Own Smith and the Ministry of Truth.

One of the two possible leaders of Welsh Labour Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith. (We don't really know whether its him or  First Minister   Carwyn Jones) made  made as Syniadau points out a remarkable attempt to rewrite history in Thursdays Wasting Mule.


Joining others on the announcement.  Smith said:

"The decision the Scottish people will take in 18 months time will have huge implications for the rest of the UK and it is right that we discuss the future shape of our nation and examine what an independent Scotland would mean for Wales.
“Along with my colleagues in Scottish Labour, I’m convinced that both Wales and Scotland draw great strength from being part of the UK. Not just from our shared history and values, but because of the cherished institutions that emerged following the Second World War, like the NHS and the welfare state, which bind us together in all our diversity.
“The Labour party championed the cause of devolution for over a century, and we delivered it for Wales and Scotland because we believe it enhances democracy in our countries. But we reject separatism which would leave us isolated and less able to respond to the economic and social challenges which are affecting our communities.”

Smith seems to have looked at Orwell 's 1984 where History is rewritten on a regular basis

“The Labour party championed the cause of devolution for over a century"

True the party  originally joined the Liberals in embracing the concept of Home Rule all round . But by the 1930 it had quietly dropped and did so officially in the 1950's

And when on after the Carmarthen Byelection in 1966 some in Labour were hostile to any form of devolution and some like the future leader Niel Kinnock  made their names opposing the 1997 Devolution referendum .

Which left Wales and its heavy industries exposed the the Thatcherite decimation of the 80's and 90's.

And what was one of the major planks of Kinnock's attack. The NHS and the welfare state? Which he claimed would decline under devolution.

Why can't Smith see that the only way to protect the NHS is to make sure the Tories and the Red Tories in his own party  cannot carry out the plans for demolishing the welfare state.

In 2014 Scotland have the opportunity to protect the values Own Smith claims to treasure  by making sure that they never again are subject to Clone Thatcherites whether its David Cameron  and , Those Orange Bookers in the Liberal Democrats , or the Blarites who  stilllurk in the Labour part.

Devolution came when some in Scotland and Wales finally abandoned support for the Labour Party and its failure from 1951 to protect our communities.and its subsequent pursuit of the votes of that elusive beast Middle England".

Devolution came not because of Labour (and definitely not Welsh Labour) but in many cases despite it.

Some may point out that Labour gave us (and campaigned for) the 1997 referendum.

But that came from the threat for Scotland and Labour made sure we had a the weakened Assembly  which has nothing of the power and prestige of the Scottish Parliament.

Labour offer us nothing and are still happier to see us run by Right Wing Conservatives rather than by Progressive socialist in Cardiff.

100 years of failing  "to champion devolution" and Owen Smith and most of his Party have learned nothing.

Labour Unionist cling to another poll

Labour Unionist Blogsuite Left Foot Forward, Through Ed Jacobs s SNP  Independence campaign has been dealt a blow with new polling showing a majority of Scots against their currency policy.
Under the SNP’s plans plans , an independent Scotland would retain the pound, leaving the Bank of England in London to set its interest rates.


The claim is conducted by YouGov for the Unionist  Better Together Campaign, found that just 17 per cent of Scottish voters supported the SNP’s proposals, with over half (56 per cent) preferring Scotland to stay in a political union if the country is to remain in currency union with the rest of the UK 

Speaking in a video message posted on the Better Together website, the campaign’s leader, former chancellor Alistair Darling, pointed to the ongoing crisis in Cyprus  ( I was wondering when Cyprus would came up)as a reason why an independent Scotland would have to have its own central bank with control over its monetary policy.

One of the most important details is the currency we’ll use if Scotland were to become independent. The nationalists at the moment are proposing a currency union. What is a currency union? Well it’s like the Eurozone and you can see what’s going on there and all the difficulties you’ve had, of which Cyprus is just the latest example. But a currency union means that the two countries involved, Scotland and the rest of the UK, would have to agree everything.

“They would have to agree on their In other words, Scotland’s budget would have to be agreed by another country – that’s not independence.”

So no member of the Euro Zone is  an Independent Nation then . Is Darling moving towards Ukips position then ?

Do the Eurozone agree entirely  on tax, on their spending, on their borrowing. 

And you can interpretate  the poll as  the Scottish people not wanting to be tied to the pound and being bullied by Westminster  rather than working together.

