Back with an apology.

I was forced to take a break due to  my previous computer giving up the ghost.

For someone  who is unemployed however despite the fact that my health is not good suffering from Acromegaly which has led to other issues including  Osteoarthritis a computer is something I have to access everyday.

That is because   I have to look for jobs and make applications daily and if I haven't access at home , I have to complete my "agreement" BY  accessing via a Library or my local jobcentre.

I am lucky in that  being 62 I have a Bus Pass so would not see myself paying a daily fare .

Supposing you were forced to attend your local Library or Jobcentre and had to  travel Monday to Friday incurring a cost of a modest £15 a week from already your meagre allowance? How much of a burden would that be?

I was also fortunate in that my local Library  being closed by our Labour council, it has reopened due the valiant effort of our local community.

Readers of this Blog may sense of hypocrisy from this writer, because when it was proposed that  we should seek to retain our Library by staffing it with volunteers , I argued that  I was not taking part in this. Because if it was successful. It would encourage the council to close more Libraries.

 I still worry that might happen but having seen what the people who have taken over the Library have achieved . I have become a volunteer myself .

The Library  has become a hub of our Villages of Beddau and Tynant once again , not  only providing Library and Computer services but a centre for numerous groups and WEA lectures and ironically a place for our local Labour councillors to hold surgeries.

Indeed it is probably more indispensable than it was previously and I must apologise for my failure to join in from the start..

So if you live in a community that is threatened with Libary closures to follow the example of Beddau and seek to take it over.

Because waiting for a change in government or council will not result in your Library being reopened in a few years. 

On another note even if you do have access to a computer at home , you may not be able to afford Microsoft's Office word processing facilities.

There are alternatives  in Apache Open Office  which is free to download and contains nearly everything most of us needs , Word processor, Spreadsheet which are compatible with Microsoft products.


However because such a download can come with some unwanted programmes you may want to copy me and paying £5 or £6 pounds for a disc which will install Office.



 

Taking an enforced break.

My computer has given up the ghost so will be taking few days break. Hope to be back by next week.

Has the Assembly Elections already been eclipsed by BREXIT?

I am inclined  to vote to remain in the EU in the forthcoming Referendum, but it's all due to a gut feeling that despite its many faults it is a bulwark  against giving the Tories Carte Blanche to attack the poor and other social measures.

At the moment we seem to be having a dual Project Fear  and  I find both economic cases unconvincing.

The OUT side seem to have the most odious people in them , but I'm not sure that ,standing with Cameron is the answer  either.

In some ways the fact that I've writing  an indication of the problem  we are going to face in the run up to the BREXIT referendum.

Already the news is full of the referendum  and as a Political Blogger I feel obliged to respond .

But where does this lead to coverage of the Welsh Assembly Election?

Already  the BBC in London or Salford  seem to have spiked any news about the Election here .

Even the media in Wales seem to have decided the Referendum is the  major issue and the Assembly Election coverage reduced to Party press releases.

Since I rely on the Welsh  media coverage to write this Blog , I hope I am not going to find myself commenting on the Referendum debate  even in a Welsh context  because it looks more interesting.

And I admit easier for someone outside the Political  Bubble  to cut and paste interesting articles.

The danger is that in May the Assembly elections become a trial run for the Election before the referendum and this can only benefit OUT campaigners particularly Ukip.

 

Not a brilliant idea.

If England wants a National anthem of their own then good for them, but I am not sure that the views of some English Nationalist will strike a chord in Wales or Scotland.

It seems  that some English Nationalist will  expect us to start singing God save the Queen as well


The website englandinmyheart.com have a letter which reads

Dear MPs
You have a choice, you can play your part in saving the UK or you can continue to pretend that the ‘status quo’ will prevail.
Please allow English sporting fans the chance to sing their National anthem before England plays.
By giving England a voice you will also be giving Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish sporting fans the chance to sing ‘God save the Queen’.
Thank You
England in my Heart

 
 They even have a chart how this might work out.







Their ignorance is shown that they do not seem to have heard of"Ireland's Call" a song commissioned by the Irish Rugby Football Union for use at international Rugby Union matches as while "Amhrán na bhFiann" ("The Soldier's Song") is the national anthem of the Republic of Ireland, its use arouses sensitivities among those with Unionist sympathies in Northern Ireland. Equally, the national anthem of Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, is "God Save The Queen", which is sensitive among those with Nationalist sympathies.

