Sorry Tim the LibDems are not a "Anti-Establishment Party".

The Wasting Mule seems to have put the words

Give your protest votes to us rather than Ukip's 'English nationalists',

into the mouth of  Liberal Democrat  leader Tim (Who) Farron, but appeaes to it looks like that's what he meant .


Mr Farron referred to strong speculation that people who formerly represented English seats as Conservative MPs could stand for Ukip in Wales, saying:

 “I find it hard to credit, really, if I may say this as an English Liberal – why would people in Wales vote for English nationalists? That is essentially what they are and their interests are anything but the interests of Wales.
“So if people are wanting to strike an anti-establishment tone to register their anger and disappointment with a Conservative Government in Westminster and a Labour administration [that is] 17 years old now in Cardiff Bay which takes most of Wales for granted – indeed all of Wales – then the Liberal Democrats are your choice.”

Forgetting the reality that a lot of  Liberal Democrats candidates seem to come from outside Wales . How can a Party that was in coalition at Westminster with the Tories  only a year ago call them selves Anti-Establishment?


Oh I see nothing wrong in pointing out  that many leading LibDems in Wales  seem to have come from outside to Welsh University Towns to study, joining the Party as a student, and staying.

If Tim Farron can point to the "English Origins" of Ukip candidates " to appeall to voters I can do the same to his party.

There is a difference between  Mr Farron what  referred to strong speculation that people who formerly represented English seats as Conservative MPs could stand in the Assembly next year and English born candidates for any Party here who have lived here for years and the majority of who feel Welsh.

But is it right for Tim Farron or any LibDem to  call for voters to back them instead of Ukip ,because Ukip is a English party.

But it it is the  need for of the LibDems  to call for protest voters  that show how desperate Farron's Party are.

Just how many Ukip voters are Ant EU or approve of their  attacks on refugees and migrants rather than an "Anti-Establishment " vote is unclear.

If it the former then they are unlikely to vote for a Pro EU and who stand on the refugees and migrants question is more honourable than some other Parties I could mention.

If it is the latter the the electorate  may well have not yet erased the memories  that for most of the last Assembly the LibDems were acting as the Tories bag carriers at Westminster.

 



 

LibDems are also to blame for Steel closures.

I can probably accept why after  the disastrous  Five Years of coalition government the  LibDems would rather erase it from not only  their memory but ours as well.
 
So we see stories appearing on Wales Online  that

Warning signs have been flashing over the steel industry for years but Labour has failed to take action, Liberal Democrat AM Eluned Parrott claimed as she kicked off the party’s conference in Cardiff.
She is adamant that action could have been taken to protect the industry, which has been rocked by the announcement of 750 job losses at Port Talbot.
She said:

 “On steel I have watched the warning signs of this industry in trouble not for months but for years.
 "I have stood up in the chamber and asked the minister to do something about it; to cut business rates on heavy machinery, to demand the highest standards in our procurement policy, to make sure that no grey market imports are ever used in our government’s contracts.”

 “This isn’t abstract – this is to protect livelihoods and communities, and I’ve heard back time after time is, ‘We’ll think about it’.
“And no, I know that the Labour Government can’t do everything. But since when was that an excuse to do
nothing?”d not have the powers then it should have demanded them.

 Ms Parrot's attack on Labour in Wales is somewhat justified . If it didn't have the powers it should have demanded them.

But even in Scotland the government there did not have the real powers to prevent closure . This still lies with Westminster.

What did Ms Parrot's Party  do for the Steel Industry over its Five Years siting on the Government benches?

True the large majority of former Nick Cleggs seat Sheffield Hallam is rural, spreading in the west into the Peak District National Park. But surely he would considering that's City's connection to the Steel Industry

It also contains some of the least deprived wards in the country, has low unemployment (1.5% jobseekers claimants in November 2012)^[7] and a high rate of owner occupancy with few occupants who rent their home. 

But can anyone representing a seat in South Yorkshire not share in the legacy of Steel in that area in the same way no South Wales MP or AM can share ours?

What did those LibDems in actual positions to do something in their years of Coalition do for the Steel Industry , I wonder?

I can the LibDems desire to put the past behind them and they probably have decided to erase their "achievements" (if any) from the public memory for fear they will still be held responsible for propping up a vicious Tory government.

Ukip Hypocrisy in (not a election communication) leaflet.

 Ukip Hypocrisy in (not a election communication) leaflet.

It looks like Ukip are going to spend , spend , spend on next May's Assembly  Election if this latest mail delivery is anything to go by.