Wasn't the Irish Punt tied to the pound for years having the same exchange rate. Even though they had no say in how it was set , Unlike the SNP plans for Scotland.

But  what Darling and his Unionist Chums at Left Foot Forward seem to arguing that the negotiations after the Independence  referendum  will mean that the Rump (England,Scotland and Wales) will dictate how  financial Implications will be set.

In other words  Westminster will decide whether Scotland can remain with the pound.

The Unionist have a point in that the SNP must make it clearer how an Independent Scotland will link it currency , To the Pound , The Euro or have its own.

As Darling rightly points out 

"And what is plan B? Suppose the terms and conditions imposed aren’t acce“ptable. What’s the fall back position that the nationalists are proposing? We simply don’t know…we need answers because these things are important. Detail matters"

but the Unionist must be honest  to arguing that members of the Eurozone are not Independent starts sounding like Ukip  and other Euro sceptics.

At the moment Scotland has no say in any currency . After Independence what ever they choose they will at least have a voice.

New Dead Parrot Sketch.

Over at Subordinate Central LibDem AM Eluned Parrot  makes an attempt to condemn the Welsh Labour Government  Employment  record.

She writes:

Employment amongst adults across Wales still remains higher than England and higher than the UK average the latest figures show.
Unemployment in Wales stood at 8.4% a rise of 0.5% and still higher than the rate of 7.8% in England and the UK as a whole.
Commenting on the figures.
The whole of the UK is facing difficult times.
The Welsh Government have many economic tools at their disposal. It was 18 months ago today that Edwina Hart and Carwyn Jones unveiled Welsh Labour’s attempt at copying England’s Enterprise Zones. Since then, there has been little evidence on the ground that progress is being made or jobs are being created.
We’ve seen the Welsh Government bid against Cardiff Council for two multi-million pound parcels of land in the Cardiff Enterprise Zone, but we still have no idea when construction will start or by what criteria the Government will judge if they are successful. By comparison Birmingham’s Enterprise Zone aims to create 4,000 private sector jobs and boost its local economy by £2.8 billion per year.
Carwyn Jones and Edwina Hart urgently need to step up a gear if Wales isn’t to fall further behind

Of course Ms Parrot skates over her Parties role in Westminster in causing unemployment in the first place.
Nor does she point out/

Unemployment in Scotland fell by 14,000 to 207,000 between September and November 2012 according to the latest official figures and then fell by Scotland fell by 7000, to 200,000 in the period from November 2012 to January 2013, 

It is a now art 7.5  One percent less than Wales which may sound small . But look at it in the context of 1% of a Million and you get  10,000 jobs

So will Ms Parrot  give all the credit to the SNP government for this? I doubt in

What She and the rest of us should be asking is.

• Are the policies of the  SNP Government  responsible for bucking the UK trend?
• Is it because the Scottish Parliament  have powers that we in Wales lack ?
• Is the  very Idea that under Salmond the very existence of Scotland has  been recognised  and they have  the World stage in a way we have not?
• Its nothing to do with the Scottish Government and merely a coincidence?

What I would bet if the SNP had failed to win a overall majority and the paltry number of LibDem MsP had joined them in a coalition with them or Labour . and if these figures  were the same . Eluned Parrot would be claiming It was their influence that was largely responsible.

I don't know what the real reason or reasons for the difference between unemployment rates in Wales and Scotland..

But for a representative of a Party whose have a role in Westminster in the decimating cuts to blame the government in Cardiff bay seems hypocritical,

Mr. Praline: 'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'erests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked thebucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!

Monty Python 

Cardiff Council advertise for Labour Crony sorry advisor to leader

Wales Online tell us that 

Cardiff council took out an advertisement in The Sunday Times at weekend – believed to have cost about £6,000 – for the newly created position of “head of cabinet office”.

So they may be aggrieved at Thomsonn House that the Council had not used Wales on Sunday or  Wasting Mule for the advert . for advisor for council leader Heather Joyce

Still  as the say:

Opposition councillors yesterday said it was “obscene” to spend £80,000 on an advisor when the Labour-run council last month agreed £22m in budget cuts, including the loss of more than 300 jobs.
But local government consultant Jeff Jones, a former Labour leader of Bridgend council, said the law should be changed to allow local authorities to appoint political advisors, as happens in the United States.
The job advertisement described the post as an “exciting opportunity to play a central role supporting Cardiff council’s leader and her cabinet in the delivery of an ambitious political vision”.
As an advisor to the leader Heather Joyce, they will shape policy “that will secure the best possible outcomes for Cardiff” and lead the council’s communications and media team.
The appointment is part of a management restructure that will see the number of top-tier directors increase from 17 to 23. The shake-up adds £1.1m to the wage bill, but Labour insists it will be “cost neutral” by cutting spending on management consultants.

