CymruMark

Lord cymrumark?

2007-10-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

The entertaining if not always accurate thoughts of oscar blog (http://www.thoughtsofoscar.blogspot.com/) points out I have lost as many elections as Lord Roger Roberts....so I wonder if I might get a place in the house of lords if Plaid decides to start sending people to the great politicians graveyard.....Lord Cymrumark has a certain ring to it....

Learn something new every day...

2007-08-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

I am very grateful to the Owain Glyn Dwr communicates weblong for the following:

"Such is the long historical traditional links of the game of Rugby with Prince Owain Glyndŵr. Indeed, as was recorded by 18th century antiquarian Iolo Morgannwg, It is a little known historical fact that the game of rugby was actually invented by the Welsh - when in 1315, Llywelyn Bren, Lord of Senghenydd, cut off an English tax collector’s head and tossed it to a gathered crowd of local Welsh, who upon being chased by English soldiers, gleefully ran around tossing the unfortunate tax collector’s head to each other until, finally, one of Llywelyn Bren’s sons drop kicked the head over the gate of Caerffili Castle. Thus, not only was the game of Rugby invented in Wales but Caerffili was, indeed, the very first rugby Club (named the Llywelyn Bren XV of course) in the entire world - if not the universe. Tom Brown and Rugby school is no more than an English Imperialist Invention. You don’t believe it? Trust to the truth of Iolo the Remembrancer!"

P.S. Please note I am not in anyway advocating the slaughtering of tax inspectors nor seeking in anyway to undermine their very considerable efforts to raise the revenues we all need etc. Some of my best friends are tax collectors and I have always publicly defended their role. They have often been treated as second class citizens,even in the bible, and should of course enjoy the same opportunities as the rest of us. I hope that clears up any possible misunderstanding.

Going to the pub...

2007-07-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

is very educational in Llandudno. Two conversations stood out last week: one I overheard to of the regulars in my local haunt discussing the merits of the single transferable voting system. I have never heard anyone in a pub discuss this in the 28 years I have been visiting the pub.

Two. I was joking that living on the side of the Orme was good news what with all the rain etc. I was told that last time llandudno flooded the water ran down the Orme flooding houses and gardens etc....so no more boasting and I am investing in buckets....

2007-07-09T14:20:00.001-07:00

As one of the 18....

As I posted below I both spoke and voted against the coalition with Labour. However I am more than happy to accept the decision and came away from National Council in positive mood.

There is a great deal in the document to be excited about and it is vital that Plaid get on with the job of selling our achievements.

We need to focus on communicating what we will bring to the new government to our supporters and the wider public.

The debate was very good natured and served to unify the party around its decision. It was much harder headed than I expected. Although nobody made the point explicitly it is clear that we will enter the coalition to make it work and realise it wont be perfect and we wont get everything we want even if its in the document. However if the Labour party drags its heels on so many issues as to delay real progress the Plaid leadership no that the broader party will support putting Labour into opposition.

Whilst it would be nice to have had a choice between the two deals the political reality is that it would have been impossible for the National Council to push the assembly group into a decision it did not want. It also would not have been a proper choice as the two documents were not drawn up at the same time with the result that the Red/Green document was inevitably better.

Whilst I have become frustrated over the past weeks with some members on the left of Plaid I respect their position and accept that this is by far the easiest option for the party. If we had opted for the Rainbow and it fell apart the damage would have been enormous. If it comes to it I think we can extricate ourselves from this with a lot less damage.

2007-07-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

Adam Price an apology.

First rule of public debate: If you have a go at someone and then find out you were wrong, say sorry.

On the post below I suggested "Adam Price and friends" had ensured that we could not have a choice between the "rainbow" and "Red/Green" . In fact it was due to the party rules that had been set out some time ago. Everybody agreed that we need to look at the process to see how it can be improved and I am happy to set the record straight.

In fairness to Adam, whilst revealing he reads this blog, he made no mention of me having a pop at him. Nobody has asked me to apologise but I think it appropriate.

7 4 July 7th.

2007-07-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

Adam Price set out seven reasons to vote for the Red green deal. He says that its easy to vote no to things but harder to vote yes. It will be impossible for supporters of the "rainbow" to vote yes for the rainbow on Saturday because Adam and friends have made this impossible. Therefore we have to vote no to the "red green" proposal.

Here are seven reasons to vote no:

1. A Parliament and the future of devolution.

The incompetence of the Labour assembly government threatens the whole devolution project. A new Plaid led government would breathe new life into politics in wales and give us a real chance of winning the referendum. The biggest boost to our chances of course is if there is a Tory government in Westminster as more Labour activists will support a parliament. If Gordon Brown wins another term Labour MPs Lords etc will lead the fight against a parliament unless we are running a successful government we will lose.

2. To lead not follow.

Looking at countries that use PR and usually have coalition government a very clear patten emerges. You either lead the government or opposition or take on the role of a junior partner. if you become a junior partner you are stuck with that role. Your party never grows very much and you have no chance of ever leading a government. The evidence is that if Plaid backs the Red green deal we will NEVER get the chance to lead a government. Do we see our future as an adjunct to the Labour party with an ever weakening negotiating position? We should either lead the government or the opposition.

3. The policy programme.

In terms of the things that Plaid wanted the two programmes are very similar. One Wales offers more on housing but under the "Rainbow" we could have taken an axe to the huge number of bodies in the Health Service and local government leeching money from front line services. Another six months to a year in opposition would give us the chance to re-vist the All wales accord and sort out the costings. One Wales offers some nice rhetoric on halting privatisation but the Tories could never have got any privatisation plans through a cabinet dominated by Plaid and the Lib dems.

4. Do you want a Tory V Labour fight in 2011?

Handing the Tories the role of chief opposition is idiotic. The public will see a Labour government in all but name fighting the Tories. We will vanish from sight. Although most of our vote will stay loyal whatever we do we need to hold onto the "anti Labour" vote and the protest vote that will either switch to the Lib dems, peoples voice or stop at home. Opting for the Rainbow would have kept Wales a Plaid Vrs Labour fight as would remaining in opposition.

5. Its time for a change.

When the negotiations started Rhodri Morgan said an opion poll should be held to see what was the preferred option of the public. An ICM poll showed that the Rainbow was the preferred option. Going against the grain of public opinion is sometimes essential in this case it serves no useful purpose.

6. Lack of stability.

Proponents of the deal claim the Lib dems are unstable, cannot be trusted and may have a new leader within a year. The Lib dem assembly group and special conference voted for the rainbow and they served for three years in a coalition despite huge divisions in their ranks.

Who will be first minister in 2009? We dont know as Rhodri Morgan is standing down. All Labour have to do is string us along for two years then their MPs can get a first Minister of their choice. Under Labour's bizarre election process MPs have a huge say in picking the first minsiter. We can bet they will pick an anti Plaid one to dump us now they have divided the "Rainbow" partners thus ensuring the survival of a Labour minority government after 2009.

7. Building the movement.

For Plaid to achive its objectives we have to build a broad based movement that can appeal to all who make their home in Wales. Becoming a small ultra-leftist adjunct to the Labour party will not enable us to do so. A Plaid led government would show the people of Wales that whilst we care deeply about the language, Trident missiles etc we can make a positive difference for everyone who lives in Wales.

interesting but...

2007-06-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

Have now seen the document agreed with Labour.

It has more detail compared with the all Wales acchord. However there is little in it that could not also have gone into the Rainbow agreement. There is some rhetoric about the market in nhs which is nice to see but does not really get us anywhere.

The commitment on the hospitals is vague and still talks about the nonsense of no closures until community services are in place. Most of the services cannot be provided "in the community" the issue is about single site provision and lack of access to services.

There is some vague talk about a governance commission to review the number of bodies governing Wales. Will Labour vote to make their buddies unemployed? Guess we will wait and see.Clearly wales has to many councils and to many bodies looking at the NHs but as most of these are run or set up by Labour its hard to see them being prepared to dismantle them.

There is lots of talk of the need to buld trust. Labour could start by telling us what Lord Kinnock plans to do in a referendum for a welsh parliament or which dungeon they plan to lock him in.:)

The reality as set out below has not changed. Its not a bad programme as such but we will probably become the third party in the assembly in 2011 if wqe agree this.

Red and green should never be seen.....

2007-06-27T03:47:00.000-07:00

Sad news as the Plaid assembly group votes to prop up or join a failing and unpopular Labour government. The consequences of this decision will last for a generation unless national council halts the process on July 7th.

Why will I be voting against this proposal at National Council and urging others to do the same.

