Show me the Money.

The Wasting Mule  reports that s huge new row has erupted over the funding of the HS2 London to the north of England rail project, with Plaid Cymru claiming Wales will miss out on a share of £80bn.

 According to Plaid Treasury spokesman Jonathan Edwards, the Welsh Government has done nothing over the last three years to secure cash for Wales from the Treasury following spending on the project in England.

 Earlier this year, Plaid Treasury spokesman Jonathan Edwards wrote to the First Ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland asking them to consider opposing the HS2 project if the devolved nations did not all receive financial compensation.

 In his letter of response on June 2 2015, Mr Jones said the Welsh Government had “made representations to the UK Treasury previously about High Speed Rail funding.”

 The First Minister concluded that his government would

  “continue to press Wales’ case on this issue of High Speed Rail ...aiming to ensure that all parts of the UK receive full consequentials arising from decisions about High Speed Rail.”

 

Which  seems to show the  Welsh  Government are working behind the scenes 

However  Mr Edwards claimed a series of Parliamentary questions and a Freedom of Information response revealed that the Welsh Government had made no formal representations to any UK Government Minister or Department over the last three years.

The Plaid MP Edwards said:

 “In the Assembly chamber, in television interviews and in newspaper articles Labour elected members and spokespeople from Wales are misleading the public over their support for our nation getting a fair share of this enormous rail investment project in England.

“It’s bad enough that Labour MPs from Wales supported the project despite being fully aware that it will suck hundreds of millions of pounds out of the Welsh economy each and every year.

“Now, however, the First Minister and his party have been exposed as having done nothing to back up their rhetoric.

“Indeed, I would say that the First Minister, including in his letter to me, has tried to pull the wool over our eyes.

“With every week that passes more and more people recognise that there will be a huge injustice unless Wales gets fairness from HS2.

“The reality is that the Labour Party supports HS2 and the Welsh branch office will always put the interests of the Labour party before the interests of Wales.”

But the real scandal is we are not getting extra money because e if the weakness of devolution 

as the Mule puts it 

According to the UK Government’s statement of funding policy, Scotland and Northern Ireland will receive 100% ‘Barnett consequentials’ as a result of the cash being spent on HS2, while Wales will receive 0%.

Under the Barnett Formula, which determines how much Treasury money is allocated to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the three smaller nations are meant to get compensated for cash spent on England-only projects.

However, since spending on rail projects is not devolved to Wales, the Welsh Government is not entitled to ‘Barnett consequential’ funding in the same way as Scotland and Northern Ireland.

It means that the term of England and Wale  applies  in which what is good for England is always perceived to be good for Wales even if we can't see it.

It is similar to the England and Wales cricket board which suggest a form of equality but when have you  ever heard a Test Team  referred to England and Wales even when they ate loosing?

So is Wales loosing out as Jonathan Edwards and Plaid Claim?

I don't know if the Labour spokesman that the  Mail always find to repudiate Plaid claims is the same person every time but i sometime wonder if he siting in an office in the Mules HQ.

anyway this spokesman for Carwyn Jones was given the last word as usual concluding  the article

Plaid Cymru have fallen asleep on this issue – they are way behind the curve.

“Their propensity for getting things wrong on funding just shows they can’t be trusted with the Welsh economy.

“These particular claims are, again, nonsense.


“Welsh Ministers have made representations to the UK Government to ensure Wales gets its fair share of additional funding as a result of HS2.

“As a result, Wales will receive a Barnett consequential of more than £755m over the next five years because of increased UK Department for Transport budgets, a consequence of the investment being made in HS2.

“However, we have long been of the view that the Barnett Formula itself does Wales no favours and have repeatedly called for fair funding.

“We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to a ‘funding floor’ to deliver fair funding for Wales as part of the Spending Review, and await the details.”

 Which appears clear cut but if this was really the case didn't you thing Tory MPs and AMs would be crowing over this claiming that they had secured extra funding for this?

 Maybe Labour are right but its very odd that there hasn't been a bigger thing of this so forgive me if I appear cynical .

But Labour in Wales were silent over the under funding of Wales during the Blair/Brown years and do not seem to be over enthusiastic  over calling for this under funding under the Tories.

We can only wonder why?

 

 

Dual Candidates for the Welsh Assembly? Solve it with STV.

Welsh Conservative candidates are being stopped from running in both constituency and regional lists for next year’s Assembly election , it has emerged. 

