Wasp complaining that it was stung by a Bee..

A recent tweet from Lee Canning  former Deputy Chairman of the "Welsh Tories" has caused bit of a stir

It appears that Mr Canning along with two other members , who were calling for the Abolitionism of the Assembly , were confronted by a number YES Cymru supporters , who questioned their reasons for being there.
Nazis's , But it part of the Far Right  propaganda  to claim the Nazi's  were "Socialists"  a case of getting your fascist allegations in first.

What it is is a Wasp complaining that it was stung by a Bee.


In what appears to be webpage by Abolish the Assembly Party Mr Canning, was described thus.

Lee has been a member of the Conservative Party for 17 years and is currently deputy Chairman of The Welsh Conservatives.
Lee was a former chairman with the Tax Payers Alliance Wales (TPA) and also the former chairman of Business for Britain Wales during the 2016 leave campaign.
For many years Lee has actively supported many Conservative candidates throughout Wales, in Council, Assembly and Westminster elections.
We are looking forward to Lee representing The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party in a key target seat in the upcoming Welsh Assembly elections of 2021.
As a Unionist Lee feels that The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party is the only Party that supports the UK and our sense of what it means to be British.
The abolition of the Welsh Assembly will save Welsh tax payers £Bns and bring greater prosperity to Wales. With the Welsh Assembly staff and buildings alone wasting over £100m per year, that money could be spent on protecting frontline services and improving Welsh infrastructure.
Lee, 35 moved to Wales 17 years ago for University, where he met his wife Sara and they now have a family together.
Lee is small business owner working with businesses throughout Wales.
‘Abolishing the Assembly will not only strengthen our position in a more dynamic United Kingdom but will also ensure all of us in Wales are freed from the Bureaucrats of Cardiff Bay.’

The blog OF WALES & THE WELSH seems to be  full of conspiracy theories and may be best avoided.

 So So not only a former Tory but a former of The Tax Payers Alliance , a shadowy organisation that does not diagnose where it gets its funding , but yet often gets airspace where it gey it's funding.

Mr Canning has lived in Wales  for 17 years so has no knowledge of Wales before the Assembly, but that's not going to stop him. 

Total Hypocrisy from Welsh Tories plans to decrease the assembly budget.

Like many rightwing parties the Tories , promise to cut government expenditure , whilst spending more , reduce taxes whilst increasing the likes of NHS

Boris Johnson ( or his speechwriter) has urged the Welsh Conservatives to build on their general election success to take power in Wales at next year's Senedd election.

The BC report that 

He told activists in Llangollen the Tories were a great one-nation party representing deprived communities as well as leafy suburbs and market towns.
"We speak proudly now for people whose families have never voted Conservative for generations," he said.
"We will represent them well and we will repay their trust."
The Conservatives won six seats from Welsh Labour in December, giving it 14 MPs in Wales and its best result since 1983.
Mr Johnson pledged to invest in education, infrastructure and technology to "spread opportunity" and "transform the fortunes of our entire country".
He said it was "not just the right thing to do, but the economically smart thing to do".
Looking ahead to the Senedd election, Mr Johnson said it would be "fantastic" to have a Welsh Government that properly served the interests of the people of Wales, instead of Labour under First Minister Mark Drakeford.
"Let's get ready for 2021 and let's make sure Paul Davies and his team show the desiccated Corbynista Drakeford where to get off," he said.
Welsh Conservatives in power would deliver vital transport improvements he claimed were being ignored by Welsh Labour, such as the case for an M4 relief road rejected by Mr Drakeford.
Referring to the regularly congested Brynglas tunnels in Newport, Mr Johnson said: "Let's unblock the nostrils of the Welsh dragon with the Vicks inhaler of one-nation Welsh Conservative can-do spirit."

 SoJohnson tells us that a Tory Welsh Government would build an M4 extention whilst ignoring the £Bns of underinvestnent in Wales' rail network which UK Gov IS responsible for. and making us pay for H2 for which we get no benefit

Meanwhile one of the two branch managers (the other being Welsh Secretary Simon Hart), the Tories' assembly group leader Paul Davies pledged to "end the assembly gravy train" if they win power at the 2021 Senedd election.