Printed on Cardboard  it looks expensive and seems to be due for delivery by the Royal Mail to every Welsh Household  if it was included in tier election expenses it would  cut deep in to their allowed budget.

But it appears to come from the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy the right wing grouping that Ukip are members of in the European Parliament  . Have Ukip used European funding for the EFD to pay for this?

As always Ukip try to exploit populism. They quite rightly point out TTIP the secret deal being conducted between  the European Union and US and the potential threat to our NHS
.
But they themselves are a threat to the NHS
 

UKIP leader Nigel Farage however  was forced to  clarify his party's position on the NHS after admitting he had once advocated a form of NHS privatisation.

A video compilation of his speeches on the Guardian's website showed Mr Farage suggesting public funding of the NHS be replaced by a private insurance model.

Mr Farage said it was an idea he "threw out for debate" two years ago.
But he told the BBC that it was rejected and there is "no more debate, no more argument".
And he denied that he had ever advocated an American-style model, saying he had alluded rather to the insurance-based French and Dutch systems when arguing that "we may have to think about ways in the future about dealing with healthcare differently".


I suspect Farage realised his real views would be a vote looser.

I also suspect that Ukip response to TTIP comes from it s European Origins and that they would envisage  a similar deal would be done with the USA by a UK outside the EU.

Once again this Blog may be touching on Hypocrisy since it is notorious for its numerous typos . But surely Ukip could have found a Welsh speaker or paid for a Translator  .

Even I know there is no Welsh word Gwethio and presume they meant Gweithio.

One can only assume they have nothing but contempt for Cymraeg as this is only one of a long list of such gaffs.

I leave it to people more fluent in the language and certainly more fluent than Ukip to comment on the rest of their translations.

 

Labour's Ogwr shortlist rather dull.

Its often claimed that Stalin's ceased control of the Bolsheviks because as General Secretary  he has extensive use of the membership list.

It doesn't always work it seems as Labour attempt to retain the Ogwr UK Parliament has not got off to the best of starts,


 Sitting MP Huw Irranca-Davies is resigning to to stand for the Assembly in the same constituency.

 
  It seems  would-be Labour MP who raised eyebrows after collecting proxy votes from party members has failed to make the shortlist of candidates seeking to stand in the forthcoming Ogmore by-election.
Bridgend county borough councillor Ceri Reeves wasn’t breaking party rules by collecting proxy forms from physically and mentally i

mpaired member

A senior Welsh Labour source said Bridgend county borough councillor Ceri Reeves had done nothing wrong in helping physically and mentally impaired members to participate in the selection process.
 
Mrs Reeves wass one of the favourites to win the Labour nomination for the Ogmore by-election caused by current MP Huw Irranca-Davies ’ decision to switch to the National Assembly . Her husband Mal Reeves is Mr Irranca-Davies’ long-time political agent.


Some members of the local party have been concerned that Mrs Reeves has been visiting housebound members who won’t be able to attend the selection meeting in person and helping them sign proxy votes for use when the candidate is chosen.
Under party rules, members who are physically or mentally hampered from attending by-election selection meetings can authorise others to vote on their behalf.


One local member said: 

“The candidate should be chosen on merit. Some of us are concerned that Ceri Reeves has been visiting party members and getting proxy votes off them. It doesn’t seem right.”

Another Ogmore party member said: “Mal Reeves is a previous membership secretary and knows who members are and where they live.

“The selection is taking place with a very tight timescale and other potential candidates won’t have the same advantage,”

It may be that the quality of the Candidates selected may be thin as whoever wins the nomination is likely to be the last MP for Ogmore. The seat is likely to disappear under boundary changes expected to be introduced in time for the next general election in 2020. At that time, most of the constituency will be absorbed by Aberavon, currently held by Labour’s Stephen Kinnock, while the rest will be merged with Bridgend.


Former Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire AM an perpetual failed Christine Gwyther, who served as Minister for Agriculture in the first Assembly term, joins Vale of Glamorgan council’s cabinet member for education Chris Elsmore, Rhondda Cynon Taf( Which is in the Ogwr Constituency) cabinet member for children’s services and equality Geraint Hopkins and local fire officer Alex Owen on the shortlist.

What is it about Christine Gwyther, in tat she keeps geting selected (and loosing). Is she unlike most of us perceive really a superb candidate? Do people in Labour feel sorry for her  or perhaps she knows where the bodies are buried?

I may be doing a disservice to whoever is picked and will probably be the next MP for Ogwr but they seem a rater dull bunch.

Maybe Ms Reeves before her "Total Legitimate" collection of proxy vote may have turned her ingenuity ,to being an effective Constituency MP.

Alas we will never know. 

