Jac o' the North

Naz Malik: Labour Wriggles

2012-02-10T10:47:00.000Z

The report into the institutionalised wrongdoing at the publicly-funded family firm known as the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (AWEMA) has finally been made public. It can be found here. The first thing I noticed was that the report was jointly produced by the Internal Audit Services of the Welsh Government and the Big Lottery Fund. A rather obvious attempt at blame sharing, but why did the Big Lottery Fund fall for it?

The report itself does little more than list examples of mismanagement within AWEMA: salary and pension packages not properly authorised, employees (family members) sitting as trustees; gym fees, tickets to sporting events, CEO's parking fines, etc., all paid out of AWEMA funds. Making the report little more than a litany to scandalise readers, give them a chance to Tut-tut (or mutter 'Bastard!'), and be persuaded that the job is done.

In fact, the giveaway is in the title of the report, which spells out its remit: "A Review of the Effectiveness of Governance and Financial Management Within the All Wales Ethnic Minority Alliance (AWEMA)". So it's all about AWEMA, and no one else is to blame. And, anyway, we've known for years there was no effective governance or financial management at AWEMA, so why bother telling us what we already knew?

So what about those who should have been overseeing AWEMA? Well, the report is careful to stress, at the foot of page 2, that: "AWEMA is an independentcharity and is not a Welsh Government Sponsored Body or an agency of the WelshGovernment. AWEMA receives funding from the Welsh Government and the BigLottery Fund and is only accountable to these bodies insofar as it is bound bythe terms and conditions of those funding agreements. The powers of the WelshGovernment are confined to those powers under which grant funding has beenagreed and granted to AWEMA (and, by extension to whether the terms andconditions of grant have been complied with). The purpose of the investigationhas, therefore, been limited to concluding and advising on the adequacy and effectivenessof the financial controls and governance processes in place within AWEMA tomanage that funding". This is the Welsh Government hoping to convince us that it inhabits a separate planet to AWEMA.

This approach must not be allowed to succeed, because the Welsh Government is a Labour government and the Malik family is a Labour Party family. To the extent that Naz Malik once tried to become the Labour candidate for Swansea East. It is suggested that his son was working for Edwina Hart when she was the Minister who received the highly critical 2004 report on AWEMA. But Labour is hoping to wriggle out of it, even to the extent of directing the civil servants of the Internal Audit Services to limit their enquiries to the internal workings of AWEMA.

We need to know why Labour took no action following receipt of the highly critical 2004 report into AWEMA. We need to know why another critical report, and resignation, of the chairman of the Trustees in 2007 was ignored by Labour. We must know why the Labour Party continued giving millions of pounds to this obviously dysfunctional and corrupt organisation. We need assurances from Labour about where public funding goes and if it is providing any real benefits.

Former Labour First Minister Rhodri Morgan made a virtue of the "clear red water" he saw between smarty-pants New Labour in England and the more traditional values of the Labour Party in Wales. For many people the Labour Party in Wales means arrogance, complacency, exploitation, corruption, and cronyism. All the things we see in the AWEMA scandal.

For the police, the Charity Commission, and any other agency investigating this scandal, the connection between Awema and the Labour Party must be central to their enquiries. For it is this and this alone that explains Wales' longest-running and (to date) most shameful public funding scandal.

Shorts 07.02.12

2012-02-07T21:51:00.000Z

1/    Yesterday was the sixtieth anniversary of Bet acceding to the throne. The picture shows her meeting kids in Norfolkshire. Note how they're all waving the flag of 'Saint' George. Sixty years ago most English people wouldn't have recognised that flag, now a majority of them prefer it to the Union flag. How times have changed. What future Britain?
       The accompanying article mentioned 21-gun salutes being fired in London and Edinburgh, but no mention of Cardiff, despite it also joining in this shameful terrorising of the elderly and the frightening of birds and other creatures.

2/    The UK government is considering adopting an immigration strategy similar to ones in force in the USA, Australia and other countries. Immigration Minister, Damian Green, says immigrants must "add to the quality of life in Britain". Basically, the suggested change would assess potential (non-EU) immigrants by the question, 'Do we need you?' So long as allowances were made for those with strong ancestral links, and those genuinely fleeing persecutation, what fair-minded person could disagree with such a policy.
If this idea becomes policy we shall have a situation in which undesirables will be barred from entering England while that country - with the willing connivance of Welsh social housing providers - will continue to dump criminals, indigents and problem families on Wales.

3/ Interesting news from Plaid Wrecsam. First, we learn that the mysterious Planning Inspectorate insists that the area builds more houses for more English settlers.
Next, an issue I've dealt with before, the Powys Fadog saga, returns with the interesting news that our top civil servant, Dame Gillian Morgan, is to be investigated by the Wales Audit Office for her involvement in the Llangollen venture. And quite right too. This woman's politically-driven sabotaging of the Powys Fadog project makes a mockery of the tradition of impartial civil servants.
       These two items from Wrecsam serve to highlight a problem that must be dealt with. Namely, English civil servants following English agendas in Wales. The only solution is a Welsh civil service answerable to those who are answerable to us, and to no one else.

4/ News now from Carmarthenshire. The council there is run by that most extraordinary of political arrangements, a Labour-Conservative coalition (though of course the Tories are called 'Independents'). This Welsh version of the Nazi-Soviet pact is explained by the fact that Plaid Cymru is the largest party on the authority but lacks an outright majority.

Boca fans enjoying themselves

        Local blogger Y Cneifiwr (the Shearer) has a poll on his blog asking whether the council tax-payers of the county should fund legal action being taken by chief executive Mark James against local blogger, Jacqui Thompson, who, you may recall, was thrown in the slammer for daring to record a council meeting. Details here.

5/      Las Malvinas / The Falklands. Sabres are being rattled in Buenos Aires and London as the thirtieth anniversary of the conflict nears. Makes you wonder if the protagonists are planning a rematch. What with Prinz Wilhelm being despatched to guard the penguins, Carlos Tevez threatening to rejoin Boca, and Hugo Chavez offering Venezuelan troops, things are looking a bit tense down there. And of course, we now know there's oil and gas in the waters around the islands. (Amazing how 'principled' and keen to defend democracy countries become when oil seeps into the calculations.)
       Wilhelm is there for just six weeks; so if the Ingleses are planning to kick off it won't happen until the end of March at the earliest. Unless of course the Argies guarantee him absolute safety and plenty of photo opportunities.

6/    OK, so I was wrong in my latest blog, Carwyn Jones is not making his statement on AWEMA until Thursday. Apparently this will be a joint statement with the Big Lottery Fund. However, he did have to answer a few questions in the Senedd today. Particularly about the 2003 report, which said, 'For God's sake don't give this crook another penny, even if he is a Labour Party member'. (I paraphrase.) Here's your chance to see and hear the exchanges. (Just click below and enjoy.) You've got to give it to him, Carwyn looks really cool even with the vultures circling. Then again, maybe he just doesn't appreciate how bad this looks for his lot.

7/ Now I don't want anyone to think I'm picking on Cardiff (you know me), but . . . like most Welsh fans I'd been led to believe that the Bluebirds have now got megabucks Asian backers - so where's the money? In the January transfer window Cardiff spent just £150,000, and that was on some eighteen-year-old nobody'd heard of. (Can't remember his name.)
Could it be that these Asian backers don't have as much money as we've been led to believe; and that all they're doing is keeping the wolf from the door by paying off debtors like HMRC? Is it the Sam Hammam story all over again? If this perception cannot be remedied then players like Whittingham will conclude that Cardiff City's going nowhere and start looking for a more ambitious club. League Cup finals are an amusing distraction but the real ambition should be getting into the Premier League . . . you know, where the Swans are.

Naz Malik: Labour Boss to Act, Maybe

2012-02-03T21:22:00.000Z

For those joining the saga late . . . Naz Malik is the Godfather of the eponymous and ruthless Malik Family which controls most of the race relations racket in Wales. He has run his scam out of Swansea for over a decade, thanks in great part to the protection he receives from the nationally powerful Labour Family. In return, and to show his respect, Malik carries out regular hits on Labour's hated enemy, and rival gang, Plaid Cymru. All this is detailed in previous blogs Naz Malik: Rogue, Nepotist and Labour Stooge, Naz Malik: Rogue, Nepotist and Labour Stooge 2, and Naz Malik and the Temple of Doom.

But just like Sam 'Momo' Giancana, John 'Teflon Don' Gotti, and other racketeers before him Malik began to get cocky; he became reckless with regard to law enforcement agencies, careless in his personal conduct, and tyrannical towards his own people. To the point where some from within his own crew turned against him. This gave the media and the Feds the chance they'd been waiting for, and it became increasingly difficult for Capo di tutti capi, 'Catatonic' Carwyn Jones, to protect his underling any longer. The only question now was whether Malik would end up in Swansea Bay sporting a concrete overcoat, or if Labour would cut a deal with the Feds; 'You can have Malik, but the enquiries stop there - capice?'

On Monday, at a big sit-down on the Cardiff waterfront, Carwyn Jones promises to stay awake long enough to spell out the Labour position on the family's troublesome and embarrassing associate. For it has became clear that even being a made man is no longer enough to save the stubby hood. Too many people are asking too many questions. The heat is on. He has to go. There may soon be a private meeting between the two men at which Jones will thrust a large amount of money into Malik's hand and then turn his back. This being a traditional Mob way of retiring someone without whacking them. (Though in Malik's case it will need to be explained that this cash is not an advance on future expenses.)

Though it looks increasingly likely that the enquiries will not stop at Malik. Tonight rival outfit, the Tories, actually spelled out what many have been too afraid to say publicly. Another worry for Labour is that if Malik faces a stretch in the 'big house' he might want company. Something he could easily arrange because he knows where the bodies are buried and who's been dipping their beaks. (So that concrete overcoat might be an option after all.) Questions also remain about large amounts of cash from continental benefactors laundered through front organisations like WEFO, Welsh Council for Voluntary Action and other bodies that ends up with Labour-linked teams from Amlwch to Abertyleri.

As Ieuan Bugg, crime reporter for the Builth Bugle, put it to me just now in a garbled phone call from somewhere in darkest Powys (power failure),"This one is not over yet; Malik has the potential to bring down the whole house of cards that is the third sector, a racket that has been operated, funded and protected for years by Labour cronyism". Ieuan is rarely wrong.

A nation waits.

Nuffink To Do Wiv Heducashun

2012-01-31T19:02:00.000Z

Due to a drop in the number of English students coming to Wales the Shadow Education Minister, Angela Burns - what do you mean, 'who she?' (see Footnote) - has attacked the Welsh Government's tuition fees policy as "half-baked" (correct) and argues that it, and indeed Wales, depends on English students filling our universties (insulting colonialist bollocks).

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However, Ms Burns is correct in saying that there are fewer English students applying to Welsh universities. Though not for the reasons given by some eejit calling himself 'TheObserver', who contributed to the debate at walesonline (follow link above and scroll down to 'Comments'), and opined: "This has nothing to do with funding........the English students are not coming because they fear Wales will go independent before their studies are completed and they wont be able to go home without a visa or swearing alliance (sic) to the Plaid Nationalist Party."

Now there's a thought worth engaging with, or at least until it starts doing your head in: in a post-independence Wales Welsh nationalists would stop English people from returning to England. I can only assume that these would be the ones we kept alive for slave labour after butchering the rest.

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Enough! here are the facts, available both on walesonline and the BBC website. For this year, and in percentage terms, the number of English applicants to Welsh universities is down by 12.3%. Yet despite the changes in tuition fees, applications from Welsh youngsters are also down. Further, there were fewer English applicants to English universities. There are also fewer applicants to Welsh universities from elsewhere in the EU, down 13.2%. Obviously there is a bigger picture here that has little or nothing to do with the Welsh Government's policy on tuition fees; but Ms Burns chose to focus on Wales and so shall I.

The figures for 2012 tell us that of the applicants to Welsh universities 36,195 (59.8%) are English and just 16,623 (27.5%) are Welsh. In addition, 14,978 Welsh students applied to universities outside Wales. Figures that, for me at least, raise important questions.

Question 1: Why does Wales have roughly twice as many university places as she has native-born applicants for higher education?

Question 2: Is this situation replicated in any other country of Europe?

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Question 3: Is it wise for a small nation to have nearly two-thirds of those studying in its institutions of higher education from the neighbouring and larger country that has for centuries dominated and sought to assimilate the small nation?

Question 4: Given that the answer to Q3 can only be 'No', who but an enemy of Welsh nationhood would not welcome a drop in the number of English students coming to Welsh universities?

This debate, as Angela Burns and others try to frame it, has nothing really to do with education, and little to do with the economics of education. For them, higher education is, as I suggested earlier this month, just another form of colonialism. Because they find this desirable 'Welsh' higher education must continue in its present form. I shall repeat the observations I made in that earlier post:

Fundamentally, we do not have a higher education system designed to supply our need for professionals from within the native-born population. Other small countries plan ahead and calculate how many doctors, engineers, etc., they will need in 20 or 30 years time and train them now. This should be the blueprint for Wales.

Welsh universities have abandoned any commitment to Wales and gone for quantity over quality, with the predictable results of the more ambitious young Welsh leaving for better universities outside Wales and being replaced by English students unable to gain entry to the university of their first choice. (In some of our smaller university towns one can't help wondering if this policy has been driven by the local chamber of commerce, if not the licensed victuallers.)

Wales' relationship with England remains fundamentally colonial. Which means that England must benefit from our brightest and best while we, too often, suffer second-raters filling top jobs in Wales. On the plus side, from the colonialist perspective, these second-raters are overwhelmingly English.

To which I would now add:

Stop funding Welsh students to study outside Wales. Welsh students doing specialist courses unavailable in Wales will invariably secure funding through scholarships, future employers or some other source. A poor country like Wales must not subsidise average students using entry to university as an excuse to put distance between themselves and their parents.

Reduce the number of places in higher education in Wales to better match the numbers of students applying from Wales.

The implementation of the two recommendations above will a) curb unnecessary and unaffordable expenditure on higher education; b) minimise the so-called 'brain drain'; c) reduce the anglicisation of Wales.

By all means let us have a serious debate about higher education in Wales, but only if that debate is driven by the desire to do what is best for Wales and the Welsh people. No other considerations should be allowed to influence the debate; certainly not the belief that higher education in Wales exists in order for third-rate English students to ease into many of the top posts here, to then act as a colonial elite; helping with the anglicisation of our country and, it is hoped, the removal of a perceived political threat.

Angela Burns was elected Conservative AM for Carmarthen West and Pembrokeshire South last year with 35.85% of the votes cast in a turnout of 48.18%. So she got the support of roughly 17% of those eligible to vote in her constituency, and many of those were, like her, English settlers. This probably explains her 'couldn't manage without the English' approach to Welsh issues. Obviously she couldn't; but increasing numbers of the natives think differently.

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Strange isn't it . . . last year's referendum on legislative authority, and even the 1997 referendum to set up the Assembly, are - according to our enemies, such as Conservatives - 'invalid', 'unconvincing' or 'undemocratic'; yet electing politicians like Angela Burns with a much smaller share of the vote and a far lower percentage of the electorate is perfectly acceptable!

Doubles all round!- standards, that is.

Houses of Multiple Occupation

2012-01-24T13:03:00.000Z

There was a remarkable and illuminating letter in today's Western Mail from Irene Mann of Swansea Sustainable Community Initiative. Like me, you'd probably never heard of either before. What Ms Mann had to say was fascinating, particularly that part of her letter I've highlighted (click to enlarge).

Obviously Ms Mann and her associates are concerned with Swansea and its "Edwardian vernacular architecture" but the information she provides has national significance. It explains a lot about what we see happening not just in our cities but also in smaller towns, even villages, all over Wales.

Because if no planning permission is needed to convert a dwelling into a House of Multiple Occupation then private landlords will take advantage. So will agencies and charities needing to house 'clients' without drawing attention to what they're doing; which would inevitably happen if they applied for planning permission or change of use, for this would need to be publicly advertised. Then, given that this legislation is in place in England (also Scotland and Northern Ireland), it also makes it attractive for bodies in England to buy or rent properties in Wales and relocate their 'clients' here.

Even with decent tenants (or even students) there are still problems. There will be issues with noise, parking, refuse collection, fire hazard, etc. If large numbers of single parents move into an area the local school could find itself overwhelmed by a sudden intake no one was able to predict! Come to that, how is it possible for any service to plan ahead if the population of a neighbourhood could double or treble in two or three years? As does happen; for once multi-occupancy properties are established in a street then the other houses become unattractive as private dwellings. It's the domino effect.

What I find strange is that after 13 years of devolution there has been no effort to protect the vulnerable from unscrupulous private landlords. No effort made to defend Welsh communities from being blighted. No thought given to local services being stretched by an increase in population that no one expected because no one needed to be told! And this is not simply an oversight. According to Ms Mann, in 2010 WAG refused to implement the legislation that the English, Scots and Northern Irish find indispensable. This is crazy.

The only conclusion I can draw is that the door is deliberately being left open for those mentioned above - welcome to Dumping Ground Wales! This merits a petition to the Assembly. And it should certainly be one of the issues of concern for the new national movement.

Dissing 'Wales'?

2012-01-23T19:17:00.000Z

According to the latest oeuvre by that master story-teller, Peter Hain, Tony Blair and, by extension, the Labour Party, have no respect for Wales. Do you know, if I hadn't been sitting down when I read this I would surely have collapsed with shock. Not the Labour Party! These, and other revelations, are contained in Outside In, available now at all booksellers with nothing better in stock.

Let me admit that I haven't yet read the book (ok, scrub the 'yet') but the reports in both the Western Mail and on the BBC website make me wonder whether Hain's real concern is Wales, or the fact that he, personally, felt snubbed when the ludicrous and superfluous post of Secretary of State for Wales was downgraded in 2003. Though it's entirely in keeping with what we know of Vain that he identifies himself with 'Wales'. (Or might he believe that he is 'Wales'!)

He also seems not to appreciate how damaging for his party these revelations could be. For in trying to make it sound as if he, and he alone, stood up for Wales against an uncaring and dismissive party hierarchy, he doesn't do his Labour colleagues and the rest of the party in Wales any favours.

Hain's allegations of Wales being treated with disrespect stem from events in 2003; so let's remind ourselves of the political situation in Wales that year. Following the UK General Election of 2001 there were 34 Welsh Labour MPs in the House of Commons (out of a total of 40 Welsh seats). In the Assembly elections of May 1st 2003 Labour recovered from its poor showing in 1999 to gain 4 seats and take half the Assembly total of 60. So the 'disrespect' Hain talks of is against a backdrop of a Wales very loyal to Labour.

Loyalty repaid, in Hains's own words, with a "lack of respect" from the Labour Prime Minister and other party big shots. Making the lesson obvious. A lesson that should be learnt by Labour's Welsh heartlands. When your area has got steadily poorer during the century or more its people have been voting Labour, but they fail to realise that Labour is taking you for granted, then being treated with contempt is the least you deserve.

The only way for Wales to be treated with respect in London is by ceasing to support the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats. But even that isn't enough. We need a nationalist party in Wales, with an effective leader, that is focused solely on our people and their future rather than trying to save the planet and influence the foreign policy of major states. Without such a party we might as well vote Labour, and be treated with the contempt we'll deserve.

Wales' Squandered European Funding

2012-01-21T16:07:00.000Z

One especially worrying element of the ongoing scandal with AWEMA is that this body is receiving large amounts of European funding. This led me to wonder how the rest of the European funding to Wales has been allocated.

But before going to specifics, let's start with the background figures, from the website of the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO), the body that awards, oversees and evaluates EU Structural Funds. The current, 2007 - 2013, round of EU funding for our poorest areas is made up of two separate funds; the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of approximately £1bn, and the European Social Fund (ESF) of £690m. Together they make up the 'Convergence' programme with a total pot, including match funding, of £3.5bn.

The full list of projects for 2007 - 2013 can be found here. (You may need to click on 'EU Projects 2007 - 2013' in the sidebar, then click 'All' in 'Regional Area(s)'.) Running through it I was struck by a number of things. First, most of the funding has gone to local authorities, universities and third sector bodies. Much of the funding even goes to quangoes of the Welsh Government! Then, time and again, you read the same vague ambition, or wishful thinking: "Supplying Young People with Skills for Learning and Future Employment", or "Increasing Employment and Tackling Economic Inactivity". And everywhere you look it's about "assisting", "empowering", "mentoring", "engagement", "outcomes" and similar jargon.

If I sound cynical it's because I've been through this system myself, and not just with WEFO. When it comes to "Supplying Young People . . ." what this means is teaching kids what they should have learnt in school in the hope they might find a job. "Increasing Employment . . . " means the same thing. Yet, in reality, the only jobs created are for those delivering the project; those doing the "empowering", the "mentoring". Then, because these are jobs created and sustained by EU funding, when that ends the 'empowerers' and the 'mentors' must find another source of funding or join their former clients in the dole queue. Just a funding merry-go-round desperately trying to hide the fact that Wales has no indigenous economy worth speaking of.

For let us be brutally honest about the billions we have received in EU funding. It has been wasted by politicians who are ideologically hostile to the idea of building a Welsh economy; partly from their tradititional belief in jobs being provided by state-controlled industries, and partly because they recoil in horror from anything that is too 'Welsh', too 'different' . . . even prosperity. So we suffer endless "mentoring" and "empowering" that provide jobs for none but vociferous and well-connected people who know how to play the system. For again, I know of what I speak. When I was filling in 60-page application forms (plus photographs, 'additional information', etc) I was tutored in the language to use, the 'buttons' to press. I soon came to realise that someone who knows how to work the system, even with an absurd project, stood as much if not more chance of gaining funding than a worthwhile project from someone ignorant of the arcane workings and the secret language of the third sector.

For let's take the hypothetical case of Dai Lloyd in Trimsaran who has a damn good idea that might actually employ people in his locality. But Dai's not too good with forms, and he doesn't understand the argot or the byzantine workings of the system. So what chance has Dai got against major charities, local authorities and others who employ people specifically to source funding, people who are experts in the filling of forms, and who know personally those disbursing the funding? Poor old Dai!

Because the first two rounds of European funding were squandered on the third sector the Welsh Government must not be allowed to make the same mistake again. I would like to think that those allocating these funds will realise this and impose conditions on the next round of funding. If not, then it's up to someone in Wales to contact the European funding authorities and say: 'The funding so far received has been wasted - the proof is in the fact that Wales qualifies for yet more funding. Unless you impose strict conditions insisting that this round of funding be spent on infrastructure and business then you would do better spending this money in some other part of Europe.' The only political party ideologically equipped to send this message is the Conservative Party. (Whether it has the balls is another matter.) I would have no hesitation in supporting the Tories if they took this course. I would support them because the situation demands it.

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Finally, and returning to our old friend Naz Malik, the total WEFO figure for AWEMA is £8,295.991. This is for three projects: 'Young BME People Aiming High' (£2,216.169); 'BME Employment For All' (£3,778.666); and 'Minorities Are Wales' Resource', (£2,301.156). Though I couldn't help noticing that there is another project, 'Minority Ethnic Learning And Achievement Project', run by WAG DCELLS Lifelong Learning and Skills (£6,061.194), which is doing exactly what AWEMA claims to be doing with its 'Young BME People Aiming High'!

There is clearly overlap, if not duplication, within AWEMA's projects and an unmistakable duplication with the WAG-run project. How many other examples of duplication and waste could be found by diligently going through the full WEFO list? But such a situation is inevitable when those allocating the funding encourage applicants to be 'imaginative'; and when the whole process seems dictated by the desire to gain the approval of the left-green lobby, of which the fund allocators themselves are part.

Plaid Leadership Poll

2012-01-19T13:19:00.000Z

With 100 votes cast, my Plaid leadership poll looks like this. Obviously bad news for Simon Thomas (though I honestly don't understand why he bothered). For as things stand, Leanne Wood looks home and dry, but I would urge her backers not to break out the champagne just yet.

One reason being that this blog, and many others, attract those of . . . shall we say, a radical bent; people who want to see root and branch change, so this will inevitably have affected my poll.

Also, as I have warned friends of mine inside the party, don't forget old Mrs Jones in Deiniolen. She doesn't write letters to newspapers, and she hasn't got a computer . . . but she's very fond of that nice Dafydd Elis Thomas (and a lord, now, too . . . ooh, there's posh!). There are still a lot of Mrs Joneses in Plaid, and there are plenty of reasons why they won't vote for Leanne Wood.

