Labour Senedd Member attempt to smear Plaid falls flat.

As we approach Easter we must hope that  whilst we don't have to Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham i n Robin Hood over another holiday.

However Easter this year is not going to be like any we have known, as anty trips to the seaside or the countryside or even the Garden Centre or DIY shop are a complete no-no.

Areas of Wales and the rest of the UK that have high number od Second Homes and holiday lets , have already faced problems of people decamping to them  and it appears they are taking the virus with them.


Nation Cymru have led today with the news that

The Times newspaper found that areas with a high percentage of holiday homes, including the Lake District, Anglesey and the Cotswolds, had above-average rates of the coronavirus infection.
“Britons who fled to their second homes at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic appear to have taken the virus with them,” the Times said.
The virus prevalence data had been collected by the Covid Symptom Tracker app, which allows contributors to track their health.
Between 5% and 6% of people on Anglesey are now infected, according to the app. There are 2,112 second homes in Anglesey, about 7% of residences.
Professor Tim Spector, the lead researcher for the app, told the Times newspaper: “It looks like the coasts are more infected than the inner parts of the UK down in Cornwall and Devon — that may be the Londoners’ second home part.”
The app was developed by a team at King’s College London in association with the start-up Zoe Global, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.

Meanwhile the Senedd Member for Llanelli has attempted to smear Plaid Cymru, with accusations of being Anti-English.

Lee Waters AM

@Amanwy

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Apr 4

Many second home owners are people living within Wales. Why are Plaid Cymru calling for a ‘full travel ban into Wales’?

A Quick look at the coverage by the Political Editor, ITV Cymru Wales proves that Plaid had said just that.

Adrian Masters

@adrianmasters84

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Apr 4

1/7 Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price is calling on the Welsh Government to use emergency legislation to implement a film travel ban into Wales without an official reason ahead of the Easter weekend.

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Adrian Masters

@adrianmasters84

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Apr 4

2/7 He says Plaid representatives are being indundated with reports of people arriving at holiday homes in the north and west

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Adrian Masters

@adrianmasters84

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Apr 4

3/7 Adam Price: ‘The message that this is a national emergency is not getting through. There are widespread reports of people dangerously flouting the guidelines and making non-essential journeys to their second homes ahead of the Easter break.’

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Adrian Masters

@adrianmasters84

4/7 ‘The Welsh Govt should introduce emergency legislation to impose a full travel ban into Wales without an official permit or valid reason. This should include additional arrangements to help prevent any unnecessary internal travel within Wales or via international transit’

As far as I know Mr Waters has not apologised, but his hypocrisy reached a new level when he retweeted this from First Minister Mark Drakeford. which is almost exactly the same advice as Adam Price.

Lee Waters AM Retweeted

Mark Drakeford

@fmwales

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Apr 4

Concerned to hear that visitors are travelling to parts of North and West Wales. This is NOT essential travel. You will be fined by the Police, but more importantly you are putting yours and other people’s lives at risk. Please return home immediately, and help save lives.

Quote Tweet

Visit Wales 

@visitwales

· Mar 27

Diolch… for staying home and staying safe. Please avoid all unnecessary travel within Wales this weekend. Following this guidance will save lives. Our beaches and mountains will always be here. We look forward to welcoming you back in future; but for now, let’s #staysafe.

Indeed it does not seem to mention the same issue of "Travel within Wales ,that Plaid Cymru also pointed out.

Perhaps Mr Waters should follow the advice of a former Labour Prime Minister.

Keir Starmer in the end will face the same Tory Media as Corbyn.

First Minister Mark Drakeford statement that new Labour leader  Keir Starmer "will stand up for Wales" is hardly surprising  though  whether any Unionist ever "Stands up for Wales" rather than their precious uUnion is a mot point 

Stammarr won the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn with 56.2% of the vote, beating Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.

Mr Drakeford, who is Welsh Labour Party leader, said Sir Keir's leadership would be "crucial" in the coming months.

He also called on the party to unite to face the "challenges ahead".

"Keir becomes leader at a critical time for our country," Mr Drakeford said.
"His leadership in Parliament will be crucial in the coming months as we respond to the coronavirus outbreak, and then as we seek to build the more equal and just society that must surely follow.
"I know that in Keir, we have a UK Labour leader who will continue to stand up for Wales' interests and support the work of the Welsh Labour government in delivering for the people of Wales."

To be fair during a leadership hustings in Cardiff in February, Sir Keir said more powers should be devolved to Wales.

He added that he wanted to see the Welsh leadership play a "bigger part in decision making" in the party.

Though the actual leadership in Wales has hardly been proactive in calling for both.

