Nigel Dix in hot water and not for Nat bashing.

 Labour councillor  Nigel Dix is a  well known Nat Basher and member of True Wales who fought for a No vote in the last referendum

Now it seems he has little confidence in his own party members and  is  under investigation by his party after he sent an e-mail describing his local AM as “a joke”.

According to Wales on Line Dix, who represents Blackwood on Caerphilly council, made the comment about Islwyn AM Gwyn Price in a message to a friend that he inadvertently forwarded to Mr Price’s researcher and to every member of staff in the authority’s education department.

In the same e-mail he also described fellow councillor Gez Kirby, chief whip of the controlling Labour group on Caerphilly council, as a joke.....

In the thread of eight e-mails from earlier this month mistakenly forwarded by Mr Dix, he and his fellow Labour Party member and friend Andrew Whitcombe initially discuss the reselection prospects of Islwyn MP Chris Evans, who was confirmed as the constituency’s general election candidate last Friday.

They then move on to discuss whether Mr Price will seek re-election at the next National Assembly election in 2016. Mr Whitcombe states: “Gwyn has to announce by March. Who is favourite should he decide not to run?”

Mr Dixsends a message saying: “Oh joy”, to which Mr Whitcombe responded: “Is it right our pal Gwyn {Price} wants to go in {20}16 so Gez Kirby gets his seat and he gets Gez’s council seat and becomes leader?”

Mr Dix then responds: “They can dream on. Kirby is a joke, as is Gwyn, but they are not funny.”

Oh dear it looks like Cllr Dix is going to be pretty unpopular with his own party

Independent Scotland and a "New England"?

I know many on the Left in Wales who support Independence are sorry that we appear to have few counterparts in England. English Nationlism often perceived as the domain of the extreme right.

There are occasions for hope often from the uttering of the musicians Billy Bragg

This week he has given us afresh approach to the Scottish Referendum telling the Scotsman Newspaper  , that the end of Britain could herald a new England led by a centre-left party akin to the SNP


 Bragg’s comments about Salmond “putting forward a nationalism that’s inclusive and mature – something that we don’t have in England”

Is in direct contrast to those on the left in  English left and the rest of the UK  who have long feared the prospect of Tory domination in Westminster should Scotland gain independence. 
Bragg says: that he envisages

 Not an English national party, but a party for England of civic nationalism that puts forward the progressive ideas of the SNP. Scottish independence throws up the possibility of a more progressive England,”

he continued 

 “The problem for us from this is that if you’re in England and you want no fees and free prescriptions, who do you vote for? There’s a real problem that’s opening up with that and I worry that the Labour Party will be punished because people won’t vote for it because it hasn’t grasped all this.”

So Bragg sees Scottish Independence  as a catalyst for his "New England" an opportunity for his nation to have a progressive left of centre his nation deserves.

Sadly it is unlikely to come from Labour unless it shakes of both its Blareite  Blue-Labour element but comes to realise that there is a future for the left in England without Scotland  (and even Wales) but it will involve them shaking of their British Nationalism and becoming English progressives.

How mantt "Agency Workers" are there in Wales?

News that Hundreds of jobs at a solar panel factory are set to be lost after electronics firm Sharp announced plans to cease production at its facility in Wrexham, North Wales. Comes as a devastating blow

Bosses at the electrical giant have blamed "unavoidable market conditions" in their decision to cut 250 posts and not to renew around 350 agency workers' contracts.

Company CEO Hiroshi Sasaoka said a 30% drop in the unit price of European solar panels since the start of 2012 had left Wrexham's output uncompetitive in the UK.

This is particularly bad as  the BBC were announcing  in June 2012 that the  company making solar panels was expected to announced that it is planning to move its European HQ from Hamburg in Germany to Wrexham. 

Maybe this was to make it easier to close it down German Law being more protective of its Workforce.

The firm said it was stopping production of solar panels at its Llay factory in February

The company said the decision affecting its Llay factory was "unavoidable" given trading conditions which "left Wrexham's output uncompetitive".

Perhaps one important  fact that we should consider  when looking at this is the fact the majority of people  working at the  Wrexham plant were "Agency  Workers"

Just how typical is that of our manufacturing industry in Wales?.

How many Agency workers or  staff employed on short term contracts by the company themselves do we have here?.

Could it be approaching the majority in manufacturing industries?

Shouldn't the Welsh TUC  research this?

