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  Black balled

  Lee 10:09 am on 5 August, 2010 | 2 Permalink | Reply
  

  A week and a half after the selection meeting the Western Mail finally reports this morning on David Melding’s failure to be selected in the Vale of Glamorgan.

  Nick Bourne is quoted as saying “This year we have made changes to many of our selection procedures in a bid to broaden the appeal and support of our Assembly candidates.  In the seats selected so far we have a diverse range of candidates, with considerable political, community and business experience”.

  Indeed in Wrexham diversity has encompassed the sandal wearing community.  John Marek ( ex-Forward Wales, ex-Independent, ex-Labour) was selected as the Conservative candidate in an open primary.  Though not the first choice of the activists in Wrexham (for understandable reasons) he won as a result of the second preferences of members of the public who turned up at the public meeting – 26 people in total.

  In the Vale of Glamorgan the Conservative Association didn’t fancy giving up their exclusive power of selection.  They opted for a curious model where the whole membership were invited to a meeting to hear from the aspirant candidates and then select the shortlist.  But the final decision was made the by the executive committee of the local party – a group of some 25 people. This is the reverse of what happens in most parties.

  Clearly some in this magic circle had some issues with David Melding and we can only speculate what they were.  In a typically understated response he is quoted as saying “I was asked about my position on the referendum by party members during the hustings meeting, but I don’t know whether that was material to the result”.

  Candidate selection in all parties can be an arbitary affair.  I’ve blogged before on the quirks in Labour’s selection process.  The Conservatives deserve praise for opening up the selection of candidates to the wider community.  It is a brave decision and though it is open to abuse it has the potential to open up the system. But it needs to be applied evenly.  It is little more than a token gesture if in Wales it is only adopted by seats the party does not expect to win.

   
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    angela elniff-larsen 11:55 am on 7 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    Apparently Ange Jones-Evans shone at the selection.
    She is no intellectual light weight (she has a doctorate) and is very up on issues and policy
    Also she has an enthusiasm for campaigning, having just fought in the General Election.
    I see no reason why any sitting AM should feel comfortable in reselection, it’s a privilege to be chosen to be a democratic representative of a constituency.
    New enlivened and feisty AMs would be such s boon.

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    Lee 2:00 pm on 10 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    Quite so. My point was as much about the process as the outcome

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• 

  Why Iona went...

  Lee 10:48 pm on 2 August, 2010 | 4 Permalink | Reply
  

  While we await an explanation from the S4C Authority for the aburpt resignation of their Chief Executive (and I’m not holding my breath) we’ll have to settle for speculation.  The word on the Eisteddfod Maes today was that the Iona Jones was faced with a demand from her board she could not accept. 

  It is said that Authority members Sir Roger Jones (former WDA Chair), and Sir Winston Roddick (former Assembly Counsel General) met the S4C Chief Executive and demanded the Authority be given a greater role in the day to day running of the channel.  It is thought Iona Jones told them how to re-tune their set top box.

  

  

  
  
  

  Let me make myself clear, I am not making any attempt to defend the way S4C is being managed.  But one look at the membership of the S4C Authority convinces me that if any board can ‘ditch due seperation’ and involve itself directly in the running of a television channel, then this is not the board to do it. 

  What’s more the S4C Authority has a role as a regulator, how can it scrutinise the management if it is part of the management?

  If the rumours on the Maes are correct, then Iona Jones’ exit begins to look a little different.

   
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    angela 12:51 am on 3 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    outside the bubble and the media ,most would have no idea what’s happening with S4C or its staff,board or its programming,
    Where does the scrutiny lie -WAG or Westminster?

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    Lee 8:00 am on 3 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    Herein lies the rub! S4C is not devolved and is accountable to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Parliament. But little scrutiny takes place as Whitehall is nervous of interfering in a culture it does not understand – the ghost of Gwynfor Evans haunts the corridors.

    Ironically S4C, and to be fair most Welsh politicians, have not wanted the channel devolved as it was feared that if the £100 Million budget was put under the control it would be vulnerable to other priorities.