Yes it's Junk but what are you offering?

OK Labour's  Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Nia Griffith seems have to  "left nobody in any doubt about what she really thought about the UK Government’s plans to change the nation’s devolution settlement when she made her appearance in her new role in Westminster’s Welsh Grand Committee". As the Wasting Mule opts it.

But what are Labour offering if anything?

She was responding after Mr Crabb had defended the plans and attacked the 'consensus' in Cardiff Bay about 'unfettered' powers for the Assembly.


She told MPs:

 "Well, in plain English it’s junk.

Directing her fire at Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb, she said:

“The Secretary of State should really be ashamed. He’s presented such a weak and unworkable Bill [and] quite frankly the people of Wales deserve better.”

 It’s vital we get this Welsh devolution settlement right... For that to happen this Bill needs a radical rewrite.
“It’s not enough for the Wales Office just to go through the motion and tinker with the Bill at the margins... So, unless this Bill is radically overhauled Labour MPs will vote against it at Second Reading – not because we don’t want the Assembly to have more powers [but] exactly the opposite.
“We on this side will not vote for a Bill that quite deliberately rolls back the powers of the Assembly, makes it harder to pass laws and will almost certainly lead to thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money being wasted on legal challenges.”

 To cries of protest, she said: 

“Perhaps if the Secretary of State and his department commanded a bit more respect in Whitehall we wouldn’t have ended up with this shoddy list of reservations which no-one supports.”

True; but then what respect did  Labour Secretaries  of State and more Importantly the Welsh First Minister  receive from Tony Blair.

Its al very good Labour ,Lib Dems and even Plaid  critcising this Bill it is "Junk" and I have said the Assembly should veto it.

But what are the "Opposition" Parties offering Welsh Devolution? 

There may be little chance coming from the Conservatives in Westminster, but the driving force for Devolution Settlement, that envisage  more than the Assembly's paltry powers should come from Wales.

This Blogger will  probably vote  for Plaid next May, but I would like one of the reason to do so, is that they envisage substantial powers being devolved to Wales, in the Lifetime of the Assembly.

It is often said that voters are not interested in constitutional  changes and that the nitty gtitty of the state of the NHS for example is what people will be voting on and it may true (for Now)

But that is no reason to put real powers on a back burner or in the small print of the May Manifestos .

If we are to have anything like "Parity with Scotland" then Parties in Wales who want this ned to push it and inspire Welsh People .

The Tories are likely to be in power for a generation  and can anyone really claim things would be any different under a Labour Westminster Government?

We can't afford to waiteven if there was a chance it comes in 10 or 20 years. We need these powers Now. 

Is it not time we let teachers teach?

 Being a Headteacher used to be one of the most coveted Jobs for any Welshman or Woman .

So much so that it was common for ambitious teachers to join the Labour Party in the hope that this would aid them with so many councils being then under the firm Thumb of that party.

The Headmaster  of both my Junior School and Grammar School were such people .

The former was a genuine member who served as President  of the NUT and on his retirement became a County Councillor and a supporter of Welsh Language Education in Glamorgan.

 .

The latter's commitment to the Party seemed to decline when he got his exulted position

Today however BBC Wales reports that

Heavy workloads and pressure on head teachers mean fewer people are inclined to take up the job, a union has said.

More support is need to overcome recruitment issues, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) Cymru said.
More than 100 schools across Wales are currently without a permanent head teacher, research by BBC Wales' Newyddion 9 programme found.
The Welsh government said there was no such "recruitment crisis in Wales".
Eighteen of the 22 Welsh councils responded to requests for information, saying they were carrying 105 head teacher vacancies within the 1,273 maintained schools in their areas.
Julian Jones, of NAHT Cymru, said the pressure on head teachers was dissuading younger teachers from applying.

"Having been within that environment and seeing first-hand what a head teacher has to cope with on a daily basis, these young people think: 'Do I want to be like that?'
"And, quite simply, the answer is 'no' and you can't blame them; and the answer will be 'no' until something changes.

 ""I would level the blame firmly at the Welsh government and any government. They're the ones that have the knee-jerk reaction,"

Ysgol Gynradd Llannon, in Ceredigion, has been without a permanent head teacher since the start of the academic year.
The school has had to advertise the post for a third time after receiving no applications to the first two advertisements, with a retired head teacher filling the void on an interim basis.
Lodwick Lloyd, chair of governors, said: "It's a serious situation as far as we're concerned. We need a head teacher, we need somebody here quick. Any school without a head is like a ship without a captain."