He pledged to halve the number of Welsh ministers to seven, freeze civil servant recruitment and not increase the budget of the body which runs the assembly
"We will not be abolishing the assembly, but we need to listen more" to those who wanted the Senedd scrapped, he said.lThe party, he said, was "within a hair's breadth of putting an end to Labour's grip on power".
In his speech, Mr Davies said that the 20th anniversary of devolution marked "20 years of failure" for many people.
He compared "elites" in Cardiff Bay to Brussels, saying many people felt remote from power.
But he said it was Labour, not devolution, that had failed and the Conservatives had consistently criticised the Welsh Government's record on public services such as health and education.

The Labour Party, Mr Davies said, had wasted money on Cardiff Airport, a Pinewood film studio and the Circuit of Wales race track project.
He promised a Welsh Conservative government would upgrade the A55, build an M4 relief road and double investment in flood defences.
In a message to First Minister Mark Drakeford he added: "I'm telling you Mark, your time is up. I'm coming for you."
Meanwhile Welsh Secretary Simon Hart told party members their party was "an unstoppable force" after the general election victory, claiming Paul Davies had a "realistic chance" of becoming first minister in 2021.
On Welsh Labour, Mr Hart said: "For a government to be in office every year for 22 years cannot be healthy".

Yes here we go "elites in power in Cardiff bay from the party led by Public School/Oxbridge graduates at Westminster ans continue to swell the ranks of the House of Lords making it the biggest legislature in the World after India.

The Drain the Swamp claims often from those who end up replacing it with a cesspit.

Paul Davies can start bystoping his group  eight out of 12 Tory AMs who employ family members

Almost a third of Assembly Members employ family members or relatives of another AM 
.
Compare this with Plaid Cymru have imposed a party ban on employing family members since 2016 and as a result none of their 10 AMs employs a family member
.
Tory AM Mohammed Asghar employs his wife and daughter on a part-time basis. it was Ashgar, who defected from Plaid Cymru because they refused to let him employ his daughter.

Tory group leader Paul Davies employs Tory AM Suzy Davies’s son as a senior press officer as well as another Tory AM’s wife as a researcher.

It’s estimated that the combined wages for these family members, some of whom are employed on a part-time basis, would amount to around £500,000 a year with AMs’ staff earning between £18,000 and £39,000 annually.

Total Hypocrisy . Cut the Senedd budget whilst lining their own pockets.

It's a cynical attempt to gain the vote of those seeking to Abolish the Assembly . whilst gaining power .

Why doesn't Paul Davies campaign to abolish the Welsh Office and end the duality of jobs.

Why doesn't he point out that after devolution , many Ministers at Westminster have less responsibility and are effectively English Minister , is that not a case of reducing ministers in Westminster,?

“I’m not convinced there is a case for an England-only parliament,” he said. “We have an England-only parliament. It’s in Westminster"

Boris Johnson. 

Has devolution seen reduction in Civil servants who now only deal with England or better still reducing the Cabinet  number and junior minister in England only cabinets.

Of course not.

"United Kingdom Day" . The Last Hurrah of Empire .

The idea  that the e UK  have a day off in June after the creation of a new bank holiday to celebrate Brexit clears its first parliamentary hurdle is  nauseating.

Pro-Brexit Tory backbencher Peter Bone has led calls for a United Kingdom Day to celebrate Brexit, the Union and the Queen.

His proposed bank holiday would fall on the Friday nearest to June 23 - the date of the EU referendum in 2016 - and could also mark the Queen's birthday and coronation anniversary, both of which fall in June.The Bill was introduced without a vote, with a second reading scheduled for June 26, which Mr Bone said would happen to be United Kingdom Day if it existed.

It has little chance of making further progress in its current form without Government backing.

