Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats (Free subscription) | 20/11/2009
Mike Powell and the Pontypridd Liberal Democrats welcome Chris Rosser, town councillor and former chair of the local Plaid Cymru branch, to the party.
Welsh Ramblings (Free subscription) | 20/11/2009
Flicking through the Assembly's record of proceedings for stories for Ramblings, a very important story about the Heads of the Valleys road programme comes up. It has been blogged about already this week but hasn't had a thorough treatment. The record makes sobering reading for those who accuse Plaid Cymru of prioritising "nation-building" north-south links at the expense of safety-orientated...
Valleys Mam (Free subscription) | 20/11/2009
A poll of AMs from all parties identified Edwina Hart as the Assembly’s top performer, just ahead of Rhodri Morgan.She gained 25% of the poll, while Rhodri Morgan attracted the support of 22% of AMs. Carwyn Jones and Huw Lewis tied with Conservative David Melding on 5%. Only half of the AMs were polled , wonder who they were?The survey says nine Labour AMs, nine Conservatives, seven from Plaid...
Guerrilla Welsh-Fare (Free subscription) | 20/11/2009
As noted in today’s Western Mail Edwin Hart’s camp with be pleased that they can claim that across the political spectrum she is considered the most effective Assembly performer according to the Ipsos MORI survey, even above Rhodri Morgan. No surprise that the award winning farmers champion Elin Jones came highest for Plaid whilst the well regarded David Melding topped the poll for the...
This is my truth (Free subscription) | 20/11/2009
As I was preparing for a short presentation I am making to a Plaid Cymru conference tomorrow, I came across this truly shocking report by the Howard League for Penal Reform. The report looks at the state of youth justice in Wales – it calls for greater devolution – but what is so shameful are [...]
A Change of Personnel (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009
The Cardiff Bay- Westminster split on Devolution was there for all to see yesterday and proves there is still work to be done by those who want a referendum by 2011, for instance the normally keen to promote himself Peter Hain was camera shy yesterday and Welsh Tory MP’ s just talked about the Queen speech. It’s no surprise we had no response from Welsh Secretary Peter Hain to the All Wales...
Gwilym Euros Roberts (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009
This letter appeared in today's Cambrian News: Our school places cost less, so can we pay less? Madam, In response to all the letters about the proposed school closures, I pay the same council tax, income tax and national insurance as the writer last week, and my son attends Ysgol Penybryn in Tywyn. As a parent within this area I can appreciate other parents and local councillors fighting to keep their...
Peter Black AM (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009
Plenary went on rather late yesterday so I was obliged to leave before the short debate to attend a meeting in Swansea. The short debate is the Assembly equivalent of an adjournment debate in the House of Commons. There is no vote and opportunities to participate are limited. It is essentially an opportunity for a member to speak for 15 minutes on the subject of his or her choice and have a Minister...
Welsh Ramblings (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009
Che notes that excerpts from one of Rhodri Morgan's last speeches deserve a wider audience than simply being in the pages of the Western Mail. The outgoing First Minister's comments about Wales' increasingly internationalist image are more examples of why he will be fondly remembered, despite doing a number of things with which Ramblings disagreed like sitting on the fence and protecting Tony Blair...
David Jones, MP (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009
One of the Plaid Cymru MPs dug his SNP neighbour in the ribs; they glanced at each other and both sniggered. It was a telling moment.
Independence Cymru (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009
From Dafydd Iwan, President of Plaid Cymru... Time for a proper Parliament. Today, we learnt that Emyr Jones Parry and the All-Wales Convention have come out in favour of moving to a referendum. You can guarantee that certain anti-devolution politicians and so-called 'True' Wales will be doing everything in their power to stop any further progress and devolution to Wales . Make no mistake - they will...
A View from Rural Wales (Free subscription) | 18/11/2009
Today, Sir Emyr Jones Parry presented the Report of The All Wales Convention to the First Minister of the National Assembly for Wales. Regular readers will know that I thought the establishment of this Convention to be no more than a 'device', which enabled the Labour Party to consign a coalition promise to the long grass, and provided Plaid Cymru (particularly its leader, Ieuan Wyn Jones) with a fig...
Welsh Ramblings (Free subscription) | 18/11/2009
There has already been plenty of blogging about the much predicted result of the All Wales Convention's detailed and lengthy field work. It is an entirely positive thing that the Convention has recommended a referendum and has said that one could be won. This echoes everything Welsh Ramblings and other bloggers have been saying about the constitutional situation, and endorses Plaid Cymru's political...
David Peter (Free subscription) | 18/11/2009
There is an interesting and provocative article in today’s Guardian. Hywel Williams calls for a revisionist approach to Welsh history that goes beyond the traditional stance that always seems to analyse the history of Wales in terms of the history of England. "Wales is looked at from within, and always seems a victim of outside forces. Stuff happens all right, but the causes are always found...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 18/11/2009
Vote to boost assembly's law-making powers 'is not guaranteed, but could be won' A referendum should be held in Wales on whether the Welsh assembly should be given full law-making powers, according to an inquiry set up by the governing coalition. It warned that a yes vote was not guaranteed, but said it could be won. The coalition deal between Labour and Plaid Cymru included a pledge to hold a referendum,...
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