1. Faced with the choice between being the dominant partner in a coalition and a junior partner you always choose to be the dominant partner in order to control the media agenda which is key to modern government.

2. If the rainbow had been proposed the left would have turned up to national council urging us to remember the 80's the miners strike etc. So the key message is remember 79. In the 79referendum virtually the entire Welsh Labour party campaigned against Labour's policy of an assembly. We are expected to believe that Welsh labour MPs will campaign to reduce the number of MPs. Lord Kinnock attended the meeting of Welsh MPs that told Rhodri to do a deal with the LIb dems instead. Will Labour expell him if he campaigns for a no vote? Of course not nor will they expell their councillors or MPs who do the same. I assume a date has been agreed for the referendum if not what the hell are we playing at. Only the election of a Tory government in westminster would get Labour on board for a yes vote.

3. Becoming a junior partner to labour sends out to very negative messages. a) We cannot manage on our own without a bigger partner...so goodbye to independence and goodbye to the idea of a Plaid led government.b) We want a Welsh parliament so we can have permanent Labour government. The message we send out is that we dont want real change in Wales so what is the point in voting?

I am shocked that people on the left of our party will back this nonsese. I work nightshifts stacking shelves in a supermarket for £8 an hour. Most of the people I work with are former Labour voters who stopped voting Labour because their tax money goes to pay for huge numbers of "managers" quangos etc in the public sector and not on service improvements. For self proclaimed "socialists" to support the theft of my colleagues pay to fund 22 Local health Board chief executives £100,000 pa for example would be disgusting. Therefore I look forward to seeing how the new government plans to axe these bodies to free funds for front line services.
If there is no plan then the socialists need to explain themselves.

All in all not a happy day.

Rainbow Warrior

2007-06-19T04:32:00.000-07:00

I have waited a while before commenting on the various options open to Plaid and to the internal debate within the party about what happens next. However the time for silence and reflection is over.

Plaid enjoyed a fairly successful election night and the fact that even at their height the Tories cannot overtake us in terms of seats, or even get that close, shows we are firly established as the second party in Wales. So what next?

I find the whole debate quite difficult for one reason only. Although I am not a socialist I often find myself in agreement with the "socialist" wing of the party. In 2003 I spent a lot of time, and money, helping Helen mary Jones in Llanelli (i was living in leicester at the time) and many of the friends I have made in the party are now amongst those who favour a deal with Labour.

I cannot for the life of me understand why it is that people I otherwise have the utmost respect for would prefer to see a Labour first minister rather than a Plaid one. Let us not delude ourselves that there is another choice, following the "no deal" approach favoured by Jill Evans and others (the Peter Black approach :) ) is effectively making a choice of a Labour first minister over a Plaid one and gaining nothing in return.

Going cap in hand to Labour asking for a couple of cabinet seats and a referendum on a partial parliament is deeply unattractive and will send out the wrong message about our party. We urge the people of Wales to have the confidence to shake of britishness and have our own government yet when faced with the choice of leading a government or playing second fiddle to labour the left want the second fiddle option. Its a left wing version of the "welsh cringe". Horrible to behold in people you admire.

A deal with Labour will deliver nothing of value. Rhodri Morgan willl be gone in two years so any long term promises he makes are worthless. It was Labour policy in 1979 to support the Yes campaign in the referendum yet virtually the entire Welsh labour party campaigned against it. The notion that the Labour "campaigning machine" will be thrown behind a "yes" campaign which if successful would reduce the number of MP's Labour sends to Westminster is laughable. Labour will promise much and deliver little just as they did in 1979.

The likely arrival of a Tory government in Westminster will perhaps concentrate the minds of the so called "nationalist" wing of the Labour party. It would be in the interest of a Tory government to have a Welsh parliament and reduce the number of MPs from wales, it would be in the broader Welsh interest to have a parliament to protect it from the worst access of a Tory westminster government and enough people in welsh Labour will see that.

So a "rainbow" it must be. I detect a growing appetite in the party for government and frustration amonsgt activists as to why it is taking so long to deliver. For those that foam at the mouth at the prospect of the Tories supporting a Plaid first minister I ask them do you have a serious alternative? the answer thus far is none.

Social democrats and Christian democrats work together in many parts of europe. The Tories in wales are now much closer to a "christian democrat party" and Plaid is very much in the Social Democrat tradition. The "socialist" left in Plaid is I suspect not as socialist as they proclaim anyway. Is their vision of an independent Wales one in which the state controls every aspect of life? Or is it the one the rest of us share where a government ensures basic needs are met, cultural and language diversity is encouraged,that there are not huge gaps in wealth between individuals, that the market is policed effectively and the environment protected. The vision that all in Plaid can sign up to and not just socialists.

2007-05-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

Dare to dream

2007-05-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

those of us not driving ourselves into the ground with a get out the vote operation are allowed a few hours to dream.

We could in the next four years take the first steps to having:

strong communities properly policed

an NHS released from free market lunacy with an integrated system of high quality medical centres and smaller community hospitals.

a thriving economy driven by small companies freed from business rate millstones..

the most IT literate workforce in Europe

a country self sufficient in energy

There is so much we could do with the new powers the assembly has. Lets hope the people of Wales have the confidence to share our dream.

Last days on the campaign trail

2007-05-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a team of us headed to far flung parts. A whistle stop tour of Cwm, Rhuallt and Bodfari helped us find a few more supporters and quite a few genuine undecideds.

The views were stunning and the sunshine, yet again, left us all in a good mood.

The idea of visiting some of the more far flung areas seemed to be paying off with voters pleased to see us ...if a little surprised. The most common reaction was "nobody ever calls round here".

As expected the best reaction in terms of certain supporters was in Bodfari. However there was certainly a warm reaction where ever we went.

My team spent most of the time teasing me for having two mobile phones which were ring on a regular basis.

On saturday i left my mobile on the train. I bought another on Sunday but had a phone call on Monday to say my phone had turned up . I much appreciated the honesty of the guy who found my phone and took the trouble to contact me. He lives in prestatyn and was highly amused to have rescued a potential AM's phone.

Today started with a trip to the morning press conference with Phil Edwards returning to his traditional role as my driver. My biggest concern at the, now very, likely prospect of Phil; winning is that he will no longer be able to drive me to meetings up and down wales. Still we will all have to make a few sacrifices for the cause.

IWJ and Dafydd Wigley in fine form at press conference. I got told off by press officer David Bradly for laughing to loudly whilst joking with journalists and for saying I hoped we would listen to the Lib dems and set up our own army as they claimed in their very funny regional election address.

Much of the rest of day spent canvassing in Rhuddlan. The results of which are so astonishing I struggle to believe them.

Have spent the last hour phoning friends in various places, and parties, wishing them luck. I am doing the grand tour of polling stations then getting some sleep before the count.

Expectations are running high. I am confident of us hitting 99 levels of suppurt in north Wales and probably much higher in some seats including Vale of Clwyd.

Friday looks set to be a very busy day.

I love the sound of whining Tories....

2007-04-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago i spotted the Tory candiate in Aberconwy whining on a website about Plaid's use of the previous result for Conwy (where 80% of the Aberconwy voters were in 2003) and our use of an opinion poll we published.

Got home from a hard day on the campaign trail and found the Tories have a big add on the back of the local free paper.

They have graph showing the predicted result of the general election in Aberconwy. This shows the Tories second. It is an analysis conducted by Rallings and Thresher. Of course the add forgot to mention that the Rallings and Thresher analysis of the likely assembly election result shows Plaid ahead and the Tories third.

To be honest I just thought it shows how desperate the Tories are. Their canddiate missed the big issue (the downgrading of the local hospital) and was silent on it whilst Plaid Cymru were campaigning last summer. Indeed he joined other Tories in their "campaign" against the "bed tax" (which was never going to happen in Wales) instead of fighting the hospital closures. Given tonight and tomorrows opinion polls I suspect the Tories in North Wales regret slavishly following instructions from Central office instead of responding to the needs of the local community.

Opinion Polls: An apology

2007-04-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

In the recent past this blog may have given the impression that getting excited over opinion polls was a bit passe.

Indeed prior to the last poll we may have called into question the validity of opinion polls in Wales.

In the light of tonight and tomorrows opinion polls we would like to say sorry. Clearly opinion polls are very important, very accurate and reflect just what we are seeing in our canvass returns.

Perhaps its the weather....

2007-04-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

Where ever I have been in the last week have had an incredibly friendly welcome. The canvassing returns vary from good to stunning ...but then all candidates say that.

