh Education Minister looks in to it he should male sure that who is regulating exams and the WJEC in Wales ?

Ofqual’s chief regulator Glenys Stacey said recognising the strength of feeling, students who sat exams in the summer would be offered the opportunity to re-sit in November.

But if this admission that there was a degree unfairness to students in changing the marking criteria mid-term , then the damage has been done.

Any HR or admissions officer looking at an application form  or CV and will surely  look at the date the GCSE was awarded and draw their own conclusions.. 

So they will look and take into account  at any re-sits.

Lets face it any Student who received a high grade last year may feel their award slightly tarnished and open to doubt  when compared to a similar student this year.

If you are going to reform the Exam structure this is not the way to go about it and if Leighton Andrews is serious about his job and not wanting to go down the same path he might want to look at the exam structure in Wales and reform them rot and branch. perhaps exam looking at the Scottish system. 

Many will feel that we should have tougher exams grades but the way this was carried out this year was unfair on the students the goalpost should not have been moved midterm in this way.

One thing is clear if you are going to make exams tougher be prepared for those who called for them to be made tougher to then complaining about falling eduction standards

I'.m afraid any Education Minister  will face  a form of the Catch 22 situation

• The media and opposition claim the Exam are to easy and complain about education standards .
• So have stricter marking.
• But then fewer pupils get passes and high grade
• So the media and opposition parties  complain about education Standards
• So change the marking to ensure more  passes and higher grades.
• The media and opposition claim the Exam are to easy and complain about education standards
• So have stricter marking...

Good luck Leighton.

Legal Power? ( Wales must not copy Scotland draconian reforms).

There has been a savage criticism of  the Scottish Governments record on Law reform

 Alistair Bonnington, a solicitor advocate, said "huge damage" had been done since the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999.
In a wide-ranging attack, he hit out at the ending of double jeopardy - a centuries-old tradition which prevented a person being tried twice for the same crime - as well as accusing MSPs of conducting a "sustained campaign" to erode legal aid.
Mr Bonnington, a former honorary professor of law at Glasgow University, also said he feared two "gold standards" of Scots law would soon be lost - the need for evidence to be backed up with corroboration and the ban on juries being told about an accused person's previous convictions.
A review of the law by Lord Carloway has already recommended doing away with the requirement for corroboration - with this having being accepted by the Scottish Government.
Ministers are currently consulting on how best to implement Lord Carloway's recommendations.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Law Commission has called for both juries and judges to be told if an accused person has previous convictions - something ministers are now considering.
Mr Bonnington said: "Sadly it is not going too far to say that Holyrood has done more harm to Scots law than Westminster managed in more than 300 years."
He hit out at the "sustained campaign by MSPs to erode legal aid to the point where lawyers will refuse to represent the impecunious accused in criminal cases".
The lawyer added: "Few legal firms now do legal aid work because if they did they would go bankrupt."
He also claimed the "established traditions of Scots law have been abandoned to fit in with right-wing tabloid thinking".
Mr Bonnington argued Scotland now had "Soviet-style laws on double jeopardy", claiming the ban on trying someone for the same case twice had been ended in a bid to retry the World's End murder case after Angus Sinclair was cleared of killing Helen Scott and Christine Eadie in Edinburgh.
The lawyer went on: "These retrograde steps seem sure to be followed by the destruction of two of the gold standards of Scots criminal law: the need for corroboration of evidence and the prohibition against juries knowing prior convictions.
"Again, these are the kind of rules one expects to find in the third world."
He added: "Scots lawyers are having to defend Scots law against our own Parliament. It clearly is not safe in their hands."

Herald Scotland August 30th

It is disturbing that the Scottish Government  has carried out these "Reforms" which does not reflect well on the SNP as a progressive party. in particular his accusation that  "established traditions of Scots law have been abandoned to fit in with right-wing tabloid thinking".

One of the arguments  for a second chamber in legislatures is that they can provide checks against such seeming Draconian measures. 

Certainly it would probably be harder for such legislation to pass through the House of Lords with out a serious challenge . Though to be fair the Scottish Government went through had a pretty extensive committee stage.

Though I will maintain that Wales should have control over Legal affairs in the same manner as Scotland it is a sobering thought that we need to make sure that  if we were to take this responsibility , we must do so in the interest of justice and not to pander to the editor of the Western Mule and his ilk.