The new leader at having secured 56% of the votes in the first round thus easily beating Rebecca Long Bailey and Lisa Nandy. As expected Angela Rayner has won the deputy race

But instead of making a victory speech to a packed special conference as had been planned the party issued a short video statement from Starmer he had prepared earlier. This was of course, was down to the coronavirus pandemic which meant that the planned conference that Labour had scheduled for today didn’t take place.

Of course this  Mr Starmer problem I(I don't like titles including Knighthoods) as to balance the idea of "National Unity" with scrutiny of the government.

He may well have to weigh up calls for a National Government if as suspected we are still going to be in lockdown  at the end of Aprisl.

It could easily lead to a Catch 22 situation where opposition leaders joining such a government , would have access to Civil Servants and the true extent of the crisis , but then will be unable to openly criticise the Prime Minister's response.

As I said yesterday on that the Labour-led Welsh government have asked the Conservatives and Plaid leaders  to join a key Cabinet group planning the administration’s coronavirus response.

" Of course this may be a ploy by Mr Drakeford  to mute criticism of his piss-poor  response to the current crisis , seemingly slowing themselves s to be bullied by Tory Ministers in Westminster , though it will be unlikely  both Paul Davies and especially Adam Price , ar unlikely going to be tied by collective cabinet responsibility ."

For Keir Starmar it may be that he can expose the failings of the Tory Government in handling the crisis.

However if he does then he needs to point out what he would do differently and that has certainly been lacking on the Labour Benches.

The Tories are still well ahead in the polls , even when it is clear they are incompetent in handling the crisis and unless the media suddenly start calling this out it will continue.

So long as we are b eing informed by a media that overwhelmingly  backs the Tories , Keith Starmar may have the same problem faced by Jeremy Corbyn.

Tory and Plaid leaders to join join coronavirus Cabinet team

I must say I was rather amused , with this headline fro the Left Foot Forward Blog

 Left-wing Welsh Labour invite Tories to join coronavirus Cabinet team

They begin by saying The Labour-led Welsh government have asked the Conservatives to join a key Cabinet group planning the administration’s coronavirus response.The move was announced on Wednesday by First Minister Mark Drakeford – a left-winger seen as an ally of Jeremy Corbyn.

I thunk those in Wales who have been under "Welsh" Labour  through the whole period of devolution would struggle to see any signs of Jeremy Corbyn's vision in the Welsh Government, which may be why he hardly mentioned  it whilst he was attacking the Scottish Government under the SNP which has been far more proactive on social issues.

Anyway they  go on

The Cabinet COViD group meets weekly, receiving reports of the latest developments from the chief medical officer, the chief executive of NHS Wales, the emergency co-ordinating centre and the Welsh Local Government Association. 

Indeed it is not actually a Cabinet   more of Council of State.

 In a statement, the First Minister told Assembly Members: “In recognition of the uniquely serious position we face, I have invited the leaders of the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru to join that group. I’m very grateful to both Paul Davies and Adam Price for accepting that invitation.”Paul Davies AM – leader of the opposition Tories – told the chamber: “I’m of course happy to take part in these discussions…[though] should they interfere with the scrutiny of the Government’s work then I’ll have to reconsider my role in attending them.”

But it was ADam Price the Plaid leader , and for me the shrewdest inclusion who had the biggest say. 

Joining the team, Adam Price AM said the pro-independence Plaid Cymru would always seek to work “co-operatively and constructively with others” – particularly in a time of “unprecedented crisis”.
Mr Price said his membership of the group would be an “invaluable forum” for his party to raise “valid questions and real concerns” with the Welsh Government and would be offering “practical ideas and solutions” as well.
The Plaid Cymru Leader said this would not “hinder nor hamper” his nor his party’s ability to scrutinise but would “further facilitate” such scrutiny, adding that Plaid Cymru’s priority would always be the “well-being of the people of Wales” and ensuring the country overcome the crisis.

Of course this may be a ploy by Mr Drakeford  to mute criticism of his piss-poor  response to the current crisis , seemingly slowing themselves s to be bullied by Tory Ministers in Westminster , though it will be unlikely  both Paul Davies and especially Adam Price , ar unlikely going to be tied by collective cabinet responsibility 

For us LFF point out.

While the COVID Cabinet group does not have any formal voting powers, the move to involve other parties by Welsh Labour reflects the scale of the crisis.
There is a limit of 14 ministers written into the Government of Wales Act – meaning a formal ‘government of national unity’ in Wales would involve sacking Welsh Labour AMs to make way for a Conservative or Plaid Cymru member. Welsh government figures say it wouldn’t make any sense to have that upheaval during a crisis.
In awkward timing, Jeremy Corbyn has used his first ever Telegraph interview to urge the next Labour leader – widely tipped to be Keir Starmer on Saturday – not to join a national unity government amid the coronavirus crisis.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman responded to the Labour leadership vote closing, in response to a question from Left Foot Forward.
“The PM will want to have good and cooperative relationship with the leader of the opposition when they take up their post,” the PM’s spokesman said – noting that Labour worked closely with ministers on the emergency coronavirus legislation which was passed swiftly before recess.