In 2011 the Tory party lost its Assembly leader Nick Bourne after the party won an extra constituency seat in his region. 

Its rather curious in that the Tories had restored  the rules that allowed people to stand in both  a constituency and regional seat 

A Welsh Conservative source in the Assembly said: 

“It’s been our policy, since Labour a decade ago took a vindictive decision to ban dual candidacy, to oppose its removal.


“We successfully took that argument to the last UK Government and the Secretary of State.
“They agreed, and incorporated the restoration of dual candidacy in the Wales Act 2014.”

However the Wasting Mule claims that 

However, it seems that view is not shared by the Welsh Conservatives’ party board, which agreed the ban.
The source argued that people who took the decision understood how to fight a UK General Election, but did not understand the intricacies of an Assembly election.

In his Blog Liberal Democrat Peter Black writes

 Those suggesting that these two positions are incompatible are missing the point. The injustice was in restricting candidates from making a choice and preventing them engaging in what are two inter-related but distinctive electoral processes. In this case the Welsh Conservatives have made a choice. Others may decide otherwise.
Indeed there are members of other parties who will fight both constituency and list. I am not one of those. I will have represented South Wales West for seventeen years come next May. My role as a regional Assembly Member is as valid and equal to that of a constituency AM. I will be emphasising that by standing solely on the list.
To have stood as a constituency AM as well would have been to do a disservice to those of my constituents living in other parts of the region. That is my view and relates solely to me and the role I have carved out for myself. Others will have done the job differently and will wish to reflect that in their choices.
The last Government of Wales Act made all these options available. It was the right thing to do. So let us not denigrate anybody who chooses to do something different.

I find myself in the strange position of agreeing with Peter  in that it should be open left to Parties whether they fight both a constituency and list seat.

Though taking in account the Lib Dems position in the Polls Peter would be unlikely to gain many votes in a constituency within his region and his own regional seat may well be lost.


But surely the biggest problem is that a Party could avoid standing in all of the Constituencies in the Region and just have candidates on the Regional list .
Could we see Parties getting elected to the assembly who do not fight a single Regional seat .

But the Nick Bourne example is a lesson in point . we need to get the best possible of the various Party candidates elected .

Supposing for instance Leanne Wood was to fail in the Rhondda and was barred from the Regional List and Plaid did better in other constituencies  winning one or two .She could end up without a seat.

I don't know if  Peter Blacks Assembly Leader will fight a dual candidacy but even Kirsty Williams most furious critics should agree to lose "La Pasionaria" from the Assembly would be a pity.

but the real sad thing is all this arguing  and Party Games could be solved if we introduced Single Transferable Votes for Assembly (STV)and I for one am getting rather tired of pointing out the bleeding obvious.
In which case this is not a Top Up.

 

Farage clouds real concerns over postal voting.

It is rather typical of Nigel Farage that he managed to revert to racism  after lashing out at constituencies where people "don't speak English" for ruining the electoral system, in the wake of Ukip suffering poor results in the Oldham West by-election.

His Party however have a History of claiming votes were rigged .. Ukip voters have vented  their frustration at Nigel Farage's loss in South Thanet  in May's General Election by claiming to vote was rigged to keep him out of parliament.

Angry Ukippers are used  #ThanetRigged to claim the party taking the council but losing in the general election is proof of some shady goings-on.

Some party faithful are claimed local conspiracy because the count took hours longer than usual, and coupled with Ukip's shock council poll victory on the same day at Thanet, obviously suggests someone is having them on.

Of course in Thanet  Farage's party cannot revert to crude racist point scoring but  stil cannot accept they lost and lok to a conspiracy

Following a convincing Labour win in the Greater Manchester constituency, the Ukip leader insisted that an “impeccable” source had evidence that the postal vote for the by-election was “bent”.

He tweeted:

Nigel FarageVerified account‏@Nigel_Farage

As a veteran of over thirty by-elections I have never seen such a perverse result. Serious questions need to be asked.

• RETWEETS597
• LIKES646
• 

4:33 PM - 3 Dec 2015

 

 

 

Nigel FarageVerified account‏@Nigel_Farage

Evidence from an impeccable source that today's postal voting was bent.

• RETWEETS783
• LIKES691
• 

5:01 PM - 3 Dec 2015

 

 

 

Farage repeated the complaints on BBC Radio 4, adding that “ethnic changes” in the country were also contributing to a situation where “the electoral process is now dead”.

