Turkey Dictatorship means Dictatorship. Get over it

BBC and Other UK Media


Scottish Referendum Result Yes 44.70 No 55.30 

Overwhelming  Victory for No. Issue settled for a Generation


Brexit Vote Leave 51.89 Remain 48.11 

Decisive Victory for Leave Brexit means Brexit


Turkish Referendum Yes 51.41 No 48.59
Narrow Victory Turkey divided

Despite saying that the voting day was "well administered", the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe criticised the referendum campaign, saying:

• It was an "unlevel playing field" and the two sides of the campaign "did not have equal opportunities"
• It was unbalanced due to the active involvement of the president and several senior officials
• It was tarnished by a number of officials equating No supporters with terrorist sympathisers
• State resources were misused
• Under the state of emergency, essential fundamental freedoms were curtailed
• Despite some measures, the legal framework remained inadequate for a genuinely democratic referendum

Of course in the Scottish Referendum  was a level playing field with an unbiased media given both sides of the question   fairly .

It seems the difference between "a narrow Victory and a Decisive vote is 0.47%. when referring to Brexit, and Turkey 

Does "Dictatorship mean Dictatorship " do those in Turkey  who value democratic freedoms now have to "Get over it".

 Progressive forces   have been dealt another blow especially after Trump who actually had fewer votes than Clinton  won by 46.4% to her 48.5  but he won more getting more electoral college votes.

Only in Scotland where the reaction of the looser was to rally and see a huge surge of membership of the pro independence party and a SNP  landslide in Scotland in the UK General Election  and the prospect of reversing the vote in another referendum.

There will be no prospect for the Kurds in Turkey who will face a quasi fascist  President  and who may be violently suppressed as  Erdogan manufactures reasons to ban thier political parties and try to eradicate thier national idnity.

What is Holyrood For? "What is Cardiff Bay For?

There was one of the most important Blogs on what we can expect from Devolution on the Scottish Blog Bella Caledonia

Entitled "What is Holyrood For" it pointed out that those who believe that they can isolate themselves from the Harsh Winter coming from a Tory run Westminster are living with false hope and has a equally disturbing  future here in Wales

Kimbereley Carden writes

One positive to take out of the last few days – and indeed it’s been a deeply disappointing few days, culminating in Ruth Davidson telling women who have had children as a result of rape not only that they don’t deserve dignity, privacy or compassion, but that their suffering is just a political football to her and nothing more – is the penny finally dropping that the Scottish government cannot be expected to mitigate Tory cuts. This is not the same as to say that the government shouldn’t try to do so where they reasonably can – and indeed the SNP government is already spending £400 million per year mitigating Tory welfare cuts in Scotland. But it is to say that the Scottish government – and whichever party/parties constitute this – cannot be expected to and -indeed mustn’t be.
The reason for this is two-fold: firstly having the competence doesn’t equate to having the capability. The cuts the Tories are making to tax credits and disability benefits alone are huge. It would be impossible for the Scottish government – with a fixed block grant and minimal tax raising powers – to raise and move cash to cover our share of the welfare cuts that we’re told are saving the UK treasury £12 billion, without this being hugely detrimental to Scotland.
We are in a situation where the block grant has already been massively cut as a result of UK spending cuts and this in turn is leading to a diminishing budget for Scotland: Since 2010 there has been a real terms cut in funding to the Scottish parliament of £2.9 billion and the Fraser of Allander Institute has said that we are looking at another £800 million to £1.6 billion in real terms cuts by 2020. Add to this that the Scottish government’s tax changes don’t even bring in enough to cover what they are already spending annually on mitigating welfare cuts and we begin to see the issue.

I wrote at the time that the issues for Tax Raising powers was a Trojan Horse designed to force a already underfunded Welsh Government 

It is a tactic based on the argument

"You don't want these cuts , then You raise Taxes to pay for it".

It is exemplified toby Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson reaction her who has been under attack from the SNP and Labour over the issue, “rape clause” introduced by the UK Government’s child tax credit reforms.

 The Tory leader said the Scottish Parliament has the power to create a new Scottish-only benefit, following the passage of the Scotland Act, and called on the SNP and Scottish Labour to set out their position.

She added: 

“We support the exemptions which the UK Government has put in place on restrictions to child tax credits, and we want to see the UK Government implement them in the most compassionate way possible. That work is on-going.“The SNP has said it opposes the two-child policy on tax credits, so it now has a choice to make.“At Holyrood, we now have the power to create new benefits. So the Scottish Government could, if it wanted, propose a new benefit to provide funding for families with more than two children.“Of course this would have to be paid for, but if the SNP Government believes this to be of such importance, then it can act.