Because this is not just conservatism at work. There is another factor that will influence more than just elderly women. Many people outside of the south feel that their part of the country is neglected in favour of 'The South'. Having the Plaid leader from a rural area well away from Cardiff is viewed by many of these as a 'balancing' or ameliorating factor.

Naz Malik: Rogue, Nepotist and Labour Stooge 2

2012-01-18T17:11:00.000Z

This link was posted today to my earlier piece on Naz Malik but I feel it deserves a wider audience. Malik has been nominated - by his daughter, who else? - to carry the Olympic flame on part of its tour of our country, when we shall be reminded how much money we've lost to this idiotic venture for the sole benefit of London.

In trying to justify the corpulent con man receiving the 'honour' his dutiful daughter has this to say:

"Naz Malik is in his 60's and is a very active member of the Welsh community. He works tirelessly helping and supporting people from a Black and Minority Ethnic Background and European Economic Migrants. Even though this is his work his door is never shut and his phone is always on to help people as and when they need him. He has a very big heart and as such listens carefully to what people are saying and then works out the best way to help them.

He has also helped and supported those of English descent who have suffered discrimination in Wales for being Englsih (some of whom retired to live in Wales). He actively seeks to help people of all ages, young and old and he tries hard to identify the needs of people before embarking on any project.

He is a continuos source of inspiration to those around him and people rely on him for guidance, advice and support."

Note how his work for the Labour Party gets a special mention. Obviously hoping that this noble struggle against Welsh racists might resonate with an English bank saved from oblivion by a Labour Government.

This scheme is being run by Lloyds TSB who, I'm sure, would welcome less biased information on those nominated to carry the flame.

UPDATE 19.01.12 Today's Western Mail brought further revelations about the third sector catastrophe we know as AWEMA (All Wales Ethnic Minorities Association). Those supposedly overseeing the running of AWEMA, who gave Malik free rein for so long, and only a gentle reprimand when they were forced to admit he was a crook, have now suspended whistle-blower, Saquib Zia, who brought the malfeasance to light!

The recently - and possibly illegally - appointed chair of AWEMA, Dr. Rita Austin, has written to Mr. Zia to tell him he has been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing. The letter states: "I have reasonable grounds for believing that your conduct and performance at work in recent weeks could constitute misconduct and / or gross misconduct” without giving any further details.

Earlier in the report the WM says that seven AWEMA Trustees have resigned since the allegations against Malik were made public. But the AWEMA website makes no reference whatsover to Trustees. If anyone has information on AWEMA Trustees, who they are, which ones have resigned, etc., then I would welcome the information.

Just when you thought this story couldn't get more bizarre, the AWEMA website carries vacancy notices for three new posts, funded by the Big Lottery Fund. Is this funding really still in place, or is it a case of the Titanic taking bookings for the return trip? If public funding is still being allocated, then maybe investigations should extend to the funders of AWEMA.

UPDATE 2 19.01.12 I have now received the following comment from the Big Lottery Fund:

"We are aware of the allegations being made against AWEMA and are working closely with other funders as part of the investigation.

   “We have suspended any further payments to AWEMA at this time and await the outcome of this investigation before deciding on any further course of action.

   “We take all allegations made against any of our grant holders very seriously and always ensure a thorough investigation is carried out so that funding is spent appropriately.” 

Good. Now let us hope that Carwyn Jones and his lot start taking this scandal more seriously. But I begin to suspect that the worry for the Welsh Government may be that this business with Malik could encourage wider enquiries into European and other funding to twinky-winky, third sector outfits providing no discernible economic or employment benefits . . . other than for Labour supporters, their families and friends.

Swansea Bay: Fracking On

2012-01-17T14:32:00.000Z

It now looks as if underground coal gasification (UCG) or 'fracking' for coal gas will go ahead in Swansea Bay which, for me at least, leaves three questions: How safe is the process? Who's in control of it? Who will benefit from it?

Starting with safety. I feel this is still not answered satisfactorily. In my online searching I'm not sure I've come across a reliable, impartial survey. Too much of what's available in the 'Safe as houses' category comes from those with a vested interest in exploiting coal gas, whereas the 'Don't touch it' lobby seems to consist of nimbys and environmentalists. There have unquestionably been 'teething problems' with this new technology; but many of these problems have been exaggerated and misrepresented by those mentioned above who, for various reasons, do not want this industry to succeed. And teething problems are inevitable with any new technology . . . until they are overcome.

Moving on to my second question. As this is a major project of UK importance it lies beyond the competence of our Welsh Government, so drilling permission was given to the company involved, Clean Coal Ltd, by the Coal Authority (successor to the National Coal Board and British Coal) on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change in London. Although, according to the story on the BBC website, Clean Coal would need to apply to Environment Agency Wales for an environmental permit. Which would appear to throw up yet another anomaly of devolution: for while our Government does not have the authority to issue drilling licences an agency in Wales has the power to render such licences useless by refusing an environmental permit!

As for benefits, according to the follow-up report in today's Western Mail (click to enlarge) Clean Coal is offering no more than 30 jobs on Swansea Bay. So if employment is not the big attraction in this industry what is? Well, extracting gas from deep coal seams is well established in the USA, and resulting in electricity prices falling by 50%, as this report from Bloomberg confirms. To the extent that both wind farm companies and owners of nuclear plants in the US have put expansion plans on hold. So now we see the real benefit - falling domestic and commercial electricity prices.

Rohan Courtney, the chairman of Clean Coal, is quoted in the WM as saying that the gas produced could fuel a community the size of Swansea, but how often have we heard this kind of hype when someone wishes to dump a windfarm in Mid Wales; arguing it will "produce enough electricity to supply Aberystwyth", or "Wrecsam". What we are not told is that the turbines may be in Powys, Ceredigion and Denbighshire but only because the English won't have them on the Chilterns, or the Downs, or the Peak District, etc., all nearer the eventual consumers of the electricity produced in Mid Wales. So why not just say "Swansea" . . . unless it's going to be piped somewhere else?

Both local Tory AMs, Suzy Davies and Byron Davies, are opposed to drilling in Swansea Bay. Suzy Davies argues that the technology is "untried" (obviously not true); while her colleague Byron Davies is concerned for dolphins' eardrums! Something doesn't ring true here. Tories should be embracing this potential economic bonanza. Or do they realise that underground coal gasification has the potential to seriously undermine the 'Wales is too poor' argument, and is their opposition therefore political?

For what can be said with certainty is that Wales sits on huge reserves of coal. If this technology works safely then Wales has enough energy to last for centuries. The number of jobs directly created may be small, but if employers could be guaranteed cheap or free energy, then the employment dividend could be substantial.

There is no doubt that underground coal gasification could be a game-changer for Wales and her economic prospects. But only if control of these resources is in the hands of a Welsh government with the power to ensure that all benefits remain in Wales and that gas exported is paid for at a commercial rate. Until that happy day, we should be suspicious of UCG; for without these safeguards it risks becoming just the latest means of exploiting Wales and Welsh resources. We've been there before, and too often; it's time to move forward not backward.

'Psycho' Goes for Overkill

2012-01-13T21:26:00.003Z

Yet more proof has emerged that the GB Olympic soccer team is about politics rather than sport with the main sports story in today's Western Mail. Stuart 'Psycho' Pearce, the Team GB Coach, has now written personally to four Swansea and two Cardiff players asking if they'd like to be in his gang. The latest recipient of these tantalising missives being Cardiff's Scottish international striker, Kenny Miller.

Not only is Pearce thinking about Scotsmen playing in Wales, he's also looking at Welshmen playing in Scotland, such as Adam Matthews of Celtic. Yes, that's the same Celtic you're thinking of; the big club based in Glasgow, whose fans wave Irish Tricolours and sing IRA ditties. Mr. Pearce has also approached Welshmen playing in England, most notably, Gareth Bale of Tottenham and Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal. (Even Ryan Giggs is being mentioned.) In fact, just about any Welshman, Scotsman or Northern Irishman who can kick a ball without falling over (too often) seems to be under consideration for Team GB. (I'm half-expecting a call myself.) Which is only to be expected.

The game's ruling bodies in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland oppose Team GB for the very sound reason that they fear for the future of their national teams if they unite with England for the Olympics. For there have always been rumblings about the three playing as national teams when they are not independent countries. The fear is that if the UK countries unite for the Olympics then it becomes easier for Fifa (the international ruling body) to insist on a single team representing the UK for future tournaments. The strategy being adopted by those behind Team GB seems to one of trying to make the Celts think that a UK 'national' team wouldn't be such a bad thing after all - 'just look at all the Taffs, Jocks and Paddies in the Olympic squad'. Rubbish! For once the principle of a UK team was established, and unless the Celtic countries produced regular crops of outstandingly talented players, then the UK team would simply be England with a few others.

Stuart Pearce was a good player, and nobody belted out Beti's pre-match dirge with more eye-bulging intensity than he; that coupled with his 'uncompromising' style of play, all contributed to earning him the 'Psycho' nickname. But he has yet to convince anyone that he'll make it as a coach, and no one ever accused him of being an intellectual so, given the politics involved, who's behind this selection strategy that is such an obvious - and unconvincing - flattery offensive? For even allowing for the fact that the Olympic Games soccer is basically an under-23 tournament with a few over-age players allowed, Bale is about the only one who'd make this team if it was chosen on current form. So why is the net being cast so widely?

These political shenanigans throw up an interesting dilemma for Pearce, and whoever's giving him orders. Which takes precedence - the political considerations, i.e. packing the team with Celts; or making a serious effort to win the tournament, which will mean many fewer Celts in the team? For how would English fans react to a UK team stuffed with Celts losing 4 - 0 to Argentina? And how would Celts react to the unlikely event of an all-English UK team beating Messi's Argentina? Like I say, all politics; and so many considerations. And so many ways for it to go wrong, for them.

Updates to Recent Posts

2012-01-11T17:14:00.002Z

PETITIONS COMMITTEE

Here is a video of that remarkable session of the Assembly's Petitions Committee yesterday in which the Member for Montgomeryshire, during the debate on a petition urging the Welsh Government to use Cymru and Cymry rather than Wales and Welsh, uttered the following words: "I was never familiar that 'Wales' meant foreigner". We know this man does not speak Welsh, English is clearly not his mother tongue, so I feel we should be told more about Russell George's antecedents. (And is that your real name, eh, Comrade!)

The debate on this petition ended in high farce when it was decided to consult an expert in Anglo-Saxon on the exact meaning of 'Welsh'. (For what it's worth, my interpretation is: 'Inferior bastard, with funny langage and quaint habits, whose land we Mighty Ones are taking'.)

NAZ MALIK

Pressure mounts on Wales' very own race relations Tsar, and his party.

SCOTTISH REFERENDUM

Unionist forces group for a combined assault on Scotland's democratically elected Government. Which makes me wonder how far they are prepared to go. Would Westminster dare organise its own referendum for 2013, thereby pre-empting the referendum planned by the Scottish Government for autumn 2014? Could they get away with it by holding it as a UK-wide referendum? Believe me, they (and their 'advisors') are almost certainly considering this and other, even more bizarre, options.

Assembly Seeks Anglo-Saxon Expert

2012-01-10T18:36:00.001Z

My petition on social housing was heard this morning by the Petitions Committee. (Click on this link, go to Item 3, 'New Petitions', let it warm up then forward to 35':25".) The Committee was comprised of: William Powell AM (Lib Dem, Brecon and Radnor), chair; Russell George AM (Conservative, Montgomeryshire); Bethan Jenkins AM (Plaid Cymru, South Wales West); Joyce Watson AM (Labour, Mid & West Wales). Also present were the Clerk, Deputy Clerk, Legal Advisor, Researcher and 'Record of Proceeedings' (Minutes-taker?)

Much time was spent by Committee members reminding each other that social housing providers have already been allowed by the Welsh Government to take local connections into consideration in their allocations. As I explained in an earlier post, this is a load of hogwash, for locals will still be outscored in the points system by people who've never set foot in Wales in their lives.

Former barmaid, Comrade Watson, expressed great concern that, if implemented, the conditions of my petition would make it impossible for women suffering from domestic abuse in England to flee to Wales. But why should they? Can't a woman being abused in Yorkshire go to Manchester? Or Devon? Or Kent? Or Newcastle? England is a lot bigger than Wales, so why do Englishwomen suffering domestic abuse have to come here? Comrade Watson was also concerned about key workers. A valid point, but the limited wording the petition system allows meant I was unable to detail all exceptions to my suggested five-year residency rule.

Russell George (of whom more later) worried that my suggestion might lead to Welsh people being refused social housing in England. Which is to miss the point entirely. Wales has a population of 3 million and England 52 million. Furthermore, we are not dumping our problems on England in the way that too many of England's problems are being dumped on us. I was rather disappointed with the near silence from the Plaid AM present. To cut a long story short, it looks as if my petition has been kicked into the long grass.

An earlier petition, from Dennis Morris, asked the Assembly to use Cymru and Cymry rather than Wales and Welsh. (Go back to 28':57".) I'm sure all of us would sympathise with the sentiments expressed in this petition. After some giggly remark from Bethan Jenkins about "rebranding the Assembly" we were entertained by Russell George telling us that he had never realised the term 'Welsh' came from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning 'stranger'. Yet - according to his blog - Russell George was born and raised in Montgomeryshire and, apart from three years at university, has never lived anywhere else.

There then followed a somewhat surreal exchange between George and chairman Powell (who, despite the name, is English, and an organic farmer). Both wallowing in ignorance, desperately seeking straws to clutch - and without help from any quarter, including the Plaid AM present - it was eventually decided to seek expert advice from some authority in Anglo-Saxon on the meaning of the word 'Welsh'! No, I am not making this up. A Committee of the Welsh Assembly needs to consult an authority in Anglo-Saxon for the meaning of 'Welsh'.

I have always argued that this Assembly is a farce and devolution a con. All done to manage Wales in England's interests but disguise the truth. Few things exemplify this deception better than the social housing system, and the Assembly's refusal to reform it so that it benefits Wales and Welsh people.

I am now organising a collection for a decent dictionary for the Petitions Committee. It'll be a hell of a lot cheaper than consulting an authority in Anglo-Saxon.

'Now Listen Here, Jock'

2012-01-09T19:30:00.000Z

Skirmishing has begun in the war of nerves, misrepresentation and dirty tricks that will entertain us for the next few years in the run-up to the Scottish independence referendum. UK Prime Minister Cameron has fired the first shots by suggesting that the Scottish Parliament may lack the constitutional authority to organise a binding vote. If that is the case, then it is suggested that Westminster will grant the necessary authority, but with certain conditions.

The main one being the 'Sunset Clause', so called because it insists the referendum be held within a time period set by London; together with a simple Yes / No to full independence, rather than also allowing the option of 'DevoMax', which would leave only defence and foreign affairs to Westminster. These moves, it is being suggested, will clear up the 'uncertainty' now confusing people, and also damaging the Scottish economy.

I really enjoyed writing that because rarely do I get the chance to repeat such blatant, obvious hypocrisy from a leading politician. And if this is a taster for what's to come, then the run-up to the referendum is going to get very dirty. Let us look more closely at what Cameron said, explain why he said it, and consider his options. Let us begin with whether the Scottish Parliament has the constitutional authority to organise a binding referendum.

Does it matter? Because how would it look if Cameron tried to stop the referendum being held? And in the event of a Yes vote what could he do - send in the tanks and impose martial law? The truth is that there's little or nothing he could do without looking like a tin-pot dictator. Another reason he should tread warily here is because he's dealing with legal matters, and if there's one thing that unites Scots it's pride in their separate - and they would argue, superior - legal system. Although this is a constitutional matter tied up in the Scotland Act of 1998 arguing that the Scottish Parliament lacks certain legal authority could still be seen, or interpreted, by many in Scotland as an attack on their cherished Scots law.

Next there's the timing. Observers suggest that - to quickly end the 'uncertainty', you understand - Cameron wants the referendum held before the end of 2013. This would conveniently get the referendum over before 2014, the 700th anniversary of Bannockburn, and the possible return of another Conservative government in 2015. So Cameron's argument has nothing to do with 'uncertainty' and everything to do with making the referendum more winnable. Finally there's the alleged damage being done to the Scottish economy. Where is the evidence? Cameron insists that certain companies have expressed disquiet with the SNP's referendum timetable but these cannot be identified due to "commercial confidentiality". Which is about as convincing as a tabloid's 'unnamed sources'.

The truth is that Cameron is getting worried; mainly because he's beginning to realise how little he and his unpopular government - with just one seat in Scotland - can do without being accused of 'interfering' or 'bullying'; accusations that risk rendering any contribution counter-productive. Making matters worse is the economic outlook; unlikely to improve in the next few years and with the risk that it could get even worse. He needs allies, non-Conservative allies, another Parcel of Rogues. More than anything, Cameron needs luck.

As a last resort of course the UK Prime Minister could fall back on stressing his 'Scottishness'. If so, then we could use this as a barometer of the situation: if it's no more than a throwaway reference to the Camerons of Lochaber then it'll mean he's pretty confident; whereas a flying visit to Govan, forced smiles and reluctant handshakes, will mean that the United Nations and the EU should start preparing for a new member.

Naz Malik: Rogue, Nepotist and Labour Stooge

2012-01-07T16:51:00.001Z

Over the past two decades I have intermittently followed the career of that tireless campaigner against the evils of racism and the horrors of unallocated public funding, Naz Malik. I was reminded of him today after reading this piece in the Western Mail about troubles at the All Wales Ethnic Minorities Association (AWEMA).

Malik has been chief executive of AWEMA since 2001, and this body is currently administering EU-funded projects with a total value of £8.4m "aimed at improving the employment prospects of people from ethnic minorities" in West Wales and the Valleys . . . where the ethnic minority component is probably below 1% of the population. AWEMA can best be described as a publicly-funded family business. For in addition to the patriarch AWEMA also employs his daughter and daughter-in-law, with his wife and son tagged on as 'volunteers'. Before going national with AWEMA Malik ran another publicly-funded creation of his, The Swansea Bay Racial Equality Council.

This is not the first time Malik has been accused of . . . um, shall we say . . . improprieties. Back in 2003 he was accused of both "questionable financial procedures" and racism. The racism was allegedly directed at Black and Arab members of AWEMA. All of which begs the obvious question: Why has this rogue been funded for so long and allowed to get away with so much? Answer: Because he's a loyal and useful member of the Labour Party. For oft-times in the past he has come riding to the rescue with accusations of anti-Englishness among the Welsh. (Which of course, is all due to those frightful nationalists.) Over the years, Welsh attitudes towards the English have exercised Malik and the family business more than any racism against ethnic minorities.

Significantly, these allegations began to be aired not long after the 1999 Assembly elections, in which Labour failed to gain a majority. You may recall that another element in Labour's post-election offensive was the absurdly named Welsh Mirror, nothing more than a platform for the anti-Welsh rantings of Paul Starling. The Welsh Mirror ceased publication - job done - when Labour gained a majority in the 2003 Assembly elections. Although a Labour Party member Malik has not been afraid to criticise his party when he felt it necessary. Then again, this little outburst could have been a fit of pique over not being selected as the Labour candidate for the Swansea East Assembly seat.

In fact, if one looks at the chronology, it presents an interesting possibility. Labour does badly in the 1999 Assembly elections and goes on the counter-offensive; this includes: the Welsh Mirror; accusations of Welsh racism from both Paul Starling and Naz Malik; the removal of Dafydd Wigley? Malik is rewarded with AWEMA and Labour turns a blind eye to the subsequent nepotism and financial irregularities.

Whatever happened back then, it is surely time for the Labour Party to liquidate the Malik family business. If only because it has outlived its usefulness to Labour and has now become an embarrassment. It would be nice to think that the wider lessons of the Malik reign are learned, and not repeated . . . but this is Wales, and these idiocies will be repeated. For me, these are the lessons I take from this saga.

The Labour Party in Wales is irredeemably corrupt, and will stoop to anything to hang on to power.

You want to know why EU Objective One funding and its successors have failed to improve the economy of our poorest areas? Just look where it's going: £8.4m to AWEMA - to do what? But this is normal; for most of the EU funding has been poured down the drain of the third sector rather than invested in infrastructure and training, business start-ups and expansions.

Why does a country virtually free of racism need such a well-funded 'watchdog'? Does it, in reality, serve some other purpose? And why does this 'watchdog' seem to be the preserve of one family?

There are a thousand and one good reasons to want an independent Wales. Naz Malik is just one of them. But he mustn't be overlooked. Nor must we ignore the party that has for so long used and funded him to do its dirty work.

Higher Education: Yet Another Form of Colonialism

2012-01-05T16:00:00.000Z

About five or six years ago I was staying in Glasgow, and in the same street as the University of Glasgow Dental School (founded 1879), which made me ask myself, "Where is our Welsh school of dentistry?" I'm still not sure. Do we have one? This reminded me yet again of how education and training in Scotland is handled so differently to Wales. Basically, the Scottish education system exists to reflect and to serve Scotland, whereas here in Wales we have an English education system (even through the medium of Welsh) and higher education integrated with that of England.

This came back to me today after reading the front page story in the Western Mail about our alleged "brain drain", drawn from figures compiled by the universities in Swansea and Cardiff. And taken up by Dylan Jones-Evans in his blog today. Over the years I must have read this same story a dozen times (but I suppose periodically regurgitating it keeps academics out of the pub and helps fill newspapers). In a nutshell, too many of those who graduate from Welsh higher education establishments leave Wales. Which I have elsewhere and ad nauseum explained by the fact that too many of those studying in Welsh universities and colleges are English. So they graduate and they go home. End of. But today's story did contain a few new angles that should worry us more.

The statistic that caught my eye was that, of the native born under the age of 45 living in Wales only 15% have a degree or higher degree. This compares with 44% of Welsh migrants living elsewhere in the UK. But in the non-native population of Wales the figure is markedly different. Of Welsh residents under 45 born in England 28.6% have a degree, 27.5% of the Scottish born, and 32.9% of those born in Northern Ireland. The conclusions are obvious:

We are losing too many of our brightest and best and they are being replaced by non-Welsh.

This is not simply a question of job opportunities, otherwise there would not be so many non-Welsh graduates of working age living here.

This phenomenon is due in large part to the continuing curse - even in the 13th year of devolution - of Wales being 'served' by UK or Englandandwales organisations transferring in non-Welsh staff.

Talking of the difference in education levels between the Welsh living in Wales and Welsh migrants in England the WM said, "This 29% gap is far higher than in England and Scotland and is surpassed only by Northern Ireland's 31%." Which was misleading. Because another figure for Northern Ireland shows that 92.9% of those who graduate from higher education over there stay there. Further, there is little or no graduate in-migration to Northern Ireland to compare with Wales. The situation in Wales is, therefore, unique. Which brings us to the crux of the problem. It is not new.

Fundamentally, we do not have a higher education system designed to supply our need for professionals from within the native-born population. Other small countries plan ahead and calculate how many doctors, engineers, etc., they will need in 20 or 30 years time and train them now. This should be the blueprint for Wales.

Welsh universities have abandoned any commitment to Wales and gone for quantity over quality, with the predictable results of the more ambitious young Welsh leaving for better universities outside Wales and being replaced by English students unable to gain entry to the university of their first choice. (In some of our smaller university towns one can't help wondering if this policy has been driven by the local chamber of commerce, if not the licensed victuallers.)

Wales' relationship with England remains fundamentally colonial. Which means that England must benefit from our brightest and best while we, too often, suffer second-raters filling top jobs in Wales. On the plus side, from the colonialist perspective, these second-raters are overwhelmingly English.

The most worrying quote in the WM article came from Amanda Wilkinson of Higher Education Wales. It was so striking that I have chosen to show it in the panel. This is the most insulting piece of colonialist nonsense I have heard in a long time. It's the sort of idiocy you might hear from a Tory Secretary of State telling Pembrokeshire people who can't afford to buy a home that they should be 'flattered' that so many English want to move to the county. It would be bad enough if she was a Tory Secretary of State, but this woman speaks for Higher Education Wales, yet another body with 'Wales' in the name but for which Wales is just a geographical expression. Higher Education Wales is clearly part of the problem, not the solution.

I leave you with this thought: What effect does it have on a Welsh child being brought up today in, say, Powys, when that child sees so many positions of authority and status filled by people of a different nation? What is that child to think of its own people and their capabilities? What is that child to think of his or her people's abilities to organise and run things for themselves? Yup, you've got it in one! That's psychological colonialism in action.

"Nation building"?