With both Labour and the Liberal Democrats who have been somewhat leaderless , through out the crisis and the latter now delaying their contest for a year , even if they were to discount making political capital of the Westminster Governments equally piss-poor response , there seems  a reluctance to offer an alternative .

Here's hoping that who ever emerged as Labour leader this afternoon will put together a team that is prepared to point out the failings of Prime Minister Johnson especially in the regards to testing and protecting those on the front line with Personal Protection Equipment.

Like the Welsh Labour Government , the Westminster Government. to which it seems in thrall , need to take a leaf out of Ms Sturgeon in Scotland and provide not just slogans but proactive leadership.

Lying, incompetent or duped?

It seems that  either the Welsh Government are Lying, incompetent or have been duped..

Wales Online report that.

Pharmaceutical giant Roche has flatly refuted a claim by Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford in the Senedd that it had struck a deal to supply Wales with Covid-19 tests.During the plenary session on Wednesday, which was conducted on the Zoom live video-calling system, Mr Drakeford named the multi-national Swiss pharma firm and insisted Wales 'did have a deal' with them.Yet Roche issued a statement afterwards to "maintain Roche never had a contract or agreement with Wales to supply testing for Covid-19".The confusion emerged as Plaid continued to put pressure on Mr Drakeford and health minister Vaughan Gething over why Wales had not been able to obtain more testing capacity itself.The first testing lab in Wales will come on stream on Monday next week as part of a deal with Roche brokered by the UK Government and covering all four nations of the UK.Whitehall sources previously told Sky News that Whitehall had taken charge after a row between England and Wales over the tests.During the plenary session, Mr Drakeford said: ""So, we did have a deal; it was a deal that we had; it was with Roche. We believe that it was a deal that ought to have been honoured."A spokeswoman from Roche Diagnostics said: “We maintain that Roche never had a contract or agreement directly with Wales to supply testing for COVID-19."Our absolute priority and focus at this time is to support the UK Government and NHS to scale up testing across the whole of the UK, including in Wales."As part of the centralised roll-out of testing, we will continue to speak to colleagues at Public Health Wales to move this forward as quickly as possible."

Though it seems that the responsibility for overseeing the production and distribution of testing kits to Public Health England for the whole of the UK.

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price told WalesOnline that the Welsh Government should publish the written agreement between themselves and the company.
He said: "As the Government and the company are at loggerheads ministers should now publish the written agreement and explain the circumstances in which the deal collapsed. Nothing short of full disclosure will resolve the issue which has already negatively impacted Wales’s ability to test at an increased rate."In a statement he added: "Transparency is crucial in any democracy – particularly during a time of crisis. We therefore welcome the First Minister’s admission today that it was indeed the company Roche who were behind the collapsed deal to supply five thousand additional Covid-19 tests per day to Wales.
“However, we still don’t know why the deal collapsed in the first place. It is in the public interest that the Welsh Government and Roche tell us what exactly happened to make the agreement fail.
“We were told that starting today we’d be conducting six thousand tests per day. But because the deal fell through, only 1,100 tests will now be done a day – a loss of 5,000 tests. That’s a scandal."Health Secretary Vaughan Gething had previously refused to name the company with whom the deal had collapsed.In a statement a Welsh Government spokesman said: “Our absolute focus is on increasing the number of tests to protect frontline key workers and the most vulnerable and stop the spread of the virus. All home nations are working at a UK level to share best practice, work up solutions and to validate new tests. Decisions on procurement will be informed by this process.”

The Welsh Labour Government have not come out of this well  even if emerged that they  had a deal and written contract with Roche, it appears that they are so powerless that there is probably be unable to do anything about it.

I doubt that such a deal with the Scottish Government  would have been broken, partly because Scotland has far more powers than Wales and above all a separate legal system.

Could it be that Roche , did not fully recognise that they were dealing with a legislature and not simply a part of the Westminster government.

Some might see this as an argument to abolish the Senedd, and let's face it iis a question we will need to answer.

But to me it shows that unless Wales get parity with Scotland , then we are going nowhere  when it comes to dealing with International firms, who seem to not fully recognise we exist.

March Fools

Why if it has been played as a patsy by the Westminster Government or rather the English arm of the NHS, do not the Labour Welsh Government  open  up about it.