We here much about Zero Contracts but for a lot of people who are on longer contracts usually fortnightly this is the time of year that they are laid off for a short period then reemployed  a week later so the company can claim they are not permanent staff.

What is the longest period that someone has being working in a company on such a basis?

At the same time we need a survey of how many people are on part time contracts who wish to work full time.

So this is a challenge for the Welsh TUC. Sstart this investigation now; Or are you afraid the results will show how little influence you have amongst though involved in these industries.?

Do we need a referendum on powers we won't use.

The result of a referendum on whether the Welsh Government should be able to vary income tax rates up or down would be too close to call, according to an exclusive poll for the Wasting Mule.

The poll – undertaken for the Mule  by Cardiff-based Beaufort Research – showed that 32% of voters would back such a power being devolved to Wales, with 30% against. Some 19% said they would not vote while a further 17% said they didn’t know. 1% of the sample were too young to vote. The figures do not add up to 100% because of rounding.

The 36% who are either Don't knows or simply admit they won't vote is understandable when you consider most of us wil probably find it hard to follow what is going on 

And it is a great pity the Mule does nor tel us what question was asked but a quick search of the Beaufort Website tells us that.

In the latest wave of the Beaufort Wales Omnibus survey, conducted in November, 1,022 adults in Wales aged 16 and over were informed that the UK Government says it will pass a law to enable a referendum to be held on whether the Welsh Government should be able to vary rates of income tax up or down in Wales.  Following this they were then asked “If such a referendum were held tomorrow, how would you vote?” 

To be fair the question is clear enough but maybe it should have had added that the overall Tax rate will not change 

Indeed this has led to Plaid Cymru Treasury spokesman Jonathan Edwards. claiming that No referendum is needed on the proposals to devolve income tax-varying powers to the Assembly, 

The Mule reports that .....

The Carmarthen East & Dinefwr MP argues that the type of powers of offer to Wales are less flexible than those recommended by the cross-party Silk Commission and will not require a public vote.
Instead of giving AMs the ability to vary individual income tax rates as originally proposed, it is expected the legislation anticipated to be unveiled this week will only allow all the rates to be moved up or down together in a “lockstep”.

The  ‘lockstep’ power  is one than exisist in Scotland and in the 14 years that it has been in existence under Labour Led or SNP governments have not been used once.

As Jonathen Edwards says 

“The fact that greater investment powers will be tied to the ‘lock-step’ income tax-sharing arrangement means that Labour are now trapped. There will be a limit on the amount that the Welsh Government can borrow to invest - however, the limit will be much lower unless it adopts the income tax-sharing arrangement.
He continued: “Personally, I do not see the need for a referendum if all we are to get is the lock-step arrangement that will not allow the Welsh Government to realistically vary income tax rates as it is not the original proposal agreed by all the parties...
“As a party, Plaid Cymru will seek to table amendments to the Bill when it is formally debated at Westminster in order to preserve the integrity of the original Silk Commission recommendations which were agreed upon by all the parties in Wales. For us, these are the bare minimum of powers that are needed, and were agreed as a compromise.”

Do we need a referendum on Tax varying powers which are unlikely to be used>

Indeed what's the point unless its a simple symbol of an increased authority  of the assembly.

But there's also the possibility that people will vote NO not because they don't want Tax powers but because they don't see the point of powers that will not be used .

The likelihood is win or lose the referendum turnout will be low unless there's a more substantial change on offer.

Next year Scotland face a referendum on Independence when all we in Wales have is the opportunity to vary some income tax and as I repeat "are unlikely to use".

Says it all really 

Plaid go local in Merionnydd. Aberafan to go for Kinnock Junior (surely not)?

Plaid Cymru has chosen its candidate to contest the Westminster seat of Dwyfor Meirionnydd at the 2015 General Election and it it should barring disasters mean that it will have its first female MP in the Party's History

Liz Saville Roberts has been chosen to contest the seat.

The decision was taken during a hustings meeting in Dolgellau yesterday

Ms Roberts said: 

"I'm extremely pleased to have been chosen and very much look forward to working with Plaid Cymru members in the constituency to secure success in 2015."The hard work starts now throughout the constituency, from Llyn to Meirionnydd

But perhaps more interest might be for us who are political anoraks is that   Neil Kinnock's son, Stephen, is seeking nomination for the Aberafan seat - despite working in Switzerland and having a family in Denmark (he's married to the Danish Prime Minister).

