Labour's beating Heart Faces Intensive Care.

I missed this but apparently on Saturday "Welsh Labour" held a conference in Coleg y Cymoedd, Nantgarw to  combat the threat of Ukip

 It seems this was the brainchild of Wayne David, the MP for Caerphilly and Parliamentary Private Secretary to Labour leader Ed Miliband. who if  your remember sensationally lost out to plaid i n the Rhondda seat in the first assembly elections. 

Mr David said:

 “If the rise of smaller parties over this parliament has shown us anything it’s that people’s attitudes to politics are changing.
“In Scotland the SNP are now ahead in Westminster polls and Ukip and the Greens have a UK poll presence that neither would have thought possible back in 2010.

He makes a valid but maybe premature point  over Plaid

“Wales, in many ways, has been the exception that proves the rule. While Ukip and the Greens have improved their positions here slightly, Plaid Cymru – the sister party of the SNP – has stagnated.

He then goes on to  give his vision of why Labour still seems unthreatened in get Welsh valleys

“In Wales, what we’ve seen is that areas like the Valleys, with a strong active political presence – places where politicians engage with their constituents, where parties are not just relevant, but the vehicle to help drive change and innovation in communities – have fared better against small, opportunistic opponents seeking to capitalise on the 15 minutes of fame by reaping votes from other parties’ heartlands.

God I must have been asleep for the last 50 od years  as I always thought that Labour had been largely lethargic  and have taken the voters here for granted.


Most will know the Old Joke . If you put a Donkey up for Labour He (it usually a he ) will win

“Our Valleys aren’t heartlands but rather the beating heart of the Labour movement: that’s why so many Labour leaders hail from our hills.“Saturday’s conference will not be a toothless talking shop or a defensive conclave, but a meeting with a purpose.
“Shaping Labour’s vision for the Valleys and how our policies can bring sustainable prosperity to the Valleys and looking at the opportunity that a new Labour government in Westminster can offer us in partnership with the Welsh Labour Government.”

Yes like Rhondda's Chris Bryant Born in Cardiff to a Scottish mother and a Welsh computer engineer father. Bryant grew up in Cardiff, (where his father worked for five years)[ and Cheltenham.] He was educated at Cheltenham College, an independent school (ie Fee paying about £10000 a year) for boys and Mansfield College at the University of Oxford. He graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English. This was later promoted to a Master of Arts degree (MA (Oxon)), as per tradition.

Although initially a member of the Conservative Party, and an elected office-holder in the Oxford University Conservative Association, he joined the Labour Party in 1986 after leaving Oxford.

Truly a man from our Hills

Asked about the austerity policies involving public sector spending cuts that Labour remains committed to, the MP said:

“The general election will give people a choice between a Conservative Party that would take Britain back to the public spending levels of the 1930s or a Labour Party, which in the short term will have to take some tough decisions to deal with the deficit, but in the medium to long term will bring prosperity back to a region that has been in decline since coalfield closures in the 1920s.”

Just a minute. The beating heart of the  Labour movement has been in decline since  the 1920s  which has seem Labour Government s in Westminster ,the assembly and most of the time local councils.

Under  Labour the bating heart  has been waiting for  extensive treatment . But Labour  now that  people will still vote for them  so there's no real reason to treat  it.

If we are to avoid the equivalent  of having a major heart attack and finding there  is no room intensive  care we need to look for others to take over