Monday 1 December 2014

Mule suggest we sell Wales to English Cities


The Wasting Mule correspondent David Williamson  the Political Editor of Media Wales.seems to have come up with a solution to  as he says Wales tiring  of playing second-fiddle to Scotland in the constitutional quartet,

Greater Powers ?
Renewal of the  Barnett t Formula?
Parity?
Independence?

No Williamson's solution is to divide Wales and make us subordinate to English Cities.

He starts off with reasonable criticism 

...Wales is unlikely to hold the UK to ransom in similar fashion and therefore lacks the clout Scotland enjoys. Articulate politicians and respected academics can make reasoned arguments for constitutional change but it is realpolitik which compels the Whitehall machine to grind into action.
Yes, Wales should ensure that Westminster grants the Assembly a fair funding formula. But the argument over millions of pounds should not divert our attention from the significance of what could be a multi-billion pound transformation of England’s economy and power structure.
But rather than say its time we woke up and gained the same leverage as Scotland he then goes on to say that...


...Civic England is waking up to the potential of self-government, not due to romantic notions about resurrecting Albion’s vanished realms but because there is excitement about a chance to finally rebalance the UK economy.
The promise of greater control over billions of pounds has persuaded 10 greater Manchester councils to agree to an elected mayor. Liverpool’s six councils are negotiating a similar settlement.
Chancellor George Osborne has backed plans for £15bn investment in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield to create a “northern powerhouse”. The HS2 and HS3 high-speed rail schemes will slash journey times between major cities and give companies a greater range of options for out-of-London headquarter
s.

So rather than seek parity with Scotland Williamson  suggest we some how gain advantage by riding on the tails of a English City bonanza

He writes

...North Wales needs superb rail links to Crewe and the HS2 network and opportunities to collaborate with nearby great cities on regional renewal should not be missed. Mid Wales needs to plug into Birmingham as the city prepares for a new era of investment thanks to 49min journey times to London.


South Wales must forge strategic relationships with Bristol. There is the potential to speak with one voice on the need for infrastructure investment – the Great Western Line and the M4 are critical to both regions – and on the development of a hi-tech research hub, pooling expertise from biotech enterprises and universities.

Rather than regretting that Wales cannot command the attention of Whitehall with the power of Scotland, we can forge a better future with the ambitious leaders of commerce, academia and government right on our doorstep

What utter rubbish . Divide Wales make North Wales a region of Liverpool and South Wales  a region of Bristol.

Yes we need an infrastructure to links us not only with English Cities but the rest of Europe,

The problem of Wales is that a major infrastructure both in North and South Wales were constructed no for Wales to get access to Liverpool or London but for them to get access to Ireland

We need an infrastructure that benefits Wales and not on that open  us to continuous  exploration.

We saw in the past how the wealth of our Coalfields and Slate Quarries benefited capitalism outside Wales and left us with Slag Heaps, Ill Health and long term unemployment.

I have nothing against forging links with anyone  but it must be based on equality .and an equality that carries on.

Williamson and the Mule seem to be suggesting that we abandon any ambition to run things ourselves  and sell us to the ambitious leaders of commerce, academia and government right on our doorstep like an impoverished harlot.




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is the same thinking behind the Severnside idea of joining Cardiff and Bristol being pushed by the Institute of Welsh Affairs and the Crachach, the Fail is their mouthpiece so it’s only natural it supports the Wales as an English region agenda.

Next year’s General Election is a defining one for Wales in more ways than one, we either stand up and call ourselves a nation or become a region of England, if I was a betting man I would put money on us becoming an English region.