Speaking on the Today programme, he said that Ukip would be making a formal complaint.

He said:

 “I’ve been in 30 by-elections and no result has shocked me quite as much as this one.“Some very odd things happened yesterday.“There was a 5% increase in the number of postal votes yesterday.”

He claimed that there were “bundles of postal votes being delivered on behalf of other people”, and compared the process to what happened in Birmingham and Tower Hamlets votes.

Farage added that he believed that “ethnic changes” were also having an effect on results, claiming that people who “can’t speak English” and “haven't even heard of Jeremy Corbyn” were still voting for Labour.

The reality in Oldham however was that Labour were better organised than al the other Party's in Thanet ,had more troops on the ground and knew how to organise  the postal votes in the way they used to collect people in cars  and deliver them to the voting station.

This does not mean that our postal voting system should not bear examined.

It used to be an old joke in Northern Ireland as Parties supporters were urged to

"Vote early and vote often"

Reflecting the use of impersonation  at the polling Station where it is claimed people who were still on the electoral register who had died or were unable to get to the polling station voted.

Labours win on Thursday was probably as I said due to their organisation  but it is a concern that the system  of postal votes cannot guarantee that the person filing in the ballot paper  was not the one who applied for the vote.

I doubt that this could make a huge difference in a parliamentary election and Labour's margin of victory was so large it would have led to a level of corruption that would be easily exposed.

We must not let Farage use of crude racial stereotyping to divert us from questioning whether the current postal voting system is fit for purpose in a democratically run election.

Accusations of abuse after a vote? Looks familiar.

 it just me or is there a bit of deja vu  after a fresh row erupted over alleged bullying of MPs who voted to bomb so-called Islamic State in Syria?

Its al very  renouncement of the accusations laid against YES supporters in the Scottish Referendum seeing them labelled as Cybernats.

Labour will not accept abuse and intimidation "from whatever quarter it comes", Jeremy Corbyn has warned.

Labour MP Neil Coyle told MailOnline he had reported a threatening tweet to the police.

Chris Bryant MP spoke in the Commons Yesterday asking for security to be reviewed for MPs and their families.he Rhondda MP and the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons had voted in favour of air strikes.

He said: 

“Several members have had their officers barricaded. One member had her house surrounded. Many had photos of dead babies pushed through their front door at home. I gather today some members have received photographs of severed heads.
"MPs have broad shoulders, of course they do. But I ask on the leader to review the arrangements of members homes and officers. It’s not just about members but their families.”

 There have also been calls for deselection from Left Wing groups






 and emails to MPs who voted with the government
 

But I wonder is the worst examples that have been shown by the Media and honest criticism is being lumped with them .

Is it anyway just a temporary increase in the abusive  crap elected officials have to put up with every day?

Or the sort of attacks those opposed to the bombing have to put up with from the likes of the Sun and Daily Mail?


I deplore such abuse from both sides but its beginning to look like there an organised establishment campaign to pick appalling examples and Label all tar all of its opponents with the same brush.

 Or have I just become "a conspiracy theorist "?
 

How Welsh MPs voted on Syria

MPs have backed air strikes on so-called Islamic State militants in Syria by a large majority, with Labour split on the issue.

Twenty of Wales' 25 Labour MPs joined the three Plaid Cymru MPs and sole Liberal Democrat  in rejecting the plan.

Shadow cabinet member Chris Bryant and junior spokesmen Wayne David and Stephen Doughty were the most prominent Welsh Labour MPs for military action.
All 11 Welsh Tory MPs supported Prime Minister David Cameron's proposals.

Against

Labour
Nia Griffith  Llanelli
Owen Smith.Pontypridd
Kevin Brennan, Cardiff
Geraint Davies,  Swansea West
Chris Evans, Islwyn
David Hanson, Delyn
Paul Flynn Newport West
Carolyn Harris Swansea East
Huw Irranca-Davies, Ogmore
Gerald Jones, Merthyr
Stephen Kinnock, Aberavon
Ian Lucas, Wrexham
Madeleine Moon, Bridgenf
Christina Rees Neath
Jo Stevens, Cardiff Central
Nick Smith, Blaneau Gwent
Mark Tami Alyn and Deeside
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Torfaen
Jessica Morden Newport East
Albert Owen. Ynys Mon

Liberal Democrat

Mark Williams, .
Plaid Cymru

Jonathan Edwards Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
Hywel Williams Arfon
Liz Savile Roberts Dwyfor Meirionnydd