2012-01-02T14:30:00.000Z

In today's Western Mail our old friend Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM states that Plaid Cymru's priority now should be "nation building" rather than independence. Unfortunately he does not elaborate on what he means by this. But having heard the term used many times before I'm pretty sure that what he means is building up separate institutions to recognise and complement devolution, and to take it forward; a Welsh legal system being an obvious example. But this is not nation building; this is merely strengthening a polity, or possibly laying the foundations of a future state. We already have the nation; it's been around nigh on two thousand years; and while I would agree that it should be defended it certainly doesn't need to be 'built', as was the case, say, in the USA in the 19th century, or newly-independent and multi-ethnic African countries.

This being so, it exposes the fundamental problem with Rhodri Glyn's position: for why do we need to engage in this state-building (for that's what it is) if this process is not laying the foundations for an independent Wales? Or, to drag his argument in the direction of the absurd, does he envision us living in the political and constitutional absurdity of a non-independent state? Or how far do we proceed along the road of state-building before we call a halt, short of independence?

The problem with RhGT and others in Plaid Cymru is that their reluctance to deal honestly with the issue of independence results in muddled thinking, contradictions, and absurdities. (Just read the WM article to see what I'm talking about.) Having stated that they do not want independence they are incapable of telling us what they do want. So it all becomes hazy, if not dishonest.

The best service Rhodri Glyn Thomas could now render his party, and the country, would be to stand down at the next Assembly elections and let Adam Price have his seat. If Leanne Wood becomes the new Plaid leader then she should insist on it. And if, as Dafydd Wigley argues, a strong Plaid presence in the House of Lords is vital for the party, then she should persuade DET that that's where his future lies, opening up another safe seat for someone more in tune with the revitalised and refocused party that so many hope Leanne Wood will be leading. But if the 'deadweight' is allowed to remain in place, then it may not matter who becomes the new leader. For with DET, RhGT, IWJ and others still there, still influential, and not shy of giving out their views, Plaid Cymru will still come across as the party that isn't sure about this, and uncertain on that.

In the WM article today RhGT argues that Plaid Cymru has been "moving backwards" since 1999. For once I agree with him. But what he can't see is that this regression is due to equivocators like him. Maybe the smoke gets in his eyes.

Auld Lang Syne

2011-12-29T13:00:00.000Z

When an old mate of mine - native to the Cynon Valley - used to wake up with a hangover he'd moan, 'Death where is thy sting, sting, sting, and grave thy victoree?'. My understanding is that these sentiments come from the Bible, were used in Handel's Messiah, and were then adopted, in a rather less reverent version, by WWI soldiers. (The last being the version with which he was familiar.) Whatever, that's how I feel today. Partly self-inflicted, I admit; but also due to a hectic few days with constant comings and goings . . . and noise. Now, with wifey in work, and everybody else gone their separate ways, the house is eerily quiet. But God! it's lovely!

I definitely overdid the Mother's Ruin and the Argie red. And the cigars. In the end I chose not to dazzle people - and frighten the grandchildren - with my salmon pink pants, but decided on a more conservative look when I stepped out. Now there's New Year's Eve to look forward to.

One problem I've got with New Year is that for me, as a good Celt, it's at the wrong time of year. But perhaps more than anything my unease is due to hearing a beautiful poem and song mangled by drunks. I am of course referring to Auld Lang Syne, by Robert Burns. Or partly by Burns; for it is generally agreed the song is from an earlier time and Burns admits as much. Though some of the lyrics we know today are definitely his. But in talking of lyrics I'm getting to the heart of the problem - so few people know the bloody lyrics. I cannot think of any song that is more widely sung yet of which the 'singers' know so little. Just think of John Redwood and Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. The only reason those attempting Auld Lang Syne don't end up looking as stupid as Redwood is because just about all involved are guilty, and because all are drunk it doesn't matter. Well it bloody well does matter!

So to help you get it right I am giving you the full version. I expect you all to practice the pronunciation and remember the lyrics. Because there are some beautiful and tender sentiments in here. Some couplets that deserve better than a bunch of swaying drunks incapable of comprehensible enunciation even if they knew the words. So get it right! Do this gem justice!

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda

Shouldauld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to min’?

Shouldauld acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear.

For auld lang syne,

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

We twahae run about the braes,

And pu’d the gowans fine;

But we’vewandered mony a weary foot

Sin’ auld lang syne.

We twahae paidled i’ the burn,

From morning sun till dine;

But seasbetween us braid hae roar’d

Sin’ auld lang syne.

And there’sa hand, my trusty fiere,

And gie’s a hand o thine;

And we’lltak a right guid-willie waught,

For auld lang syne.

Andsurely ye’ll be your pint-stowp,

And surely I’ll be mine;

And we’lltak a cup o’ kindness yet

For auld lang syne.

Trad. / Robert Burns

Auld: old. Auldlang syne: 1 days of long ago. 2 old friendship. Min': mind. Tak:take. Twa: two.

Hae: have. Braes:hillsides. Pu’d: pulled. Gowan: mountain daisy. Mony:many.

Paidled: paddled. I': in. Burn:stream. Dine: dinner. Braid: broad. Hae:have. Sin’: since.

Fiere: friend or comrade. Gie’s:give (me). Guid-willie: 1 hospitable. 2 hearty. 3 kindly, generous, liberal.

Waught: copious draught. Pint:a measure equal to two English quarts. Stowp: a jug with a handle.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-24T12:41:00.000Z

Before settling down for the festivities I did some last-minute shopping, visited my mother and took a walk on the beach. Then, before it got dark, I betook myself to Castell-y-Bere. It was wonderful; wild, windy and deserted. It really can be an atmospheric place. If you haven't visited yet then make a point of doing so soon. Built by Llywelyn Fawr it was the last stronghold to fall in 1283 after the killing of his grandson, Llywelyn, at Cilmeri the previous December. Held at the end by the enigmatic Dafydd, who initially escaped capture but was eventually betrayed and dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury to be the first nobleman hung drawn and quartered.

Independence: With Plaid Cymru or From Plaid Cymru?

2011-12-19T19:30:00.000Z

It's not often that a blogger makes news in the Western Mail, but this is what happened recently to Michael Haggett, who blogs as MH at Syniadau. Michael Haggett and some other members of Plaid Cymru made a formal complaint to the party's chief executive about remarks made by Dafydd Elis Thomas and Rhodri Glyn Thomas, arguing that both had expessed views that conflicted with Plaid's aim of independence. The full story and a link to the complaint can be found here. The debate rumbles on at Syniadau, and has cropped up elsewhere, such as the blog Miserable Old Fart. Now I have no wish to get involved in Plaid's internal wranglings but I cannot help but observe that this problem has festered for many years; it goes to the heart of the party, and back to Plaid Cymru's formation, even it's raison d'être.

Plaid's funamental problem has always been that it has tried to be two things, to two different sets of Welsh voters. To Welsh speakers and those concerned with cultural issues the party has presented itself as the guardian of the language and all things distinctively Welsh. To the anglophone Welsh - especially Labour voters in the south and the north east - Plaid Cymru has downplayed its cultural aspirations and instead tried to convince that it is a left-of-centre party little different to Labour, maybe just with a stronger Welsh focus. Both groups were allowed to come to their own conclusions about the party's constitutional objective. To complicate the picture, in recent decades a third element has forced its way into Plaid's electoral calculations - the English immigrant vote. To these, Plaid Cymru must present a third face. This seems to be the 'forward looking' civic nationalism model that says, 'Look, no matter where you come from, if you live in Wales then we can make it a better place for everyone living here.' Of course, both the cultural message and discussions on constitutional objectives must be handled very carefully when dealing with this third group. Fudge, is the kindest way of describing it.

I can think of no other party that has tried to appeal to three electorates, divided culturally and linguistically; or on grounds of national identity and loyalties; or, in addition, ideological stance. For despite its own socialist position Plaid still expects people like me, who abhor socialism and its anti-national attitudes, to vote for them. (Compared to this, holding Jugoslavia together should have been a doddle.) And this three-faced approach has failed.

Of course Plaid Cymru still has its heartland seats in the north and the west, but these bastions of cultural nationalism will not hold out much longer due to the effects of the colonisation that Plaid Cymru has been too cowardly to address. Plaid Cymru has abandoned cultural nationalism in all but the narrowest, legislative sense; protecting a traditional way of life is not where it's at any more. In the south and the north east Plaid has clearly failed to come anywhere near displacing Labour . . . it has made "inroads", yes; but they always peter out. By presenting itself as a replacement Labour Party it has simply made Welsh Labour voters decide they're quite happy with the original model, on the, 'If it ain't broke . . .' principle.

And yet, while, over the years, I observed all this from the outside, good friends of mine who had remained in Plaid Cymru constantly assured me that the membership was 'solid' for independence; or that the members wanted something done about colonisation. Motions would be passed, heated debates would take place - yet nothing ever changed! It made me realise that the leadership was able to ignore the wishes of the members. The recent kerfuffle over remarks made by Dafydd Elis Thomas and Rhodri Glyn Thomas has merely reinforced that belief. Here we have two very senior members of Plaid Cymru making public statements that clearly defy official party policy. Which would be bad enough, but when Plaid members bring these remarks to the attention of the party's officials, they are told to stop making a nuisance of themselves because DET and RhGT are above the law. Were I a member of Plaid Cymru, THIS would worry me more than the remarks themselves.

Plaid Cymru has run out of time. Plaid Cymru has exhausted its reserves of credibility. Plaid Cymru is exposed as a duplicitous and opportunistic organisation prepared - even more than most political parties - to have a different message for almost everyone, with leaders who operate as if they, and they alone, constitute the party. Some see the leadership election as a chance to put things right. I doubt it. Because unless Plaid elects a leader who will be firm on independence, who will clear out the dead wood from the top of the party and its structures, and who will realise that there is no political advantage to be gained from trying to appeal to every man and his dog, then Plaid Cymru has no future.

Failure to reform the party in line with the wishes of the bulk of its members will almost certainly result in the formation of another political party. (As might the election of the 'wrong' leader.) A more clearly-focused and unambiguously nationalist party. The new party will come into being almost spontaneously, reluctantly, because of Plaid's failures. It will contain people who today could never imagine themselves supporting any other political party. They will join the new party because they will have realised the wisdom in Deng Xiaoping's remark: "It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice".

(Before anyone runs away with the wrong idea let me make clear that I am not involved in, nor do I know of anyone else involved in, discussions to form a new political party. Even if one were to be formed I might not join. I'm just saying it will happen unless Plaid Cymru gets its act together. In fact, unless the membership can reclaim the party this prophesy takes on an unstoppable inevitabilty.)

Local Television (2)

2011-12-14T22:00:00.000Z

So the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, had confirmed that our two new local television stations are to be in Swansea and Cardiff. I first dealt with this issue back in October, when I belatedly became aware of the plans for local television. Today's Western Mail even identified two likely bidders for either or both of the franchises. These are Tinopolis and Town and Country Broadcasting (TCB).

The WM article began by describing them as, "Two of Wales's biggest television production companies", which is odd, because TCB has no experience of television; the company runs a few music and adverts radio stations across the south and south west. In the case of Llanelli-based Tinopolis, this is a company with a large, international portfolio, responsible for programmes such as Question Time (BBC 1) and owner of companies such as Sunset + Vine. So, quite obviously, Tinopolis has the edge over TCB in the expertise needed to run a local television franchise. But there must be other considerations.

To begin with, involvement in, and knowledge of, the area concerned should be a pre-requisite for awarding a local television franchise. On this count, TCB again falls down badly. It is run by a group of men with backgrounds in Virgin Media whose only connection with Wales seems to be that they saw commercial opportunities for the kind of 'could-be-anywhere' radio they brought with them. Their attitude towards the Welsh language and other expressions of Welsh identity are positively colonial. TCB is just an English company that happens to be located in Wales. So Tinopolis, which produces a great deal of Welsh programming in both languages, wins hands down on this count also.

Perhaps more interestingly, the attitudes of these companies towards local television differ in a very fundamental way. Despite having far greater commercial clout and television experience than TCB Tinopolis does not see local television as a commercial proposition. To quote Ron Jones, executive chairman of Tinopolis,"Our interest will only be in some sort of social venture in which we play a part". Yet Martin Mumford, TCB's managing director, was upbeat about the commercial opportunities presented to 'provide a mixture of local news, information and entertainment featuring "content that is simply unavailable elsewhere"'. In the twenty-first century, with countless sources for all manner of news, information and entertainment, what does Mumford have in mind - topless camel racing from Morriston? (Sorry, I was forgetting; that's already available.)

Given TCB's record with its 'Welsh' radio stations I fear it will be interested solely in providing bland or lowest common denominator television from which it can make money by flogging advertising. Because TCB has shown nothing but a superficial interest in those areas in which it currently operates it may be too much of a corporate culture shift to become a genuine local broadcaster able to comment authoritatively on local issues and news. Therefore, and in the absence of other bidders, Tinopolis's model looks the more attractive option, providing the right partners can be found. Though the last thing we want is a public service broadcasting model run by Estuary English-speaking third sector types who don't know Swansea or Cardiff pretending they're commercial enterprises when in reality they're entirely funded by the public purse. We've already got too many of these in Wales.

So where are we? Obviously Town and Country Broadcasting shouldn't be allowed anywhere near these franchises; and while the Tinopolis public service broadcasting model looks more attractive, it too has drawbacks. (Not helped by the persistent refusal of QT to have Welsh audiences and Welsh panellists when in Wales.) Add to that concerns about the state of the national television in Wales (and whether local television stations aren't designed to somehow 'compensate' for this), plus the difficulty of television stations in relatively small cities to deliver important local news without getting up important local noses, and local television in Wales begins to look like a non-starter. And if it ain't gonna work in our two biggest cities how the hell is it going to work in Mold and Bangor (both in the next round of franchises)?

Maybe the giveaway appears on the Department for Culture Media and Sport's website, where Jeremy Hunt, UK Culture Secretary, is quoted saying: “I am confident these new stations will provide local communities with programming which is relevant to their daily lives, will support local democracy, boost the big society and enhance local communities”. When you realise that local television is a component of David - 'Hop off, Froggy' - Cameron's Big Society what more do you need to know?

1066 And All That

2011-12-11T22:30:00.000Z

JAC'S INTERPRETATION OF

PRIME MINISTER CAMERON'S 'HEROIC STAND'

I shall begin in 1066, because this seems the obvious place to start looking at what is, essentially, the history of English attitudes towards the French. The year when England was conquered by continental forces made up mainly of Normans. Then, for some three centuries following this seismic event, the English were ruled by French-speaking kings and aristocrats, some of whom spent more time in France than in England. This left its mark on the Anglo-Saxon psyche. The great battles of medieval English history such as Agincourt and Crecy were no more than contests between the king of France on the one hand and powerful magnates with cross-channel holdings on the other, the latter defending their continental holdings against an expansionist French monarchy based in Paris

With the French kings ultimately victorious, English kings confined to England, and the emergence of a new English identity promoted by the printing press and Protestantism, English attitudes to continental Europe changed. 'Europe' became a hostile place with which it was best not to be involved. From now on, England sought to isolate itself from continental Europe; first by consolidating its hold over Wales, Ireland and Scotland (to close the 'back-door' to invasion), and then by focusing on exploration and colonisation of the Americas and other new-found territories.

But even overseas England found herself in conflict with familiar foes; the Spaniards, the Dutch and, especially, the French. This also influenced England's attitude to the continent. Unable to match French manpower and wealth, and consequently unable to afford lengthy continental conflicts, she instead chose to build continental alliances against France, while using her superior naval power to fight more limited conflicts - Canada, Caribbean, etc., - around the world. The finest example of this policy came with the victory over Napoleon in 1815 at Waterloo. Wellington's Allied army (in which English soldiers were a minority) was facing defeat until the arrival of Marshal Blücher's Prussian army. Given the composition of Wellington's army and the role of the Prussians, Waterloo could be seen as a German victory. (Try telling that to an Englishman!)

All these factors have influenced English attitudes to continental Europe and its different nations. Also influential has been the origins of the English people themselves. Being descended from germanic invaders it is no surprise that many English - despite two World Wars - like the Germans more than the French. (Having had German monarchs and consorts for almost 300 years must also play a part.) It goes further; because, for whatever reason, there is no nation on earth that the English dislike, even hate, more than the French. This attitude has even crossed the Atlantic, which is quite incredible given the diverse origins of the US people (and French assistance in achieving US independence). But insults such as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys", and the idiocy of "~~French~~ Freedom fries" on US menus, would never have been applied to any other nation, not even an enemy. (It is also a worrying indication that even in an America more diverse than ever, the WASP elite is still so influential.) Though I suspect that, deep down, much of this antagonism is fuelled by an Anglo-Saxon sense of inferiority due to - however reluctantly - viewing the French as being more cultured and sophisticated.

Despite what had gone before, since the middle of the 19th century England and France have been allies. This may have been difficult for both, but with Prussia on the march and, under Bismark, turning Germany into a united and increasingly powerful State, they had little choice. This alliance has prevailed until today; but 1956 saw a divergence of both interests and outlooks. Following Egyptian president Nasser's nationalistion of the Suez Canal, England and France decided to 're-take' the Canal, with Israel providing the pretext. US president Eisenhower publicly bawled them out and made it clear that the days of imperialism were over. (Though not US imperialism, of course.) France and England took different lessons from the humiliation. France withdrew from its colonial possessions to concentrate on building a new Europe; while England - which also divested itself of colonies - chose to snuggle up even closer to Uncle Sam.

By the time Britain came to apply for membership of the Common Market this 'special relationship' could, and was, used against her. For it allowed de Gaulle to argue that Britain would be no more than a trojan horse for US influence. (In response, many English came to view - and still view - 'the European experiment' as a French-led conspiracy against them. Never difficult for the English to think the worst of the French.) The General may be long gone, but many on the continent, and not just the French, still hold that view. A view given greater credibility by a demand made by Cameron in the recent negotiations, a demand that most of the media is not reporting. We all know that Cameron demanded special treatment for the City of London and UK financial institutions, but he also asked for "safeguards for American banks based in the UK" (Sunday Telegraph). Note: not for Japanese banks, or Brazilian banks; not even for Australian or Canadian banks, just US banks. Hardly the wisest move when most continentals view the current economic crisis as having been brought on by the irresponsible 'Anglo-Saxon model' of capitalism and the very banks he seeks to protect.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has been quoted as saying that Cameron "played a blinder" in the recent negotiations (which only reminds us to hope that Johnson never achieves higher office). The hope was that Britain could emerge as the leader of a bloc comprising those States outside the Eurozone, therby achieving something of the traditional 'balance'. It failed, and when you find yourself in a minority of one, out of twenty-seven, then pretending that you are right and everyone else is wrong merely adds to the perception that this was an exercise in alienation the like of which has not previously been seen in the long history of British diplomacy. English statesmen of earlier eras must now be turning in their tombs; because never in 500 years has Britain been more isolated; never has she been without a single continental ally. Cameron spectacularly misjudged the mood of the other leaders; he overplayed his hand; and he has taken us down a path that could yet result in the UK leaving the EU, or even being thrown out. And all so he could protect the spivs in the City of London and appease his francophobe colleagues.

Wiser counsels, business leaders and others, even within Cameron's own party - and not just the usual suspects of Heseltine, Clarke et al - are already echoing the whirling skeletons with fears of the UK being "isolated" and "powerless". If the UK does become isloated, then Wales, as a peripheral region of the UK, one that has received such generous funding from 'Europe', will be doubly disadvantaged. Yet, unfortunately, in bars and golf clubs the length and breadth of Wales the prejudiced and the uninformed are toasting Cameron. People thinking in an English mindset, influenced by English media, will be unable to contemplate the possible damage to Wales inflicted by Cameron's faux Churchillian showboating. Worse, are those who know it will be damaging for Wales but care more about the UK 'national' interest. In other words, England; more specifically, the English upper middle classes and their wondrous casino known as the City of London; where they gamble day and night but never lose, because it's always someone else's money.

Which reminds us what we face. Because if we truly want independence, then our first, and our most fundamental, task, is to get more of our people to think in a Welsh context. To approach every political and economic issue with a simple question: 'How will it affect Wales?'. Achieve this and we won't need to worry so much about the likes of Cameron and Johnson, nor the francophobes and the spivs. We "narrow-minded nationalists, who seek to isolate Wales from the rest of the world" can push on to form the alliances and friendships we want, while the insular Anglo-Saxon world, with its discredited economic system, its corrupt politics, and its increasing social inequalities can go wherever it chooses. Roll on the day!

Cilmeri 2011

2011-12-09T14:08:00.001Z

Old Jac's Almanac

2011-12-06T22:00:00.000Z

It's that time of year again, folks. So I thought I'd gaze into my crystal ball and see what 2012 holds. (The management will not be held responsible for any loss or misfortune that might befall any nutter believing what's written below.)

The State We're In (2)

2011-12-03T18:00:00.000Z

The biggest police corruption trial in UK history has just collapsed at Swansea Crown Court due to evidence 'going missing'. The ex-police officers involved have been shown on television celebrating as if they had been proved innocent after a full and fair trial. That they were acquitted is almost certainly due to yet more improper behaviour by police officers.

The Swansea trial centred on the murder of Cardiff prostitute Lynette White in 1988 and the subsequent convictions of men later proven to be innocent. But there were many other cases in this period of innocent people being fitted up for murders by a group of detectives that was clearly out of control. It seems they just grabbed anyone who happened to be handy and then made the 'evidence' fit. As in the grisly killing of Swansea sex shop manageress Sandra Phillips in 1985. After the body was discovered the police threw up the usual cordon, which attracted two dossers, who'd come to see what all the fuss was about. They were arrested, charged, convicted and imprisoned. Of these two, the Darvell brothers, one was educationally subnormal and actually 'confessed', but then, under the kind of pressure exerted he would have 'confessed' to starting World War Two. They were released in 1992 and compensated for their years in prison.

But it seems the police can get away with anything. If they're found out then it's sick leave (on full pay) followed by early retirement on full pension. This leniency may be due to politicians' fear that the police are all that stands between a well-ordered society and anarchy. If so, then they should realise that a better regulated police force would be more respected by the public and, as a consequence, more effective in keeping order, if only because members of the public would be more willing to co-operate. As things stand, the attitude of the UK's politicians and, more generally, the Establishment, towards the police service is little different to that which exists in a dictatorship: 'We'll turn a blind eye to your excesses and your corruption just as long as you keep the Great Unwashed in check'.

So what do I mean by 'the Establishment'? Well, for me, it begins at the top, with royalty. I'm old enough to remember a time when the royals were regarded as semi-divine beings without blemish and beyond criticism. Now we see them for the flawed human beings they are; just a lot richer than the rest of us, on unearned wealth. Then come the aristocracy, no different really to the royals. Throw into the mix the senior ranks of the military, the judiciary, the civil service, business, etc. A self-perpetuating and inter-marrying elite, whose children go to the best schools and enjoy the privileges their birth ensures. An interlocking pyramid system in which cohesion and knowing one's place is paramount to the system's survival. But this has never been a closed world. Self-made nineteenth-century industrialists and financiers married into cash-strapped aristocratic families. Business arrangements that saw wealth and titles exchanged. For this has always been the strength of the British system, and explains why Britain avoided the upheavals seen in less flexible systems.

This Establishment has recently shown itself to be quite prepared - like some Argentine junta - to start or prolong pointless conflicts in order to deflect attention from its own failings . . . and prove Dr. Johnson right. As ever it still seeks to maintain the status quo through a whole host of agencies: the education system; the Intelligence services; the political system; Freemasonry; the secret, long-term planning and strategy committees; the wider apparatus of government and the civil service; the media; the police; plus countless 'voluntary' organisations serving ex-servicemen that it is deemed unpatriotic if not downright treasonable to question. (It is no coincidence that in this latter section new groups have formed and old ones been revitalised in recent years as the challenges to the Establishment have multiplied.)

A system designed to manage change when it becomes unavoidable but making sure that change does not unravel the woof and weave of society and the State. A thing of awesome, fascinating complexity. Yet a system running out of time. For today we are ruled from London by the most unrepresentative cabinet in modern times. Corruption and greed rule business and finance; venality motivates too many politicians; criminality and banality sum up the media; and bent coppers who have ruined countless lives walk free laughing. The UK State is in the early stages of final collapse because its 'pillars' are all discredited and crumbling, which leaves the Establishment exposed and tottering . . . and raising the drawbridge.

What Welsh person with an ounce of common sense or patriotism would want to remain part of this failed and festering entity, at last exposed for what it always was?