It's not a new ideas In June 2008,inder the Labour overnment  Immigration Minister Liam Byrne suggested the "August bank holiday" to be made a weekend of national celebration in a speech to Labour Party and think tank Progress. However, Scotland's August bank holiday is held on a different date from that in Wales and England. He later retracted this—after pressure from the Scottish National Party (SNP) – saying he was merely trying to "get the debate started". Angus Robertson MP and Westminster SNP group leader stated "Labour's cack-handed attempts to resuscitate a British 'national' identity are just desperate, motivated by self interest rather than national interest"

However Brexit has  revived the whole latent British/English Nationalism  and not withstanding that two of the Four Nations (Scotland, Northern Ireland) actually voted remain and are likely to leave the UK sooner than later there are some who would like to make this  "Last Hurrah of Empire"

It was noticeable that Pater Bone who despite little connection to Wales unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary seat of Islwyn in the South Wales valleys at the 1992 general election against the then Leader of the Opposition Neil Kinnock. He subsequently fought the European Parliament election in 1994 for Mid and West Wales coming third and suffering a swing against his party of 7.5%. was the main spokesperson for this  and that he chose to do so in the first Weeks of March in which Wales (St David  March 1st)  Cornwall (St Piran  March 5th) and Norhern Ireland (St Patrick March 17th) celebbrate thier National Day.

If the (Last Hurrah of Empire ) actually occurs, I of course do not suggest that we carry a pocket lighter with us to set alight any "Butchers Apron" we come across ( They would be probably inflammable anyway),  but instead we make sure that we identify with our own Nation and Fly the Ddraig Goch, Salitre. Cornish and Irish Flags  to show we don't ourselves us British , but see ourselves not in a Union , but a forced marriage.

Labour minister who told Conservative AM that she was not worthy of an answer to a question

At both the Assembl/Senedd and Westminster the problem from the Prime Minister and First Minister down,  of them not  directly answering questions persists .

But this is a new low,

BBC News says. that.

A Labour minister who told a Conservative AM that she was not worthy of an answer to a question has apologised to the assembly.But Janet Finch-Saunders said it was disappointing Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths has not said sorry to her personally.Ms Griffiths refused to answer a question in the Senedd from Ms Finch-Saunders about flooding last week.A spokesman for the Welsh Government said it had nothing further to add.Last week the Aberconwy AM pressed Ms Griffiths on the time taken for financial help to be announced for people affected by Storm Ciara.In an angry response, the rural affairs minister objected to Ms Griffith's tone, adding: "You can smirk Janet Finch Saunders, I'm not even going to look at you."I fact, deputy presiding officer, I don't think she's worthy of an answer.Deputy Presiding Officer Ann Jones, who was overseeing the proceedings, said "okay, fine", and called the next AM with a question..In a letter to the Aberconwy AM, Ms Jones said she had spoken to the minister and "emphasised that discourteous conduct towards other members is not acceptable"."The minister has apologised and I have accepted her apology on behalf of the assembly," Ms Jones wrote.She added that she had asked the minister to provide a written answer to questions that were not addressed, "and I understand the minister will offer you an apology".Ms Griffiths did write to Ms Finch-Saunders on 3 March, but did not apologise in the letter."She has a duty to respond to the scrutiny and challenge posed," the Tory AM said.Ms Finch-Saunders said the lack of an apology was "disappointing" and it would have been in Ms Griffith's interest to apologise directly.She said she would be seeking an apology through the Presiding Officer, Elin Jones.

Why  Deputy Presiding Officer Ann Jones did not  directly admonish , the minster then and there  is a mute point , though she is a Labour Member.s to ensure that minsters answer questions made to them and not evade them.

Prime Minister/ First Minister  Question Time is a farce , and I can't remember when opposition questions are answered .

Instead we get either rambling blather ot attacks on the politics of the party asking the question..

The fact that Ms Finch-Saunders, is a Tory should not distract ,from this appalling behaviour from both thr Minster and indeed Deputy Presiding Officer .