So if they are to be listened to then a Rugby International  Between Wales  and Ireland  would see four Anthems  sang.

Good job neither have a version of the Haka or the players will be on the pitch for ages before the kick off.

This idea reflects a mindset among some in England that they , whilst they need some form of devolution akin to Wales or Scotland, the British State which they unfortunately see  as largely representing English Values and English Nationalism .

I suspect, especially in Football that some other Nations scratch their heads in seeing the Home Nations playing as separate Nations but that could well be turned to resentment as we sing our own anthems and then a UK one even if  one about  an Individual rather than the state.

Even if God Save the Queen  was the only anthem , Like Jeremy Corbyn I would not sing it .

"Long To Rule Over Us" my arse.

Maybe somewhere there are English Nationalist who do not equate UK=England  in their mindsets,  but it looks like Englandinmyheart  are not among them

Irish Election lies in stalemate.

When I was living in London and the Progressive Democrats were looking to be a new force in Irish Politics. A Irish friend claimed that Ireland wast the only country in Europe with three Conservative parties. and he added Irish Labour are not much  of a left party.

The two Major Parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have broadly similar Ideologies and the difference between them goes back to the Irish Civil War 90 years ago.


With 2 seats in dispute the result looks like this

Summary of 26 February 2016 Dáil Éireann election results^[73][74]

Party		Leader	First Pref votes	% FPv	Swing%	Candidates [75]	Elected 2011[75]	Outgoing [n 2]	Elected 2016 [76]	Change [n 3]	% of seats
	Fine Gael	Enda Kenny	544,140	25.5	10.6	88	76	66[n 4]	49[n 4]	17	31%
	Fianna Fáil	Micheál Martin	519,356	24.3	6.9	71	19[n 4]	21	44	23	28%
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	295,319	13.8	3.9	50	14	14	23	9	14.5%
	Labour Party	Joan Burton	140,898	6.6	12.8	36	37	33	6	27	4%
	AAA–PBP	None	84,168	3.9	1.7[n 1]	31	4[n 1]	4	6	2	4%
	Social Democrats	Catherine Murphy Róisín Shortall Stephen Donnelly	64,094	3.0	3.0	14	N/A[n 5]	3	3	New	2%
	Green Party	Eamon Ryan	57,999	2.7	0.9	40	0	0	2	2	1%
	Renua Ireland	Lucinda Creighton	46,552	2.2	2.2	26	N/A[n 5]	3	0	New	0%
	Independents 4 Change[n 6]	None	31,365	1.5	1.5	5	N/A[n 5]	4	4	New	2.5%
	Workers and Unemployed Action	Séamus Healy	7,452	0.3	0.1	1	1	1	1	0	0.5%
	Direct Democracy	Pat Greene	6,481	0.3	0.3	19	N/A[n 5]	0	0	New	0%
	Workers' Party	Michael Donnelly	3,242	0.2	0.1	5	0.0	0	0	0	0%
	Catholic Democrats	Nora Bennis	2,013	0.1		3	0	0	0	0	0%
	Fís Nua	None	1,224	0.1	0.1	2	0	0	0	0	0%
	Irish Democratic Party	Ken Smollen	971	<0 .1="" font="">	0.0	1	N/A[n 5]	0	0	New	0%
	Communist Party	Lynda Walker	185	<0 .1="" font="">		1	0	0	0	0	0%
	Identity Ireland	Peter O'Loughlin	183	<0 .1="" font="">		1	N/A[n 5]	0	0	New	0%
	Independent Alliance[n 6]	None	88,930	4.2	4.2	21	N/A[n 5]	5	6	New	4%
	Independent[n 6]	—	241,833	11.3	0.9	136	14	10	13	3	8%
	Ceann Comhairle	Seán Barrett	N/A	N/A	N/A	1[n 4]	1	1[n 4]	1[n 4]	0	0.5%
Total			2,136,405	100%	—	552[75][n 7]	166	165[n 8]	158	8	100%

At the last General Election Fianna Fáil then in Government took the brunt of the blame for Economic collapse and a Fine Gael coalition took power.


Now Irish politics is in a flux and either a Fine Gael Fianna Fáil or a rainbow coalition that would include Sinn Féin .