I suppose such arguments could be valid except that the Tories  are using the attack on the welfare state to pay for Tax cuts for their  well off backers.

Neither Wales or Scotland can decide not to contribute to the billions that will be spent on Trident  and other Westminster projects that are of no benefit to us.

Basically Westminster is saying we are going to destroy the welfare state in England in order to keep our rich backers happy and to preserve the myth that the UK is a world power. You have the right and maybe the powers to pay for it but we are reducing the base income that you already receive.

We can then claim that your people are the most highly taxed in the UK and with the support of the Unionist Media see our Branch Offices in Hollyrood and Cardiff Bay winning power.

Ending the whole devolution project and having a Union that is not only unbreakable but where the Tories are in power for ever apart from the occasional Blue-Labour government whose policies will be almost identical.

The only solution is not further devolution  which the Tories can exploit "You want it , You pay for it scenario"

The only way for Wales and Scotland to escape the clutches of Cold , Callous Toryism is Independence/

Welsh Councils given "Final. Final Warning" over recycling.

The BBC reports that three local authorities which missed a recycling target last year are to avoid fines of more than £600,000.

Newport, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen all missed a target to recycle 58% of waste by 2015/16.

Ministers have set tough targets for the amount of waste authorities should recycle, reuse or compost, with the threat of fines to those councils that do not meet them.

In 2015/16 the target was set at 58%, which 19 of Wales' 22 councils met or exceeded, with Wales as a whole recycling 60.2% of waste.

But Newport and Torfaen both fell just short at 57% each, while Blaenau Gwent's performance was the lowest at 49%.

Based on a penalty of £200 per tonne that the target was missed by, Blaenau Gwent council said it would have been fined £573,000 while Torfaen council said its fine would have been £49,800.

Newport council could not provide a figure at this time.

Coincidentally Blaneau Gwent and Torfaen are the two councils most likely to remain under Labour control after May's election.

It would not look good if a Welsh Labour Government fined a Labour controlled council before May election.

However it seems  the Welsh Government has now decided not to penalise them, saying it expects their performance to improve.

What we used to call in the workplace their "Final Final Warning".

Opposition AMs criticised ministers, however, with one suggesting the credibility of the government's strategy has been "lost".

The Welsh Government - which set the first statutory recycling targets in the UK - said 

"significant improvements" are expected for the authorities' recycling performance in 2016/17.
"As such, a decision was taken not to issue penalties on this occasion," a spokeswoman said, adding fines could still be imposed in future if local authorities continue to miss targets.

It is not the first time the Welsh Government has decided not to fine authorities for missing recycling targets. 

In 2015, it waived penalties for Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Another two Labour controlled councils  (Newport run by the Tories and LibDems may be lucky here).

But Simon Thomas, Plaid Cymru environment spokesman, said: 

"It seems to me that the credibility of what the Welsh Government is trying to achieve is clearly lost when you go through two cycles of target setting and two cycles of failure by certain authorities, and you just don't follow through on it."

 UKIP local government spokesman Gareth Bennett, said the policy was "ill-conceived" and that the imposition of fines "would only serve to hit local authorities and council tax payers in the pocket".

True but as Conservative environment spokesman David Melding points out

"There must be an incentive for the underperforming councils to improve recycling rates,"  "and the Welsh Government is in danger of appearing to be all bark and no bite".

A Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesman ( since their only AM is part of the government in "Not a Coalition" said:

 "The Welsh Government cannot possibly hope to meet recycling targets if councils know they'll get away with missing their recycling targets by sweet talking the government."

In forthcoming years, the targets will get tougher to meet - with authorities expected to recycle 64% of waste in 2020 and 70% in 2025.

During this time a number of Welsh Councils may cease to be under Labour Control . It will be interesting to see if the Welsh Government  start getting tough.

Going back to  Gareth Bennett;s point  that fines "hit  council tax payers in the pocket".I wonder if the councils meeting the targets are already increasing resources  when it comes to recycling  and costing council tax payers more.

Prehaps we should see figures on what councils are spending on recycling per head of population  along with their success rate?

 Maybe the Government should consider asking for powers to impose a wage freeze on Chief Executives and senior Councillors , If it was their pockets that were affected they might just try harder.