The body language, name recognition etc is very very good. People seem keen for a change and as expected the different campaign ideas we are using this time seem to be working.

Older hands claim that we are having the best response ever...better even than 99. Not having been involved in that campaign I cannot be sure but the feeling in parts of the constituency is the same as in Rhgos on Sea a year ago. The weather is also as good. Virtually everyone says on the doorstep "well at least you have the weather for it".

I have fought one euorpean election 3 westminster elections and four council election campaigns as a canddiate. This is the most enjoyable campaign I have fought for over 20 years.

Campaigning in the sun is fun:)

The NFU Dyserth and back in Denbigh

2007-04-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night I was in a hustings event in Rhuthun hosted by the NFU. In all honesty I was not at my best in a difficult environment. It was fun listening to Mark Young, Matt Wright and Karen Sinclair and I learned a few things listening to the farmers. The most valuable lesson of all however is being reminded of the need to be properly prepared before such events.

Today I was in Rhuddlan then Dyserth delivering leaflets. Shirt sleeve weather and in Dyserth the views were as fantastic as ever.

Another afternoon and evening canvassing in Denbigh decent returns in what would otherwise be a Tory area. The work we have done on the hospital campaign seems to be paying off. We have a big piece in the Rhyl Journal and Denbigh Free Press this week the response to which will be interesting to see.

Various Plaid people now getting excited about Clwyd West as well as Aberconwy. It is clear to me that there is still a significant part of the electorate that will vote, wants Labour out but has yet to decide between the opposition parties. It may come down to who runs the best campaigns over the next few weeks. I suspect there will be very varied results for Plaid. Some parts of the Valleys we are picking up significant support but other areas things are not as positive. Thursday night's opinion poll will be interesting but given that support for all the opposition parties is patchy I wonder how accurate it will be. Mind you if it shows us close to Labour I wont be complaining.

Its finally happening...

2007-04-01T09:13:00.001-07:00

After two years, thousands of leaflets a good few letters to the press, press releases and endless meetings it finally seems like the election proper is here.

I was out in Denbigh asking people to vote for me on Thursday. This is the first actual canvassing we have done in Vale of Clwyd. This is the time that Candidate itus sets in and we all become convinced we are going to win.

It is very easy to get carried away. We were in an area we would expect to do well in and we did. Given that they had not had any of our election literature yet I thought there was potential for some of the genuine undecided to switch our way. There was very clear evidence of switchers from Labour and indications that a few people who have voted Plaid "in the distant past" then voted Labour then stopped voting were likely to come out for us.

Like all candidates I have worked out what vote I need to get where in order to win. Denbigh is a key area for us and I was happy enough with the canvass returns. The key issue will be getting a high enough turn out in our better areas. We have a month to do it and looking at our campaign literature(the best I have everhad in both style and content in any election) am convinced we will be in the hunt.

however I am a candidate and bound to say that. How do I convince both of my readers? Well I have conclusive proof that i am doing all I can throwing everything into the campaign etc to ensure I won. Today I made the ultimate sacrifice...I went out and bought a suit. My wifes comment was "oh you must think you can win if you have spent money on clothes!"

Now I know why they are whinging.....

2007-03-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

The Tories seem to be very upset that Plaid have registered a series of "save our hospital" names with the electoral commission. When people go to vote in the Vale of Clwyd they will have the chance to vote for "Mark David Jones Plaid Cymru-Save our Hospitals" if they so choose. In Aberconwy they can vote for "Gareth Jones Save Llandudno Hospital".

I am struggling to understand why the Tories are so upset. Both the Tories and their buddies in the Labour party have claimed that the hospital campaigns "were cross party". This of course is not really true.

In llandudno there is an action group that is non-party political. However they came into being after Plaid launched our campaign across North wales to save local hospitals. They have done a fantastic job and it is crucial that they try to engage with people from other parties.

In the case of both Abergele and St Asaph hospitals there is no such cross party campaign group. It is Plaid who have led the campaign to save these hospitals from closure and to ease the pressure on Ysbtty Glan Clwyd that will follow.

When Plaid members were out delivering thousands of leaflets across the communities affected and submitting evidence to the various Health bodies where were the Tories?

Well they were campaigning against the "bed tax". Whats that? you may ask. Well last year the Tories tried to terrify us with the prospect of a tax on tourist beds. The idea had been submitted to the Lyons review of local government funding in England.

This review is not law just a set of ideas that may or may not be adopted by a government at some distant point in the future. Whilst we would enthusiastically fight any such proposal none actually exists for Wales and never has. The Tory campaign was not the product of local people responding to a serious threat to the local economy but an identikit campaign handed down from Conservative central office in London. The Lyons review has been published and if the proposal exists in its conclusions I have not seen it reported anywhere.

Health and the future of local hospital services are the number one issues for people in Aberconwy, Clwyd West and Vale of Clwyd. The Tories are now desperately trying to play catch up in Aberconwy and Clwyd West claiming that they too oppose the closures. Their position is rather undermined by the fact the seven Tory AM's failed to vote in a crucial Assembly vote that could have halted the proposed closures and downgrading.

In the Vale of Clwyd the Tory candidate has enough sense to leave the issue alone. He has little choice given that Conservative Councillors voted to close Prestatyn Hospital in the face of massive public opposition.

The reality is that in Central North Wales the Tories missed the biggest issue to confront local people and have tried desperately to jump on the bandwagon. Their recent whinging is just the start. I suspect they will be complaining a great deal over the next few weeks as they realise the public are not impressed with their "me to" tactics.

Tory spin doctors raised the stakes in this campaign with their claims that they will become the second party in Wales (lets leave the paucity of their ambitions aside for the moment) to do this they need to be winning seats in North Wales. Their lack of local knowledge and their inability to operate without instruction from London threatens this limited ambition. No doubt the knives will be out for their Welsh leadership if their failure embarrasses Dave the Toff.

Police cuts to save 6p a week?

2007-03-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

The news that Labour Assembly members in North Wales are campaigning for further cuts in Police services, to save the public six pence per week, is astonishing. For these AM’s to suddenly decide they are against high council tax bills is just bizarre.

Since their best buddy Tony Blair came to power Council Tax bills in England have risen by 90%. A direct comparison in Wales is impossible due to re-banding which resulted in thousands of people facing massive hikes in council tax. Not a squeak was heard from Labours Assembly Members on re-banding.

The Council tax is an awful tax hitting pensioners and low wage families hard. If Labour really cared about anything other than their own survival they would have replaced this wicked tax at some point in the last ten years.

The reality is that the saving of 6p a week will make little difference to households in North Wales further reductions in the police presence would hurt us all. If Labour wish to contest the Assembly elections on a “more police cuts now” programme so be it. If the public are faced with a choice of further Police cuts or paying 6p per week I can guess what their choice will be.

Homes for local letter to Town and community councils

2007-03-04T06:17:00.000-08:00

Over the next few months you will be discussing the Local Development Plan which will set out proposals for housing development in every part of Denbighshire.

I am sure you are as disturbed as I am by reports of proposals for mass developments of housing which have almost no relationship to local need.

I am writing to request that in your response to the statutory consultation by Denbighshire County Council you propose the proportion of affordable housing to be developed be 100% and that all housing developments should be targeted to meet clearly identified local need.

If this proposal were to be adopted it would not mean the end of general development however any proposal that was not for 100% affordable housing could only be adopted “on exception”.

I believe this approach would achieve a number of very desirable outcomes. First it would stop our communities losing their sense of identity and ease the pressure to develop on green field sites. Secondly it would ensure that people already living here would actually be able to afford a home of their own. Thirdly it would help prevent irresponsible landlords purposely developing sites that attract people from afar with significant social problems. Finally it would halt proposals to develop “dormitory” sites for people commuting to North West England thus easing pressure on transport systems and the environment.

I would be happy to meet with you to discuss these proposals and would be interested to hear your response.

the things they say 2

2007-03-04T06:11:00.000-08:00

Attended a hustings organised by the RCN in Llandudno. Gareth Jones is in fine form the Tory and Liberal competent enough.

Asked would she support nurse led walk in centres Denise Idris Jones asked to stunned astonishment "can you get nurses to work at 7:00am" "what do you think we do now " came the response.

A little later came this gem from Denise:

"Why do parents take their children to the doctors in school hours?"

"because the children are ill" came the response.