Cardiff, Newport, Neath Port Talbot and Anglesey either failed to provide information or clarify their responses.
Conwy had the highest percentage of posts unfilled at 23.8%, while Swansea had the lowest at 2.1%
Regulator, the Education Workforce Council, said more teachers were gaining the necessary qualification to be a head teacher, meaning the pool of potential candidates would increase over time.

 A friend of mine whao was a highly regarded Headteacher  who was individually praised in in after an Ofsted Inspection quit citing the workload was affecting his health.

It is of course not only Heads who are under pressure . Teachers are bogged down with bureaucracy and the constant threat of being judged by what is in reality meaningless Tables.

If we are to increase standards in Welsh Education rather placing more and more bureaucracy on them free them and their Heads to do hat they joined the profession to do.E nlighten the children of Wales not fill in form after bloody form.

Reject Devolution Dipyn bach proposals and insist of parity with Scotland.

Yesterday I was taken to task for referring to the  St David's Day Agreement.

As an anonymous commentator  noted

 
You (and the BBC) shouldn't call it the St David's Day "Agreement". It was an announcement by a Tory Secretary of State for Wales which none of the other parties agreed with.

The "agreement" was announced on 27 February 2015, by David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister and Nick Clegg, the UK Deputy Prime Minister at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales

It will be interesting to see the reaction of La Pasionaria AKA Kirsty Williams the leader of the Welsh LibDems.to the news that

Plans to give more powers to Wales are so flawed AMs should reject them altogether, a team of academics and former senior civil servants has said. as her party signed up for this when they were Bag Carriers for the Tories in the previous coalition government.

Indeed is it not about time we heard more from a Federal Party which sometimes claims to still back "Home Rule All Round" on where  it stands today?

More say over energy, transport and the assembly's own elections are on offer.
But a report said the draft Wales Bill was "constricting" the assembly, by the way it was reserving many matters as the responsibility of Westminster.

Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb said he was open to changes amid accusations the bill may reduce Welsh power. 

It proposes moving to a "reserved powers" model for Wales, by which all policy areas are assumed to be devolved unless specified as remaining with the UK government.
Opposition parties have claimed the list of reservations is too long.
Monday's report from Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre and University College London (UCL) said the UK government's latest devolution proposals were "clunky and short-sighted".

The report warns of a “pervasive sense of rush” and describes the draft Bill as “incomplete”.

It states that some of the areas reserved for Westminster are “inexplicable” and cautions that “simply jettisoning the stranger ones will not suffice”.
The present list of reserved matters, the report argues, “both begrudges devolved power and will in practise create very substantial and unnecessary constraints on policy-making and legislation in Wales.”
The authors say that the so-called St David’s Day process which sought to find cross-party agreement on the Silk Commission recommendations “allowed any political party to veto proposals” and “was followed by an internal Whitehall trawling exercise that sought further to delimit devolved competence.”



Professor Richard Rawlings from UCL said Wales had experienced "three deeply problematic devolution settlements" since 1999, and there had been hopes of a process putting Welsh devolution on a "sustainable constitutional basis".
But he warned: 

"The draft Wales Bill does not do what was promised.
"All too often, the Secretary of State's fine policy objectives of a stronger, clearer, fairer and more robust devolution settlement are frustrated by provision that is constricting, clunky, inequitable and constitutionally short-sighted.

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said: #

“This report echoes many of the concerns Plaid Cymru has already raised regarding this flawed draft Wales Bill. The legislation in its current form is complex and incoherent.
“The ‘necessity test’ in particular is a stumbling block, given the likelihood that this will result in lengthy court battles between the Welsh and UK Governments.
"The only way of securing a robust and sustainable devolution settlement is to give Wales parity with the other nations of the UK.
“At present, Scotland and Northern Ireland are being handed significant tax powers while English cities will gain control over policing – all of this without a referendum. Time and again, Wales is forced to jump through more hoops than any other part of the UK, only to end up with less control over our own affairs.
“The Prime Minister’s much-lauded ‘respect agenda’ lies in tatters. Plaid Cymru has already warned the UK Government that we are prepared to vote down the bill in the National Assembly and the UK Parliament if it proposes clawing back powers.
“Wales needs a new government that is ready to stand up for Wales’ interests and demand a fair deal from Westminster. Plaid Cymru is the only party ready and willing to deliver this.”

Since the formation of the Assembly back in 1999 it has struggled with it limited  powers and constitutional flaws.

We have a model for solving this in Scotland . Why are Welsh  politicians  and academics and former senior civil servants still arguing over the crumbs we are being constantly offered from both the Tories and Labour in Westminster?

We should reject reject this Devolution Dipyn bach sham outright.