 

Tory candidate an" Accident waiting to happen".

Yesterday I wrote that...

"Those of us who have the honour of a Tory (or one pretending to be an Independent) standing in their area will have or soon receive leaflets from them in which they don't call for cuts but will be calling for more expenditure on their Ward"

Here is one example the Tory standing in my Ward Sam Trusk calling for a development and bemoaning that expenditure goes elsewhere 



I am not claiming that candidates should not fight for their Ward all candidates especially those challenge incumbents will be doing so.

But, when you are standing for a political party which has imposed cuts from Central Government that has been passed down via the Assembly to your council, How can you have candidates in a Local Authority demanding expenditure in their patch?

You could argue that this is the case for voting as an Independent but they often work like a political Party as they work as a group both in opposition and in power.

Indeed how many "Independents" are  subject to some kind of "Whip" just look how they operate on Carmarthen an Pembrokeshire councils.

Too what extent are they organised under a leadership and candidates already agree to some group policies even before they are elected.

If you look at the above image you will see that under the Photo of Mr Trusk are the words an 

"Accident waiting to happen".

Condemned  in his own words you might say

Tories "open to the people", but only their own.

At their Local Government  campaign launch, Tory "Welsh" Leader  Mr Davies said councils should be more open to the people they served.

"Time and time again, whether it be the planning system, whether it be exorbitant council tax increases that people have had to face, they believe that Labour-run councils - along with Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats - haven't been listening to them," he told BBC Wales.
"Welsh Conservatives promise to listen, promise to deliver, and above all will make sure that we're held to account when we get into county halls across the length and breadth of Wales."

The Tories always talk about councils being open to people they severe but only if the people agree with them

Ken Livingstone’s high-spend socialist policies put the GLC into direct conflict with Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government.when Livingstone soon became a thorn in the side of the sitting Conservative government. He antagonised Thatcher through a series of actions (including posting a billboard of London’s rising unemployment figures on the side of County Hall, directly opposite Parliament); a Fares Fair policy of reducing Tube and bus fares using government subsidies;

By 1983, the government argued for the abolition of the GLC, claiming that it was inefficient and unnecessary, and that its functions could be carried out more efficiently by the boroughs. The arguments for this case which were detailed in the White Paper Streamlining the cities. Critics of this position argued that the GLC’s abolition (as with that of the Metropolitan County Councils) was politically motivated, claiming that it had become a powerful vehicle for opposition to Margaret Thatcher’s government. Ken Livingstone and 3 other Labour councillors resigned in protest, and won back their seats easily in the September 1984 by-elections because the Conservatives refused to stand.

The point is despite the GLC facing a hostile press the Tories could not risk it going to a election and Livingstone winning on a Left  Mandate completely opposite to Thatcherite thinking

Earlier, he told the BBC's Good Morning Wales programme that high pay in local government "drove people around the bend", and questioned why some officials in county halls were paid more than the prime minister.

The Tories only run Monmouth with the help of the Liberal Democrats. I wonder what officials in the many county halls in England are paid?

The party's local government spokeswoman Janet Finch-Saunders said 

Labour and Plaid Cymru-led councils

 "continue to hold back our communities with a complacency that has seen our high streets deteriorate, picturesque green spaces diminish, and council tax bills spiralling out of control".

Those of us who have the honour of a Tory (or one pretending to be an Independent) standing  in their area will have or soon receive leaflets from them in which they don't call for cuts but will be calling for more expenditure on their Ward.


At no time will they mention the Westminster led cuts to Local Governments finances which has led to the closure of Libraries and other social amenities.

Don't be fooled by the Tories waving the flag of Democracy they  have no interest in the views of ordinary people, They call for openness is a lie, they seek only to serve  a a minority of people who resent  the welfare state  and would rather they paid no taxes at all.

Why should anybody vote for a Party that  has tried to use an economic  crisis to attack the poor and dispossessed rather than the bankers who caused it and who will seek to extend it to your Town Halls.

Rape clause needs to be condemned by all.

The controversial government  decision to ask new mothers who have been raped for verification if they wish to claim tax credits for more than two children has become law without any debate or vote in parliament.

The so-called rape clause, which will be applied as part of new restrictions on tax credit entitlement, was added to legislation l


Alison Thewliss, the SNP MP who first highlighted the issue of the clause, has led a furious response, saying it was an “underhand parliamentary tactic” to introduce the measure without proper scrutiny.