 Councillor Judith Woodman, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said:

 “This is obscene. To spend £80,000 for someone to advise Heather Joyce beggars belief. Just think how many services this money would have protected and jobs saved. It could have stopped the distress many have suffered as a result of Labours savage budget cuts.”

Those who believe that Heather Jouce already has an Éminence grise in fellow Councillor (and former leader Russel Goodway) may wonder whose ear will the adviser be speaking into.

Jeff Jones  call that th law should be changed to allow local authorities to appoint political advisors, as happens in the United States. Looks like a Cronies Charter to me /

There are to many Political Advisors on the public purse as it it is as professional politicians  who have never really worked in the real world  leave University and work for a MP AM and if Jeff Jones has his way your local Council Boss.

They then go on to take up a safe seat and as in David Cameron and Ed Miliband end up leading their party.

But in the case of  Cardiff. How can Labour Councillors look those who have lost their jobs in the cuts they are imposing whilst at the dame time welcoming someone who is probably a party member climbing the greasy pole in his or her advisor role.

Children On School Trips Banned From Family Stays.

BBC Wales report report that  ban on letting children on school exchange trips stay with host families abroad because of fears about their safety has been backed by councillors in Ceredigion.:

The policy, first adopted last year, also stops foreign students staying with families when visiting Ceredigion.
The authority's cabinet voted unanimously to approve the policy.
Blaenau Gwent, Neath Port Talbot and Rhondda Cynon Taf councils operate similar policies.
BBC Wales has asked Ceredigion council why it has taken so long for the policy to be officially approved, but the authority is yet to reply.
Selwyn Waters, chairman of the Lampeter Twinning Association, said Ceredigion's rules stopped the organisation taking school children to Saint-Germain-sur-Moine in France which is twinned with the town.
"We appreciated the idea because of the safety of the children, I was conscious of that," he told BBC Radio Wales.

"But I feel it is very prohibitive to these children.
"Cultural exchange is very much a part of twinning and when these children go and stay in the home of French families, they spend most of the time with them.

BBC Wales 20th March 2012

At first this looks like an over reaction by these councils.

But  lets imagine what the reaction of the BBC would be if  just pne child was harmed or abused by the family they were staying with?

Although councils carried out Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks  (at what cost) they would be pilloried by the very reporters who accuse them of overacting.

And it would be difficult to do this in another country.

Its all very well criticising this policy but just as social workers are piloried one day by the media for breaking up families and then are accused of negligence when a child  that has not been removed is abused.the next. Councils will face the same accusation of not protecting children in thier care  even if its temporally.

Alas no one can win  on these circumstances.


A report went before the cabinet on Tuesday by Darryl Evans, Ceredigion's head of educational wellbeing, recommending approval.

"This decision was based on safeguarding children and ensuring their safety," said Mr Evans about the school trip policy.
"It was felt that despite undertaking CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checks or similar and utilising family agreements there was still a largely unknown element to such arrangements.

"It was agreed that exchange visits should still be undertaken because of the great benefits to the child but that this element of the trip should no longer take place."
Mr Evans said it was also agreed that children should still spend time with families as part of their visit but this should be subject to the following rules:
Children to visit families in pairs;
Children to carry an emergency contact number at all times;
An agreed time when the children would return to their overnight accommodation.

 However, any new visits would have to use other forms of accommodation such as hotels, hostels etc."All new exchange visits that have been organised over the past 12 months have now been organised to make the use of alternative forms of accommodation and no visits have been cancelled or failed to take place."

 BBC Wales 20th March 2012

It is sad that councils have to do this but I  can't see any alternative under the present climate and these councils seem to be acting properly.

So why the sneering journalism?

We are One.

There will be those who point out  the  80 minute patriots who cheered on Wales on Saturday and then carry on as West Britons for the rest of the year.


We may wish that we treated the Welsh Rugby Team as Catalans treat their beloved Barca as symbol of Independence

Its worth looking at this Australian report and contrasting it with the Millennium Stadium last Saturday .