    But S4C have been pretty snotty in its dealings with AMs on the grounds that they are not accountable to them. A significant political misjudgement by the S4C leadership. Now, when the channel needs all the friends it can get, there are few who feel much goodwill towards the management

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    GHD 5:03 am on 5 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    Perfect expression!!
    I like it .

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  Ebbw Vale and the Eisteddfod

  victoria 5:06 pm on 2 August, 2010 | 4 Permalink | Reply
  

  Much has been made about the economic benefits of hosting the Eisteddfod in Blaenau Gwent, but after a few days on the Maes then visiting Ebbw Vale town centre, I suspect the ‘regeneration effect’ has been over-hyped.  Town centre businesses are certainly doing their best, with bunting and croeso signs displayed in just about every shop. But Eisteddfodwyr are noticeable by their absence – it’s just another Saturday / Sunday / Monday on Market Street.  Why? Because for the most part the Eisteddfod is self-contained – there are car parks with shuttle buses direct to the Maes for visitors, a shuttle bus from the station to the Maes, even dedicated Eisteddfod caravan and camping. Ironically there is NO easy access on foot from the Maes to the town centre,  so the spare cash burning a hole in visitors’ pockets is extremely unlikely to be spent in the town. As my taxi driver (like I said – no easy access on foot) said this morning, ‘It’s like it’s turned its face away from us’.

  If a major event is to have an impact it has to encourage people to spend in local businesses – no doubt a few visitors have stayed in local hotels but this is not enough. A week of good business could be the difference between survival and going under for some small firms.

  Yes, it’s proving a great Eisteddfod and yes, loads of people from Blaenau Gwent went on Sunday. And then … what?   Next year, more concerted efforts are needed if the Eisteddfod is to make a difference.

   
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    dennis m 11:36 pm on 2 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    This is a constant refrain. Unless it’s a festival like Bala, where the high street becomes an extension of the Eisteddfod because it’s close, then the sheer size of the field makes it difficult to integrate it into a community. It’s become even more marked since they started selling alcohol on the field, thus stopping wasters (like me) from sloping off to the town’s drinking holes in the afternoons.
    I’m sure the rugby club will do a roaring trade from the Cymdeithas gigs but there’s precious little in it financially for many local businesses from the Eisteddfod’s visit. On the plus side, it gives a town like Ebbw Vale – not a well-visited area – a place in the sun for a week and there will hopefully be a feelgood factor that extends beyond that week.
    Just one tip – never ever quote a taxi driver. It’s the laziest form of journalism (even for a blogger). They never have anything good to say, even when they profit from a site that’s too far away to walk.

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    Jeff Jones 8:00 am on 3 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    It always is for any major event. What will be interesting is to see what both the short term and long term economic benefits of the Ryder Cup will be. I doubt if most day visitors and the majority of fans will probably be day visitors will go much further than Celtic Manor. Even if they arrive by train I doubt whether they will take much notice of the large investment in Newport station before they get on the shuttle bus to go to the course. On the long term effects it will be interesting to see if it does lead to more tourism or even investment by overseas firms in the present economic climate. I’ve not seen any evidence that the event held at Valhalla in Kentucky had much of an effect on the local economy. It would be interesting to see if anyone eventually will undertake a cost benefit analysis of the considerable public investment that has taken place in the last 10 years. The problem of course for politicians with all these events is that it so difficult to say no when it comes to public subsidy. At least with the Eisteddfod the WLGA decision to make an all Wales local authority contribution makes it easier on the host authority. In Bridgend in our first few years we were in the absurd situation of making cuts in services whilst making a large contribution to an Eisteddfod which frankly achieved nothing both in the short or the long term for the local economy.

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    Cegog 11:53 pm on 6 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    Jeff Jones in anti-Welsh cultural event shocker! Well well.

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    Sian Roberts 4:44 pm on 9 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    There were regular shuttle buses from the Maes to the town but not very well publicised. Also, the shuttle buses from the caravan park would stop in the town on request. There was no shop on the caravan park this year, so I suspect Tesco and Morrisons did well. I caught the bus to town + back twice + did a little shopping in Aldi and Greggs. Wetherspoons always seemed to have a few groups of Eisteddfodwyr + there were quite a few at the Premier Inn on Saturday. There WAS easy access on foot from the Maes to the town centre – about as close as Bala, I think – but not well signposted.