It's not only Opposition Members who need to be treated with respect it's the voters who ned answers to thier concerns as wel...

Having to watch Midsommer Murder instead of Wales V England in the future.

Even if Rugby is not as dominant  over football in Cymru , then the whole idea that !Six Nations organisers said they "would not rule anything out" after reports the tournament would no longer be on free-to-air television from 2022.

The BBC who understandably  may be biased say .

The television rights are shared between the BBC and ITV, but it appears a joint bid may not be allowed when the deal ends in 2021.The Rugby Paper reported on Saturday that the championship would go behind a paywall on Sky.But a Six Nations statement said any speculation was "highly premature"."Six Nations are in the process of seeking bids for various sets of media rights but these are not due for some time," the statement read."All of this is highly premature and speculative as no proposals have yet been received by any interested party."We would not rule anything out at this stage and the unions will collectively review and make a decision based on the nature of the offers received."England's home games were on Sky from 1997 to 2000, but Six Nations games have been free-to-air since then.A BBC spokesperson said: "While we wouldn't comment on the specifics of an ongoing rights negotiation, terrestrial channels have brought unprecedented viewing figures to the Six Nations, ensuring that rugby remains a sport that is very much relevant and enjoyed by as wide an audience as possible and we very much hope that will continue."A motion to keep the Six Nations on free-to-air TV has been tabled in parliament by Kevin Brennan, Labour MP for Cardiff West.In February, the Guardian reported that the deal to sell a stake of the tournament to private equity firm CVC is being held up by the home unions' desire to keep the Six Nations on terrestrial television.Leader of Plaid Cymru Adam Price has written to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Oliver Dowden asking for the tournament to be protected on terrestrial television on the grounds that it is an "integral part of Welsh culture and identity".Under the Broadcasting Act 1996, a series of "Group A" sporting events were listed which must stay on free-to-air television. These include the FA Cup final, the Grand National and the Olympic Games.A DCMS spokesperson said: "Our listed events regime strikes a balance between retaining free-to-air sports events for the public while allowing rights holders to negotiate agreements in the best interests of their sport. Negotiations on television rights are a matter for the sports authorities and broadcasters."

Imagine those on low wages , or the infirm for who even going to the pub to watch Waled V England for a Grand Slam decided  , is not on . as it is either too expensive or too far away (or both)

You can't even guarantee that every club or pub will themselves afford to pay for view (probably having to pay more. so even the current pint and half time meal may not be an option for some.

Whatever you think of Brian Moore as a Rugby pundit and I like him , he is often on the side of the Angels when it comes to political comments  and he hits the nail on the head when it comes to "pay for view.

As he says.