Hiding Behind Public Lavatories

2011-11-30T18:50:00.001Z

Since I've been living in south Meirionnydd - over 30 years now - I've noticed considerable hostility from certain, outspoken quarters towards Gwynedd County Council. It's often difficult to determine whether this opposition is to the party running the council, Plaid Cymru, or to the very idea of the council itself.

To give an example of the latter; until fairly recently one could read in the local press some veteran councillor or other source claiming that "everyone" they speak to wants the restoration of the old Merionethshire County Council. Let's consider this for a minute. The old county council became a district of the new Gwynedd county council in the local government reorganisation of 1975 so, given the demographic changes that have taken place, plus the time that has elapsed, only the native-born over the age of 50 can even remember Merionethshire County Council. So much for "everyone".

Another complaint regularly voiced is that because south Meirionnydd - I'm talking now about the coastal strip from Fairbourne to Aberdyfi - is so far from the council's HQ in Caernarfon the area is "neglected", losing out on funding and investment to those areas closer to Caernarfon. This complaint takes some hilarious forms, such as last week when a regular critic of Cyngor Gwynedd made two, simultaneous attacks.

First, in a letter to the Cambrian News, Mike Stevens, chairman of Tywyn and District Chamber of Tourism and Commerce, wrote to complain that the town's two Gwynedd county councillors - Anne Tudor Lloyd-Jones (Independent) and Alun Wyn Evans (Plaid Cymru) - were not at a recent local march to protest at Gwynedd's closure of public lavatories. Llanegryn county councillor, Louise Hughes (Llais Gwynedd) was singled out for praise by Stevens, for Louise has even cycled to Cardiff to lobby the Assembly about public lavatories. (No, I'm not making this up.)

Tywyn's new island under construction

Elsewhere, Mike Stevens attacked the council for putting up warning signs on the island that forms part of Tywyn's new sea defences. A child of six could figure out that because this island is man-made someone - almost certainly the council - could be held responsible if someone was injured. The real irony, though, is that Stevens is always banging on about Tywyn being neglected . . . while drawing attention to a recent £7.6m investment. Louise Hughes agreed with Mike Stevens on the warning signs. The story was widely reported, even making Nigeria Online. Much of the English coverage focused on the fact that the signs were (expensively and unnecessarily) bilingual. (Prior to the work being done Mike Stevens - wearing a different hat - was predicting New Orleans-style flooding for the area. Though he neglected to say whether there would be jazz accompaniment to the inundation.)

Returning to the vexed, leg-crossing issue of public lavatories, last week's Cambrian News also carried - on its front page - a tale of how Gwynedd council was proposing to charge people 20p for using the lavvy in Aberdyfi. According to community councillor Henry Jones, "Gwynedd council is trying to use the toilet as a cash-cow". (Get your head around that one!) Now I don't know about you, but I'm quite happy to pay 20p for what I know will be clean and well-maintained toilets. But the big shots of Aberdyfi see it differently. County councillor, Dewi Owen (Independent) said, "During the busy summer months, young children coming from the beach in swimsuits don't have any ready cash to pay, and what could happen is that people could use other areas to relieve themselves". Does he mean they'll pee in the sea, or is he suggesting they'll swim across the Dyfi estuary to public toilets in Ceredigion? Henry Jones then chipped in again with, "Tourism is the life-blood of this village, and without it we have nothing". So are we to believe that tourists will stop coming to Aberdyfi if they have to pay 20p to use decent public lavatories? (I repeat - I am not making this up.)

Finally, and saving the best for last, some years ago, a suggestion was made - I'm fairly certain by one of those mentioned here - that we should have a new local authority in this area. What was proposed was a Chile-like construct along the Cardigan Bay coast taking in towns and villages such as Barmouth, Tywyn, Aberdyfi, Borth and New Quay. The thinking behind it was obvious. Given the demographic composition of such communities the envisioned council could be run by those I'm discussing here and could also cut back on all that 'Welsh nonsense' being thrust on us by the despots up in Caernarfon.

What we have here in south Meirionnydd is disparate groups united in their opposition to Gwynedd as a council and / or the party currently in control. The motivations are varied. First there are the local landowner, Independent, types; who feel they could benefit themselves, their friends and families, better in a smaller council they could control. Then there is an anti-Welsh element that resents everything Gwynedd stands for. No doubt they froth and fulminate in harmony down at Abbaduvet golf club and in the local lodges, but their real problem is that for public consumption they must disguise their true motivations when attacking Cyngor Gwynedd . . . so they look for excuses, which results in them making asinine statements or else sounding like men with an unhealthy interest in public lavatories.

At the Assembly elections this year, Louise Hughes stood for Llais Gwynedd in Dwyfor Meirionnydd and achieved the vote of 3,255, coming third behind Plaid Cymru and the Tories. A surprisingly high vote considering she is virtually unknown outside this area. Obviously she would have had support from other Llais Gwynedd pockets in the constituency, but the size of her vote suggests that many of those I'm discussing here also gave her their support, and persuaded others to do the same. Louise is OK, but I can't help thinking she's fallen in with the wrong crowd, or two wrong crowds.

For you all know my feeling towards Plaid Cymru, but I still can't help wondering how the Llais Gwynedd stalwarts further north feel about the support they may be getting down here from people who would like to do away with Gwynedd entirely, and others who certainly do not have Welsh interests to heart. With dreams of part of dismembered Gwynedd joining a candy-floss council run by caravan site proprietors, funfair mobsters and other 'businessmen'. But at least the public lavatories would be open - and free. What a relief!

STOP PRESS: In today's Cambrian News Mike Stevens' position on the rock signs was supported by - wait for it! - John Bufton, Ukip MEP. Quoth Bufton Tufton: "To waste money on plastering the rocks with eyesore stickers is patronising to the public and a frivolous extravagence during a time when councils are supposed to be saving money. What next? Are they going to stick danger signs on cracks in the pavement?"
An interesting interjection which, unwittingly no doubt, gives us the reasoning behind the rock signs. For councils are indeed held responsible if someone sustains injury due to faulty pavements. So it is this scenario that Cyngor Gwynedd is seeking to avoid by placing signs on the new island. As for "frivolous extravagence", how much does this idiot think half a dozen signs cost?
Even so, a fascinating contribution; and one that exposes even more clearly the linkages involved, and the true motivations behind those making these repeated and silly criticisms.

Short Update: More of the 'Britishness' Offensive?

2011-11-29T16:04:00.000Z

The BBC website has always been my browser homepage, because it could be 'tailored'. Mine was set for World News, Welsh News. Scottish News, Welsh Sport, etc. But now the BBC has launched a new website, without the 'tailoring' facility. Which means that when I go to my homepage I am confronted by TV schedules, cookery 'news', showbiz gossip, and other trivia I could previously exclude.

In justifying this new website layout the BBC says: "We know that some of our users valued the ability to customise the homepage. However our audience research shows that most users want to be able to filter content, (e.g. select content to view under a range of headings such as news & sport, knowledge, lifestyle etc) rather than actively customise. The homepage has historically enabled a measure of customisation but the majority of users haven't taken advantage of this.

When customisation features are highlighted, the perceived value is mixed; instead users tell us they place a higher value on being able to easily filter content, than re-order what's already there."

Quite frankly, I don't believe that. I think the problem was that customisation allowed too many people to opt-out of the British content. This was deemed unacceptable in a political and social climate that sees 'Britishness' flogged to death, even by the BBC, desperate to hang on to its funding.

Can anyone recommend a good homepage?

The Powerflow

2011-11-28T13:20:00.001Z

Praise The Lord! - And Keep The Lucre Coming

2011-11-25T09:23:00.001Z

A few months ago I paid a visit to Meidrim, the home village of my paternal great-grandfather, Dai Jones; after which I drove over the ridge into the Teifi valley and Newcastle Emlyn. On the way I passed an isolated old chapel which now proclaimed that it was the home of some religious sect of which I'd never heard. Which reminded me of an element of the influx that seems to pass unnoticed. I'm talking now about whole congregations (or however they describe themselves) of esoteric religious groups moving into the Welsh countryside.

In this area, not only do we have the usual 'Evangelicals' but also the Jehovah's Witnesses. This latter group seems to have moved en masse from north west England (to judge by the accents) complete with patriarch. They control the local window-cleaning business. For a number of years some of them were actually based in our village, which they used for training. I'm not talking now about the odd pair of evangelists, I'm talking about 8 or 9 of them stalking the streets, knocking on doors and looking for twitching curtains or other signs of life. They'd often make a second sweep, hoping to catch you off-guard. And this was happening almost weekly. It was like being under siege!

I was reminded of this by an article in the latest issue of Private Eye. It seems that another of these sects has established itself in Carmarthen - and big time. Which would be worrying enough, but the Towy Community Church (TCC) is receiving public funding from a number of quarters, including Carmarthenshire county council which, if one reads the comments of leader, Meryl Gravell, seems to view TCC as some form of outsourced social services department. (You will note that not only does this group mis-spell Tywi but that despite being in an area where most locals speak Welsh its website is entirely in English.)

All of this would be worrying enough, but TCC has links with another outfit called Mercy Ministries (MM) which, according to Private Eye, teaches that gay relationships are the work of the devil and spurns modern medical and psychiatric treatment in favour of "the casting out of demons". In 2008 two Mercy Ministries homes in Australia were closed following an investigation by the Sydney Morning Herald. Mercy Ministries plans a residential home in Carmarthen. This blog provides more information on Mercy Ministries. Predictably, the link on the TCC website to Mercy Ministries is now discontinued. But the connection is strong, they may even be one and the same thing operating under different names.

The Private Eye article quoted from Y Cneifiwr, a local blogger who has been keeping tabs on the progressing relationship between TCC and Carmarthenshire council.

This whole business throws up a number of questions. On what grounds did the Welsh Government decide it was fit and proper to give TCC £300,000 of its money, through the Communities Facilities and Activities Programme, and recommend a further £798,202 from the Big Lottery Fund through the Community Asset Transfer Fund? Over one million pounds given to a religious cult at a time when funding is being cut to Welsh organisations due to the economic crisis and money being redirected to the London Olympics.

No doubt the argument used would be, 'Ah, but they do a lot of good work'. Of course they do, this is their public face; it's how they con the gullible into joining them . . . or giving them money. You might as well argue that Hitler was a good man because he brought down unemployment in 1930s Germany. Let's face facts: this is a dangerous Anglo-American religious cult with a very unChristian love of lucre, that now plans to set up a 'home' or 'retreat' in Carmarthen where vulnerable young women will be abused and brainwashed. Given the cosy relationship between the Towy Community Church and Carmarthenshire county council these fanatics must believe that planning permission will be a doddle as, no doubt, will further funding.

I don't want anyone to get the idea that I am an atheist; I'm not. But these fundamentalist cults should worry us all. Going back to Tywyn; there is a woman there connected, I believe, with yet a different group of zealots that has moved to Wales, and who sports an Israeli flag on her rather curious bike. Harmless enough, surely? Possibly, possibly not. For some Christian fundamentalists have now based themselves in Israel and are working with their Jewish counterparts. To what end? Well, their thinking runs like this: the rebuilding of the Temple is an essential prerequisite for the 'Rapture' or the Second Coming. The problem being that for that to happen the Dome of the Rock, on Temple Mount, from which Muslims believe Mohammed ascended to Heaven, will need to be demolished. So some of these fanatics are prepared to plunge us into World War Three in pursuit of their agenda.

The Welsh Government and Carmarthenshire county council have both made a terrible mistake in welcoming and funding such a dangerous outfit as the Towy Community Church / Mercy Ministries. In the case of the council, it may have gone further; for they seem to be in partnership. There must be a clear and unambiguous statement from both that they will now sever links with Towy Community Church / Mercy Ministries; that they will withhold any promised funding; and that they will try to recoup funding already given.

Gotta Be Something Better Than This

2011-11-22T17:51:00.001Z

It really is nice to see Paul Williams, 'The Druid', blogging regularly again. In yesterday's post he dealt with the proposal to re-draw Anglesey's electoral boundaries and cut the council from 40 to 30 councillors, all to be elected from multi-member wards. He makes a number of points worth repeating, for they may have implications for other parts of Wales.

Among them, the fact that the body that 'produced' this proposal, The Local Boundary Commission for Wales, was directed to come to its conclusion by Local Government Minister, Carl Sargeant. Which chimes ominously with Labour's suggestion that, when Wales's Westminster constituencies are reduced from 40 to 30, the Assembly should be elected by First Past the Post from 30 dual-member constituencies. (The fact that this system, had it been in place for last year's elections, could have given Labour a good working majority - rather than the 30 out of 60 Assembly seats they actually won - is entirely coincidental.) Also significant is that Labour refuses to admit why Welsh Westminster constituencies are being reduced from 40 to 30. It is not - as Labour alleges - due to "gerrymandering" on the part of the coalition government in London, it is due to something that Labour cannot publicly admit.

Abercynon

Those areas of Wales that consistently vote Labour - for want of a better term, let's call them 'The Valleys' - have for decades been in economic and social decline. This has resulted in emigration and falling electoral numbers - making reorganisation and merging of constituencies inevitable. And all because the Labour Party took its heartland voters for granted and chose to capitalise electorally on their deprivation rather than seeking to provide a remedy. Consequently, the Labour Party has no one to blame but itself.

Ynys Môn is currently run by 3 Commissioners appointed by the Welsh Government, a fate that might yet befall my old home town, where there has always been a certain, 'Mediterranean' attitude to local politics. Recent weeks have seen a catalogue of misdemeanours brought to light. All reported by Inside Out - A Jaxxland Perspective, essential reading for an exile like me. Down in the ugly lovely town a councillor has been suspended by his party at central level; the Ombudsman is looking into the behaviour of other councillors; and the local gendarmerie is also making enquiries. Good old-fashioned Swansea politics.

For I can remember, before I left in 1980, that the leader of the then Labour-controlled council was sent down for 'irregularities'. This caused a backlash that resulted in a strange outfit called the 'Ratepayers' winning control of the council . . . before its leader was also convicted of corruption. Much of this wrongdoing was brought to light by a local anarchist group, through their amateurishly produced but devastatingly effective publication, Alarm, which was pushed through letter-boxes in the dead of night. This group was led by Ian Bone (aka Ieuan ap Asgwrn). Then the story was taken up by the first incarnation of Rebecca, that also did a lot of good work back then tackling stories the mainstream Welsh media wouldn't touch.

I can remember, one night, being in the Queens in Oxford Street with my old, and long since late, mate, Phil Henry, and buying a 'Paul Ringer is Innocent' lapel badge from Bone. The backround (if memory serves), is that Bone had pissed off some local heavy who'd gone after him with an iron bar. With the resultant compensation Bone bought a badge-making machine . . . to continue the good work of pissing off anyone he felt deserved to appear in Alarm. An everyday story of Swansea folk.

That's enough nostalgia. The point I really want to make here is that in almost 50 years of following Welsh politics I cannot remember a time when we had such a dire crop of politicians. Think about it; at all levels of government, and across all the parties, can you think of a single politician who inspires confidence, who has the vision and the drive that Wales needs today? No, neither can I. Which might explain why, even in this digital age, we have nothing to compare with Alarm and Rebecca - the simple fact is that few people care about politics any more, and even fewer are interested in the politicians we have today.

God forbid that I ever find myself agreeing with anarchists, but politics in Wales today is so stiflingly dull, so devoid of personalities, so obviously a means for holding Wales in check rather than for facilitating progress, that an alternative voice for the Welsh people becomes not just desirable, but absolutely essential.

Dafydd Wigley: The Gloss Wears Thin

2011-11-18T18:23:00.001Z

There was a reportin today's Western Mail of an article by former Plaid Cymru leader,Dafydd Wigley, that had appeared earlier in the Daily Post. This was acurious intervention in the ongoing debate over Welsh soccer players'involvement in Olympic Team GB - specifically, Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale -which, many believe, will jeopardise the independence of the FootballAssociation of Wales (FAW) and the consequent survival of a Welsh nationalteam. Wigley condemned the behaviour of those who criticised Bale and Ramsey atlast Saturday's game against Norway as "appalling". He went on todemand that the the FAW show "unambiguous support" for the twoplayers.

Dafydd Wigley went on to deal with the threat to the survival of Welshsoccer independence, which he feels is without foundation. But if this is whatthe FAW believes then, according to Wigley, they should sort it out withpoliticians in Cardiff and London. But what has it got to do with politicians?Doesn't he realise that London politicians are promoting Team GB becausethey hope to see the independence of the FAW destroyed. And this doesn't justapply to the Tories. Labour Minister JackStraw was calling for a British soccer team back in 2000, and not just forthe Olympics. Herepeated the call this month. What's more he stated his reasoning:"part of a drive to create a more 'inclusive' sense of beingBritish". So this is not really about football at all; this is aboutpoliticians, motivated by a fear of where devolution may be taking us, tryingto arrest the 'drift' with a counter-devolution, 'Britishness' offensive. Whydoesn't Dafydd Wigley realise this?

Elsewhere in the articlehe made the comparison with Welsh rugby players appearing for the British andIrish Lions, which was absurd and illogical. Because there hasnever been any threat to the survival of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and ournational rugby team, as there is to the FAW and our national soccer team. Therehave been rumblings for decades within the FédérationInternationale de Football Association (Fifa) about Wales, Scotland andNorthern Ireland having national teams when they are not sovereign states. Thequestioning comes from two quarters: multi-ethnic states that fear their ownterritorially-based minorities will demand the same right, andnewly-independent states or third world countries that resent what they see as'traditional' soccer countries hogging the top table when they shouldn't evenbe represented in Fifa.

All of which leavesthe survival of the FAW and our national team under threat from two sides. YetDafydd Wigley believes there's no problem, no threat. We should giveunquestioning support to Team GB at next year's Olympics. He, like too manyothers, sees the Olympic soccer tournament as a one-off event, after whicheverything will return to normal. But will it? What if, post Olympics, Fifa wasto propose a permanent UK team? The move would be guaranteed majority supportwithin Fifa; guaranteed support from the London government, the English media,and the (English) FA. There would of course be protests from Wales, Scotlandand Northern Ireland, but these would count for little, and be too late,because the precedent would already have been set.

For me, the shine began to wear off Dafydd Wigley when he made that amazingstatement that Plaid Cymru had "never ever" advocated independencefor Wales. The shine dimmed further with his unseemly scrambling to get intothe House of Lords. (Arguing there was a "desperate need" for morePlaid Cymru peers.) Now this intervention in soccer, so ill-judged, so wrong-headed,so attuned to the Brit agenda, is the last straw. He would still have made abetter leader for Plaid Cymru than Ieuan Wyn Jones, but the comparisons withAlex Salmond are clearly fatuous and exaggerated. Dafydd Wigley is not the 'LostLeader', he's no Parnell; just another political has-been supplementing hispension by turning up in the House of Lords and writing rather silly andill-considered newspaper articles.

'Comes Complete With Strings'

2011-11-15T14:31:00.001Z

Most of us are frustrated with the Welsh Government's lethargy. Not least because we know that 'Welsh' Labour is too open to interference from Peter Hain and others who are reluctant to allow the Welsh Government to get on with doing what it was elected to do - govern Wales. Apologists will of course point out that with a Tory-Liberal Democrat alliance government in London, and a Tory Secretary of State for Wales, the freedom of a Welsh Labour Government is further circumscribed. This is a facile and distractionary defence.

For even if its freedom of action is curtailed somewhat by these factors, the Welsh Government can still govern and legislate within the powers devolved to it. It refuses to do so. It could also show ambition for Wales by examining the current constitutional settlement and identifying those areas where Wales would benefit from further legislative powers being devolved. It chooses not to. Yes, yes, we all know that First Minister Carwyn Jones has recently been banging on about the need to devolve major energy projects, but let's be brutally honest here; until 1500 anti-wind farm protesters from Powys turned up on his doorstep he hadn't give the matter a thought.

Last night Carwyn Jones gave a lecture in Aberystwyth, to the university's Institute of Welsh Politics. He set out three tests by which further powers for Wales should be judged as desirable. These are:

That devolution of responsibility would benefit the Welsh public
That these powers could be accommodated within existing Welsh Government structures
That they would have limited impact on the wider UK

Let us consider an issue that obviously puts Tests one and three at odds. Devolving control of water resources so that we could charge a fair rate for water piped to England would obviously satisfy Test 1 but, because it would probably result in higher water rates in England, fail Test 3. Or let us assume that a future Welsh Government decided to build a new airport to serve northern and central Wales. Such a facility would obviously take passengers away from Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham - so would the plan have to be dropped because it failed Test 3? Just ask yourself how many new companies can start and grow without taking customers and sales from rival, existing companies?

This stricture about Wales not legislating if it 'impacts' (adversely, one assumes) on the wider UK exposes something fundamental about Labour's attitude to both Wales and devolution. Every level of government on this planet, from the federal government of the USA to Cwmscwt community council, is voted into office to serve the interests of those who elected it. US voters do not empower the House of Representatives, Congress and the President to govern in the interests of Mexico or Canada. Similarly, the worthies of Cwmscwt are not expected to act in the interests of neighbouring communities to the detriment of lovely Cwmscwt. Yet here in Wales, we have a Government, and a party of government, that obviously sees its role differently. History provides countless examples of governments acting on behalf of some external authority rather than in the interests of their own people . . . they tend to be known as puppet regimes.

The inescapable fact is that there will inevitably - and always - be issues that cause Welsh interests to conflict with those of England. Can we therefore assume from what Carwyn Jones has said, and from other sources such as the Government of Wales Act 2006*, that Welsh interests will always be subordinated? If so, then the Welsh Government will fail the Welsh people time and time again. So what is the point of the Welsh Government, and devolution?

Turning to Test 2, which insists that new powers must be "accommodated within existing Welsh Government structures" - are the present 'structures' set in stone, or made immutable by Holy Writ? 'Welsh Government structures' are constantly changing, so where is the insurmountable problem in creating new structures to accommodate new powers? This is another unconvincing attempt by a party hostile to devolution to justify further foot-dragging.

Another remark made in the speech also caught my attention. This was Carwyn Jones's statement that, "further devolution should not be pursued for it's own sake". Now what, exactly, does that mean? (Or, perhaps, what did Peter Hain mean by it?) I suspect that this no more than a catch-all phrase that will be used in future to oppose the devolution of further powers even when such devolution of responsibilities would be beneficial to Wales.

Elsewhere, the so-called Silk Commission, is getting down to business. Chairman Paul Silk has gone on record as saying: that the future of devolution "must be in the best interests of Wales" . . . which might appear to put the Commission on a collision course with Carwyn Jones's Test 3. But this calamity is probably averted by something else said by Paul Silk, for his Commission will " . . . recommend modifications to the present constitutional arrangement that would enable the UK Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales to better serve the people of Wales". Which takes us to the heart of the matter and the basic problem - serving two masters . . . and back to the puppet regime.

A problem inherent in the form of devolution we have in Wales, a problem exacerbated by having political parties forever worrying over what party leaders in London, or the English media, will make of any initiative they might implement - if that initiative can be construed as being even marginally disadvantageous to England, or English consumers - means that these parties can never be fully committed to serving Welsh interests, no matter how much power is devolved.

Yes, of course, we do have a political party based in Wales, but the more I see of Plaid Cymru the more I come round to the view that another nationalist party - or a nationalist party - could do a lot in refocusing Welsh political, and public attitudes. For Plaid Cymru has failed to change the Brit mindset that still dominates Labour and the other two parties. While this mindset prevails devolution is an expensive waste of time. As is the pretence of trying to 'make devolution work'. We need to start thinking and acting as others do by asking the simple question, 'What would be best for Wales?' and then going for it, no matter what anybody over the border says or thinks.

* In a previous posting I drew attention to the exploitation of Wales's water resources. I also offered a link to the Government of Wales Act 2006 in which it states that the Secretary of State for Wales has the power to intervene if the Welsh Government does anything she (or others) believes, "might have a serious adverse impact on water resources in England, water supply in England or the quality of water in England". (And who might the mysterious "others" be?) Which, I suggest, supports the arguments made above: Wales can be run in the interests of the Welsh, but only up to a point, for the interests of England must always take precedence. There, in a nutshell, you have the hypocrisy and futility of devolution laid bare.