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  To blog, or not to blog?

  Lee 2:10 pm on 1 August, 2010 | 4 Permalink | Reply
  

  “When you’ve got nothing to say, say nothing” seems good advice to me.  Except of course if you are running a blog.

  Casual visitors to this site will have noticed the sporadic nature of postings.  And despite a wide cast of contributors the most regular postings come from a small number.

  Does it matter?  You tell me.

  The intention of setting up this blog, and its predecessor, was to create a space for debate where a range of contributors could contribute from different perspectives.  Since then the excellent Wales Home and Click on Wales have both sprung up.  

  Inevtiably competition for contributors means someone will lose out, and unlike our rivals this blog does not have large team of dedicated editors.  The Bevan Foundation itself is a very small charity and I am a volunteer with lots of demands on my time. 

  None of this is meant as a complaint or a whinge but an attempt to explain how we’ve fallen behind.  I’ve tried to reconcile myself with the thought that where this blog struggles with quantity we make a reasonable job of quality.  But as anyone who runs a blog knows you need a steady stream of postings to keep traffic coming to the site and to keep it relevant.  There we are failing.

  So what next?  In the absence of a rush of quality contributors this blog can either keep doing what it has been doing as best as it can, or it is time for a change.

  This blog is not an exercise in vanity, it exists to be read and provoke.  So as our readers, it is to you I turn for advice….

   
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    angela elniff-larsen 2:25 pm on 1 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    I would say its quality not quantity .also keeping to your remit of social justice and not being too political will restrict you.
    Unlike some blogs bevan has a membership which you also hav eto pay attention to , but which you could also use if yu invite paid up members to contribute
    You may have some one horse jockey type of posts – but ok so do the other blogs.
    As long as you retain you editorial pen and can control the posting onto the site I think yuo will find it easier for you
    I have written for a a few blogs and for Bevan ,I apologise Lee for nor being more prilific. My problem is I am not good at the physical posting of my thoughts.
    Will try to do better

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    angela elniff-larsen 2:28 pm on 1 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    I should have check my spelling before posting too grrrrrr

  • 

    Adam Higgitt 3:04 pm on 1 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    I’d hate to see this site go out of business. I read each post and what it lacks in regularity it more than makes up for in quality. I think Angela has a point; you have a specific focus which the public debating space in Wales really needs.

    There’s one other point you might want to consider: many people (me included) read blogs via an RSS aggregator like Google Reader. It means that they see your posts whenever they appear, so perhaps regularity of content isn’t such an issue after all.

    Best

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    Victoria Winckler 4:46 pm on 2 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    Watch this space for some changes coming in September – which should give quality and quantity (she says with fingers crossed!!)

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  Big Lottery and Big Society

  victoria 2:35 pm on 26 July, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Given the emphasis on the so-called ‘big society’, you might think that the Big Lottery Fund’s spending on a variety of social, community and environmental projects would be increased. Not so. A Department for Culture, Media and Sports consultation suggests that the Big Lottery Fund’s share of funding should be cut from 50% of the total of ‘good causes’ funding to 40%, with the proportion allocated to sport, arts and heritage increasing to 20% each from April 2012. 

  The rationale for the change is a ‘belief’ that some of the funding has been used for projects that are statutory responsibilities – no evidence of this however – and that more cash for cultural activities was the Lottery’s ‘original purpose’.

  So, instead of projects that build a ‘big society’ and support some of the most vulnerable people in that society, there will be more funding for activities that, for the most part, are accessed and enjoyed by the most well-off.  Yes, cultural activities are an extremely important part of life and should be available for all to enjoy, but at the expense of health, educational and other charitable activities? – no.

  Closing date for the consultation – which has had little media or other coverage – is 21st August.

   
• 

  All talk?

  Lee 5:01 pm on 16 July, 2010 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  

  I understand that last Monday the Cabinet finalised the Assembly Government’s Climate Change Strategy to be launched in October.  From May all parties in the Assembly are committed to starting cutting our carbon emissions by 3% every year.  Ministers have been justifiably proud that this makes the Welsh Assembly Government one the world’s leading regional Government’s.  Indeed, one of Carwyn Jones’ first acts as First Minister was to head to Copenhagen to represent Wales and parade our record.