There was the same identification with a Nation but there was no real linking this with the political situation in Wales.

But lets not get too negative over this .

If there are to change  80 minute patriots then this must not come from elsewhere.

The people of Wales need to see that Independence will benefit them in every quarter and that it will lift them in the same way after the final whistle on Saturday.

The argument must be made that the empowerment of Independence will  lift the Welsh  National Spirit and provide the dynamism for a Social and Economic recovery 

The Welsh Rugby Union provided us with the Slogan we are one  as displayed by this young man

Who just happens to be my Nephew.

We need to work on this We are One theme.

• We are One on social justice.
• We are one on universal healthcare.
• We are one on full employment,
• We are One on seeing no child is left behind.
• We are One on equality
• We are One on providing for our elderly with dignity.
• We are One on our two languages
• We are One against discrimination
• We are One on promoting peace through reconciliation
• We are One on orotecting our environment,

And because of this 

• We are One on Independence.

We still don't know whose in charge of Welsh Labour.

I didn't read the Wasting Mule on Saturday as I was preparing myself for that Game. So to my embarrassment I was altered to this by Peter Black

So (Deep Breath) hat tip to him.

It seems  Carwyn Jones was given a “roasting” by Welsh MPs during a meeting at Westminster over his plan to have policing powers devolved to Wales, we have learnt

According to the Mu;e

A senior Labour source said many Welsh Labour MPs were angry that the policy had been announced by the First Minister without it having gone through normal party processes and without them having been consulted. 

Western Mail 16th March 2013

The Mule goes on to tell us: senior Labour source told us:

 “When Carwyn met the Welsh group of Labour MPs last week he was given a roasting by many of them. They felt he should have consulted them and gone through the party processes before going public with such a change in policy.“Carwyn has been told on the authority of Ed Miliband that such a move would not be a priority for a first term Labour Government.”

The leadership at Westminster seems to be distancing themselves from this claim though:

A spokeswoman for Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith said: “Owen has made it clear that the party will make a decision on this issue before the next general election manifesto is drawn up.”A spokesman for Ed Miliband said: “No message has been conveyed to Carwyn Jones from the leader saying that devolving powers of policing to Wales will not be a first term priority for an incoming Labour government.”

So was Carwyn told that Ed Miliband was not backing him or not.? Whose going to put in the Manifesto? Owen Smith or Carwyn Jones?

The problem is that we are told this through "a spokesman" so its hard  for us  poor peasants to gauge the strength of the conflicting statement

Even Plaid put forward a spokesman when there's abortively no reason why they couldn't be named.to say:

“This nails the myth once and for all that there is any such thing as ‘Welsh’ Labour. It is quite clear that, whatever he pretends in the Senedd, the First Minister is not in charge of his own party.“Labour was unable to agree on a submission to the Silk Commission despite being the largest party in the National Assembly and in terms of Welsh MPs. How can our governing party be unable to agree even on what powers they should have? They are split from top to bottom and from Wales to Westminster.”

And Yes the Libdems found a "Spokesman" (Maybe for once Peter Black was unavailable) with their Two Pennyworth.

“This is very embarrassing for Carwyn Jones. While he may be First Minister in Wales, it is clear from the reaction of his MPs that he does not lead his party.“When the Welsh Labour Government published its submission to the Silk Commission, while Welsh Labour were talking about how they were standing up for Wales, the question on everyone else’s lips was ‘Have these proposals been given the OK by the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and the leader, Ed Miliband?’ Nothing will happen on devolution in Westminster in the Labour party unless it gets the backing of the MPs. Carwyn Jones was very naive to think otherwise.

Why can't we know whose making these statements?

Stil if the report is true then the question of whose in charge of Labour in Wales remains  

Can you Imagine the Leader of Scottish Labour being treated d in this manner?

Does Owen Smith represent Wales in the Shadow Cabinet ot the Shadow Cabinet on Wales?

But as long Labour  fail to come to terms with the reality of devolution this will continue.

And before the LibDems in wales get  to outraged perhaps  they should consider . What  would be the reaction be if they had  10 rather than 3 Welsh MPs many of whom would be career politicians who entered then Welsh political scene because they came as students here?

in reality it is irrelevant who runs Labour in Wales at the moment  Carwyn Jones, Owen Smith or Ed Miliband.  When the party still cannot call for Wales to have parity with Scotland.

Only then who the  Welsh leader of that party (or any other) truly start to matter.