The State We're In

2011-11-13T12:26:00.001Z

An item from today's Sunday Telegraph may be worth relaying, seeing as few of you lefties read this organ. The only reason I buy it is because, for someone of my political orientation, it's the best of a bad bunch. For example, it has consistently exposed Tony Blair for the self-serving charlatan he is; it does not subscribe to the view that Barack Obama walks on water; and it has done more than most to expose the idiocy of wind turbines. (Which even the BBC, with last week's Panorama, is finally catching up with.) That said, the item to which I refer exposes the darker side of the Torygraph.

Strangely, this piece was in the Sports supplement, in the coverage of the Wales vs Norway football game yesterday. A number of fans protested against the involvement of Welsh players in the Great Britain team for next year's Olympics. The collective noun chosen to describe the protesters was "mob". Now I couldn't help wondering what term the Telegraph would have used to describe a crowd supporting Welsh involvement. The paper even provided a photograph of the "mob" with their banner. As the report in the 'paper differed considerably from the online version, I have provided a copy of the printed version. (Click to enlarge.)

Private Eye

Western Mail 12.11.11

Another item that caught my eye today was on the BBC website. George Osborne, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, wants the Scottish Government to say when it will hold the referendum on Scottish independence because the uncertainty is damaging the Scottish economy. Of course it is, George, and that is the only thought in your mind in making this call. The truth is that the English Government is trying to bounce the Scottish Government into calling the referendum at a time when it would be most likely to be lost. Ideally - from the Tories' perspective - the referendum should be held around the time of the Olympics, when 'Britishness' and 'unity' will be flogged to death. For the timing of this referendum could be crucial.

As was admitted in an article last week in the Daily Telegraph. This surprisingly honest piece by Simon Johnson, the 'paper's Scottish political correspondent, made no bones about there being a "Unionist refrain" that would cash in on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2015. (A little desperate?) Though surely the big event in 2015 is the 200th anniversary of Waterloo, Scots Greys and all that. But I suppose that risks offending the French and exposing Waterloo to the kind of scrutiny that would reveal Wellington's Allied army was on the point of defeat until the arrival of the Prussians. The next UK General Election will also be held in 2015. So if we've talking anniversaries, and likely referendum dates, then Johnson had to admit that 2014 was favourite - the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn. Of course, 2014 also marks 100 years from the beginning of the First World War, but the British Expeditionary Force didn't arrive in France until August 22, whereas Bannockburn was fought on June 24.

Putting it all together; the use of "mob" with the OTT poppy offensive, and London suggesting that Scots will starve if they're foolish enough to vote for independence (See earlier, comical example of this tactic from Quebec), plus 'British' this and 'Britain' that filling our television screens, it seems clear to me that there is a concerted and well-planned 'Britishness' offensive under way. So how far are our masters prepared to go in their attempts to bend people to their will, and how do they propose dealing with those who refuse to bend?

It's Peace In Our Time!

2011-11-11T10:13:00.001Z

Sepp Blatter, President of Fifa

Communities all over Wales are breathing a sigh of relief today as peace returns. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month the shouts of, 'Why aren't you wearing a poppy, you bastard?' fell silent. Bells were rung to celebrate liberation from intimidation. Even international sports organisations breathed a sigh of relief. Sepp Blatter, President of Fifa, said, "The English threatened to send in gunboats if I didn't allow them and their colonies to wear the poppy . . . do they know I'm based in Switzerland? . . . and do the English have any gunboats? Now I suppose the Krauts will want to wear Iron Crosses, and the Argies will insist on some slogan about the Malvinas - where will it end?"

In Wales English nationalist organisations such as the British Legion, the Royal Air Force Association and others have stood down their members. But they will form again, in mufti, later today in the golf club or the lounge bar of the 'Pantie' hotel; this time turning their fire on 'Nashies', 'language fanatics' and assorted 'immigrants'. (The latter being a group to which they of course do not belong.)

The speed and ferocity of the Brit Nat assault took many by surprise. In a well planned campaign, and by attacking on many fronts, the neutrality and independence of gallant little Wales was violated time and time again. One harrowing personal account comes from Mrs Phyllis Gittins, of Welshpool. Mrs Gittins, clearly traumatised by her experience, said, "There I was walking down Broad Street, going to get some tomatoes for my sister Gwladys, she loves a nice tomato does our Gwladys (Get on with it, you old crow! Ed), when, all of a sudden, like, I was surrounded by them! There was this big horsey woman, then there was this bloke who I know never got closer to action than a punch-up in Aldershot but, worst of all, was this bugger in a fancy overcoat with a Clark Gable moustache, who said I would be a traitor, guaranteed to rot in hell, if I didn't give him a tenner for a poppy".

An uneasy peace now reigns, yet analysts expect hostilities to recommence after the winter snows, with a spring offensive leading up to the Diamond Jubilee in June, and another Britskrieg prior to the Olympics. Said Commander-in-Chief Cameron, "We shall be going over the top again next year - in fact, every time we can find an excuse - until the evil of desiring constitutional change is eradicated from this island". (Did he really say that? Ed.) Other analysts, however, believe that Cameron and his cohorts have already overplayed their hand and risk making themselves look intolerant and dictatorial rather than harmless and well-intentioned promoters of 'Britishness', 'the shared history', and other Unionist propaganda.

New England (and Wales) team shirt

As ever, commercial interests have been quick to capitalise on the fraught situation. Sportswear manufacturer Umbro has designed a shirt for the new England (and Wales) football team. (The merger, and the shirt, have been approved by the aforementioned Mr. Blatter.) It was unveiled yesterday. When a Welsh journalist at the press conference questioned why there was no Welsh representation on the shirt he was shouted down as a "Narrow-minded nationalist" and "One of those bastards who didn't buy a poppy". The unfortunate hack was then dragged away and stoned to death in the foyer of the Daily Mail offices. Next of kin will be informed by having their door kicked in at 4am.

The lights are going out all over Europe (which is the price you pay for relying on bloody renewables!). The dark shadow of imperialist intolerance has fallen over Wales. While beyond Gwalia, the world awaits with trepidation the next offensive from the unstable and belligerent Tory-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Axis. Feeling threatened in a fast-changing world these despots of the old order have become jumpy and unpredictable. Meanwhile, down in the golf club, the occupying forces, after a few pints of Thatcher's Gotcha!, have begun singing the songs of their homeland; 'Two World Wars and one World Cup', 'Argie-Bargie', 'No Surrender to the IRA' and that old favourite dealing with the testicular shortcomings of the Nazi hierachy.

Alex Salmond is 57.

Wales Among European Leaders! . . .

2011-11-08T21:28:00.000Z

. . . in poverty. Yes, folks; we shall soon qualify for yet another round of the top-level EU funding reserved for the Community's poorest areas, those with per capita GDP below 75 per cent of the EU average. Worse, those areas of the country that qualify for this hand-out - usually referred to as 'West Wales and the Valleys' (WWV) - have, despite two rounds of such funding, become relatively poorer!

Proof that the first two rounds of funding (Objective One 2000 - 2006 and Convergence Funding 2007 - 2013) were squandered is further shown by the fact that of the 66 regions that received the same funding, Wales joins Malta, two regions of Portugal and four regions of southern Italy in becoming poorer. Or, to look at it another way; with the same funding, Latvia, Slovakia and even Greece became richer! In percentage terms, WWV saw its per capita GDP drop from 66.8 of the EU average in 2000 to 64.4 in 2008 (the latest year for which figures are available).

In my previous post I had things to say about the Common Purpose mafia that is the 'third sector', and how it has beguiled left-leaning politicians (i.e. most Welsh politicians) into believing that it, and it alone, could provide jobs and prosperity . . . and how that was much more acceptable than dealing with nasty - ach y fi! - capitalism. But the politicians themselves cannot escape criticism for falling for this nonsense; for not realising that the third sector can only ever be complementary to a healthy economy - for where is the money disbursed by the third sector to come from? But too many Labour, and Plaid Cymru, politicians view the third sector as a substitute for an economy. This results from a poverty of ambition and lack of vision that sees them hoping to do no more than manage poverty, rather than eradicate it. As for creating wealth - forget it. No wonder we qualify for another round of the begging bowl.

This poverty in which Wales now finds itself should surprise no one, for it was inevitable given the sort of politicians who have run Wales since the inception of devolution. Few if any of them have experience of the 'real' world inhabited by us mortals. They regard capitalism and the making of money as one step short of eating babies. (And seem incapable of making the connection between entrepreneurialism and jobs.) They wistfully recall the days when everybody worked for The National Coal Board, British Rail, British Steel, British this, British that . . . They refuse to take decisions in Wales, for Wales, that might improve the economy, for fear of encouraging the belief that Wales could do other things for herself.

These pathetic creatures strut about pretending they run things when, in reality, they are little better than medieval lackeys sent down by their lord to throw pennies at the beggars gathered by the gate. Not their money, not their house, and always taking orders from someone else. But they can still lord it over the wretched who, they hope, will think they're being ever so generous (with someone else's pennies). They should be ashamed that with all the resources, human and natural, that this country possesses they have reduced Wales to the level of Andalusia and Sicily. How much more humiliation do they think we can take? Yes, I'm angry. Seeing my nation turned into the beggars of Europe hurts. But anger alone won't get us anywhere, so let me try to finish with some positive suggestions.

The European funding we shall receive will not be enough to deal with the problems we face, something more imaginative and dignified than the begging bowl is required. Here are some suggestions. Why not invest in vocational training for those who leave school with nothing, due to our obsession with academic achievement; which anyway contributes next to nothing in tangible, economic and employment terms. Introduce new forms of revenue-raising such as a tourist tax (a charge of just £2 per head per night could raise close to £100m). Move away from the fixation with Cardiff by rejecting the unhealthy influence of those who only care about that city. Take control of all natural resources in Wales and charge for their export. Introduce a form of stamp duty for anyone from outside Wales buying a property here. Involve business in your deliberations and invest in major infrastructure projects - start with the re-opening of the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth railway line. And of course, fundamental to everything is, stop seeing the third sector as a substitute for a real economy.

But to achieve anything you have to realise that you are the Welsh Government, elected to serve those who put you in power. Move beyond seeing your role as managing Wales for Whitehall, distributing largesse from the EU, and passing gimmicky legislation to please Greens, Ramblers, Guardianistas and all manner of interests that don't give a damn about Wales. Doing what will benefit Wales and her people should be your sole concern. If it's not, then you are not the Welsh Government. You're just another bunch of useless politicians.

UPDATE 10.11.11 Edwina Hart AM, Minister for Business and Enterprise, yesterday said, that she "regrets"capitalism. She went on to suggest that Marx and Engels had got it right. Now there is nothing wrong with holding these views, but this woman is supposed be dealing with business and finance, and securing foreign investment. How can she possibly do her job when it appears she is ideologically opposed to the capitalist system? I argued above, and I have been making the same point for years - there are too many Labour politicians in Wales who are hostile to entrepreneurialim, and this goes a long way to explaining our country's relative poverty.

Wales: Home of the Third Sector

2011-11-04T20:49:00.001Z

The Plaid Wrecsam blog reports on the scandalous case of Miriam Beard and her family milking the Plas Madoc regeneration scheme in that town, and calls for heads to roll. Quite right, too. I'd like to know why no one made the proper checks into her background that would have unearthed her previous convictions for dishonesty. Or why no one thought it odd that a woman claiming to be ten years younger than she really was had a son just ten years younger than her! But what this case highlights for me is the influence of the so-called third sector in Welsh life.

For those unfamilar with it, "The ‘third sector’ is the term used todescribe the range of organisations that are neither public sectornor private sector. It includes voluntary and communityorganisations (both registered charities and other organisationssuch as associations, self-help groups and community groups),social enterprises, mutuals and co-operatives." Now, while no one - not even me (who believes that Ghengis Khan displayed dangerous liberal tendencies) - would disagree that there is a role for such organisations in any well-balanced economy and fair-minded society, I suggest that they have too much influence in contemporary Wales.

In my well ordered society and balanced economy the third sector should be filling the narrow gap left it by a healthy and innovative economy (providing the bulk of the jobs needed), and an adequately funded public sector taking care of everything from street-lighting to schooling and health care (and providing most of the remaining employment needs). But in Wales today the balance is all wrong. We have an underperforming economy and an underfunded public sector, which has led to a bloated third sector.

There could be a number of reasons for this unhappy situation. Perhaps it's the Welsh love of committees. Or maybe we can blame it on the fact that both Labour and Plaid Cymru are hostile to, and largely ignorant of, business and commerce; resulting in both parties preferring to deal with 'social enterprises'. But the price we pay for this obsession with the third sector is far too high.

Take our Welsh Government, and its predecessor, the Welsh Assembly Government. When one looks at the legislation produced (or lack thereof) - such as the ban on plastic bags - it's easy to see the influence of the green lobby and the third sector at work here. For the groups comprising the third sector are accomplished lobbyists and, in Wales, very effective. Easily understood when we look at the backgrounds of so many Assembly Members. (And where so many AMs end up on leaving the Assembly.)

Yet where is the accountibility? Private companies are responsible to shareholders, investors and employees; local authorities answer to their employees and to the people they serve, and if the councillors are felt to be underperforming then they will usually be voted out. But in Wales the third sector - if it answers to anyone in Wales - is answerable to the Assembly and its various grant-dispensing agencies, with which the third sector is intertwined due to movements of staff and the shared left-liberal-green view of the world. This is incestuous. It is damaging Wales.

There can be no doubt that the influence wielded by the third sector in Wales, coupled with a lack of political vision, is the reason why the first two dollops of European Objective One funding failed so dismally to improve the economy (or anything else) in the Valleys, Swansea Bay, and the West. That funding achieved little more than the creation of yet more, unproductive third sector jobs. It was money wasted. Because this is so, the Welsh Government must not allow the third sector to dictate how the third round of funding is spent.

For this to happen, Welsh socialist politicians need to stop wistfully viewing the third sector as reborn state industries and see them for the money-consuming chimerae they are. If they can do this, and ensure that the next round of European funding is spent on infrastructure, education and investment in business, then in a decade or so we should have a wealthier country. But refusing to learn the lessons, and persisting in the belief that the third sector provides 'outcomes' for anyone but those immediately involved, would be an unforgivable betrayal of the Welsh people.

What Is The Point Of Plaid Cymru?

2011-10-29T22:08:00.002+01:00

An exchange of letters in this week's editions of the Western Mail began when Dafydd Elis Thomas described anti-wind turbine campaigner Lyn Jenkins, of Gwbert, Ceredigion, as a "climate change denier". David Williams, a Newport city councillor, said in his response, published today; "This loaded term, associated as it is, with Holocaust denial, does nothing to enlighten us about future energy provision for Wales". Very true. And knowing Lyn Jenkins as I do, he is not even a 'denier', for he accepts that our planet's climate is forever changing, and has been for billions of years. The question is how much influence, if any, mankind is having on current and future changes. But even if mankind is influencing change, anyone who believes that wind turbines are going to make a difference is living in cloud-cuckoo-land.

The way I see it, Plaid's position on wind turbines is as follows. They want to see Wales's unspoilt uplands desecrated with wind turbines to supply energy for England. These wind turbines are erected and owned by foreign energy companies and provide no Welsh jobs. Further, due to the vast subsidies paid for 'renewable energy', and other factors, electricity bills are rocketing, resulting in 'fuel poverty'; which means that this winter many elderly and poor people in Wales will have to choose between eating and heating. Some will die. So Wales is being exploited, yet again; there are no jobs, and our people will suffer. As I said in my response (published yesterday) Plaid's position makes no sense from either a nationalist or a socialist perspective.

Worse, it seems to disregard Welsh interests entirely in order to win praise from Guardian readers and the hippies who currently infest so many parts of our homeland. Such as the 'extended family' of the Centre for Alternative Technology in the Dyfi valley, who for over two decades have lived off public funding, yet provide no jobs for Welsh people, and secretly use bottled gas (delivered after dark when the adoring and unquestioning visitors have left) and mains electricity. Worst of all; just about everything Plaid says or does seems designed to win the party the approval of the English or international left-liberal-green consensus rather than serve Welsh interests, or meet Welsh needs. For the problems with Plaid Cymru go way beyond wind turbines.

In my previous post I drew attention to Plaid's refusal to confront the Plantation, preferring instead to delude itself that it can gain electorally from this phenomenon, and that Wales will be "enriched" by these incomers. Let us look at white flight, which accounts for much of the English immigration into Wales. Here we have English people who refuse to live in a multiracial society, so they move to Wales, their new Jerusalem, where they hope to recreate their Anglo-Saxon Utopia . . . yet we are expected to believe that such people will integrate, become Welsh, even join Pled Kimroo! This goes beyond delusion, this is downright cowardice. Wales is being destroyed before our eyes yet Plaid Cymru denies it's happening!

I left Plaid Cymru many years ago because I had come to view it as a compromising, petty bourgeoise party seeking certain changes in Wales's status only to benefit the class that the party represented, rather than demanding the radical changes that alone could benefit the nation. Most of Plaid Cymru's leadership now believes that we have almost reached that destination, perhaps all that's still needed is a separate legal system and a few other areas devolved, to provide more career opportunities, and that will be the end of the line. In fact, any further progress could be dangerous for those Plaid Cymru represents. And the rest of us? Do you really think that a bunch of smug and comfortable petty bourgeoise politicos cares about you and me? Or Wales?

So what it the point of Plaid Cymru? Its idea of electoral 'success' is to be Labour's junior partner. For over a decade it has struggled with an uninspiring leader foisted on the membership by a palace coup. It has abandoned its core support every bit as callously as did New Labour. And with Plaid Cymru as our 'national' party, Wales has no future. We obviously need a new voice, and I am glad to report that progress is being made on that front; recruiting will start at Cilmeri on December 10th - be there!

Strange Birds, Ostriches

2011-10-27T17:46:00.001+01:00

The ostrich is not native to Wales, though a friend near Borth has kept some, all but one of which succumbed to a combination of Welsh weather and low-flying military jets. Others have tried farming them on a commercial basis, though the reputation of such ventures was damaged a few years back when a con man down Swansea way ripped off his investors and went on the lam with their money. (These Jacks, eh!) Yet even though this strange bird is not one of our native species we seem to have many people in Wales who admire the creature . . . to judge by the numbers copying the behaviour for which it is most famous.

On another blog recently I commented on the ostrich-like behaviour of our political class, head in the sand and apparently oblivious to the political and constitutional challenges we face in the next few years due to events in Scotland. Some time in 2014 or 2015 the Scots will have a referendum to decide if they want independence; it now seems likely that they will also be offered the option of 'Devo-Max' or 'Independence Lite', something one step short of independence, leaving little more than foreign policy and control of the armed forces to London. An arrangement approximating to the status of Quebec within Canada. Whichever option the Scots choose will have ramifications for Wales, not because it will automatically trigger constitutional change here but because it will cause an inevitable rethink of our position within the UK, or what remains of it. (Northern Ireland can be disregarded because it has been obvious for many years that the UK government is resigned to Irish reunification in the not-too-distant future.)

'Don't Worry - I Know What's Happening'

Now even if the Scots choose 'Independence Lite' the powers of Scottish MPs in London will be drastically curtailed. They will probably be allowed to vote only on those issues over which the Scottish Parliament has no control - but not on matters affecting England and Wales. (Alternatively, there could be a standing conference or some other arrangement involving London and Edinburgh that removes the need for any Scottish MPs in London.) So we Welsh will have to suffer Conservative rule more often, if not permanently. For without Scotland's Labour MPs and with the numbers of Welsh MPs cut from 40 to 30 the Labour Party will find it very difficult to achieve a majority in what will, effectively, be an England and Wales Parliament. Which throws up intriguing possibilities, and delightful ironies.

The Labour Government in Wales will have to react to a situation in which it lacks the power to mitigate the worst of what a Tory Government in London throws at us. It will, under pressure from its members and its voters, almost certainly demand more powers for the Welsh Assembly . . . which, if granted, can then be used as an excuse to further reduce the number of Welsh MPs and, as a consequence, make it less likely for Labour to achieve power in Westminster. Yet failure to demand more powers, and acceptance of near-permanent Conservative rule in London, yet with Wales still lacking the powers needed to defend itself, will be unacceptable to many Labour supporters and will risk handing the political initiative in Wales, by default, to Plaid Cymru. Or the Tories could refuse to even consider devolving more powers to Wales - what does Labour do then?

Turning to the Tories, their position is no less difficult. Since the advent of devolution many Conservatives have raised the 'English Question', which, in a nutshell, asks: 'Why should Scottish and Welsh MPs in London be allowed to vote on issues that affect only England while English MPs have no authority over such matters in Scotland and Wales, as these are dealt with in Edinburgh and Cardiff?' It's a good question. But Tory MPs are playing a dangerous game. On the one hand they know that fewer MPs from Scotland and Wales means a greater likelihood of a Conservative majority in the House of Commons, yet the numbers can only be reduced in a ratio that roughly equates with constitutional 'distance' from the centre; making zero Scottish MPs only achievable by destroying the Union.

Maintaining the Union yet reducing the numbers and the influence of Labour's Scottish and Welsh MPs to give a Tory-ruled England is a conundrum taxing the great minds of the Conservative Party. But it seems the only way of squaring this circle is by travelling a road the Tories have consistently avoided - federalism. They know there is nothing dangerous about a federal system per se, it works perfectly well in countries like the USA and Germany. But Tories also know that federalism is less successful in States containing more than one language, identity or loyalty, such as Canada and Spain, because it encourages feelings of 'difference' and makes the final step to independence less daunting - if you're almost there, what's one more step? So while there's no threat of Saxony or Kansas seceding, it's a different matter in Quebec and Catalonia. So when it comes to considerations of federalism, Britain has more in common with Canada and Spain than with the USA and Germany. And this is the real stumbling-block for the Tories. Leaving them facing the constitutional future confused, and uncertain how to react to events in Scotland, probably without even considering the impact of those events on Wales.

While that may be the position of the Tories at a UK, or Englandandwales, level, I'm sure our own Conservatives have given the matter more thought, and their problem, basically, boils to maintaining the recently cultivated image of being more 'Welsh' while not alienating their core support. A tricky one, this. How do they justify arguing for more powers - post Scottish referendum - from their own party in government in London without alarming their colon supporters in Powys, Pembrokeshire and the Costa Geriatrica, and their native, 'Brit' support? Yet if, as we are led to believe, the Conservative Party in its Welsh incarnation is a gentler and kinder creature than the entity led by its Old Etonian leaders in London, then it has no alternative but to seek some 'protection' for Wales from the excesses of those leaders; failure to do so will confirm for most Welsh people that the Tories are still the party their fathers and grandfathers knew and loathed.

I didn't mean to spend so much time on the constitutional issue because I was prompted to write this piece by something I read in today's Western Mail, an article about Wales being inundated with English colonists . . . though you'd never have guessed it was a problem, let alone a threat, from the gloss that the article's contributers were allowed to give the phenomenon. Unfortunately the online version linked to is not the full article from the 'paper. In which, Rhuanedd Richards, chief executive of Plaid Cymru, was quoted as 'believing', ". . . this (English immigration) was not a threat to Welsh culture or identity and newcomers had the potential to enrich the nation". And quoted directly as saying, " . . . many of our members were not born here and came to live here (because) they had fallen in love with the country". That's right, you keep telling yourself that; it might even come true . . . around the time I'm discovered to be the last of the Romanovs and the rightful ruler of All the Russias. (In that happy event I shall of course continue blogging from St. Petersburg, as my butler, Putin, brings me another vodka.)

'Don't Mention English Immigration!'

The truth is rather different. At least 95% of Plaid's members are Welsh. Of that membership, the overwhelming majority wishes to see curbs placed on English immigration. But for decades Plaid Cymru's leadership has had its head in the sand over this issue; partly hoping it would go away (no chance!) and also praying that no one in the party raised the issue, thereby exposing how dishonest and unrepresentative of the members' views the party leadership had become.

As I say, ostriches; but all politicians might as well keep their heads in the sand, it's probably preferable to facing the realities. They've got no control over the economic situation at a global, European, UK or a Welsh level. Politically, they don't know what's around the corner because the political situation, like the economic, is beyond their control. This is because the most important politician in the UK now is the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond. This is the only reality: I don't know about you, but I find that fact so very encouraging.

A Lesson From Canada

2011-10-24T21:14:00.001+01:00

Poking around my bookshelves today I came upon a little booklet called The Struggle for Quebec, published in 1971 by the Russell Press of Nottingham. As I flicked through the pages I was again reminded how internal colonialism works in an 'advanced' democracy. Just read the extracts below - comments made by the impartial writers of the booklet - and then change 'Quebec' to Wales and 'French-Canadians' or 'Quebecois' to Welsh, to find some striking parallels. (Bear in mind that the French make up 80% of Quebec's 7.5 million population.)