They things they say...1

2007-03-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

As I was leaving the flat yesterday I bumped into a Labour activist delivering letters for the block. I said to him "dont give me stuff from Denise Idris Jones" he said no problem these are for Labour voters only. Low and behold he had a letter for me I said "I was called from Newcastle and told them I was Plaid. Why am I on your list?" good question he replied. "I keep telling them the list is wrong people are moving away from Labour not towards us!!!!" he told me . I pointed out I was a Plaid candidate he just laughed and told me he thought Gareth Jones was to old. I refrained from saying I thought his candidate was to stupid to be an assembly member.

Its a two horse race?

2007-02-21T14:12:00.000-08:00

Its no great secret that my Lib dem opponent Mark Young and I get on well together. We had a few laughs in the general election when he stood as an Independent and I cannot say I was surprised when he joined the Lib Dems.

He recently posted about opinion polls and claimed the Lib dems were the second party of Wales. He based this on the result of the general election when the LIb dems won four Westminster seats (including Ceredigion from Plaid).

However he neglected to mention that Plaid have twice as many AM's, vastly more councillors and one MEP more than the Lib dems who have none in Wales.

The Assembly election is a "Welsh" election and Plaid will not be drowned out by the British media.

I am not sure Mark's prediction of a two horse race will come true but it certainly made me laugh when I read it.

If the result goes as I expect in Wales as a whole both the LIb dems and the Tories may have leadership problems. If the LIbs remain static on six seats then the tensions in their group will go public (or perhaps they will unite in blaming Lembit!) and if the Tories just swap list seats for constituency seats expect the "be more Welsh" approach to be abandoned and leader Nick Bourne ditched within minutes.

Now you know why Labour are worried

2007-02-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

Have just been doing a bit of number crunching. For those whose head starts to hurt when thinking about numbers I suggest you look away now.

In April 2003 the average of polls for ICM, MORI and YOUGOV gave a reading of :

Labour 44
Con 30.6
Lib 19.6
Other 7.0

These were of course UK wide polls.

The actual result was (adding the Constituency and regional votes together)

Labour 38.3
Con19.5
Plaid 20.5
Lib 13.3
oths 8.0

The current average of the same uk wide polls gives:

Labour 32.6
Con 37.6
Lib 20.0
oth 9.66

Nobody seriously believes that Labour could poll below 30% in an election in Wales. Peter Riddel writing in the Times the other day came to the conclusion there was no "cameron effect" outside of the South of England. The evidence I have seen for myself in terms of canvass returns and the rumours we have of the details of other parties figures suggest that the Tories have not made much headway in Wales for the Assembly elections.

However a Labour vote share of 32.6 would be roughly a six percent swing from labour last time. That feels about right. My guess is that there will be quite significant variation across Wales with huge swings against Labour in some areas(Aberconwy and Clwyd west for example) less in others.

The best the Tories can hope for is swapping list seats for constituencies. This will be "spun" as a big leap forward but in reality they will have made little progress.

1500 Health Jobs go in Leicester.

2007-02-13T07:08:00.000-08:00

Why is a Plaid candidate blogging about job losses in Leicester? Bare with me.

Had a chat the other night with a friend who until very recently held a prominent position in the Health Service in Leicester.The local hospitals have just announced there will be 1500 job losses over a period of years(the exact number I forget). Despite the usual protestations this will not impact on services etc its apparent that there will be very real cuts in services.

So why draw attention to it here? Well the next time you see a letter in the Western mail or a blogg entry claiming that things are better in the Health Service in England spare a thought for people in Caerlear/Leicester. The pressures in England will get worse as more trusts have to finance massive PFI debt repayments at least we have a chance to sort out the problems in Wales without that particular millstone round our knecks.

A change is gonna come?

2007-02-04T05:35:00.000-08:00

Out and about yesterday in sunny Dyserth. Whenever I visit one of our main activists who lives in Dyserth I have to stop myself acting like a star struck teenager as one of his near neighbours is Alarm front man Mike Peters. Its a bit sad to admit but I am still trying to bump into him. Guess it will happen sooner or later so I hope not to make to much of an idiot of myself when it does.

Anyway we had a team of nine out delivering our latest leaflet. I have not seen everyone together since we launched "change for the better" and I was waiting for some comments. We have a very good team of activists who give me 100% support and have worked for years for Plaid. However they dont always react well to change.

So I was very surprised by how pleased everyone was with "change for the better". If there was something wrong I would have heard about it believe me. Instead lots of praise and general optimism.

We spoke to a fair few people and it makes a change to be able to point people at the new website not feeling embarrassed. Several residents saying they would take a look at the website.

Got home and spoke to Phil Edwards who had spent the day in Abergele. Again very positve response from people he spoke to.

As a candidate you have to be up beat and you have to say things are going well. This time I am having to reign myself in. Things surely cannot be going quite as well as they seem to be unless we are on the verge of a huge, once in a generation political change. There is a very significant conflict between what I read on politcalbetting.com on the rest of the web and in the press and what i experience when out campaigning. Particularly the weakness of the Conservative vote which seems to be much softer than i would have thought looking at the UK wide polls.

Clear message from the public is "we want a change". Interesting times ahead.

On Dr Landons comments on Rhyl

2007-02-04T05:32:00.000-08:00

In his recent comments about the problems in Rhyl West Dr Richard Landon used language I found unpalatable and made some rather sweeping generalizations that inevitably offended some residents.

However in many respects he is right. A combination of uninterested absentee landlords, badly flawed social polices from out of touch Westminster governments and a lack of political will to confront many of the problems have combined to create the “perfect storm” of problems in the West End.

On a positive note there are of course many individuals, families and organizations committed to making the West End of Rhyl a desirable place to live and work. They need a change in legislation to allow local authorities to challenge the actions of absentee landlords compelling them to take greater responsibility for their tenants. There is also a point at which communities like Rhyl can no longer accommodate people from other areas with significant social problems. Again it should be possible to legislate to ensure local authorities and other social housing providers prioritise local families in need and refuse to house people from other communities with significant, identified, problems in areas such as Rhyl West .

Political leadership is needed to push various agencies to work together more effectively, to fight for more money for the local police force and better use of existing police resources, for more effective sentencing in courts and a whole host of measures to improve child care, create more jobs and bring further investment into Wales generally and the coastal towns in particular. Greater priority has to be given to effective youth work and out of school activities for young people.

All of these things are achievable but we will need fresh political leadership to make them happen.

check out our latest campaigns

2007-01-19T06:51:00.000-08:00

There is a big feature on our latest camapigns in the Rhyl Journal. Go to www.rhyljournal.co.uk
and click on the image of the paper. Keep "turning the page" until you cast your eyes on the vision of loveliness that is cymrumark. Clue he is the one standing next to Janet Ryder out side Prestatyn Hospital.

Car parking at Glan Clwyd Hospital

2007-01-17T09:47:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Glan Clwyd Hospital was refusing to take new admission because it was overwhelmed. How it will cope if the Labour government gets their way and shuts Stasaph and Aberegele Hospitals as well as down grading Llandudno. Its anyones guess.

Usually I am fairly sympathetic to the management of the hospital who are in an almost impossible situation. However they sometimes act in a pig headed manner seemingly determined to enrage staff patients and local residents alike.

Given the problems with carparking on the site they introduced charges for staff. They failed to win agreement from the unions but pressed ahead anyway introducing the charges on a "voluntary basis" eg to park in a safe car park you have to pay. There are only a limited number of spaces available all of which were given out on a "first come first serve basis" . There is priority for consultants and senior medical staff and I am believe senior management and admin staff. However no priority is given for nursing staff.

The situation at Glan Clwyd regarding parking for patients and staff alike is ludicrous and the monstrous parking charges should be scrapped. Already Bodelwyddan residnets are telling me that more and more people are parking in the village as a result of being unable to get intoi the hospital car park. So time to go back to the drawing board.

Car parking at Glan Clwyd Hospital

2007-01-17T09:47:00.000-08:00

Got to be nice to Mr Banks now

2007-01-17T09:45:00.001-08:00

It was interesting to learn that the Lib Dems have dropped their red line issue of Proportional Representation for local Government elections as we approach the Assembly elections. The policy had made a return to a Lib-Lab pact after the Assembly elections impossible due to the veto of Labour Councillors across Wales , most of whom depend on the current unfair electoral system for their seats.

PR is about the only policy the Lib Dems over the years have argued with any passion. It just goes to show that the Lib Dems would sell their souls for a chance of power and a Ministerial car.

Those ho seek power should do so for a purpose. The raison d'etre of the Lib Dems in Wales it seems is power for powers sake whilst propping up an incompetent and visionless Labour Administration. The people of Wales deserve far better.

David Banks....yes him, again

2007-01-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

One week on and another column from David Banks. He is still on like the pub bore about sonic logos and now claims we want the youth of Wales corrupted by porn but......