Rugby has no obligation to CVC and talk of a TV paywall – it cannot afford to get this decision wrong
There is a plan afoot to take the Six Nations behind Sky’s satellite TV paywall and to prevent terrestrial broadcasters ITV and the BBC from combining their bids, a mechanism which has kept the tournament free to air.
Let me declare an interest: I have, for 20 years, worked on the BBC’s Six Nations coverage as a pundit and a co-commentator. That said, this is a small minority of my total income, the vast majority of which comes from private media outlets. I have no reason to advocate for public over private media, unless I believe it to be in rugby’s best interests, which in this case I firmly do.
From where has this initiative come? This is rumoured to be at the prompting of CVC Capital Partners, a private equity firm which has its headquarters in Luxembourg. Amongst a myriad of investments, it is widely reported that CVC has bought a £120 million stake in the Pro14, a 27 per cent holding in Premiership Rugby and is seeking to finalise a £300 million deal to obtain a 14 per cent stake in the Six Nations. It also, notably, has an 80 per cent stake in Sky’s betting and gaming company.
The first point to make is that CVC has no track record in rugby and has previously expressed no interest in it as a sport. If its recent ownership of Formula One is anything to go by, it appears to be interested only on its return on investment. In 2016, the then deputy team principal of Force India summed up everything about the firm’s relationship with F1 in a single sentence: “All their actions have been taken to extract as much money from the sport as possible and put as little in as possible.”
In 2014, it is reported they took in £347 million from a turnover of £1.25 billion, at that point representing a return on investment of more than 350 per cent. Between 2010 and 2019, F1’s viewing numbers are said to have fallen 137 million globally.
Rugby is not like football. It is a minority sport which needs money and exposure even to stand still in the battle to survive. If you doubt this, look at what happened to cricket in the decade after 2005 when it left free-to-air television. The England and Wales Cricket Board announced record turnover, profit and investment in the game and a near 30 per cent drop in participation numbers. There is no reason to think the same would not happen in rugby.
Whilst CVC have invested a lot of money, they do not own a majority stake in any rugby competition. Why are they being treated as majority owners and seemingly being unchallenged over where these contracts are awarded?
The Six Nations is an extraordinary entity. Audiences of up to nine million, year on year, for a minority sport are unprecedented. Many of these viewers are not regular rugby fans, because if they were, rugby would be the national sport. They will not pay to watch in any guise and live viewing numbers will plummet. Take just one example – Sky’s peak audience for the England v New Zealand game in the autumn of 2018, arguably the biggest draw in the sport, peaked at 1.5 million.
The Six Nations committee retains majority ownership of the Six Nations; CVC has a one-seventh share. It must consider why the tournament commands such high viewings and what would happen to rugby in the northern hemisphere without that audience. It should ask itself – what obligation does it have to CVC, legal or moral, and why should it dance to the tune of equity capitalists who have no interest beyond maximising return?
At present, the competition is a category B event under the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events and is protected provided sufficient free-to-air highlights are made available. Such broadcasts might satisfy the terms of the listing but, for rugby itself, the exposure would be nowhere near as effective as the current model, which sees the autumn internationals on satellite TV and the Six Nations free-to-air, a combination that gives cash and the mass audience needed to publicise the game.
There have already been rumours of certain games being made pay as you go and what is to stop this becoming ubiquitous if the cash stacks up for CVC? How do you think CVC will seek to use the Six Nations to leverage its ownership of Sky’s betting arm? What makes you believe that CVC has rugby’s long-term interest at heart?
Rugby cannot afford to get this decision wrong and it should remember, it will have to live with the consequences of a bad choice. CVC will be long gone and on to whatever project it thinks will add to its $75 billion (£59 billion) assets

Welsh language broadcasts on S4C may also be ended and many may find themselves reverting to the Radio , taking us back over 60 years or watchimg repeats of Midsommer Murder..

Instead of "political turmoil" next years Senedd elections could see massive change.

The Wasted Mules headline of unprecedented "political turmoil" awaiting Wales as a new poll finds that three parties in Wales could be neck-and-neck after the Assembly elections due next year. needs to be considered .

They say

The forecast after the BBC has released the results of its annual St David's Day poll.The research, by ICM Unlimited, now includes 16 and 17-year-olds, who will vote in 2021 for the first time. The polling was of 1,000 people from across Wales, and carried out between February 4 and 22. The results were then weighted.Based on the results, Professor Roger Awan-Scully from Cardiff University suggests:Labour would take 21 seats (down from 29 in 2016)Conservatives take 20 (up from 11 in 2016)Plaid Cymru take 18 (up from 12 in 2016)At next year’s Senedd elections, on the constituency vote, it forecasts Labour and the Conservatives each polling at 31%, Plaid Cymru at 26% and the Liberal Democrats at 6%. On the regional list vote, it has Labour at 31%, the Conservatives at 29%, Plaid Cymru at 25% and the Liberal Democrats at 5%.The poll also suggests an increase in support for independence, up to 11% from 7% last year, whilst support for abolishing the Welsh Assembly remains consistent with last year at 14%.A different poll earlier this year showed a rise to 21% for Welsh independence.