She also described as “frankly astonishing” the fact that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP ) had introduced the scheme apparently without having trained any of the people who will judge whether someone claiming the exemption has been raped.

The regulations, announced in the 2015 budget by the then chancellor, George Osborne, were put into law through a statutory instrument, a form of legislation that allows laws to be amended without parliament’s approval.

The policy came into force on 6 April restricts tax credit entitlement for new claimants to a maximum of two children, with exceptions for multiple births and for women who could show that their third or subsequent child was conceived as a result of rape.

Those seeking to claim the exemption for rape must be assessed by what the government has described in a consultation as a “professional third party”, which could include health workers, police, social workers or rape charities.

Ms Thewliss said she had tabled a motion of prayer for annulment, a somewhat arcane version of the early day motion, in which a group of MPs sign a paper calling for a statutory instrument to be scrapped.With the regulation about to come into force, however, there is no indication of how a woman who has been raped could begin the process of claiming the tax credit exemption, or whether any of the third parties have been trained.

One appalling aspect of this I can see is that of  a child finding out from a third party who knows  because their mother is receiving extra Tax credits.

that they were conceived as a result of rape 

Ms Thewliss received parise Scottish Labour Kezia Dugdale urged the Scottish Conservative leader to condemn the “horrifically cruel and uncaring policy”, and praised SNP MP Alison Thewliss for campaigning against it.

She wrote:

“Alison Thewliss has led a powerful campaign against the heartless Tory Government on this crucial issue, and has secured cross-party support. I have nothing but praise for her tireless campaigning, and she has and will continue to receive the support of Labour MSPs and MPs in the hope of forcing the Tories into a U-turn.

Such is the  nature of the anger that has unfolded that Labour praise a SNP  MP.

But also once again shows that it is the SNP that is providing the major opposition to this callous and cruel government

In Scotland Questions have been asked about Ruth Davidson, Not a Politician known for her reticence , the Scottish Tory leader, has maintained her silence in the face of increasing demand by opposition politicians and rights campaigners to explain her position and reasoning for supporting the controversial rape clause brought into effect by her UK party.

The same can be said of the Welsh Tory Leader Andrew RT Davies surely  this was a n opportunity  for both these  "Branch Managers" to show their Independence  and condemn this.

Indeed all Tories in the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament should speak out or it points to the Government whip being extended  from the chambers in Westminster to those in Edinburgh and Cardiff.

Charity begins at home.

Pontypridd Labour MP  was busy yesterday promoting an event he and his AM counterpart was organising.



He asked a number of organisation to retweet an event he and his AM counterpart was organising

Are you looking for funding for your community group in #Pontypridd? Join us on 21 April http://www.owensmithmp.co.uk/fundingday 

These are just a few of his follow ups,

Owen Smith‏Verified account @OwenSmith_MP  15h15 hours ago

Owen Smith Retweeted Owen Smith

Any chance of a RT, pls? @LlanParish @BeddauChurch @tonparish @LlantrisantCC @TonyrefailCC

Owen Smith‏Verified account @OwenSmith_MP  15h15 hours ago

Owen Smith Retweeted Owen Smith

Any chance of a RT, pls? @Bestof_RCT @pontyobserver @Edwards_travel @pontyclunpo @DeanPowellPR @ColegyCymoedd

Owen Smith‏Verified account @OwenSmith_MP  15h15 hours ago

Owen Smith Retweeted Owen Smith

Any chance of a RT, pls? @rctscouts @tonyrefailbgc @WeLoveHawthorn @AlexonWayResi

@TheMuniArts @yourPonty @CRTWales

The Event aim's to provide community groups with information on funding

It all looks very worthy. but I wonder about the timing just two weeks before the Council Elections on May 4th and I think i can be forgiven for thinking that  maybe this may have a secondary intention in boosting Labour's image before we go to the polls to elect a new bunch of councilors.

The venue is St Catherine's Church almost directly opposite Plaid's Council Campaign HQ and where  Heledd Fychan one of Plaid's "Star Candidates" is standing in the Town Ward.

Care has been made not to mention Labour in any of the promotions so I suspect any electoral "Purdah" rules have not been broken.

But the inclusion of the  Rhondda Cynon Taf logo is a bit telling and maybe it would have been wiser if Mr Smith and Mick Antoniw had waited t a few weeks to avoid any charges of seeking electoral cadvantagerather  than be congratulated on what may be a useful initiative.