He has got it (half) right about the whole independence/defend the union stuff. Wrong that nobody supports independence for Wales. Actually support is up according to the BBC poll (from 16% a year ago to 19% so only 12 years to go !) and I suspect that its understated anyway.

However the assembly elections are about who will best govern Wales. Do we want a party whose leader will quit after two years(shades of Blair here) or the Tories whose election campaign is being funded from England. How about a party that exists to create the best possible government for Wales? Yes good idea.

So Mr Banks is right nobody is going to vote on those issues but who has the best ideas for Wales...think we are on to a winner.

Those nice people in the SNP

2007-01-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

are ahead in another poll in Scotland. Good look to them. I had cause to ring them to check some facts about something this week. Everyone I spoke to went out of their way to be helpful including their Education spokeswoman, Fiona Hislop who took time out to ring me at home to answer a couple of questions.

Lets hope they do as well as the polls indicate.

its a shame about David Banks....

2007-01-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

When I moved to the ancestral home land a few years ago obviously I started reading the local press. Mostly it is dull but worthy sometimes dreadful now and again excellent etc.

One of the few people who wrote with any great style or appeared to have anything to say was Daily Post columnist David Banks. Its not that I agreed with him but he wrote with passion skill and humour and seemed generally well informed. I am not sure whats happend of late but he seems to have gone off the ball.

I dont expect him or any other columnist to give my party an easy ride. A party that cannot listen to fair criticism has a problem. About a year ago David wrote a column attacking Plaid for spending time coming up with a new logo and our sonic version of said logo. He mentions the sonic version just about every time he writes about Plaid. He claimed we should be spending time developing our policies. I pointed out to him that we were doing just that and that comparatively little time had been spent on the logo. In the comments section on his blogg he accused me of being less than honest in my response . Yet the reality is that the we have spent two years developing policy and a series of meetings held over a six month period sorted out the logo. Still maybe he gets some pleasure in winding us up.

This week he had a pop at our policy of giving a free lap top to every child claiming that we would want the computers back after 5 years, that not every child would need one and that the money would be better spent on a few books. A phone call to one of our press team would have revealed its not our policy to ask for the computers back. The cost and bureaucracy of some sort of means test would be absurd. Huge numbers of kids in Wales have no access or very little access to IT at home. Many parents struggle to find the money to help equip their kids. Here is a great chance to really help develop the Welsh IT skill base and in the long term attract better paid jobs and investment. David Banks couldn't be bothered to check his facts.

Fair enough we all make mistakes and get a bit lazy. I have been guilty now and again of the same thing. It would be less of a problem if David had mentioned the latest budget in the assembly. Thanks in part to Plaid schools will get extra money and will be able to keep money saved through greater efficiency that Labour wanted returned to the general "pot". Still mentioning this would have made his comments about spending the computer money on books look a bit daft which is perhaps why he neglected to mention it.

However if it was just about having a go at Plaid I would be tempted to leave it. The other week though he had a go at the Conwy County Council Cabinet for refusing to allow cyclists on the promenade or for finding a safe route for them. In fairness he has a point about safe routes and if there was an easy solution one would have been found. However his claims that the cabinet were ignoring the local economy are close to barmy. He asked what the strategy is for developing tourism in Llandudno. Well maybe the multi-million investment in the conference centre has passed him buy but the strategy is fairly clear to those of us who actually read the Daily Post.

Does any of this really matter? Actually I think it does. There are few media outlets in North Wales and as I said above David Banks was one of the best writers commenting on issues in North Wales. I would welcome him taking a serious look at our programme, things like the 50% cut in business rates, support to first time buyers, plans to halt the hospital closure programme etc., even if I didn't like his conclusions .

Some people in my party tell me that it is a risk criticising a journalist a few months out from an election. I reckon he is big enough to respond honestly.

Welcome to Bethan Jenkins...

2007-01-10T05:52:00.001-08:00

Her new blogg is a good bit more entertaining than mine:)

Clearly it helps you if you have a few relatives to give you a plug....

Tough on Crime?

2007-01-06T06:34:00.000-08:00

If you want an example of Westminster governments ineptitude the recent decision on the funding of Community Support Officers is probably as good as you will find.

CSO's were brought in a few years ago to supplement police officers. Its fair to say that the police were not overwhelmed by the idea with many officers opposing the introduction. Chief Constables were encouraged to apply for funding for CSO's and did so knowing that not following a government programme, however short sighted, only leads to trouble.

So now the funding is up for review and guess what. The government has halved the amount of money available and tells the local police to continue using CSo's but to find the funds from elsewhere.

Exactly how this is to be achieved is not explained. A raise in Council tax not possible or desireable, effeciency savings possible but where is the incentive if all you ever do is stand still?

As ever a deafening silence from Labour MPs on this issue.

Second Chance for Chatsworth House

2007-01-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

The campaign to save Prestatyn Community Hospital continues apace. We have had over 300 people sign our "second chance for Chatsworth" petition. With many people asking for more forms and more time for the campaign we have extended the petition deadline to 20th January. Leave a message here if you would like some forms.

New year must start blogging again....

2007-01-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

Along with my other resolutions I guess this will last till February.

2007 is already off to a flying start . I have to say I am excited about the new year as we are in the count down to the elections in May.

I cannot remember the last time I was so positive about an upcoming election. The team in Vale of Clwyd are working well and give me the best support any candidate could wish for. My colleagues Phil Edwards and Gareth Jones are both in top form and picking up new supporters as well as motivating the exisiting ones.

The 2003 elections were a bit of a nightmare with everything that could go wrong going wrong. This time we have already done more work on the ground and the national campaign will be a lot more impressive.

Exciting times ahead....

Bala summer school

2006-09-08T05:48:00.000-07:00

The Plaid summer school was great fun. People liked my presentations (or were simply being kind!) and I had the biggest screen ever for a powerpoint presentation. At last a canvass worthy of my ego :)

The party is in good spirits and improving its organisation in leaps and bounds. As campaigning gears up towards next years elections we are getting more confident of success.

rats, sinking ships, rubbish and headless chickens..

2006-09-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

A report in yesterdays Western mail has confirmed what many in Plaid have been thinking for months. That when Labour are defeated in next years assembly elections the Lib dems will prop them up rather than create a fresh new government.

Its not exactly a surprise to us but fellow blogger, and Lib dem AM, Peter Black (see link alongside) is getting very het up about it. Peter even sees the hand of the dasterdly Nationalists in the story despite it obviously being well sourced from within the Lib dems. It shows an astonishing lack of judgement for rats to start swimming towards a sinking ship.........

On the subject of Lib dems there has been a lot of publicity about the landfill site just outside Wrexham. Wrexham councillors have voted to maintain the site despite changes in legislation since planning permission was granted. Perhaps the Lib dem leader of Wrexham council should have a word with the Lib dem leader of Liverpool city council and ask them not to dump their rubbish. It would help if Liverpool started to meet some of its re-cycling targets...

Nice to see the Labour party running round like headless chickens. The panic is being led by Welsh Labour MPs(unusual to see them doing anything at all!) who see disaster looming on the horizon in the shape of next years assembly elections. No doubt Blair is making things worse for Labour however his departure will only limit the damage. With Blair Labour face humiliation in next years polls. Without him they only face defeat.

Sunny Bala here we come...

2006-08-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

Off to Bala tomorrow for the Plaid summer school. This years event is mostly around election planning and I am helping with a couple of sessions. With the tide turning so heavily against Labour next years elections are a big opportunity for Plaid and with the Lib dems and Tories making little headway in wales things are looking good.

My next leaflet has gone to the printers....Its September and the political year is just kicking off...fun fun fun!

People for Proper Policing.....

2006-08-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

Bumped into Plaid supporter and PPP campaigner Arthur Roberts in Llandudno the other day. He told me "People for Proper Policing" have a website and want to encourage people to use it. Sadly I have forgotten the link but you can find it via a search engine.

I thinks its positive they are encouraging a debate about policing and no doubt their forum will be lively enough.

The only thing that puts me off is the moaning about people who break the speed limit being punished. Common sense suggests that somebody doing 80mph on a motorway in good weather conditions and light traffic is not a risk to anyone. Somebody traveling at 40mph in a 30mph area is a menace however and deserves a fine. In terms of stimulating a debate PPP are doing a good job but they are way to friendly towards people who break the law and put other peoples lives at risk.