 Despite a rise in support, opposition to independence was 57%, according to the latest YouGov poll for ITV Cymru Wales and Cardiff University.Speaking about the St David's Day poll, a Plaid Cymru spokesman said: "This poll shows it’s all to play for as we head towards the 2021 Senedd elections."Support for our Senedd to have more powers continues to ride high and the calls for independence are growing."People are seeing Adam Price’s hopeful message of a better Wales – a New Wales – and it is resonating with them. They are turning away from the increasingly lethargic Labour party in favour of a change for the better."And in government that is what Plaid Cymru will bring, change for our nation that means better healthcare, education and jobs for the people of Wales."BBC Cymru Wales Welsh Affairs Editor Vaughan Roderick said: "Opinion polls are snapshots not predictions but Wales could be facing a period of unprecedented political turmoil if the three-way political split between Labour, the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru continues into next year."It is difficult to see what kind of government might emerge from an Assembly where all three parties had roughly equal number of seats."Plaid Cymru would be unlikely to support a newly humbled Labour party while supporting a Conservative led administration would be all but politically impossible for both Labour and Plaid."In such circumstances the Assembly might even be forced to vote to dissolve itself and hold a fresh election in an attempt to resolve the impasse."

In my ST David's prediction for the future of Wales yesterday  i wrote

Plaid Cymru  won 21 seats in the 2021 Senedd elections and  formed a coalition with Labour  in which the latter conceded much ground and whilst Mark Drakeford became First Minister he swapped the Role with Adam Price half way through rhe Senedd and agreed on the Independence referendum before the next election.

I may not be far of with my prediction, the possibility of a coalition in which Labour and Plaid have roughly the same number of seats and both sides are not a dominant partner may not be the case.

Instead of unprecedented "political turmoil" a split vote could force at least one party to put Wales first and that could mean we could be voting for Indepndence before the end of the decade.

Wales 2050 the path it actually took.

It is St David's Day 2050 and it seems apr to reflect over , the last 30 years.

Although there were indications of a growing move to independence , the speed i which it moved was extraordinary .

Plaid Cymru  won 21 seats in the 2021 Senedd elections and  formed a coalition with Labour  in which the latter conceded much ground and whilst Mark Drakeford became First Minister he swapped the Role with Adam Price half way through rhe Senedd and agreed on the Independence referendum before the next election

The actual referendum   came as a shock to political establishment starting  on  an opinion  of 36%  for YES , the result was 62% YES and no part of Wales voted NO.

It was soon clear that the government intended to call the new nation Cymru and sit between Cyprus  and Cuba in the United Nations.

The new government swiftly applied and were accepted in the European Union and it was  this and Scotland joining , the that saw an isolatd England aply and after a little reluctance Brussels accepted it.


Cymru meanwhile began a campaign of change and proceeded  to build the Carmarthen -Aberystwyth  railway line and and upgrade the Central Wales line with some branch lines created.

The major move however was to create the cooperative movement  MABON based on Mondragon in the Basque country it rapidly expanded via Science Parks but also saw it see a boom in small cooperatives throughout Wales and sees regular delegations from all over the Planet.

The referendum to declare Cymru a republic was an overwhelming yes , and it saw the government informing its English counterpart that so as along the heir to the throne continued be called Prince of Wales he would not be welcome in 
Cymru.

 One of the first tp congratulate new President Ben Lake, was elected on a constitution al position similar to our Irish neighbor was US President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez . who made a point of attending his swearing in

Indeed it was with the United Ireland and Scotland that Cymru found natural allies and they formed a joint Navy and Air Force to patrol our shorelines .

A Civil defence force instead of an Army was formed and whether it was at home  or abroad it has so far never fired a shot in anger .

Indeed whether at home or abroad the defence force were active in aiding in natural disasters  and have earned the nickname International Rescue.

Another move was the Establishment Henry Richard  centre for peace and reconciliation, which has become world famous for its role in mediation and is et to win the Nobel Peace Prize for the third time.

Once the poorest part of Western Europe cymru is one of the most prosperous and rivals its Scandinavian counterparts for education, social care and happiness .

It has led to some to consider what the future would be if Cymru was still tied to Westminster.