"Quebec is a colony, maintained in a situation of economic, political and cultural inferiority".

"A continuous 'development of underdevelopment' is built into the structure of the Quebec economy, with intensification of poverty as one moves towards the peripheral regions, while concentration of wealth, capital and alien control proceeds at the metropolitan centre, Montreal".

"There is no Quebecois grand bourgeoisie. French-Canadians are only a minority in the Quebec middle bourgeoisie, and even in the petty bourgeoisie of Quebec only a bare majority. 90% of French-Canadians are working class . . . Almost all the farmers are of French origin . . .".

"French-Canadians hold less than 20% of the management posts in Quebec manufacturing. In terms of occupational positions, persons of British origin are concentrated at the top scale, persons of French origin at the bottom".

Of course this booklet was written after the turbulent 1960s, which saw kidnappings, riots, martial law imposed and armed troops on the streets of Montreal and other cities. The reason for this unrest was quite simple; French-Canadians were no longer willing to be second-class citizens.

Until the unrest the only French who seemed to get on - outside of the Catholic Church - were the politicians, either at provincial or national level. For it's worth bearing in mind that even before the unrest Quebec had its own, bicameral, provincial parliament, with more powers than our Assembly has today. But like any level of government it only works for the people if those they elect are prepared to stand up for them, even when they're told it conflicts with the 'national' interest, or what's best for the party on a 'national' level.

Almost inevitably, the resistance to the colonial nature of Quebec spilled over into violence with the formation of the Front de liberation du Quebec (FLQ). The FLQ Manifesto is a remarkable document; managing to be both personal and general, but encapsulating so many of the frustrations felt by the Quebecois - the exploitation of Quebec's natural resources, the gerrymandering, the corruption, the poor housing and the badly paid jobs. In short, being treated like dirt and ridiculed for being different in a supposedly liberal and multicultural democracy.

After this interlude of violence Quebecois nationalism restricted itself to politics and constitutional issues. (Though still accompanied by rallies, protests, strikes, and the occasional riot.) There was a referendum in 1980 asking whether Quebec should have 'Sovereignty-Association' with the rest of Canada and another referendum in 1995 on full independence. Both were lost, the first with 59.56% voting No, the second with a No vote of just 50.58%. What was significant was the shift in Quebecois opinion in the intervening years. In 1980 the French vote was split down the middle, but by 1995 a substantial majority wanted independence. What swung both votes was the near-unanimous No from 'British' Quebec and from immigrants who spoke no French and had been scared into believing that if the 'Frenchies' took over they'd all be thrown out of Canada, or barbequed.

My favourite though is the way that the old scare-story of 'money leaving' - in the event of independence - was theatrically played out in Montreal. In 1970, during the election campaign for the Quebec National Assembly, five armoured cars were on very public display in downtown Montreal, in broad daylight, under armed guard, loading up with bonds and securities to take to Toronto. The media of course had been tipped off and ran with it. A crude and almost laughable playing out of the, 'This is what will happen if you vote for independence' message. Though much of what was done was less amusing, almost sinister.

Curious, for we tend to think of Canada as a rather relaxed and easy-going sort of place; which in many respects it is, but things change when it comes to the threat of Quebec's secession. Three days before the 1995 referendum a 'Unity Rally' was held in central Montreal. All manner of electoral laws were broken; Canadian corporations secretly contributed funding; Air Canada offered 90% discounts from anywhere in that vast country to fly to Montreal for the rally. In addition, but long after the event, it was proven that many thousands of people (mainly immigrants) had, curiously, appeared on the electoral register just in time for the referendum but should not have been eligible to vote; 56,000 in Montreal alone.

What are the lessons from Quebec? The first is that colonialism is not, and never was, restricted to white Europeans exploiting non-European populations in far-distant lands. The second is that when the unity of even a liberal State is threatened, the gloves will come off. Warning us that the run-up to the Scottish independence referendum could get very dirty, especially if the polls suggest a Yes majority. Here in Wales, expect any further progress towards a better Wales meeting with similar responses.

Fundamentally, though, the lesson from Quebec, and from around the world and throughout history, is this: if a nation doesn't stand up for itself, it gets trampled on; and if a nation is already being trampled on, then it had better start standing up for itself.

Television - More Local or Just Less Welsh?

2011-10-22T20:12:00.001+01:00

I must confess that the first I knew about plans for local television stations was just before the consultation period ended last month. Now that I'm catching up with it, and due to Dragon's Eye dealing with the subject on Thursday, I know a little more about the plans. The first thing that surprised me was that the idea came from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in London, even though it affects both Scotland and Wales. Inevitably, I wondered how much input there had been from our dynamic and inspiring Welsh Government, so I went to the Assembly website to find evidence of their involvement . . . but, alas, nothing could I find.

Going to the DCMS website and, in particular, the map suggesting locations for local TV stations (click to enlarge) I was first struck by the contrast between the locations chosen; from the obvious ones of the major cities of England and Scotland down to Haywards Heath and Tonbridge. But whether these places are viable locations should not concern us, for we are obviously more interested in the plans for Wales. (Though in fairness, Tonbridge does take in part of Tunbridge Wells.)

SITES OF PROPOSED LOCAL TV STATIONS

The selected 'Pioneer Locations' in Wales are, in alphabetical order; Bangor, Cardiff, Carmarthen, Haverfordwest, Mold and Swansea. (And when you look at some of those you might wonder why I'm dismissive of Tonbridge!) But looking more closely we see that some of these stations are intended to cover a wider area than the named town or city. In Wales; Mold will cover Rhuthun and Denbigh, Swansea will take in Llanelli, and Cardiff will broadcast virtually from the border to Bridgend. But there seems to be confusion over the number of potential viewers in each of these areas.

For according to the BBC (quoting the DCMS), Bangor will reach 22,000 households; but according to the DCMS website (scroll down) the Bangor franchise will cover only Bangor - so where are the 22,000 households in a city of 13,700 residents and a further 10,000 students? Again, according to the BBC, the Carmarthen franchise will reach 51,000 homes; but Llanelli, the largest town in the county, is linked to the Swansea franchise so, and with the Pembrokeshire franchise to the west, can a Carmarthen station really reach 51,000 households? The most obvious anomaly is the figure for Cardiff; given as 500,000 households. There is no way that Cardiff, Newport, the Vale, and Bridgend can supply that number - it's not much less than their combined populations! - so the 'Cardiff' franchise must be counting on parts of the Valleys.

As one looks at these locations other questions arise. For example, if there is to be a station in the north east, then isn't Wrecsam the obvious location? Or is it included, but unmentioned, in the Mold franchise? Why doesn't Swansea include contiguous Neath and Port Talbot; all on Swansea Bay; where people support the same football and rugby teams, listen to Swansea Sound and other local radio stations, and will soon be part of the same, merged local authority? The more one looks at it, the more this whole thing looks like a blindfolded pin-in-a-map exercise.

One of the contributors to Dragon's Eye was Mark Franklin, head honcho at Radio Pembrokeshire, which is part of the Town and Country Broadcasting group. Among its other assets in south and mid Wales is Radio Ceredigion, which wants to reduce its output in Welsh. Not an encouraging portent. (Drakeford, like the rest of the top management at TCB, is English; made up of people who seem to have jumped ship from Virgin Radio. How well do they know Wales . . . and does their ignorance worry them? Wouldn't it make a mockery of local television if TCB was awarded the Pembrokeshire and / or the Carmarthen franchise?) With the lifting of restrictions on cross-media ownership we could end up with a media monopoly in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion. This monopoly could then opt out of all things Welsh to feed its captive audience a diet of Pop, pap and Britishness.

All made easier by the parlous state of the Welsh national media. Both BBC Wales and ITV1 Wales are talking about cutting back on their - already limited - Welsh programming, and we are all familiar with the on-going uncertainty in the running and funding of S4C. The Wasting Mule is on its last legs and local newspapers are also failing, and folding. So adding local television stations to the mix could deal the death-blow to our national media . . . yet still allow politicians to argue that people in Wales 'have more choice than ever'. In some senses, yes; but where will people get their Welsh national news from? What will encourage them to feel part of something other than just their immediate locality . . . and Britain?

I said at the outset that I was somewhat surprised that this local TV initiative came from a department of the London government, and that it applied to Scotland and Wales. But if you think about it, and consider the possible consequences for Wales, then maybe it shouldn't surprise anyone. But I'm sure Carwyn and his cabinet of all the talents are monitoring the situation closely and will do the best for Wales. So don't lose any sleep over it.

P.S. Been digging a bit deeper into Town and Country Broadcasting. This company has seven radio stations across south and mid Wales. Including one called 'Nation Radio' which, as it's website sports a red dragon, I assume refers to the Welsh nation. But you wouldn't know it, for nowhere on any of this company's websites will you find anything in Welsh, except for bilingual links on the Radio Ceredigion website . . . taking you to English-only pages.
     This is more than just strange; for in this day and age, to find a company based in Wales, especially a media company, that does not use some Welsh is unusual, if not worrying, and perverse. Given TCB's record with Radio Ceredigion I think we can we can safely assume that this company is anti-Welsh language. Another reason why it should not be considered for any further franchises in Wales.
   But maybe things aren't going that well with TCB. For on the Nation website I also found this. You must be desperate when you are reduced to using Z-list figures of ridicule like Keith Chegwyn.

Psst! - Wanna Degree?

2011-10-19T19:38:00.002+01:00

You're allaware by now of thescandal that has overtaken the University of Wales (UoW). How UoW has beenvalidating courses and degrees for institutions in the Far East run byindividuals who lied about their own qualifications, and how other 'colleges'used UoW diplomas to evade UK immigration controls. What a mess . . . but sopredictable. Because higher education in Wales is an utter shambles, and has beensince the late 1960s. For a number of reasons.

One of theresponses to the national awakening of the 1960s was to enlarge and anglicisethe University of Wales. But Wales was not an attractive destination forEnglish students, particularly after the unrest of the 1960s. So they had to be'encouraged' to come here. Done by lowering entry qualifications, whichresulted in our university towns and cities becoming home to thousands ofEnglish students whose A-Level grades weren't good enough to gain them entry tothe English universities they would have preferred. Result: second-rateinstitutions filled with second-rate students and teachers . . . but one inwhich the Welsh were now a minority. Mission accomplished.

Thisstrategy was of course presented as 'growth' - and who can argue with 'growth'?Certainly not the Tories, when in power from 1979 to 1997 (better to have kidsin college than showing up on unemployment registers); nor New Labour, for whom'growth' became the watchword under Tony - "Education, education,education" - Blair. New Labour seemed to think that everybodyshould go to university, irrespective of abilty or the capacity of the highereducation sector to accommodate the increased intake. One result was theproliferation of three-year courses in subjects such as Coronation Street,Freddie Mercury's Wardrobe and other tosh. Another, inevitable result - inorder to meet the increased intake - was that bog standard polytechnics and otherinstitutions became universities; in other words, money-making establishmentscatering to the lowest common denominator.

Of coursethis did not affect Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews and other long-establisheduniversities of repute, for they will always attract the brightest and best(and the richest). But if you're trying to attract students to the Universityof Glamorgan, Pontypridd (1992) then you have to set your sights lower, muchlower. Throw into the mix ambitious, empire-building academics, also focused on'growth' at all costs, and it becomes easy to see why higher education UK wideis in the mess it's in today.

Add theludicrous courses on offer with the poor standard of the graduates produced andwe ended up with the fairly recent phenomenon of countless thousands ofgraduates in history and other 'soft' subjects working in low-paid jobs andemployers complaining that students were now leaving university without basicliteracy and numeracy skills. A phenomenon compounded by trends elsewhere, suchas teaching becoming far less attractive to graduates, especially men, aspolitical correctness took hold and it was deemed perfectly acceptable for somedrunken thug to storm into a school and harangue or assault a teacher forhaving the temerity to reprimand his knife-wielding offspring.

The harshtruth is that perhaps no more than twenty per cent of the population can trulybenefit from a traditional university education, and to pretend otherwise is apointless and expensive delusion. That it took hold in the UK is partly due tothe obsession with academic qualifications, leading to the view that there islittle filling the gulf between university education and unskilled labour.Whereas in other countries - Germany comes to mind - there is a traditionalacceptance that many, perhaps most, young people will benefit more frompractical, hands-on training in the skills needed in industry and other fields.Which I'm sure is why the German economy is fuelled by world-renowned, top ofthe range, manufacturing and engineering, whereas the UK economy seems to bepremised on the socially divisive extremes of the minimum wage 'hospitality'industry and an irresponsible and grotesquely overpaid financial sector.

Here inWales we have the worst of it, because in addition to the politically motivatedresponse to the 1960s and the continuing desire to avoid Welsh universitiesbeing too 'Welsh', we also got caught up in the UK's rush towards an enlargedand devalued academia. But now, as we slowly extricate ourselves from themorass that is the declining UK, we need to think about the role of highereducation in Wales.

Now here's aradical idea. It might be worth looking at why, in the UK possibly more than inother countries, higher education is as much about getting away from home asabout getting an education. This need not be so. With a little planning thereis no reason why 20 - 50% of students could not permanently reside within dailytravelling distance of the universities in Swansea, Cardiff, Newport,Pontypridd and Wrexham. Which leaves just Lampeter, Aberystwyth and Bangor. Thefirst of those three may be too small to survive anyway, but why not graduallyturn the other two into Welsh language universities? More and more children arebeing taught through the medium of Welsh so why does it have to end withschool? God knows a Welsh language university has been talked about fordecades.

Moreimportantly, we must make higher education serve the nation. As in other smallcountries we must produce as many as possible of the professionals we need fromwithin the national body. Welsh graduates will be more likely to stay in Walesand this will reduce the need to import so many outsiders for the top jobs,which makes us look like a backward people too stupid to do these jobsourselves. (Silly me! I'm forgetting - that's the reason for it.) This mustbecome the raison d'être of Welsh universities rather than, as at present,simply being education factories ruled by the profit motive catering mainly forsecond-rate English students. Because if we don't have genuinely Welshuniversities serving the national interest what the hell are they for?

France 9 - 8 Wales: A Nationalist Perspective

2011-10-17T13:34:00.001+01:00

Like most Welsh people I watched the game on Saturday morning; and like everyone else I was bitterly disappointed. My initial reaction was, 'we wuz robbed - but what a glorious defeat'. After thinking about it a little more, and taking in the reactions (and over-reactions) of the weekend I feel moved - as I often do - to give a different slant on the whole affair.

First, the sending off of Wales captain Sam Warburton. Referee Alain Rolland was absolutely correct. It could be argued that IRB Law 10.4 (J) is inflexible or badly framed, but that is something entirely different. So argue for the law to be changed but don't criticise the referee for correctly interpreting a badly-worded law.

Then there's the criticism levelled at the French players. Andy Howell writing in today's Western Mail argues that the behaviour of the French players immediately after the tackle influenced the referee, as if their reaction was somehow phoney or designed to get Warburton sent off. To quote Howell: " . . . their (the French players') reaction meant they may even have done their bit to get Warburton sent off." Rubbish. If Nallet or Dusautoir had tackled Shane Williams like that then the Welsh players would have reacted in exactly the same way, perhaps worse. If they hadn't, then journalists like Andy Howell and the countless 'pundits' and commentators would have called into question their team spirit.

Something else that has annoyed me is this attitude of, 'Woe unto us, the eternal victims, hard done by yet again'. Nonsense. We had enough chances to have won that game - we didn't take them. Reinforcing the suspicion of a mental block or a national character flaw in being unable to grasp victory when it offers itself. Remember, we also lost by one point to South Africa where, again, we were the better team. If this is attributable to some deep-seated inferiority complex then it goes way beyond the powers of rugby coaches to remedy.

For it extends beyond sport, and will not be corrected until we, as a nation, develop a greater self-esteem. Achieving this might be temporarily helped by sporting success, but after the euphoria of victory has died away, and we return to the realities of a poor country getting poorer, then scoring more points or goals than some other team isn't going to make any difference. It's just bread and circuses. Because of course there are always those wishing to channel our patriotism into sport or showbusiness success, using these outlets as a distraction or a safety valve. Much more acceptable to the established order than genuine Welsh patriotism, for this is not only beyond their control, it actually challenges their control. What passes for the Welsh media plays a big role in operating this 'safety valve'. (None better than the Western Mail's resident Valley Girl.)

Andy Howells' comments lead me to something else I have noticed in the aftermath of the game. This is an undercurrent of anti-French sentiment, in both newspapers and on television. (And not just directed against a French-speaking, French-fathered Irishman, or theatrical French players.) It is usually presented in a light-hearted way, but what I find significant is that it is done by seeking agreement with commentators outside of Wales seemingly in order to place Wales firmly within the English-speaking world, or the extended Anglo-Saxon family. Yet we are temperamentally and in other ways closer to the French than we are to the English. Which is why this, 'Let's all bash the Frogs' is both distasteful and idiotic. Anyone for freedom fries?

The fact that I do not view myself as belonging to the Anglo-Saxon family is partly why I shall be supporting France against New Zealand in the final. The other reason is that there is something in the Kiwi win-at-all-costs attitude to rugby that I have never liked. Oliver and Haden diving out of the line-out in 1978 to win the game against Wales, or the genuine spear tackle that dislocated Brian O'Driscoll's shoulder on the 2005 Lions tour are just two among many memories. The latter incident happened less than two minutes into the First Test, and the fact that two NZ players were involved in taking out the Lions' star player made it look premeditated. (This incident helped the introduction of the law applied on Saturday by Alain Rolland.)

Rugby is a good game. Some of the laws need to be changed, the referees need more help in making decisions, but it is only a game, a brief distraction from reality not a substitute for the real world. The matchday 'patriotism' it engenders is harmless enough in itself, and if confined to rugby; but when that 'patriotism' is cynically manipulated and inflated to the point where we are asked to focus on it almost to the exclusion of all else, then it becomes dangerous.

For if we win the Grand Slam in the coming season it will not create one job in Wales. If we beat England by 50 points it won't stop the process that is turning us into strangers in our own country. Even if we win the next World Cup Wales will remain an impoverished province of England. These are the realities of Welsh life, compared to which the red card produced by 'Frenchie' Rolland is as a feather in a tornado.

Rambling Jac

2011-10-14T21:33:00.001+01:00

I've had a busy week, what with acting as unofficial ambulance car for the village, entertaining grandchildren, mother being taken into hospital, and other calls on my time. Which has meant that I have been unable to post anything since Tuesday. (Nice of you to ask, mother's nae bad, more of that later.) All I want to do here is comment on a local story many of you may not have seen and also update a couple of earlier posts.

First, the eye-catcher. Many of you will be aware that the long-awaited and much-needed Porthmadog bypass is nearly completed. Plans are now being made for the official opening. Among those invited were of course the town council . . . but they will not be represented. Why? Because someone in the Welsh Government sent Portmadog town council an English-only invitation. No doubt there will be many who will - if only in the security of the golf club or the lodge - try to dismiss this response as the actions of 'language fanatics'. I think most of us would see it differently. Someone representing an administration supposedly committed to bilingualism sent an invitation in English only to the representatives of a town where the overwhelming majority of the population speaks Welsh. Has the idiot responsible been reprimanded? Will the Welsh Government make an apology? Or was it a deliberate insult from a Labour administration to representatives in a staunchly Plaid area?

Staying in the same area and moving south a few miles, back on June 19 I wrote about the loony landlord of Penrhyndeudraeth, the one who took such exception to his locals speaking Welsh that he threatened to shoot them. The gunman, Gareth James Sale, duly appeared in Dolgellau magistrates court and will now be starring at Caernarfon crown court on October 21. (If you're free, why not pop along.) I couldn't help but notice that his home address is in Gateshead (across the river from Newcastle). So if his lawyer doesn't play up his client's Welsh forename ('How could he possibly be anti-Welsh, m'lud?') then he could try the mutual incomprehension angle. Better still, argue that intolerant Welsh locals were taking the piss out of his Geordie accent. 'A clear case of Geordieism, m'lud'. Howay the lads! Case dismissed.

Another update worth bringing to your attention is to a piece I wrote back on July 19 about Aberystwyth. (Curiously, this post is still getting daily hits.) The latest news is that Tesco is to build a big new store in the centre of town, which will of course bring even more people into Aber'. On the plus side, there will be over 500 parking spaces . . . but only 134 of them will be reserved for the public. Which is nowhere near enough to accommodate those who will be attracted by the new development. I am now convinced there are people in Aber' who will not be satisfied until the whole bloody town grinds to a halt.

Unfortunately, due to mother being taken to Bronglais hospital, I had no alternative but to test my temper by driving to Aberystwyth today to visit her, and twist her arm in into having the X-Ray and other tests she was refusing. (Awkward woman, my Mam.) Anyway, while there, on the ward, I needed to visit the lavatory. I found one, clearly marked with a male sign, and went in, locking the inward-closing door behind me. When I opened it, this old woman came hurtling in and nearly knocked me over! Before I could do anything, two nurses appeared to check her over and help her up - with me still trapped in there unable to get out over her prostrate, moaning form!

Funny thing was, my wife had seen this incident from a different perspective. She'd been along the corridor talking to the two nurses and they were all watching this biddy struggling and pushing against the lavatory door - then, whoosh! she disappeared!

One of the nurses - one of the 'Look!-I'm-wearing-a-uniform' types - approached me later to tell me that the lavatory in question was for patients only. With a sweep of my arm I pointed out to her that nowhere on the door did it say that. Further, whether it was for patients, visitors, or both; it was clearly marked as a gentlemen's convenience - and was I not a gentleman? (OK, I didn't say the last bit.) So what was the old gel doing trying to burst in? Within ten minutes there was a hastily printed A4 sign on the cubicle door saying 'Patients only . . . visitors' toilet on ground floor, etc'.

I tell you, that old biddy had a close call. Taking me by surprise like that, the old FWA training could have come into play and she could have been mortuary-bound before she hit the floor. How would that have played out in court, and the media? Daily Mail: 'Crazed Welsh extremist kills frail and harmless old English lady after dragging her into toilet cubicle'. Don't bear thinking about.

The Labour Party and Wales

2011-10-11T17:44:00.000+01:00

I have never trusted the Labour Party to do the best for Wales. For two main reasons: Labour has always been ambivalent or hostile to Welsh national identity; and Labour has, historically, sought to deny Wales an indigenous economy through its anti-entrepreneurial bias and its support for massive, state-run industries. That Wales has benefitted from Labour policies and legislation has been entirely incidental, for little if any of this legislation was specific to Wales. This due to the fact that Labour, being as British as the Conservative and Unionist Party, was always reluctant to treat Wales differently for fear that it might encourage feelings of difference.

Little has changed. That we have devolution today is attributable almost entirely to Scotland. When Tony Blair took over the leadership of the Labour Party in July 1994 (and because he himself had given the matter little thought) he continued with his predecessor, the recently deceased John Smith's, policy on devolution. Though he was certainly influenced by the increasing strength of the Scottish National Party, led since 1990 by Alex Salmond, and also because he was assured by some of his Scottish MPs that devolution would "kill nationalism stone-dead". Wales was tagged on, as was devolution to the 'English regions' (remember?), in the hope of persuading people that this was a radical overhaul of how the UK was governed rather than a response to the SNP threat.

In the 1997 devolution referendum campaign the Labour Party in Wales split three ways. There were the old, anti-devolution diehards like Neil Kinnock; then those - Peter Hain, Don Touhig, et al - who wanted to believe the "stone-dead" theory and so went along with party policy even though they didn't want devolution; and finally there were those who lined up with Ron Davies and saw devolution as an opportunity to treat Wales differently and to improve the lives of its people. Those splits remain, and explain why the current Welsh Government is so reluctant to exercise the legislative powers it was granted in the referendum of March 3 this year. Labour Party unity is more important than serving Wales.

Which partly accounts for the mess Wales is in today. Unable to implement radical policies - other than gimmicks such as free prescriptions and banning plastic bags - yet still lumbered with its socialist past (more relevant in Wales than elsewhere) Labour limits itself to managing poverty rather than trying to do away with it. Many would argue that for generations Labour has capitalised on that poverty, and feared prosperity for Wales because it would result in a decline in electoral support. Chickens are now coming home to roost because people move out of areas afflicted by poverty and lack of opportunity, and diminishing electorates is the justification for reducing the number of Welsh MPs from 40 to 30. Labour may try to present this as gerrymandering by the coalition government but they should take a long hard look at their record in these areas they have dominated for a century or more.