Wales Online report  that

The Welsh Government is facing questions after it failed to deliver a deal it promised for 5,000 coronavirus tests a day in Wales.
On Saturday, health minister Vaughan Gething admitted that an agreement it had drawn up for 5,000 extra testing kits a day had fallen through.
Mr Gething said at the time it was "disappointing" that a company the Welsh Government had a written agreement with was "not able to honour that agreement".
Pharmaceutical giant Roche is understood to be the supplier but denied in a statement ever having had a deal with Wales. It said: “Roche does not have, and has never had, a contract or agreement directly with Wales to supply testing for Covid-19. Roche has an agreement only with the UK Government to increase testing capacity across the whole of the UK. The UK-wide roll-out is being coordinated centrally by Public Health England, including Wales.”

Though there has been some unsubstantiated claims  it was Perkin Elmer who have a plant in Llantrisant , but they would have had to have another reason to pull out

This centrally-coordinated deal will involve England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and is likely to see fewer tests initially available in Wales.

Whitehall sources told Sky News that Roche appeared to want to prioritise the bigger of two orders - one requested by the NHS in England.
Mr Gething has admitted that from this week, the testing capacity would be only be 1,100 tests instead of 6,000.
Mr Gething said that from mid-April another 4,000 antigen tests would be used in Wales every day as part of a "four-nation deal" announced by the UK Government involving Thermo Fisher Scientific, Amazon, Boots, Royal Mail and Randox.
There remain questions about what the deal was, who was involved and how it collapsed.
On Monday, First Minister Mark Drakeford said the Welsh Government "believed we had an agreement that should have been honoured".
The following day, his health minister Vaughan Gething said that deal falling through was having a major impact on testing.
He told the daily press conference the hope had been there would be "about" 6,000 tests a day in Wales from April 1 but because a deal fell through the testing level is now 1,100.

 The Welsh Government has refused to name the company but said there was a "clear agreement" for the unnamed company to "come in to Wales to set up the infrastructure required".Mr Gething said there was a written "exchange and agreement for a team to come into Wales" to improve testing capacity however, he said the company were unable to fulfil their agreement.He said he would not be commenting at this time on what had happened: "Our focus has got to be on providing more routes and tests that we have got."We've diversified the people were working with, the offers of help we've had from different organisations including the university sector and the NHS."You will see an increase."But those tests we were due to have would have made an earlier difference for us."My time right now has to be on getting things right for today and tomorrow and the big challenge we know is coming through the doors of our health and social care system here in Wales."The company themselves, made a decision they weren't able to agree with us."Roche said: "Our company has long been a trusted partner to the NHS, working to transform healthcare for patients."We are currently working in partnership with Public Health England to scale up clinical testing for COVID-19 throughout the UK. A new Roche Diagnostics test is being piloted at two hospital trusts while wider plans are designed and developed for roll-out across the country, including in Wales."The roll-out of this additional testing is being, and has always been, co-ordinated by Public Health England and there has never been a separate agreement for Wales.

Nation Cymru add that.. 

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price has called on the Welsh Government to be “honest” about why the agreement between themselves and an unnamed private supplier to provide an extra 5,000 Covid-19 tests a day collapsed.The Welsh Government said it was “disappointing” that the company had not been able to honour a “written agreement”.But Adam Price said it “beggared belief” that the Welsh Government was refusing to say why the deal collapsed or who the company was.Mr Price said it was in the “public interest” for the Welsh Government to be honest with the public and to “provide urgent answers” on what happened and why.Plaid Cymru said some sources had suggested the UK Government was part of the reason the deal collapsed.“Having blamed a company for failing to deliver on a vital agreement to provide an extra five thousand Covid-19 tests, it beggars belief that the Welsh Government is refusing to say why the deal collapsed and who the company was – especially if the actions of the UK Government scuppered the deal as some sources have suggested,” Adam Price said.“It is in the public interest for the Welsh Government to be honest with the public and to provide urgent answers about what happened – and why.“We were assured by Vaughan Gething that by tomorrow six thousand tests would be done per day. Now, because the deal fell through, we’re looking at only 1,100 tests being done a day. Wales will be even further behind on vital testing than we already were. Precious time has been lost and countless lives may now be at greater risk.“Testing is one of the best weapons we have to defeat this pandemic by tracking and tracing the spread of the virus, and ensuring frontline health and care workers are protected and can go back to work.“The Welsh Government shouldn’t be ‘disappointed’, they should be furious

Amongst all this a hero has emerged in an Aberystwyth Teenager Lloyd who has provided us with daily updates and who has put our own Government to shame..

With Coronavirus deaths in the area of the Anurian Bevan Health Board 'mirror those in Italy' as a huge spike in numbers makes the Welsh region the UK's worst hotspot after London. Can  we trust Public Health "England" to coordinate testing

This means it has the highest concentration of confirmed Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people outside London, The Times reports. 

The Aneurin Bevan Health Board should be prioritised for testing , but it seems that the Welsh Governemnt have been prevented from seeking to do , by their London Masters

They were taken for March Fools and tghe peoplke of Wales deserve better.