Against

Chris Bryant Rhondda
Wayne David Caerphily
Stephen Doughty Cardiff North
Susan Elan-Jones Clwyd South


Conservative

Guto Bebb Aberconwy
Alun Cairns Vale of Glamorgan
Stephen Crabb Preseli Pembrokeshire
Byron Davies Gower
Christopher Davies Brecon and Radnorshire
David Davies Monmouth
Glyn Davies Montgomeryshire
James Davies  Vale of Clwyd
Simon Hart Carmarthen West and Pembrokeshire  South
David Jones Clwyd West
Craig Williams Cardiff North

Cynon Valley MP Ann Clwyd was absent from the vote due to illness.

 

Cameron "terrorist sympathisers" slur makes him more despicable than Blair.

David Cameron  seems to have repeated the slur that  to vote against  tomorrow's crunch vote over bombing Isil in Syria means that MPs opposed to him are "terrorist sympathisers"
  

You should not be walking through the lobbies with Jeremy Corbyn and a bunch of terrorist sympathisers,”

 the prime minister reportedly told the committee.


The Prime Minister t made the comment during a meeting with his backbenchers as he tried to tighten up support for extending military action.
MPs are due to vote tomorrow (Wednesday) on whether to allow UK planes to bomb Isil targets in Syria, as well as Iraq.

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It is looking increasingly likely that the Conservatives, who have a majority of just 12 in the Commons, will need MPs from other parties to back the plan in order to get it through the Commons.


It is an outrages slur but it shows that Cameron's enthusiasm for bombing Syria is more about enhances his popularity with the electorate /

It can not be anything but a despicable ploy  to hold the debate and vote on the eve of the Oldham byelection in that a defeat to Ukip would further increase divisions in Labour

Whatever you views on Military Action  it should be considered on its merit and to risk the lives of young men and women for a short term political gain.

Just as om of his predecessors did but even he as not so despicably opportunist.

 

I urge all MPs not to vote for foolhardy vanity ploy which will consist of only  16 Tornadoes  and Typhoons targeting both Syria and Iraq in order tho claim Britain is a major world power or even worse be a deliberate  attempt by the Prime Minister like Tony Blair before him give the impression he is an Important figure in World politics.

Now you can add equating opponents as "terrorist sympathisers,” for political advantage to the list.

All the Military Inventions in the Middle East have turned into a disaster and made the World a more dangerous place .




 

Staying in the EU to presevre another Union?

Today's  Wasting Mule Former plays on Home Secretary Alan Johnson launch today Labour’s campaign to keep the UK in the EU. claiming that  the forthcoming  EU referendum may trigger a constitutional crisis which could lead to the United Kingdom breaking apart and threaten “Britain’s very existence”.

according to the Mule

The 65-year-old ex-postman does nothing to play down the potential consequences of a UK exit and warns of the danger of “perishing by plebiscite”.

He can see the makings of a crisis if Wales or Scotland vote to remain in the EU but the UK is taken out on the back of English votes

He said: 

“I don’t think there’s many people who doubt if Britain votes to come out of Europe Scotland will vote to come out of Britain. That’s just the catalyst that Scottish Nats would need.
“And to be fair, if I was living in Scotland [and] Scotland voted decisively to stay in and the rest of Britain voted to come out, I think that would really cause a constitutional crisis.”

 Which appears to suggest he would if a Scottish resident he would support Independence in these circumstances.


It could of course be a simple ploy to argue that in order  to preserve the Union  people in England  would choose to remain in the European Union

 The Future of England Survey  in  2014 found that people south of the border are overwhelmingly against Scotland leaving the UK, with 59 per cent saying they would like the Union to stay intact and only 19 per cent favouring separation. there was also a feeling that  Scotland should ber punished.


And given the attitude of the "English" media  to the Scots voting for what they appear to be the equivalent of the Mau Mau  in   giving the SNP a Landslide in  May . I suspect the Media  will whip up such English Nationalism  with the attitude of "How dare Scotland have a say in this referendum" they won't of course claim that the EU is about England's future but that's what they mean.

This is not an Anti-English attack from me they are free to vote for  what is best for their Nation as we in Wales and those in Scotland are.


Unfortunately Wales appears to be more or less going to vote on similar lines to England and not have a distinctive  voice.


But Scotland  at the moment seems to be more likely to vote to stay in the EU which as they will not have a veto  lead more to question their place in the other Union.