I was reminded of all this by a posting by Lee Waters on the Wales Home blog today. Commenting on the announcement by Secretary of State, Cheryl Gillan, that there will be a commission to look into the funding of the Welsh administration, Lee Waters makes the following statement, " . . . given the profound challenges facing Welsh politics the constant search for more powers to devolve to Wales seems like displacement activity."A curious term, "displacement activity", that I needed to check. Apparently it means being in two minds. Presumably Waters was applying this quandary to the Conservatives, but it's equally - or more - applicable to the Labour Party.

Because what really took my eye in the phrase I've quoted is, " . . . given the profound challenges facing Welsh politics . . . Reading it made me think of similar gems such as, 'Now is not the time . . .', the argument used by Peter Hain and others against holding a referendum on legislative powers. A thoroughly disingenous argument because Hain tried to pretend that he wanted the referendum won but did not believe it could be won for many years. The 2 to 1 Yes vote in March made him look a poor judge of the public mood, or else downright dishonest. But let us return to the "challenges facing Welsh politics".

Why would these 'challenges' be reason for not moving further along in the devolution process towards more fiscal responsibility? We are in the state we're in due to problems that grew over many decades; problems that were of little concern to London governments yet beyond our powers to deal with. Now that we have some of the powers to remedy these problems why reject the more powers needed to do an even better job? It's like being stuck in a hole with a too-short ladder and refusing the offer of a longer one. Yet this attitude sums up the Labour Party in Wales.

Because no matter what powers we have, as long as we have the Labour Party running Wales, a Labour Party more intent on not antagonising the likes of Neil Kinnock and Peter Hain than on serving Wales, a party fearful of appearing 'too Welsh' lest it stir up unwelcome passions, then nothing can improve. The sooner that Labour's heartland voters realise this, the sooner they finally and belatedly reject the Labour Party's cynical capitalising on their poverty, then the sooner we can all move forward.

Is That A Bandwagon I See Approaching?

2011-10-09T16:14:00.000+01:00

Well done to our rugby team, and the coaching staff, for the magnificent victory over Ireland yesterday (for which I rose at the ungodly hour of 05:45) now for the French on Saturday. But before we get carried away - and without wishing to apply damp bedclothes - I have some words of caution.

First, remember that with Scotland, Ireland and England out of the World Cup Wales are the only team from the 'Home Nations' left in the competition. Or, to put it another way - and I guarantee that many will - Wales is the only 'British representative' left standing in New Zealand. English newspapers will urge their readers to support Wales, 'papers that normally ignore us unless they chose to print insulting, racist slanders. The TV companies will get in on the act, including the hitherto anglocentric-to-a-nauseous-degree ITV, and its chief interviewer / presenter Steve - 'Let's talk about England' - Ryder.

If that wasn't bad enough, we can also expect the politicians to get involved, for our tribunes are ever alert to a passing bandwagon. Even if Cameron, Clegg and Miliband manage to restrain themselves we can guarantee that those politicians with the merest Welsh connection will be fighting to jump aboard.

It will start tomorrow and gradually build up towards the France game on Saturday. If we win that, then the whole circus goes into overdrive. Just picture it! Carwyn Jones claiming to be Carwyn James's love child. Peter Hain throwing himself in front of camera crews. Cheryl Gillan arguing that any success is due to the policies of her ConDem government. It could even see Kinnock sobering up and trying to get in on the act! However, whoever, be warned! - it will be stomach-churning as the Oily Ones seek to gain political advantage from something for which none of them can claim credit.

It would be nice if we could anticipate our politicians behaving with dignity and and putting self-interest to one side . . . but the last time a politician was recorded as spurning an opportunity to promote himself was about 2,700 years ago. (That was Hamobal the Phoenician, crucified for 'bringing politics into disrepute'.)

It is part of the WRU's responsibilities to protect our boys from such exploitation, so let us hope that they do their duty. If they fail, then Uncle Jac offers this advice to all our players out in New Zealand: If you see a shifty-looking character coming towards you, hand outstretched, wearing a fixed grin and a suit someone of his ability shouldn't be able to afford - run!

Let us now banish ugly thoughts from our minds and return to the rugby. All the best to the boys against France on Saturday. They're a great bunch and they're doing us proud out there. We're all behind you, boys!

Assembly Petition on Social Housing

2011-10-07T17:03:00.000+01:00

I had earlier thought that my submission to the Assembly Petition Committee had been rejected for being too much like a petition presented earlier by one Adam Brown, domiciled in Cardiff but a Merthyr Tydfil councillor for Ukip. All explained here. But my - re-worded - petition has now been accepted. The reason for the change of heart is that I call for a residency qualification while Adam Brown is seeking to deny social housing to all "non-UK nationals".

The petition can be found here in Welsh and here in English. Obviously the wording will not be to everybody's liking but please don't be overly critical, because the point is to draw attention to the shambles that is social housing provision in Wales. This has to be the first step to getting the changes made that will benefit our people and our communities. The petition is open until December 31. After which:

"You will then have the opportunity to present your petition to the Committee on the steps of the Senedd. This will give you the chance to meet the Committee Members and get some media coverage if you would like to. We can chat more about this closer to the closing date of your petition."

So let's give it our best shot; for even though this is my petition, through this blog and in other ways I have learnt of the massive and widespread dissatisfaction with the way social housing providers in Wales operate. So this is your petition as much as mine.

Please sign it and then pass it on to as many people as you know who share our feelings about social housing provision. Use Facebook, Twitter or any other medium you can think off - but let's get as many signatures as we can.

Up With This I Will No Longer Put

2011-10-06T20:01:00.000+01:00

I have commented upon many weighty subjects and matters of national import; but now I must address an issue close to my heart that can no longer be avoided. To explain . . .

Last week, in Rhosneigr, I stopped at a small cafe for a coffee and a slice of bara brith. The coffee was acceptable and the bara brith passable, but the experience was ruined, utterly ruined! by the bara brith being served with two little packets of butter straight from the bloody freezer. They were rock solid! This was the last straw, because over the years I have spent good money on bara brith that is either too dry, or too soggy, or else it comes with butter that needs a blowtorch. Enough is enough.

Clearly, bara brith is part of our culinary and cultural heritage. As such it must be protected and its standards maintained. I am therefore proposing that the Welsh Government sets up a Bara Brith Standards Authority (BBSA). Some may argue that this would be just another money-consuming outfit that serves little purpose, but I disagree. If we can afford 22 local authorities, 4 police forces and countless other duplications and waste then we can surely afford a body to oversee standards in the production and serving of one of our national treasures.

I feel that I am the ideal man to head up the BBSA. The salary should be commensurate both with my ability and the importance of bara brith in our national life; £300k a year (plus expenses) should be about right. I would of course need a team of inspectors, to surreptitiously wander the land testing the quality of the bara brith on offer and drawing up a national register of outlets, with stars awarded for the best and heavy fines or imprisonment for those who don't come up to scratch. For example, serving with frozen butter should be punished with a sentence of 3 years at least. (Note that apart from the obvious benefit of better bara brith the BBSA will also strengthen the case for a new prison in the north.)

Having convinced you of the benefits to be gained by having this new body I now urge you to write to your political representatives and persuade them to back the scheme. You know it makes sense!

A Government That Governs - Dream On!

2011-10-01T20:16:00.000+01:00

I have always taken an interest in birthrates and fertility patterns because I believe that an ever-expanding human population is more of a threat to human survival on this planet than anything short of nuclear war, a massive meteor impact or some other natural disaster. Because, in addition to using up scarce resources, unchecked population growth will lead to conflicts around the world, many of which will carry the potential to escalate into nuclear war.

How pleased I was then to read in the September isuue of National Geographic that in Brasil the fertility rates are plummeting as women there now refuse to have big families. It has fallen from 6.3 children per woman in 1960 to just 1.9 in 2009. Many factors play a part in this dramatic decline, as the table here will explain. Thankfully, this trend is not confined to Brasil. With urbanisation, industrialisation and better-educated women wanting to give the best possible opportunities to their (fewer) children, fertility rates are falling almost everywhere. The region still bucking this trend is Africa between the Sahara and South Africa. (Fertility rates for all countries can be found here.)

The worry for Brasil now must be that, having reached in 50 years the point that it took the West twice as long to achieve, she will soon face the problem of a population not breeding enough to replace itself yet having to deal with the legacy of the fecund past in the form of large numbers of elderly people. A situation similar to the one confronting us in the West - reproducing at or below replacement levels at the same time as people are living longer than ever. With the inevitable consequences of a smaller percentage of the population working and paying taxes to support an ever-growing number dependent on state pensions, health care and other services.

Here in Wales the situation is exacerbated by the fact that large numbers of elderly English people retire to Wales, as was pointed out in this article in today's Western Mail by Claire Miller. While highlighting the problem this article was the usual cut and paste 'journalism', we expect from the Welsh media - gather as many quotes as possible, pad it out in other ways, and pretend you've written an article . . . but steer well clear of fresh insights and deeper analysis.

Among the quotes was one from, "A spokeswoman for the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) who said: 'Wales has a higher proportion of older people than any other part of the UK'". Yes, we already knew that. Iwan Rhys Roberts, of Age Cymru, said: "Wales has an ageing population so there is a need to adapt to the needs of this section of the community". Though in fairness, this blandness was improved by identifying the problem of "the numbers of people who come here to retire". Elsewhere in the piece Shelter Cymru got involved, talking about 'affordable housing' (yawn!) and how we need more of this in places like Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It even quoted from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report of 2008 into Welsh rural housing.

Finally, our energetic and respected Welsh Government (WG) was given its say: “As Wales’ population gets older, it is increasingly important that older people are involved in planning and developing services that affect them. Services need to evolve to take into account the changing demographic of the population.
“At the same time, we are committed to doing all that we can to ensure young people have the opportunities necessary to stay in their local community – be that in providing appropriate educational opportunities, jobs, skills and ensuring an appropriate supply of housing.”

The first paragraph is very worrying because the WG proposes no legislation to curb the numbers of elderly English moving into Wales and must therefore be resigned to seeing the problem grow. The second paragraph is utterly disingenuous because the WG offers no legislation to make this pious hope a reality; for when it comes to 'affordable housing' a criminal released from an English prison, who's never been to Wales in his life, still qualifies ahead of a local person for social housing.

What a situation! We have a 'Welsh' government that refuses to govern for the benefit of the Welsh for fear of upsetting the English. (And that is a generous interpretation of their motives.)

Home Again!

2011-09-30T18:22:00.000+01:00

Home again after another three-day break in the Northlands. Very enjoyable. Helped by the best weather we've had for years. But as ever on these trips I came back with observations and questions on the state of the country.

We spent the first night in Llandudno, a town I love, for it is unquestionably our most elegant major resort, and yet . . . As I walked along the prom - after a glass or twa - with the sound of the waves on one side and the bingo callers on the other, I asked myself, 'Road signs and a few hotel names aside, what is there in this town to remind anyone that they're in Wales?' The answer is, precious little. Like many other Welsh resorts Llandudno is too dependent on the English trade and long ago fell into the trap of wanting to make English visitors 'feel at home'. (Leading to too many of them making Llandudno their home.) With the obvious corollary - don't remind them they're in Wales. Or if you do want to plug Wales then make sure it's a comforting, reassuring vision of a 'Wales' no different to England, really, just nicer scenery.

After Llandudno we went overseas for a couple of days, to Cemaes, another beautiful spot where we've stayed before. Though Ynys Môn is not all beauty; for while on the island we made the mistake of visiting Holyhead. God! In recent decades I've only been through there to catch the ferry so I hadn't realised how the place had declined. It makes the most economically-deprived town in the Valleys look like Beverly Hills. Among the many thoughts that came to me was that an unforseen consequence of the smoking ban in public places has been to force onto the streets the low lifes who spend their daylight hours (possibly all waking hours) in pubs. Previously this underclass was hidden from view, and the pavements were safe for women and children to walk.

The way I view it is that if people want to get drunk blowing smoke at each other in pubs no one else wants to enter, then let them do it. Few things create a worse impression of a town than dozens or hundreds of boozed-up smokers swearing and shouting on the afternoon streets. If the Welsh Government or local authorities wish to improve hell-holes like Holyhead then rather than spend fortunes on tarting them up they should bring in legislation forcing pubs to provide off-street smoking areas. Removing the puffing drunks would do more to improve an area than any amount of street furniture. And it would be a hell of a lot cheaper.

We also went to Llangefni, where I witnessed a rather sad scene.Walking along the riverbank into the town a young girl came running past me clutching a bundle of clothes. A few seconds later I saw two coppers running after her; so I asked a bystander what was going on, his answer was, "Shoplifters". By the time I reached the road a crowd and gathered and the girl was being brought back by the police, as was her friend (who I hadn't seen). Two teenage girls in handcuffs with friends of theirs gathered; but rather than remorse or shame they held up their hands to proudly show off the handcuffs. Other cops then started moving the girls' friends away . . . all done in Welsh. Obviously local and well known to the police. So sad.

Gelert monument, near 'grave'

On the way home today we stopped in Beddgelert because the wife said she hadn't been there for a long time. Another nice little spot, but again, you ask yourself the Llandudno question. Of course we had to visit the 'grave' of Gelert. I should have refused because of course it's a load of bollocks, dreamt up by some local shyster back in the nineteenth century in the hope of boosting trade. It's on a par with medieval monasteries and abbeys claiming to have a fragment of the True Cross, because it's all about attracting the gullible and parting them from their money. And it still works!

My wife and I were the only ones walking to the 'grave' without a mutt in tow. Poochie-woochies being dragged to pay homage to a noble hound. Some silly buggers had even put flowers on the 'grave'! No wonder con man Bernie Madoff became a multi billionaire.

Anyway, home again; now for a weekend of rugby and football. Ospreys to go top of the table tonight. Jocks to stuff the Saxons tomorrow and deny them a losing bonus point. Swans to beat Stoke. Then on Sunday, Wales to beat Fiji with another great display and no injuries. Finally, Argies to have a big win and deny England a place in the quarter-finals. After that, some more thoughts on the state of this poor country of ours.

AneurinGlyndwr Revisited

2011-09-26T19:21:00.001+01:00

I know it's cruel to mock, but sometimes I just can't help myself. A case in point being a website I remembered just now and decided to check up on. On its launch it was referred to by one of those behind it as, " . . . a brighter kind of blog, a rare commentary in the digital age that is not mired in the pettiness and nastiness of many other blogs in Wales and elsewhere". And also as, "a daily must-check website for anyone who wants to know what's really going on in Wales". Wow!

The reality fell somewhat short of the billing . . . Yes, you've gessed it; I'm talking about that monstrous hybrid AneurinGlyndwr. Though I suppose some of you reading this will be unaware of this hilarious episode in the history of the English Labour Party in Wales; so, to explain. Once upon a time (March 2009, to be exact), three very unwise politicians got together and decided to launch a new website showing that - by combining the names of Aneurin (Bevan) with (Owain) Glyndwr - they could persuade people that Labour was both true to its socialist roots and also Welsh. Clever, no? No.

The three involved were Peter Hain MP, Eluned Morgan MEP and Alun Davies AM (with the assistance of a Labour researcher named David Taylor, in whose name the website was registered). To add to its mass appeal the website even had a YouTube video of Eluned Morgan duetting with Glenys Kinnock in their version of Tom Jones's hit Delilah . . . well, sort of . . . in reality, tunelessly and childishly slagging off Conservatives and Plaid Cymru. (For reasons beyond my ken this video has been removed. Does anyone have a copy?)

The laughs came thick and fast from just about everywhere, even the anarchists joined in, and the venture proved excruciatingly embarrassing for Labour. So embarrassing that Rhodri Morgan, then Labour's First Minister of the Assembly, had to disown AneurinGlyndwr. It was soon put out of its misery. But during its brief existence it brought a smile to the face of the nation. Just consider; a website that is "not mired in the pettiness and nastiness of many other blogs in Wales . . ." is launched by one of the most petty-minded, tribal and vindictive politicians we have ever known in Wales. There's one big laugh for a start.

Now for the good news! Despite, according to the Western Mail, " . . . being renowned and in some quarters feared for his skills on the internet . . ." Dai Taylor neglected to delete the website - so it's still in existence! (Quelle plonceur! as we say in Swansea.) Though rather than the wit, wisdom and pantomime talents of the Labour Party it now hosts links to sites offering cures for acne, hair loss, plus advice on finance and online training. Other links (that I did not follow, naturally) are labelled 'Vietnamese Girl', 'Thailand Girl', 'Japan Girl' and 'Older Women'. So if you're a balding young man afflicted with acne yet hoping to pull a mature Japanese lady, this is the site for you. And it's all thanks to Peter Hain!

I'm off for a few days now. My wife has to finish her holidays before the end of the month or lose them. I don't know where she'll drag me, but wherever it is I shall doubtless find strong black coffee and good Argie red. (Or should that be the other way around?) If I get near a library or an internet cafe I shall log on in the hope of learning that some spotty youth with a receding hairline will soon be flying to Japan and the warm embrace of the widow Yamamoto.

Getting to the Bottom of Things

2011-09-23T22:44:00.000+01:00

I am indebted to the person who pointed me in the direction of the author of the online petition to the Assembly on social housing that scuppered my petition submitted this week on, what appears to be, the same subject. But things are not always what they seem.

The other petition, started on March 21, simply said: "We call upon the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to review its Social Housing policy in relation of the indigenous population of the country". Grammar aside, let's focus on the term "indigenous population". What does it mean in this context? I suppose most of us would assume that it means the Welsh . . . but perhaps not.

Cllr. Adam Brown

For, I am reliably informed, the author of this petition is Adam Brown, former Independent councillor for Gurnos on Merthyr Borough Council who joined Ukip in July 2009. Though a councillor in Merthyr, Adam Brown actually lives in Cardiff. And a colourful character, Councillor Brown, as this Western Mail article will testify. So Adam Brown is a member of a right wing and very English party - does anyone still believe he means the Welsh (or the Welsh alone) when he refers to "the indigenous population"?

The situation now is that no other petition - deemed by the Petitions Committee to be on the same subject matter - can be accepted until a year after consideration of Councillor Brown's has ended. His petition is still being considered, and of course this process can be dragged out. This petition will, eventually, be rejected; but in the meantime, it is clogging up the works and helping ensure that nothing is done to reform social housing in Wales.

So is this petition a 'spoiler', designed to block other petitions on the same subject? It was rushed out within weeks of the referendum granting the Assembly powers over housing and yet, apart from people he knows in Merthyr, in the 2 months it was open it was only signed by 13 other people. So it obviously wasn't being promoted very well, if at all. Perhaps its very existence was all that mattered.

UPDATE 24.09.11 After considering some further information I no longer believe that Councillor's Brown's petition was intended by him to be a 'spoiler'. The information referred to comes from his blog, and in particular, a posting in February that seems to refer to a petition presented to Merthyr Borough Council, in which he seeks to deny social housing to "non-UK nationals". So here we are with that bogeyman of the English far right - Johnny Foreigner, the scheming rogue so eloquently damned by the leader of Ukip, and defender of all things English, Monsieur Farage.

Given that this blog posting was just a month before his petition to the Assembly (which is not mentioned on the blog) we can reasonably assume that the same sentiments underlie both. So would the Assembly Petitions Committee have accepted the petition if they'd known what Adam Brown meant by "indigenous population"? But even without this being understood the petition could still have been rejected because it asks the Welsh Government to do something almost certainly beyond its powers - deny social housing to citizens of EU Member States. In fact, it may have been the very vagueness of the Assembly petition that got it accepted . . . and may draw out the period of its consideration as clarification is sought.

But even though the petition (and additional information) from Adam Brown is vague in the extreme, and almost certainly beyond the powers of the Welsh Government, someone down in Cardiff has decided to run with it. Consequently, it is acting as a 'spoiler'.

Update on Update on Social Housing Petition

2011-09-22T21:36:00.000+01:00

Here's the story so far . . . Earlier this week I submitted an online petition to the Notional Assembly regarding the allocation of social housing. It was rejected because a similar petition is currently under consideration. This was explained in an e-mail received earlier today. Fuller information can be found by scrolling down or else by clicking here.

I responded with a few more questions and received the reply pasted below.

Thanks for your response. I have tried to answer your questions as best I can, below.

The petition can be found on the Assembly website by following this link: http://senedd.assemblywales.org/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=1012&Opt=0 which relates to the current Committee’s consideration of the petition. The work the previous Committee (pre-election) carried out on the petition can be found here: http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-third-assembly/bus-committees/bus-committees-other-committees/bus-committees-third-pc-home.htm but unfortunately the work is listed in date order, rather than petition by petition as it now is.

Housing Associations generally (there may be exceptions, but I do not know of any) are organisations that are set up by local authorities in order to carry out the statutory duty of the local authority as far as housing is concerned. Therefore, although they are independent of the council, they are still subject to the guidance that the Welsh Government puts out for the local authorities. So, housing associations are subject to the guidance as far as their statutory obligations for re-housing people are concerned.

By update to the petition, I mean that the Committee will formally consider the Minister’s response that I mentioned in my email – it arrived during recess so this is the first chance the Committee has had to get the letter ‘on the record’. The Committee will then decide what action it will take next on the petition.

Please get in touch again if I can help clarify any of this.

Regards, Abi

Abigail Phillips

Clerc y Pwyllgor Deisebau

Petitions Committee Clerk

Now, those of you who have been following my regular attacks on the operations of housing associations will know that Ms Phillips is wrong when she says: "Housing Associations generally (there may be exceptions, but I do not know of any) are organisations that are set up by local authorities in order to carry out the statutory duty of the local authority as far as housing is concerned. Therefore, although they are independent of the council, they are still subject to the guidance that the Welsh Government puts out for the local authorities. So, housing associations are subject to the guidance as far as their statutory obligations for re-housing people are concerned."

For here she seems to be thinking of those bodies set up when local authorities off-load their housing stock; but I'm fairly sure that even these, once established, are separate from the local authority. (That is the perceived advantage for creating them.) As for those housing associations that have always been independent, their only connection with local authorities is perhaps using the same waiting list . . . not that a local waiting list means much to housing associations. Another major difference between local authority housing departments and housing associations is that the former are subject to the Freedom of Information Act while the latter are not. (As I discovered when trying to find out why Gwalia Housing had provided properties in Kidwelly for a gang of English paedophiles, jailed earlier this year.)

One of the links provided by Ms Phillips led me to the Petition that scuppered mine, and a list of its signatories. To begin with, the Petition itself reads:

"We call upon the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to review its Social Housing policy in relation of the indigenous population of the country."

Though short, this calls for a number of comments. First, the Welsh Government doesn't have a policy on social housing, as such. It only gained powers over housing through the referendum of March 3rd, so presumably it, or its civil servants, still operate under the legislation in force prior to the referendum. Second, the wording. "Indigenous population" smacks of either nineteenth-century colonialism or twentieth-century blood and soil nationalism. Neither of which will endear the Petition to our Lefter-than-thou Assembly Members. Yes, it's a term I use, often in a jocular way; but I wouldn't use it in this context. My petition merely called for a five-years' residency qualification for social housing.

Then there's the meagre 45 signatories. Thirty-nine of whom signed on the 23rd and 24th of March, and of that 39 no fewer than 30 live in the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency! (Merthyr, the location of the sinister Housing Directorate!) From March 24th until the Petition closed on May 31st there were just 6 more signatories in those two months, scattered from Caerphilly to Clwyd West.

I feel frustrated. Whether this Petition is kosher or not, and despite gaining just 45 signatures, it has been accepted; derailing a better proposal that would have gained many more signatures and been less easy for politicians and civil servants to dismiss.

Media, Devolution, Death

2011-09-22T12:49:00.001+01:00

Every weekday I get an e-mail from the Evening Post in Swansea; it helps me keep up with what's going on back home. (Though I've noticed that when I click on a story in the e-mail I am directed first to thisisgloucestershire.co.uk before being redirected to thisissouthwales.co.uk.)

Now if there's one thing you'd expect the Evening Post to get right it's rugby, and especially when dealing with the stars of the two regions in its circulation area, the Ospreys and the Scarlets. So I was rather surprised, and disappointed, to see that in one of today's items some idiot can't tell Matthew Rees from Gethin Jenkins. (Click to enlarge.)

All symptomatic of what's wrong with today's Wales, becoming more colonial in nature than ever behind the chimera of devolution. What's left of our atrophied media is increasingly staffed with people who know next to nothing about Wales. Our largest circulation Welsh newspaper is now English owned and no longer even printed in Wales . . . apparently managed from Gloucestershire!