  But we are some way off matching the rhetoric with action.

  Had the ‘Rainbow Alliance’ been formed between Plaid, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats in 2007 Government Ministers would have pledged to cut 3% a year from all Welsh emissions starting immediately and delivered by 2011.  The One Wales agreement had a watered down version.  The 3% target would only apply to devolved areas (so the fear of shutting down the steelworks at Port Talbot could be avoided) and would only come into effect after 2011. 

  Between then and now WAG officials have been trying to find ways of achieving the cut, and indeed one senior civil servant has been arguing internally that the 3% target is unachievable and should therefore be dropped.  He’s been slapped down; instead the target has been watered down further still. 

  It is now believed that less than half the 3% target can be achieved by WAG.  To achieve the remaining emissions cuts WAG are relying on policies being introduced by the UK Government being achieved, for example electric cars.  And that assumes that the bits WAG are banking on being able to deliver will do so – which is quite an assumption.  The end result may well be lower than 1% emission cuts.  

  So we’ve gone from 3% now (aka 2007), to possibly less than 1% after 2011.

  Now of course the economic downturn will result in a drop in emission as a consequence of falling output, and that may well help the next Assembly Government present figures in its early years to show it is on the right track.  But the work that the respected Tyndall Centre has been doing for the Welsh Climate Change Commission shows that we need cuts in carbon emission of 9% per year in order to keep global warming from reaching dangerous levels. 

  We’re a million miles for achieving anything like that.  Environmental NGOs and advisers are in despair at the pace of progress but are self-censoring for fear of upsetting Ministers.  This is difficult territory and I make no criticism of that.  Leadership on this issue needs to be shared. 

  It is easy for all parties to pass motions in the Assembly promising cuts in ten years time.  The tough politics is delivering cuts in the early years.

  Over the next few months work on writing manifestos will intensify.  If the political parties are sincere in wanting Wales to take a leading role in tackling climate change they must commit to a programme of Government which delivers cuts in devolved areas of at least 3% every year.

  It can be done.  There is little point in Wales having some of the world’s best strategies if we do not deliver them.

   
• 

  Can we afford empathy?

  jonathan 9:59 am on 7 July, 2010 | 2 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: benefits health, disability (2)

  My mother is 92 and earlier this year she had a visit from two charming Age Concern workers to assess her needs. Some weeks later she was informed that she had qualified for Disability Living Allowance since she was “severely disabled”. She refused to accept it, adamant that she was not disabled. She was very upset and asked that the words did appear on any documentation about her saying:”Once I think of myself as disabled I will start giving up.”

  Residents at her Sheltered Accommodation encouraged her to keep the money saying how their Allowance funded their holidays or enabled them to make generous gifts to their grandchildren. Eventually she accepted the money as her entitlement rather than something that she needed.

  Every week in my work as a general practitioner I am asked to sign forms, write supporting letters or appeal letters for people claiming Disability Living Allowance or Incapacity Benefit. Since I have a duty to be the patients’ advocate, I do not refuse. I was inspired many years ago by a visionary London GP, Iona Heath, now President of my Royal College, when she used the phrase ‘empathic imagination’ to describe her thinking when engaging with broken, wounded people enduring deprivation. Using empathic imagination, I can picture the life difficulties that people asking for help are wrestling with. It is easy to write letters and to campaign.

  The media and Government mood has changed since the election. Empathic Imagination does not make headlines or sell copy; those holding the purse strings may not be allowed to feel. Any talk of cutting benefits can only mean that people in the communities that I serve will be poorer. Will reducing benefits make the Community as a whole weaker or stronger? Do I have a new public duty to tell someone to pull themselves together and learn to get by? Should Society pick up the costs incurred by vulnerable people who do not have the resilience to cope with stress, the strengths to carry on working when disabled or ill? Can we afford to provide income for people who will not use it to address a fundamental need?

  Perhaps I will have to lose my empathic imagination. It might be easier to think differently if the benefits were relabelled Vulnerability Crutch Benefit and Doesn’t Feel Able To Go Out To Work Support.