"Although I never watch Big Brother"

2006-08-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

The phrase that has been used rather a lot in Plaid circles this week is "Although I never watch Big Brother its great to see Glyn doing so well". I actually do see it fairly regularly as some of my colleagues at work seem to enjoy it. Suddenly Plaid are Big Brother fans and my sparring partner Peter Black, and friend Neil Fawcett are reduced to uncharacteristic grumpy old man sulking:)

At the Flint and Denbigh show on Thursday just about everyone asked us why we hadn't got copies of the Sun on display. The answer was that we couln't buy one on the site!

Given Glyns comments about wanting to be the first Plaid Prime Minister I wonder what odds I could get on "Glyn to challenge Ieun Wyn Jones" being the "spoiler" story in the Western Mail the day our conference starts in September?

Off to the show.....

2006-08-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

The Flint and Denbighshire Show being held in Denbigh this year is the highlight of the week and I will be on the Plaid stall all day Thursday. Come along say hello and have a cup of tea.

congratulations to Mark Young and family

2006-08-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

Best wishes to Mark Young and his wife after the birth of their daughter Lili last week.

Hope all is well

Imitation the greatest form of flattery

2006-08-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

Since my departure from the lib dems in 2000 I have rarely had the chance to read Lib Dem news.

However a friend sent me a clipping from a recent edition. It is an article on local government by-elections written by ALDC political officer John Bridges the key paragraph reads...

"In Llandrillo and Rhos we failed to stand a candidate despite a resectable 20% base in 2004. Here Plaid applied some of our methods jumping from 10% to win with 47%. Imitation may be the greatest form of flattery but it still needs to be confronted."

John is a good guy and a very hard working councillor in manchester he is also excellent company. Sadly he has not responded to my email in which I asked him what Lib dem methods did we miss in Llandrillo yn Rhos? :)

On a more serious note. The lib dems are in a state of utter collapse in Conwy once one of their strongholds. They now have just 3 councillors down from 13 prior to 2004.This perhaps explains their failure to stand a candidate in a ward they had a councillor in up till 2004.

smile and be happy ...Plaid are winning.

2006-08-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Most people regard the political year as running from September to the end of July. So its a good time to take stock and see how the respective parties are performing in Wales. Since the general election there have been no published opinion polls in Wales so what objective measures do we have to show how each of the parties are doing?

The only measure are the local authority by-elections that take place throughout the year. They are a fair measure of party support even allowing for the high presence of independent candidates and the lack of regular three or four party contests.

The random nature of these polls is such that they are worth looking at.
Here is how the votes stack up for each of the parties in the 12 contests at County Council level since September 2005 where at least one of the four main parties stood.

Plaid 3296
Labour 2269
Con 3070
Lib 1473.

Five of the contests were in areas of traditional Tory strength which explains in part their high vote. Local government by-elections are an area in which the Lib dems traditionally excel so they may have some cause for concern. For Plaid the figures are very good indeed and reflect the progress we have made since the general election.

its 11,000 now....

2006-08-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Latest press release about hospital campaign is below...

11,000 back Hospital Campaign.

Plaid Cymru today revealed that over 11,000 people have signed petitions opposing the closure or downgrading of Hospital Services in North Wales.

The petitions were launched by Mark David Jones in the Vale of Clwyd, Cllr Phil Edwards in Clwyd West and Cllr Gareth Jones in Aberconwy after the publication of the Secondary Care Review which proposed a dramatic downgrading of services in Llandudno and the closure of Abergele and HM Stanley Hospitals.

Plaid Spokesman in the Vale of Clwyd Mark David Jones said “ The response has been astonishing and it is clear that the public are opposed to the planned cuts in service. We recognise the financial pressures put on the Health service by the Labour governments in Cardiff and Westminster. However this round of cuts does not address the root causes of the financial problems in the NHS and my fear is that if they are implemented we will be back here in a year or two fighting to save hospitals in Denbigh and Ruthin from closure.”

Cllr Phil Edwards recently captured the former Tory stronghold of Rhos on Sea in a county council by-election. He commented “ The single biggest issue on the doorstep was the proposed closures and down grading of services in local hospitals. People turned to Plaid Cymru as they knew we were the only party to have consistently championed the cause of small hospitals.”

Cllr Gareth Jones said “ My main focus has been on Llandudno and the proposed cuts there. However this whole package is deeply flawed and will do lasting damage to services across North Wales it must be thrown out.”
The petitions have now been presented to the Community Health Councils covering Conwy and Denbighshire.

5000 say no...the end of apathy?

2006-06-02T05:49:00.000-07:00

Plaid in Central North Wales (Aberconwy, Clwyd West and Vale of Clwyd) have been running a petition against the proposed hospital closures and service reductions proposed by the Secondary Care Review. So far we have 5000 signatures with more arriving daily.

Not difficult you might think. A few hours harassing people in the street or going door to door will soon get the numbers up. Except that's not the approach we have taken. Cllr Gareth Jones in Aberconwy, myself in Vale of Clwyd and Phil Edwards in Clwyd West have delivered 1000s of leaflets door to door with petition slips on them for people to return. People have to read the leaflet cut out the slip and send it back to us. Phil Edwards put an advert in a local paper also using a "send back slip".

For so many people to go to such lengths is incredible. Shop keepers have volunteered to have petitions in their premises, I have sent copies of a petition to everyone returning the slip on the leaflet and dozens of people are collecting more names.

There is always talk of political apathy and claims people have no interest in what affects them. This is utter non-sense. When a political party campaigns on issues that affect the public then the public are happy to join in and lend a hand.

Interestingly the public are quick to see that these proposed service reductions are the product of Labour(and previously Lib dem) policies in Cardiff. Labour are in for a hard time in next years Assembly elections in North Wales.

The bed tax the Tories and the fib dems.....

2006-06-02T02:39:00.000-07:00

A proposal from the Local Government Association to allow local authorites to tax tourists for staying overnight has generated quite a few comments in the national press. North Wales is dependent on the Tourist Trade for what few jobs remain and this additional tax would help kill off that trade once and for all.

A Tory MP from North Wales is quoted as opposing this proposal in the local press, oddly he forgot to mention that the Local Government association is dominated by Conservatives!Given this idea is coming from a Tory organisation we can expect Tony and Gordon to back it with enthusiasm.

However glancing through a few blogs I noticed an interesting article on Ian Dales blog. The ever amusing Mr Dale has pointed out that a Tourist tax is Lib Dem policy but their national spokeman is campaigning against his own party policy. No change there then.

Chatsworth House...good news coming...?

2006-06-02T02:04:00.000-07:00

After the remarkably stupid decision by Denbighshire Local Health Board to propose closure of Chatsworth House (Prestatyn Community Hospital)I wrote to Health Minister Brian Gibbons with a formal objection to the consultation process. He is yet to reply. However he has now held a meeting with the local protest group after previously refusing to meet with them. Its reported that the meeting went well.

Given the current political climate it seems Labour have realised they are certain to lose the Vale of Clwyd if this issue is not resolved. In the next few weeks I expect one of the following things to happen.

1. The Minister to order a new consultation process due to flaws in the previous one. The process to conclude after the elections next year.
2. New money mysteriously appears allowing the hospital to stay open for at least eighteen months
3. An announcement is made that savings from the Secondary Care Review, that have been earmarked for primary Care, will be used to keep the Hospital Open.

Of the three options the third is most likely. This means we can keep Chatsworth House if we are prepared to lose 400 other hospital beds in North Wales, close and downgrade other hospitals a few years after spending a small fortune on them and centralise services on three sites.

What is actually needed is a government that will take an axe to the absurd 22 Local Health Boards and the various other health bodies that are unfit for purpose. We only have 11 months to wait.

Poppies and Dragons.

2006-02-28T11:27:00.000-08:00

Enjoyed the conference in Carmarthen at the weekend. The party really has got its act together after a couple of poor years and a lot of the background work over the last six months is coming to fruition. Our finances are on a very solid foundation we have a new campaigns unit and we have a new image unveiled for the first time.

I am a big fan of the new look although I must confess I was not expecting to like the design as much as I do. In fact I turned up to conference rather nervously wondering what we had let ourselves in for. Set on a dark background the image is quite stunning. Its warm and friendly and although it will take a little time to "bed down" will develop into a well loved symbol.

A number of people have asked why we have dropped the dragon. My take on it is that the dragon has now become the emblem for the Country. Twenty years ago there were far fewer dragons on display around Wales now they are everywhere. This is a reflection of the growing Welsh identity and the fact that we are moving in leaps and bounds towards becoming a "nation". I think its important that the symbols of that nation are not owned by any one party or group. The fact is that there are members and supporters of other parties who are just as "welsh" as anyone in Plaid. Why they would choose to support the unionist/british nationalist parties is beyond my comprehension but I don't question their Welsh identity and we need to ensure that we can all unite around the symbols of the broader community/nation.