For Irish Labour it was a disaster with 6 seats they are short of the 7 needed to get automatic speaking rights in the Dáil Éireann.

Its a lesson for Labour here  Corbyn may not be a winner , but going back to supporting Austerity could be a disater.


For the parties of the Left it is possible that AAA–PBP could increase their number by bringing in some of the Left Wing Independents  like Séamus Healy to give them the numbers they need.
Though the left in the Republic have an unfortunate tendency to fractional.

They did in the last Dáil and they should not miss an opportunity to outflank Labour.

For opponents of STV the Long weekend if counting vote after vote and PR can be be chaotic but at least it’s accurate and a party with less than 40% of the vote doers not find itself with a Majority and claiming a mandate as the Tories have here

With something like 83 seats needed for a majority government Ireland may face weeks of instability as politicians battle to form a government, small parties and independents have claimed almost a fifth of seats and the traditional power-players are losing their hold.

So even another election in a few months may not resolve anything.


Ultimately, however, the chaos is reflective of a European  deep public dissatisfaction with the politics of the last decade. A majority government for either of the largest parties would misrepresent the wishes of the people. Even of those who wish to see stable government.

Remember Crabs move sideways.

 To BBC Wales's  credit they have simplified the details that may be changed in the latest clutch of Devo Dibyn Bach that Welsh Secretary  Stephen Crab has promised to look in to after the overwhelming criticism of his latest Bill

The Beeb points to  three specific areas which have attracted criticism (in Blue):

• The size and content of the reservation list: The reservation list is pretty sizeable, with at least 260 reservations in the bill. There were concerns it was too long, and first minister Carwyn Jones complained of "anomalies" among the individual powers. For instance, the list would withhold licensing opencast mining to Westminster, but devolve land restoration.

 Mr Crabb will now ook at shortening the reservation list. Though before we applaud we should make sure its a case of quality and not quantity in the powers that are devolved. We should compare and contrast with then list of powers devolved to Northern Ireland.

• Minister of crown consents: This is where Welsh ministers must seek consent from UK ministers for new Assembly laws which affect something the UK government remains responsible for. They exist already where Assembly laws put duties on non-devolved bodies. But there were fears that the way they are implemented in the draft bill gives rise to an "English veto" on Welsh laws, as Mr Jones suggested, with the consents effectively extended.

 Mr Crabb says he will look at passing control for some of these consents, relating to responsibilities that step into devolved territory still held by UK ministers, to Wales though once again he,s talking about "some" of these consents and we need to make sure that he's not throwing us a few bones . We should also again compare and contrast with the situation in the other devolved legislatures.

• Necessity tests: These would be needed to be passed if the assembly would make changes to criminal or civil law to enforce its new laws. The assembly would need to show the new law was necessary to perform a devolved function. This was needed, the UK government argued, to preserve the single jurisdiction between England and Wales while allowing the assembly to still make effective laws. There were concerns that the test would reduce the assembly's ability to make law, create complexity and uncertainty, give rise to legal challenges and even freeze policy development.

It appears the necessity test will not happen, and Mr Crabb though , though of course we will have to look at the details of the Welsh Secretary proposals. He may well come up with some other form designed to retain  a Westminster overview of the Welsh Government Legislation, He's  a Tory politician and die hard Unionist after all.

Mr Crabb  also launched a working group to look at distinct arrangements needed for the growing body of Welsh law - but has stopped short of backing a separate Welsh legal jurisdiction.

La Pasionaris the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats  writing  on the Subordinate Central Blog seems to believe that Mr Crabb has indicated that anything coming out of such a working party  will need another referendum.

She writes...

For such a major and complicated issue, it is understandable that the UK Government wants to establish a working group to look potential changes to the legal jurisdiction. However, it is quite frankly absurd that the Secretary of State believes this issue would require a referendum.
Having rightly removed the need for a referendum on tax varying powers, it is nothing short of bizarre to suggest another one. The last thing the people of Wales want is yet another technical referendum on the constitution.

If this is the case then Ms Williams is right in her disdain , but considering already had  we have had the Silk Commission   looking into some of this perhaps Mr Crabb should do some do some late night reading of the report , rather than than set up another bloody Committee.

We must remember that Crabs tend to move sideways in their movement and its possible if not probable the Welsh Secretary will try and do the same.