   
  • 

    David Bouvier 5:18 pm on 26 July, 2010 Permalink
    

    If by empathic imagination you not telling the truth in someones medical report in order to facilitate their claiming benefits that they are not entitled to, then I call it embezzlement.

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    Robert 5:36 pm on 6 August, 2010 Permalink
    

    Your age concern people need a benefits review themselves you cannot have DLA once you hit retirement age, Attendance allowance will be paid which is a lower single benefits.

    Disability living allowance which is still under threat from the Tories now is only paid to people of working age.

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  Bumper Boost for Banner

  Lee 8:56 am on 7 July, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Eights months out from a referendum on further powers Gerry Holtham’s latest report is, how shall I put it, unhelpful.

  The conclusion by the three man Commission that the Assembly should be accountable for what it spends, just as a Local Authority is, by having to raise its own revenue is intelectually undeniable.  But is manna from heaven for the No campaign. 

  And Holtham’s rider that his package of financial reform should be subject to yet another referendum is sure to be seized upon as confirmation that the slope towards independence gets slipplier with every incremental step.

  These arguments can be countered, but whearas the first report helped the narrative of the Yes campaign, yesterday’s final installment does not.

   
• 

  Fatigue

  Lee 7:35 pm on 1 July, 2010 | 4 Permalink | Reply
  

  The Left Foot Forward blog is reporting that the timetable for the promised referendum on changing the Westminster voting system will be announced next week, and that the referendum itself is most likely to be scheduled for May 2011 – on the same day as local Council elections in England.  And of course the day elections to the National Assembly for Wales are also due to take place. 

  The Con / Lib Government haven’t scored highly on sensitivity to Wales so far and bracketing the Assembly elections with other ‘local’ elections in England confirms the pattern. 

  If allowed to go ahead on the same day voters would face the confusion of media coverage about changing to the Alternative Vote for elections (they are unlikely to distinguish between Westminster and other polls) while voters in Wales will be expected to use the AMS system for only the fourth time.

  Understandably Welsh Party leaders are looking to exercise their ability to request a delay of one month to postpone Welsh elections until June 2nd.

  But that raises a further problem.  Welsh voters will be asked to take part in a referendum on Assembly powers in early March, the 10 yearly census later that month, a referendum on a new voting system for Westminster in early May and then elections to the Senedd at the beginning of June.

  It is going to be hard to get the arguments about the Assembly referedum heard through the noise of a Westminster debate about the voting system, and harder still to generate interest in the Assembly elections in June.

  But I doubt that has crossed the minds of our Prime Minister and his deputy.

   
  • 

    Jeff Jones 9:16 am on 2 July, 2010 Permalink
    

    Lee I really can’t see what the problem is. In 1979 the General Election was held on the same day as district council elections in Wales. it produced a record turn out for council elections in many areas. The Liberal who topped the council poll in my ward polled over 4000 votes out of a possible 4200. It doesn’t take much to vote on three separate issues on the same day. American electors often vote for numerous political offices and even hold referendums on issues on the same day as Presidential elections without much difficulty. The problem for Assembly politicians used to low polls is the uncertainty of what will happen to the turnout if there are two referendums on the same day. What will happen if some of the majority of voters who have ignored Assembly elections in the past decide to vote is probably the real fear on the part of some of the political class down the Bay.

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    Dr. Christopher Wood 3:20 pm on 4 July, 2010 Permalink
    

    I’m with Jeff Jones on this one – are we to believe that Welsh voters can’t vote on several issues at the same ballot box? It’s the norm in the USA – and ‘yanks’ in some British quarters are supposed to be the ’stupid ones’. In 2012 US voters will have a choice of Senators to vote for – and they will pick two; at least two Presidential choices to vote for, their choice of District Representative, any number of referendum votes from “Increasing the local tax base by 4% to pay for a new school program” to “raising money through a new Bond issue to pay for XYZ or ABC or FYX”. Perhaps its time for Welsh politicians to grow up and realize that there is a world out there.