The issue of the leadership roles has been an interesting one. I was a supporter of the move to split the role of President and Assembly leader. Howver its clear that the leader in the Assembly needs to be the overall leader with the President working with the local parties and members to develop the party on the ground. The most intersting aspect has been how the party has united behind Ieuan Wyn Jones in the last few months. He is seen as having handled the new situation in the assembly very well and has delivered some serious gains for Plaid. Previous opponents are happy to praise his strengths and offer help to resolve any weaknesses.

There is a clarity, sense of purpose and determination about the party that I have not seen before. Nobody has any illusion that the assembly elections will be anything other than a hard fight but we will go into them in a far better condition than we entered the last round of elections.

Nye bevan would be ranting and raving....

2006-02-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

My speech to last weekends conference in Carmarthen went something like this:

"Conference I know we have been talking about the future this weekend but perhaps you could indulge me a moment and think back a couple of years to Culture net Cymru's search for the top Welsh hero.

You may remember that Nye Bevan "won" the vote in rather odd circumstances. I wonder what Nye would make of the way Labour in London and Cardiff is running the NHS.Its tempting to say he would weep or be spinning in his grave if he could see what Labour have done to the NHS. Surely he would raging against these incompetent Labour governments. In denbighshire we face cuts in hospital services and in prestatyn the closure of a well used and well loved Community Hospital. The Local health Boards approach to consultation is to decide to shut the hospital and then consult people over hwat should replace it. They then profess astonishment when people react angrily.

In next door Conwy Alan Pugh recently announced there would be 1000's of new nhs dentist places in Conwy provided by the private sector. After reading an article in the local paper I was astonished to see Mr Pugh boast that these new places would restore the number of NHS places to the level they were at in 1997! After eight years of Labour government in London and six in Cardiff we might get back to the level of NHS dentistry we had after eighteen years of Tory rule!

Nobody would seriously suggest Nye Bevan would ever have joined or supported Plaid Cymru. The fact is that those people who support the Bevan Ttradition and value the NHS need to make their political home here in Plaid Cymru".

First Minister concerned about "uncertainty"

2006-02-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

I was in Colwyn Bay to see the First Minister under scrutiny. He told the committee he had personal experience of "facing an uncertain future, not knowing whats happening from one to the next can lead to all sorts of problems people being unwell through anxiety etc" . He was talking about those staff in organisations that are being brought under direct assembly control. However the audience was wondering if he was referring to his government.......

In the part of the meeting dedicated to transport the Labour Members were talking about road signs and potholes. I thought I had wandered into a parish council meeting by mistake. It was up to Plaid and the Tories to raise the issue of North South links the role of transport in economic development etc.

The Fiirst Minister was surprisingly poor and seemed very complacent. There was no sense of urgency or of real interest. I got the feeling that he knows he wont be around as First Minister after 2007 and is just winding down. It was astonishing.

Always consistent........

2006-02-01T09:26:00.001-08:00

No apologies for returning to the subject of Liberal democrats. After all they are a never ending source of amusement. So what are they up to at the moment beside trying to find a new leader?

Well in Scotland they are fighting a by-election campaign. Their candidate is fighting against Toll charges on a road bridge. Fairly typical of the Lib dem campaigning style to pick on a local issue and campaign on it. Nothing wrong with that you might think. However the tolls will only be brought in thanks to Lib dem councillors on the Transport Authority who voted in favour of the Tolls. Yep thats right. The Lib dem candidate in the by-election is campaigning against something that is only happening due to the support of the Liberal democrats.....

In Wales the Lib dems are part of the united opposition campaigning against the decision to take funding decisons regarding five major Arts Organisations off the Arts Council and bring them "in house". In other words politicians will make the decision about how much he organisation receieves. If the Welsh National Opera produced an opera about the Life of Owain Gln DWr and it does not find favour with the fanatical unionists on the Labour benches there is a fair chance it will get its funding cut or more likely they would not take the risk and stick to more familiar operatic tales from Italy or Germany. The same proposals have come forward from the Scottish Executive (government). The interesting thing is that the Lib dems are part of the government in Scotland. So one policy in Scotland and a different one in Wales.

"met him on a monday and my heart stood still ..da doo Ron Ron "

2006-01-31T10:10:00.000-08:00

Rumours abound that former Secretary of State for Wales Ron Davies has decided to stand in Caerphilly in next years Assembly elections.

He is held in quite high esteem across the political divide. The only exception being the Labour party but these days being hated by labour is a badge of honour he should where with pride.

It is not clear if he plans to stand as an independent or as part of the "Forward Wales" group which currently consists of John Marek AM for Wrexham. There seems little point in standing as a "Forward Wales" candidate as the party has failed to take off. Indeed the only other candidate at the last Assembly election, Marc Jones, has now joined Plaid as have a number of other former "Forward Wales" activists.

His other option is to run as an Independent. However the track record of "independents" who are not incumbant MP's or Assembly members is not that great.

Ron would have been better off joining Plaid Cymru and standing as a "list candidate". He would have had to take his chance with other candidates but would probably have secured second place in SE Wales. Plaid were just a handful of votes away from securing the second seat in SE Wales in 2003. Ron could have made a big difference instead he is likely to fade into obscurity. He is a man of considerable ability who should be in government. Still Plaid have not yet selected their candidates so if he gets a move on maybe he could make it onto the Plaid list..

Bye bye Lembit?

2006-01-26T10:33:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the biggest loser in the current Lib dem debacle is Lembit Opik. He is now passing off his utter lack of judgement as a bit of a joke "the curse of Lembit" but any chance of ever being a serious political player has been lost. I cannot see him being content with nursing his constituency and being "leader " of the Welsh Lib Dems. What chance of him taking up a career as a minor celebrity? Fairly high I would guess.

Prestatyn Community Hospital

2006-01-19T00:25:00.000-08:00

Along with many residents I am appalled by the process of “consultation”. In effect the key decision, to close Prestatyn Community Hospital, has already been taken. It is hardly surprising therefore that there is a great deal of anger within Prestatyn and considerable anxiety in the rest of Denbighshire about how decisions are being made by the Local Health Board.

There is growing evidence to suggest that a sense of community and of “belonging “ is essential to peoples long term physical and mental health. A key element in fostering a communal sense of “well being” is to maintain continuity between modern services and what has been delivered in the past. The failure of the Local Health Board to understand this and its inability to propose an “option” which takes this into account is disturbing.

The four options as presented all have very considerable flaws. Not least is that three of them involve very substantial capital outlay and yet may still require some patients to use hospital services. I believe that the only cost effective and practical use of the available capital expenditure is to improve existing buildings rather than build on new, unidentified, sites.

Option one –Extra Care Housing requires a site to be found and housing to be built incurring substantial capital costs. The provision of services is similar to those provided currently in the hospital. I am baffled as how it will be cost effective to provide in house catering services in the sheltered housing when it has not proved possible in the hospital. Unless a site has already been identified this is not a “real” option. Residents could select this as their preference and then see it dismissed due to the lack of a suitable, affordable site.

Option two a Care Home raises similar problems. Has a site been identified? What are the capital costs involved? What happens if the home is built, becomes operational and then fails to meet the standards set out by Care Standards Inspectorate? The only advantage for the patient is that they will have a private room. Will the NHS funded beds be restricted for use by Prestatyn residents only or will they be available to other residents of Denbighshire?

I cannot believe that the fourth option is serious. There are no advantages to residents and nobody is going to support a proposal to provide the same level of service but in a distant, unspecified, location.

After extensive discussion with Health Care professionals in different parts of the UK I am convinced that there is a huge opportunity to provide high quality services, at sensible costs on the current site in Prestatyn. The only practical option open to the LHB is to develop the Primary Care Resource Centre on the existing site whilst maintaining the current hospital provision.

Experience of Primary Care Centres in other parts of the UK show that the range of services that can be provided is extensive (far greater than that indicated in Your Voice in Your Future.) With other services on site the costs of running the building overall will be reduced. As three of the four options involve substantial capital outlay I assume it will be possible to extend the existing building if need be. With a substantial increase in staff and possibly out patients using the building (depending on services provided), it should be possible to provide catering facilities on site.

The current rate of two hundred patients per year using the site could be increased by allowing residents from outside the area to use the facility, although Prestatyn residents would receive priority. I assume this would require an amendment to a GP’s contract, however given that the LHB has made provision for sending some patients to an NHS hospital elsewhere this might actually represent a saving in costs.

