According to the BBC Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies says weekly grillings of Carwyn Jones in the assembly should be moved to a different time to boost TV and web audiences.
He also thinks the First Minister should be grilled by Welsh MPs at Westminster once a year.
The Conservatives say FMQs should include more topical questions and be held later in the day so there would be a potentially bigger audience online and on television.
Mr Davies said:
"Changing the time of weekly questions to the leader of the Welsh government and allowing time for topical questioning gives Wales better opportunity to properly engage.
Maybe he means that it should be like the Scottish Parliament where First Minister's Questions occurs every Thursday at 12 noon during the Parliamentary term and lasts for approximately half an hour and which then links with the BBC UK Daily Politics show.
Where Andrew Neil manages to give the impression viewers are now joining real politics.
But unlike in Scotland FMQ in Wales is like watching paint dry.
True both Aklex Salmond in Holyrood and David Cameron at Westminster never actual answer any opposition questions directly but Carwyn Jones manages to make his contribution so lethargic its a wonder the rest of the Assembly doesn't doze off.
John Dixon over at Borthlas makes the telling point that its not only the Firt Minister whose comes under the spotlight
He writes...
.., well of course since the leader of the Tory group is one of the main protagonists at First Minister’s questions, any increased audience would (purely coincidentally I’m sure, and not part of his thought process at all) lead to more exposure for himself. The phrase that leapt to my mind first was “be careful what you wish for”; greater exposure for Andrew RT Davies might just possibly not be the unmitigated blessing that he seems to presuppose.I doubt, however, that it would in reality do much to boost the audience. Only a politician could believe that the only thing deterring people from watching the First Minister give pointless and boring answers to pointless and boring questions is the time of day at which the charade is broadcast.
With La Pasionaria for the Lib Dems often the best griller of the First Minister Though Leanne Wood is catching her up. But Andrew RT Davies hardly shines in his role as "Leader of the Opposition".
But the idea from Andrew RT Davies that the for the First Minister should face annual scrutiny in front of MPs, is insulting.
So does ant devolved legislature's leader in the World have to appear before the main legislature and explain his or herself?
Imagine any Party leader in Scotland making such a suggestion.
As Peter Black pointed out
What is most bizarre about this intervention is that the Assembly's Business Committee has just completed a review of procedures in the Assembly. To the best of my knowledge neither of these ideas were submitted to that review by the Welsh Tories.
What makes me wonder whether this actually came from Andrew RT directly or some SPAD putting out a press release during the silly season.
1 comment:
You can (sort of) see what Andrew RT Davies was getting at. FMQs is often a lot more sedate than its Westminster and Holyrood equivalents and I guess it's supposed to be the "highlight" of the Assembly week. But I don't know what gives politicians the impression that everyone stops what they're doing every Tuesday afternoon to listen to them ask questions about farming subsidies and care standards.
Content is always as important as presentation, and reading the record of proceedings of FMQs and plenary sessions is often a lot more productive and useful, speaking personally, than listening/watching it.
Post a Comment