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    mike 10:36 pm on 4 July, 2010 Permalink
    

    Though I don’t think Wales is much on anyone’s radar, I have to agree with both Chris and Jeff, I don’t see the real problem

• 

  Dear Mr Osborne

  victoria 3:08 pm on 28 June, 2010 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  

  Your announcement today about Incapacity Benefit, along with your colleague’s announcement yesterday of incentives to help people to move home to find work, show no understanding whatsoever about Incapacity Benefit claimants in Wales.  Yes, the 146,000 people who claim IB are far too numerous, and yes, some of them may well be able to work.

  But bear this in mind.  Two thirds of claimants have been claiming IB for more than five years. Almost all of these people will have some sort of health condition, even if it is not totally incapacitating.  But are they ready and able to work after 5 years? I doubt it.  And who will employ someone who hasn’t worked for that long, when there are also thousands of people looking for work, who’ve worked very recently? Not many.    More than half the people claiming IB are over 50. Can they compete against the thousands of young people looking for work? Unlikely.

  It would be good if those who are able to work, even with a health condition and a long period out of work, were to find employment.  But that needs a radical change in the nature of work, in the number of jobs available, and in the support offered to IB claimants and prospective employers. Simply switching people to a lower level of benefit just drives them deeper into poverty.

  What we need is a welfare system that is like a trampoline, to quote a delegate at a conference last week, so that when people fall into it it bounces them, at the right time, back up again.  But all we’ve been offered today is cuts, that will kick people when they are down.  Not so much a trampoline, more a holey blanket.

   
  • 

    Dr. Christopher Wood 4:59 pm on 29 June, 2010 Permalink
    

    Sorry – hit the scrawl button … but this is one Welsh family’s experience of ‘moving to where the work is supposed to be’ – “yeah, right”.

    Absolutely agree – this is conservative party at its elitist ‘best’ not understanding from Adam the plight of those on such benefits and the rabid idiotic belief in a magic bullet to make such benefit claimants ‘go away’. I am working class, right off a council house estate – my parents moved us from Trowbridge council estate to a huge council housing estate on the eastern fringe of London (I don’t think they ever saw it until the early hours of the day we arrived to move in). They put an advert in a London newspaper seeking a “London” family who wanted to do a council house exchange with a family in Cardiff. I can’t fully describe the trauma of the move to that massive council estate in East London – it was HUGE compared to Trowbridge (and Trowbridge is not exactly small), full of gangs and as rough as nails compared to Trowbridge.

    I learnt a whole new vocabulary of swear words, but luckily my mother stopped me copying the swearing – so I never swore at home. My father moved on spec (he had been made redundant from the Steel works in Wales) and so didn’t have a job – we were pretty much dirt poor, but he applied for work at Ford Dagenham, but they were not hiring. So we did another council house exchange (I think this time it was a three-way council house exchange) and moved to a more central location in London where my father found work. I was on free school meals and very embarrassed about it because my name got called out in the dinner line. Forcing Welsh families to move like that would be cruel – it was a very traumatic experience being in a Welsh school one week and the following week in a rough London school on a super-rough council housing estate on the eastern fringe of London. When I get time I am going to write a book on this experience.

    Moving families to ‘where the work is’ is a joke – we found out that London had more unemployed people than Wales. That the rents in the private sector (if you could find a landlord willing to rent you a whole house) were sky-high; I remember as a young kid reading an article in a London paper about Battersea council who preferred unemployed families in their council properties because their council rents would be paid out of the benefits system whereas those with jobs found it very hard to keep up with the rent and got into serious arrears.

    There is a bigger trap for council house renters in London than in Wales – at least which was our experience. It was so bad that my father worked himself nearly to death to save up enough money to finance a move back to Wales – again via a council house exchange – we ended up this time on Lansbury Park in Caerphilly, which despite its reputation was nothing on the first council estate we lived east of “East London”.

    By this time my youngest brother’s education was torn to shreds and he left his Caerphilly school (St. Martins) with no O levels. He got a ‘mates job’ at Howells in Cardiff – he worked loading their delivery trucks with furniture. I think my Aunty Sandra who lived in Bedwas helped him get a job at Howells – she worked in one of their back offices. Later he did part time classes and went to Cardiff University to read law and sociology, he was offered LLB courses at several places but opted to stay in Cardiff – he simply had enough of moving about the country.

    Forcing Welsh families to move will mean massive disruption delivered on their children – they will be the real victims – it will be VERY hard on them.