Here is an opportunity to do something very exciting for the community of Prestatyn providing a high quality Primary Care Centre whilst maintaining and even enhancing the existing service. This debate is taking place in many communities across the UK with Community Hospitals threatened by the current NHS orthodoxy which is driven by Governments in Cardiff and London who demonstrate little interest in communities such as Prestatyn.

The Local Health Board now needs to make a leap in imagination and look at ways of providing services that suit the needs of Prestatyn rather than simply follow the current orthodoxy in the NHS. This will require levels of leadership and courage that have been sadly lacking to date. However this proposal will generate substantial public support, and I urge you to combine the development of a Primary Care Centre with the existing services at Prestatyn Community Hospital.

Yours sincerely

Lembits lack of judgement......

2006-01-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

I thought Charles Kennedy was doomed when lembit Opik appeared to be the only MP willing to back him. Indeed lembit seems to be relishing the media exposure and in fairness he does handle himself well.

What I couldn't understand is why was he so combative? His praise for kennedy has been lavish and seemed to overlook the obvious fact that his "brave personsal statement" was forced by ITN. Kennedys behaviour has been covered up by friends, denied by colleagues since at least the last leadership contest in 1999. Incidently complaints by Kennedy's surviving allies about anonymous attacks are ironic given the depths to witch his supportes stooped in the leadership campaign in 1999.

Lembit has stayed aggressively loyal even as 25 MPs sign a letter saying they will not serve under Kennedy from next week. Others are turning already...(see Peter Blacks excellent but slightly anguised blogg)so why not Lembit. Has he just extended himself so far and cannot back down without looking foolish or is he positioning himself for a leadership bid? As a super loyalist he would be well placed with some in the party memebrship who may not want to reward an "assasin".

My guess is that Kennedy will be kicked out in a motion of confidence next week and Lembit will emerge as a leadership contender.

Are they cuckoo............

2006-01-04T10:47:00.000-08:00

The Liberal Democrats certainly managed to brighten up my Autumn and then very kindly brightened up my Christmas as well.

The long sorry saga of the dodgy donation from a guy in Switzerland drags on and on.

In brief. The Lib Dems stated party policy is that they believe donations to political parties should be limited to £250,000. They accepted a donation of £2.4 million. The donation was made by an individual who is not entitled to give money, under the law as it currently exists, to a political party in the UK. However the money was donated from a recently established company registered in the UK. When this companies accounts for the relevant year are published we will see if they were actively trading at the time of donation. If not then the Lib dems will have to pay back the money.

Investigations by the Times newspaper revealed that the donor had a colourful background. In fact he was a "fugitive from justice" according to the Times. It seems he was found guilty of bouncing a series of cheques in the US then left the USA whilststill on bail. The Times claim he bounced a cheque on his lawyer who secured his bail which I thought showed a particular level of bravado.

In similar circumstances the Labour and Tory parties have paid back donations....the Libdems of course cannot afford to do so even if they felt so inclined. They now stand condemned as hypocrites with standards even lower than the Tories or Labour.

In all the arguments about Kennedys leadership no-one has mentioned the dubious donation. Yet Kennedy and his team of advisors were directly involved in obtaining the donation, and free flights etc which they forgot to register etc...are the attacks on kennedy's judgement and leadership a result of the awful publicity they have received about this donation?

As an opponent I hope the Lib Demleadership problems drag on and on however I would have thought they would have enough sense to shut up about it soon. Still lets hope for another installment...

Rhondda Boys.......

2006-01-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

I wonder what the Rhondda did to deserve being represented by Leighton Andrews in Cardiff Bay and Chris Bryant in Westminster? Perhaps it is some form of bizarre punishment for the, sadly brief, period when Rhondda elected a Plaid assembly member and a Plaid Council. Neither seem to have anything worthwhile to contribute to the debates in the institutions to which they are elected.

In the case of Chris Bryant this is only to be expected. In a previous life I was a Lib Dem political assistant in Hackney when Bryant was a Labour councillor and a whip for the Labour group. Before the Labour group split in 1996 they had run the council for 30 years or more and achieved the distinction of the highest council tax in London and arguably the worst services. A group of councillors left the Labour group claiming that the Labour leadership was not willing to back an independent enquiry into the Mark Trotter affair. Trotter was a Labour activist and senior trade union official, who worked for Hackney Social services, against whom three seperate allegations of child abuse were made and never properly investigated. After his death it emerged that merseyside police were investigating him regarding allegations of abuse.

One faction in the Labour group resigned the Labour whip and formed a new group called Hackney New Labour.Eventually this group disbanded and its members found their way into the lib dem and Tory groups. There were various enquiries and attempts to sort out the boroughs problems were made with no great success.

Of all the Labour councillors who remained in the Labour group only Chris Bryant has gone on to hold any form of elected office. Why has he escaped the "curse of Hackney" when no one else did. Anybody who has witnessed his performances in the Commons or in the media would confirm it is unlikely to be purely on ability. Perhaps he just got lucky.

Leighton Andrews on the other hand is a complete mystery to me. His splenetic rants in the Assembly debating chamber are the stuff of legend and there was a fine example in the budget debate the other day. Yet the Leighton Andrews I observed in the Liberal Party in the 80's was a very different character. Always associated with the ALC/Liberator self appointed keepers of the radical flame element he was a fluent persuasive speaker with impeccable anti authoritarian views.

It was astonishing to see him in Welsh Labour and his contributions to the assembly seem utterly at odds with his previously expressed opinions. One of the handful of Lib dems who still speak to me was in Llandudno recently . Over a beer or two he concluded that the only explanation for Leighton Andrews was alien abduction. He had know Leighton well as a member of the Liberal party and was convinced the two people could not be the same. Confronted with photographic evidence he suggested the real Leighton had been kidnapped by aliens. Who can argue with this?

David Aaranovitch

2006-01-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

I hope my spelling is write. I have followed this guy's career as a columnist in first the Independent then the Guardian and latterly the Times.

Its tempting to write that I have never ever agreed with anything he has written but of course that is not true.He has written about the rise in anti-semitism and its promotion in many Middle eastern countries. Cannot disagree with him on much of what he says on this issue.

In the run up to the general election when I wanted the "Blairite line" on something I just waited for David to put the message out. I particularly enjoyed his tortuous defence of the council tax. His robust defence of the invasion of Iraq and subsequent events is however slightly painful to observe. His own talents as a writer actually expose the paucity of his arguments rather than concealing it. In a recent attack on fellow columnist Mathew Parris he challenged Mathew and others to admit that nothing would have changed in Iraq, evil things would still be happening under Saddam, 1000s would be dying as a result of sanctions etc. No doubt this is true and I am sure Mathew Parris will have responed far more elequently than I can manage.

The question for David Aaranovitch and others is why was Iraq so special? David and others have abandoned the arguments about WMD and claim that the war was an act of liberation. So why have we not invaded Russia to liberate the people of Chechnya(the few Putin and the Russians have not exterminated that is)? China has a terrible record on human rights but their leaders are feted in Downing Street(and the pages of the Times!). Clearly an invasion of either country is impractical in military terms but surely we could manage to invade the Congo, Sudan Zimbabwe perhaps Burma certainly Syria and if we are after terrorists perhaps Saudi Arabia. There are numerous other countries around the world with atrocities taking place why were they not invaded for their own good?

One of the things I admire about David Aaranovitch is that he admits his personal faults in writing. He was devastatingly honest about battling a weight problem ( and I recognised all the same excuses he trotted out as examples) and admits spending time looking for references to himself on the internet.In this he shows that he is on the same level as the rest of us. If you spot this David perhaps you would leave a comment.....

Doing it properly...

2006-01-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Yes well here is the new blogg in all its glory. A while ago journalist David Banks challenged me to start blogging again and to enable comments on my blogg. The original blogg was set up with help from "So Now who do we vote for" and comments were placed on their main website. That site has now been archived and so to allow comments I have set up this new blog.

In part it will be a vehicle to promote our various campaigns and community issues in the Vale of Clwyd where I act as Plaid Spokesman on Assembly., Westminster and various community issues(and where all being well I will be a candidate in the Assembly elections in 2007).

It will also act as an outlet to get various things, usually political, off my chest. These bloggs are really designed to bring out the egotist in all of us and I am no exception.....

Up and running....

2006-01-04T08:44:00.000-08:00

The world has waited with baited breath for CymruMark to return to the world of blogging and here he is!!!