She of the notorious Selfie with Cameron and Obama




It appears, he already has a £500,000 flat in London so he won't have to spend too much time in Wales. So perhaps he might be not claiming a huge living allowance  

Though in 2010 he was investigated by police  Police in Denmark are considering a complaint about the financial affairs 

It must be said that Mr Kinnock, a director of the World Economic Forum in Geneva, probably did not break any rules. 

He was  paying  income tax on his £110,000 salary in Switzerland, where the rate is considerably lower than in Denmark. He told the Danish authorities that he spent no more than 33 weekends, from Friday to Monday, in Denmark each year.

Still it looks like he might be comfortable with the Westminster gravy train .

But surely the last thing Aberafan needs is a Labour apparatchik parachuted in and who has no connection with the constituency and who if elected will have a wife and family in another country.


Stephen Kinnock should not be considered because he is the son of Neil Kinnock nor should ththis preven him from standing but because it is clear that he sees Aberafan as a means of getting his bum on the Gren benches of the House of Commons not because he has a commitment to the people of Aberafan.

Just one thing please do not comment on this over the smears on Stephen Kinnock's sexuality.  I am not interested in this nor do I think they are true or indeed relevant.

For the Unionist grouping Better Together their biggest ally outside the UK is Spanish Prime Minister  Mariano Rajoy,s who back in November aid it was important that Scots were “realistic” about the consequences of a ‘yes’ vote next year and warned against “regions” of member states embarking on “solo adventures”.It became clear  that Rajoy,s,  leader of the governing Peoples Party, main concern was based on his own problems when he vowed vowed to block an attempt by Catalan leaders to hold an independence referendum on November 9, 2014.

A few hours after Catalan political chief Artur Mas unveiled the date and wording of the poll, the Spanish leader refused even to countenance a break-up of the nation.

"It is unconstitutional and it will not take place," Rajoy,s told a news conference.

"This initiative collides head-on with the foundation of the constitution which is the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation," 

Catalan President Artur Mas has announced that the referendum on independence for Catalonia would l be held on November 9th 2014. The referendum will have a double question. The first one will be asking: 

"Do you want Catalonia to become a State?".

 The second one will be asking: 

"Do you want this State to be independent?".

The double question has been agreed by four out of seven political parties in the autonomous Catalan Parliament, including the two largest parties (pro-sovereignity centre-right Convergence and Union, CiU (50 seats), and pro-independence centre-left Republican Left, ERC (21 seats). Two smaller parties (pro-sovereignty ecologist Initiative for Catalonia, ICV (13 seats) , and pro-independence leftist Popular Unity Candidature CUP (3 seats) have also given their support.

Opposed  where the People Party 19 seats ,the Socialist 20 seats and the ani- nationalist Citizens party 9 seats.

So although it was a clear majority 86-48 the Spanish government will try to block any referendum.

These are the friends of Better Together .who whether you support Catalonian Independence or not deny them the right to chose.

Let us here no more from Better Together quoting warnings from a Right Wing Spanish politician on Scotland's place in Europe who deny Catalonia even the right to vote on Independence even though the vast majority of its elected members voted  for one.

Labour set to dominate Welsh Politics for now.

There's a Interesting YouGov pol in the Wasting Mule that shows Labours Hegemony in Wales seemingly unchallenged for the next three elections here

General Election 

Constituency                                        Seats

Lab 46% +10                                          33+7

Con 21% -5                                             3-5

LibDem 12% -12                                     2-1

Plaid % 12% +1                                       2-1                        

Ukip 10%

Assembly

Constituency                  Region      Seats

Lab 43 +1                       40+3           30 Np change

Con 19-6                       19-3.5          11-3

Plaid 20 +1                      15-3           9-2

Lib Dem 9-2                      9+1           5 - No Change

Ukip 7                                10            5 +5

European Elections

Lab 41

Con 20

Lib Dem  8

Plaid 13

Ukip 13

 Such a result would see Labour taking three of the four Welsh seats – up two from 2009 – with the other going to the Conservatives. Both Plaid Cymru and Ukip would lose the seats they currently hold.

There are some oddities in the Polls  Plaid usually do better in the Regional vote for the Assembly yet although its Constituency vote rose slightly its regional vote fell.

You would expect with 10% of the potential vote in the General Election Ukip would do better than 13% in the European Elections.

But it is clear that "Welsh" Labours policy of do nothing and blame everything on Westminster is working 

The dificultiy for Plaid in particular is to expose this but with papers like the Mule seemingly complacent with Labour here its going to be a struggle.