Devolution is a sham. It is the political equivalent of dressing a corpse for burial: smart suit, neatly combed hair, manicured nails . . . and yet, all the while, beneath the outward show, is the decay the show is designed to disguise.

Enterprise Zones - That's How Bad Things Are

2011-09-20T12:42:00.000+01:00

Our innovative and enterprising Welsh Government, that we were promised would provide 'Welsh answers to Welsh problems', has finally sprung into action . . . by copying England. The news we've all been waiting for (or dreading) came last night when Business Minister, Edwina Hart, told Cardiff Business Club that Wales is to have five Enterprise Zones (EZs), with more to be announced later.

Back in April I dealt with the subject of EZs and condemned the essential dishonesty - and desperation - behind the idea. Rather than repeat myself I challenge the Welsh Government to tell us what gurantees it intends providing that those allowed to take advantage of EZs will fall into one of the following categories: 1/ Companies from outside Wales. 2/ New companies starting up. 3/ Existing companies that - it is independently established - can not expand or take on more workers in their current locations.

The one difference between the EZs set up in England and those planned for Wales is that the Welsh EZs are intended to be sector specific. For example, the Cardiff Central EZ is to focus on the financial sector; Anglesey on energy; Ebbw Vale focuses on the automotive industry (!); Deeside on advanced manufacturing; and St. Athan on aerospace. All well and good, in theory, but as I pointed out in my April posting, theory and practice diverge, and nowhere more than in the Swansea example. (Interestingly, both Edwina Hart and a number of commentators have used Swansea as an example of what must not happen this time around. If only!)

I say that because there is a political imperative at work here that says these Welsh EZs must succeed, but in the current economic climate - plus the fact that England's 21 EZs have a head-start - the only way that Welsh EZs can even give the appearance of success is by relaxing the rules initially applied and repeating the Swansea disaster. You have to ask yourself why the Welsh Government decided to go down this road in the first place. The answer comes with where the announcement was made, Cardiff Business Club.

Those who run Cardiff, and think only of that city, have been pushing for the creation of an EZ in the city for a while to give a kick-start to the new Cardiff Business District. Yet you have to ask yourself why Cardiff, so much wealthier than any other part of Wales, needs an EZ, let alone two. Enterprise Zones are intended to boost areas where the economy is flagging, not give yet another advantage to areas already economically vibrant and outstripping other parts of the country. Then there's the attitude that underpins this demand, articulated so eloquently by Rodney Berman, leader of Cardiff council, who said:

“I am delighted the Welsh Government has realised Wales needs Enterprise Zones if we are to successfully compete with the English cities and regions and I am, of course, thrilled that Cardiff will now benefit from this status.

“I have been lobbying for this to happen for some time and have written to the First Minister to urge that enterprise zones are introduced as this is the only way we can be placed on a level playing field with cities such as Bristol".

This about sums up the Cardiff mind-set (outside of the Welsh immigrant community): 'Sod our responsibilities as the capital of Wales - all that matters is Cardiff competing with other provincial cities'. With the result that devolution is taking us down the same road as England. Wealth is accumulating in the south east corner of the country with political and economic decisions influenced by that area to the detriment of the rest of Wales.

I predict that these Welsh Enterprise Zones outside of Cardiff and Deeside will only 'succeed' by doctoring the data. I just hope to God that my home town doesn't fall for it again unless the planned EZ is within the city centre, the waterfront regeneration area, or the 'infill' between Swansea and Neath Port Talbot where the new university campus is planned.

But, knowing our Welsh politicians - and that definitely includes Swansea councillors, of all parties - we'll probably end up with a cockle-focused Enterprise Zone in Penclawdd . . . which will transmute into yet another out-of-town retail complex.

Online Petition to the Welsh Assembly

2011-09-19T14:41:00.000+01:00

Below you will find the wording I propose using for an online petition to the Welsh Assembly. (As suggested by 'stuart' in response my previous posting.)

I'm open to suggestions for changes but please bear in mind that both the petition and the additional information can not be longer than 1000 characters (presumably including spaces). Also, that, as it will be in my name, I have the final word.

PETITION

We urge the Welsh Government to address the problemsbeing caused by the existing system for allocating social housing in Wales.

As things standa person who has never even visited Wales can qualify for social housing aheadof someone born and bred in Wales. This is due to the points system that givespreference to the homeless, those in unfit accommodation, those recentlyreleased from an institution, and other categories.

There may benothing inherently wrong with this system but when it is applied on an Englandand Wales basis then there are two consequences: decent, hard-working localpeople lose out and Welsh communities too often find themselves hosting problemfamilies and others that have, essentially, been dumped on them.

To avoid anyfurther abuse of social housing provision we call on the Welsh Government tointroduce a period of five-years’ residency in Wales before anyone qualifiesfor social housing.

ADDITIONALINFORMATION

Earlier this year members of a paedophile gang weregiven long jail sentences at Swansea Crown Court. This gang had been housed inKidwelly by the Gwalia Housing Group of Swansea. The mystery was why this gang,originally from London and with previous convictions, was ever inflicted on asmall Welsh town.

Regrettably,the Kidwelly case is just one of many recent examples of known criminals andother undesirables, with no Welsh connections whatsoever, being housed inWales. Attributable it seems to English local authorities, charities and otheragencies being prepared to pay a premium to Welsh social housing providers totake such people off their hands.

Given thatsocial housing providers are both registered with and funded by the Welsh Government,yet many are either acting irresponsibly or else branching into areas beyond socialhousing (often both), the time has surely come to review the rôle, responsibilities andfunding of Welsh social housing providers.

UPDATE 22.09.11 I have now received an e-mail telling me that my petition is inadmissible because a very similar one has recently been submitted. Which I though was strange; because I knew nothing about it, and no one mentioned it to me. Here's the e-mail I received today.

Dear Royston,

Thank you for submitting your petition on our website. Unfortunately, the issue you raised is deemed inadmissible under the standing orders of the Assembly as a petition on a substantially similar petition is currently being considered. Standing Orders allows further petitions on the issue no sooner than 12 months after consideration of the similar petition has ended.

You may be interested to know that the other petition, which called for the Welsh Assembly Government to review its Social Housing Policy in relation of the indigenous population of the country, has resulted in the Welsh Government reviewing its ‘Code of Guidance for Local Authorities and Allocation of Accommodation and Homelessness.’. The Minister for Housing, Regeneration and Heritage wrote to the Committee in July 2011 stating that the new draft Code would enable local authorities to take ‘local connections’ into account when allocating housing. A consultation on the draft code closed at the end of June so the updated code should be issued soon. The Petitions Committee will be considering an update to the petition at its meeting on Tuesday 27 September. The meeting can be viewed from the public gallery in the Senedd, or on www.senedd.tv

Kind regards,

Abi

Abigail Phillips Clerc y Pwyllgor Deisebau

Petitions Committee Clerk

Housing for Locals? Of Course Not, it's All a Sham

2011-09-14T17:06:00.000+01:00

This week has seen two announcements on the subject of housing, purporting to be measures tackling the inability of locals to obtain housing. First came the news that Conwy council is to help first-time buyers get a foot on the housing ladder. This was soon followed by a scheme for neighbouring Gwynedd.

Let's look at the Conwy proposal first. What this offers is an indemnity or guarantee for a deposit of up to £20,000. For example, if someone wishes to buy a house costing £100,000 but the lender (building society, etc) is only offering a mortgage of 75% of the purchase price, and the potential buyer has only £5,000 for a deposit, then the council will provide an indemnity to the lender for the shortfall. The system will operate for properties up to a value of £140,000. Conwy is able to do this under the Local Authority Mortgage Scheme (LAMS), launched in March this year after a trial period. The point worth making here is that any local authority in Wales, Scotland or England can sign up to this scheme. (Leaving the obvious question - how many Welsh local authorities have done so?)

Moving on to Gwynedd, what's planned here seems unconnected with the LAMS and deals with social housing. While promising to give priority to locals the authority goes on to say:

"Under the new scheme locals will be awarded up to a maximum of 10 points for their connections to the area, with two given for every year they’ve been living in the county.

But by law the new policy will still see priority for social housing given to groups like the homeless, people living in insanitary or overcrowded conditions or those who need a move on medical or welfare grounds.

The policy would see the homeless and those who need to move for medical reasons or because they’re living in overcrowded conditions awarded up to 30 points."

So does this mean that someone born and bred in Gwynedd, and now aged 25, would have up to 60 points and therefore score more than a problem family from Wolverhampton which, though never having lived in Gwynedd, starts off with 30 points? A figure that would be increased by other factors if the Gwynedd points system operates in the same way as the system used by social housing providers in Ceredigion?

It seems to me that despite the fanfare and drum-rolls both schemes will fail local people. The Conwy scheme because it talks only of 'first-time buyers' rather than 'local first-time buyers'. The Gwynedd plan doesn't change much either; a family of undesirables from over the border can still outscore a local in the points system because Welsh social housing providers are still trapped in the Englandandwales system that our (or somebody's) Welsh Government refuses to change.

It is impossible to tinker with this system to achieve meaningful improvement. The only way is new, Welsh legislation removing from our social housing providers any obligation to house people who do not have strong Welsh connections. In the private sector the numbers of new properties built must be dictated solely by internal, Welsh demand; with further legislation to reserve a proportion of the existing housing stock to Welsh buyers.

Alternatively, one measure could solve all our housing problems. I'm talking about residency permits. These would be issued to all those now living in Wales but after that anyone wishing to move here would need to apply for a permit.

'You're a doctor taking up a post in Carmarthen? Croeso, here's your permit'.

'You want to escape multicultural Birmingham to live among good Anglo-Saxons? - 'F##k off!'

You're opening a business in Amlwch that will employ Welsh people? Here's your framed permit.'

'You like the scenery? So do we, and we're fed up with you buggers taking it over. Permit refused.'

Some pedants will argue that this couldn't be done under UK law, or that it contravenes EU legislation on the free movement of people and labour. After giving the matter a great deal of thought my considered response is, bollocks! If we had a Welsh Government infused with patriotism, imagination and drive (stop laughing at the back!) it would challenge the UK government with the residency permit scheme if only to expose the colonisation now taking place. This challenge would be guaranteed a sympathetic hearing in Europe and an exception would be made to the 'free movement' legislation in order to protect from extinction one of the oldest nations in Europe.

Go for it, Carwyn! Carwyn? For Christ's sake, wake up!

Sticking With The Weather . . .

2011-09-13T18:05:00.002+01:00

INTRODUCTION: This posting was prompted by my recent break, when I stayed with an old friend who told of a recent encounter with an environmentalist. My friend is a - now semi-retired - design engineer in the oil and gas industries, having spent much of his working life in Aberdeen and other exotic locations. When the environmentalist heard my friend's profession he smiled and said, "Ah! we're putting people like you out of work", which made my friend laugh before explaining that far from there being no work he was actually inundated with offers of work from around the world. Why? The answer is quite simple: green energy, and especially wind turbines, are so unreliable and inefficient that they require 100 per cent back-up from conventional sources.

The more turbines that are built the more conventional back-up is required. Which raises the rather obvious question - which nevertheless seems to have escaped our politicians - why build expensive, useless, ugly and counter-productive (in terms of carbon footprint, killing birds and bats, noise pollution and other problems, etc) wind turbines in the first place?

---------------------------------------

We have just experienced another summer of appalling weather. The fourth, possibly the fifth, in succession. Despite this the siren voices still shriek, 'Woe, woe and thrice woe! global warming will destroy us all!' Or rather, it's now 'climate change', because everyone can see that the climate is not warming . . . or rather, it is still warming . . . but not where you live. Confused?

Across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa there are billions of first-hand witnesses to tell the truth about the climate - it's getting colder. But, to believe the doom-sayers these first-hand witnesses don't understand the full picture because catastrophic warming is still taking place in Greenland, the Arctic, the Antarctic. What have these areas got in common? That's right, no one lives there to contradict them. Or rather, no one lives in these places except scientists and others determined to make names for themselves, secure research grants and write best-sellers. How best to achieve these aims? Scare the hell out of people!

With the result that the Western world has been blackmailed into accepting the global warming scenario; all based on very partially interpreted 'evidence' and computer projections, which of course are entirely dependent on what's fed into the computer, which in turn depends on what result or conclusion those feeding the computer want it to produce. Which finally results in us poor sods having forced on us everything from light bulbs that cast little light to wind turbines that create little electricity, often none at all. How do we explain this collective insanity?

Let us start by looking at the 'green lobby'? To begin with, there were genuine environmentalists with no other agenda. But these soon attracted the kind of ambitious scientists referred to above. Next came the big corporations that saw a subsidy cow ready for milking. Finally, it's probably no coincidence that the green lobby's rise to prominence overlaps the collapse of the Soviet empire and the decline in the attractiveness of communism.

Thankfully, the power of the green lobby now appears to be waning as people everywhere wake up to the sheer cost, inefficiency and unreliabilty of green energy. You only had to see a windfarm last December, when the daytime temperature was below zero, and not a blade was turning anywhere on this island, to realise the extent of the lunacy into which our politicians have plunged us. Another encouraging sign is that those promoting what may prove to be more reliable and practicable forms of renewable energy are now turning on wind 'power' because its shortcomings are so obvious that it is tarring them with the same brush. But much of the damage is already done.

Here in Wales, we've had to suffer politicians who've really gone overboard for renewable energy. The now retired Labour AM, Jane Davidson, former Minister for the Environment, developed into a real fanatic. But all parties in the Assembly (especially Plaid Cymru), and most AMs, have been afflicted with this madness, believing that Wales can, and must, save the planet! With the result that any shyster who hoves into view uttering the magic words 'environment' or 'global warming' gets Welsh Government backing and the loot to prove it. By comparison, selling Jack the magic beans was a hard sell.

We are desecrating our beautiful homeland for nothing; we are creating a generating capacity (from all sources) vastly in excess of Welsh demand yet from which we are not allowed to benefit financially; we are enriching absentee landlords, foreign manufacturers and investors; we are clearing forests and destroying peat bogs; all this is done in Wales, with the backing of our Government, yet Wales gains nothing economically and the number of jobs created for our people is negligible. How can anyone possibly think that this is serving the best interests of Wales? This is industrial and commercial exploitation on a 19th century scale . . . but without the jobs the Industrial Revolution provided and the communities it created and sustained!

The insanity of the 'renewable energy' scam is symptomatic of a wider malaise. After 12 years of devolution, Wales is still being run in the interests of England. We have a Government that either does not wish to, or is not allowed to, run Wales in the interests of its inhabitants. Worse, this 'Government' shows no inclination that it wants to change this colonial arrangement. Yet another example of the sham that is devolution. We don't have a Government in Wales; it's just a puppet show.

Taking A Break

2011-09-06T21:23:00.000+01:00

Afon Conwy, Betws-y-Coed, today

The weather in the north is appalling. Went today to Porthmadog - got soaked. Tried Betws-y-Coed - got soaked. It was even raining in Blaenau Ffestiniog!

So I'm off to the Sunny South tomorrow for a break. I'm assured that it's blue skies and bikini weather in Llanelli. I shall doubtless have something to say when I return. Hope to be back in time to see the boys beat the Bokke on Sunday morning.

There you are, you see; despite the state of this nation, despite being dragons led by muppets, I remain an optimist. How else could one describe a man expecting to find balmy weather in Sosban and Wales to beat South Africa?

Off-Roader On Snowdon - Why Be Surprised?

2011-09-05T17:55:00.000+01:00

I am really surprised by the shock! horror! response to the nerd who tried to drive his 4 x 4 up Snowdon. Because the form of tourism we have in Wales encourages people to come in, do what they damn well like, to take over . . .

As for Snowdon itself . . . we allow a railway to the summit, a cafe at the the top, we encourage millions to walk up it, even to hold charity events on it. So if we Welsh allow an icon like our highest peak to be treated with such little respect we have no right to be surprised when some infantile petrolhead, who thinks Jeremy Clarkson is a profound thinker and a great raconteur, does what he has just done.

Wales and its inhabitants are treated with contempt by the tourism 'industry'. Our homeland is regarded as some vast playground that to all intents and purposes belongs to strangers, served by strangers. We Welsh must remain uncomplaining bystanders in the shadows. Brought into the light only when some smart-arse wants to hear pronounced "that funny place with the long name". Or, worse, we are told to take pride in the fact that all these lovely people want to come here . . . buy a holiday home . . . or settle . . . because they 'love Wales'. 'Wales' the geographical expression; the empty land, devoid of native inhabitants, culture, history; the country that exists solely for others to 'enjoy'.

Tourism in Wales is a colonial enterprise and a national insult. It encourages in our people an acceptance of inferiority and defeat as we are swamped by people who think they have as much right to be here as us. Tourism will definitely be on the agenda for the new movement.

Who Runs Wales?

2011-09-03T17:15:00.000+01:00

This is a story I am familiar with, having met Pol Wong a number of times and having him patiently explain to me the tortuous process he's been through. Without wishing to pre-empt any inquiry there are a few points to be made and a huge question to be asked.

Pol's idea is magnificent. With the Shaolin connection it could only increase Llangollen's internationalist credentials. But Pol also wanted to take disaffected kids off the streets and give them self-respect and a purpose in life. A third strand was the promotion of Welsh culture. For Pol is a proud Welshman and a Welsh speaker.

Everything was going fine with this project; the funding was in place, as was planning consent, and political approval had also been received. If memory serves me right, the project was signed off by both Rhodri Morgan and Ieuan Wyn Jones. Then silence, and problems. Possibly instigated by the previous Labour AM for the area Karen Sinclair, who seemed to have developed a pathological hatred for the project. But she could have done nothing without the help she received in Cardiff. I suspect she merely served to alert those on the look-out for dangerous Welsh initiatives.

More than once I have condemned the behaviour of civil servants in Wales, such as those belonging to the shadowy and sinister Housing Directorate. It was the obstructionism of civil servants like these that seems to have derailed the Llangollen venture. Not by communication but by silence. I say that because, from talking with Pol, I know that one of his biggest frustrations was the total lack of feedback and answers, of not knowing where his project stood. Repeated letters, phone calls and e-mails went unanswered. It was as if the project had disappeared into a black hole.

There is no doubt that this project has been scuppered by civil servants in Cardiff. That's bad enough, but worse is the sense that our politicians are helpless in the face of these people. So the big question I referred to at the top is this: Who runs Wales? Is it the politicians we elect to the Assembly or is it unelected civil servants accountable to no one but their masters in London?

The evidence accumulates that it's the latter, and this makes a mockery of devolution.

UPDATE: 19:50 Since posting I have been e-mailed by Pol Wong who says: "WAG's insistence that we failed to get funding is a lie. A package was presented to Ieuan Wyn Jones in Jan 2010, which he ok'd. The permanent secretary (after a call from Karen Sincclair) insisted that another more detailed paper was done, which it was. She then prevented it going back to IWJ for the decision.

Of course during this period it was impossible to get funding from other sources because WAG would not talk to us to confirm or otherwise vital info for funders, even at one point instructing security not to allow a site meeting for our potential new funders!

Basically we say that YES we did have funding but the Permanent Secretary overruled it and then they actively prevented us from getting funding from any other source.

So in the end after 2 years the election came and hey presto new (Edwina Hart) minister, then the refusal to back it because we no longer fit with policy, even though they have a commitment to tourism. They get around this by saying that they fail to understand how we support tourism!"

In a subsequent e-mail Pol told me: "Also, I've got loads of stuff from FOIs and a transcription of a meeting with Karen Sinclair (AM) where she brags to me that, 'I phoned Gill Morgan (Permanent Secretary) and that's why your money was stopped'! Plus loads of other stuff that backs up my assertions".

This whole business stinks and a public inquiry is the only way to get to the bottom of it.

A465: The Forgotten Road, The Broken Promise.

2011-09-02T22:59:00.001+01:00

I'm writing this partly because I have - if only tangentially - touched on the problem of road spending priorities before and partly because it ties in with my previous offering.

A couple of recent letters to the Western Mail have drawn attention to the appalling safety record of the A465 Heads of the Valleys road. The first, on August 31, came from Merthyr councillor Phil Williams who laments the regular tragedies on the A487 but also points out how much spending goes on the A470. The second letter, from Mark Rhydderch-Roberts of Crickhowell was published today. Mr. Rhydderch-Roberts tells us that when it was completed in the 1960s the A465 was already obsolete, and was in fact the last three-lane trunk road built in the UK. (It surely says something about the way Wales is regarded in London that we were given a road that was known to be dangerous and of a design no longer being used anywhere else.)

The A465 was promoted in the 1960s and '70s as a highway that would bring new prosperity to the Heads of the Valleys region, then suffering from the decline of the steel and coal industries. It failed to live up to its billing partly because few new industries came to the region. The quality of the road almost certainly accounted, if only in part, for the lack of new investment. Realising the problems of the A487 it was decided to make it more attractive by turning it into a dual carriageway along its entire length, from the border until it links up with the M4 just outside Swansea. But this seems to have been abandoned - just like the Heads of the Valleys region itself - in favour of other road projects. The fundamental problem with the the Heads of the Valleys road (which will never be publicly admitted) is that it doesn't run to Cardiff. If it did, like the A470, then the dualling would have been completed years ago.

By abandoning the dualling of the A465 our tribunes down in Cardiff docks have missed a wonderful opportunity; not just to help the Heads of the Valleys region but also to ease some of the pressure on the M4.Take a look at the map; if you are travelling from Birmingham (or further east or north) then the shortest, most direct route to Swansea and the south west is by the A465 . . . or it would be if the road wasn't such a nightmare experience. So what do you do? - you head for the M4, and contribute to the bottlenecks around Newport and Cardiff, which, it is conservatively estimated, will cost at least one billion pounds to put right. (But no doubt the money will be found because we're talking Cardiff here.)

The A465 is yet another example of hopes raised and dashed, another instance of our 'Welsh' Assembly serving only Cardiff, another opportunity squandered. What will it take to get these buffoons from squabbling amongst themselves and fighting with local authorities they seem to view as rivals, or kow-towing to London all the time? Is it too much to hope that Carwyn Jones and his assorted woodentops can just stand back, and for once, ask, 'What can we do for Wales?' If they could do that, then the dualling of the A465 all the way to Swansea would do a lot more for more people than publicity-grabbing gimmicks like free prescriptions. But who am I kidding, this is the Labour Party; when did they ever care about Wales, apart from election times.

Shock! Horror! Valleys Poor!

2011-09-01T18:44:00.001+01:00

Guess what, folks! the latest WelshIndex of Multiple Deprivation (take your pick) has revealed - wait for it!- that west Rhyl is the most 'deprived' community in the country and thatthings aren't much better in most of the Valleys. I urge you, gentle reader, torecover from the shock of these startling revelations before you read mycomments.

First, let's deal with Rhyl.We all know what the problem is here (God knows I've mentioned it oftenenough!); buildings being converted into small flats and to fill them, benefitclaimants, petty criminals, drug addicts and others are brought from north westEngland. Result: shit-hole. To quote that great social thinker and all-round penseur,Groucho Marx, 'A child of four could work this out'. The salvation of Rhyl,according to one Kelly Barker, in a panel to theWestern Mail article, by Peter Law, that today dealt with this story, is adevelopment by the Scarborough Development Group. This promises an Asda store,a hotel, a pub, office space and, er, that's it. Wrong! The answer is quitesimple - stop unscrupulous private landlords and local gangsters conniving withEnglish local authorities, housing associations and charities to import thescumbags who have ruined a town in which I spent many a happy hour back in mysalad days . . . ah! the Mona pub, the Dixieland nightspot . . . (If you mustknow I had a girl in St. Asaph, and also friends in the area.)

Reading the Western Mail article a vistor from aremote Innuit settlement might conclude that the problems of deprivation andoutright poverty to be found in the Valleys are of relatively recent origin.For according to Wayne David, Labour MP for Caerffili, "We are starting tosee the impact of central (UK) Government's cuts . . ." Why didn't I thinkof that! The truth is that the Coalition government in London has been in powerfor just over a year, too short a time for its policies to have had much effectby the time these figures were collected. So why didn't Wayne David blame theAssembly? . . . ah! yes . . . Or why not blame those who were in power inLondon for 13 years prior to last May's election? Again, same problem. Or whatabout the fact that the same party has been elected by Valleys' voters for acentury or more? On an issue as serious as this, the best that Wayne David cando is try to score cheap political points. All he succeeds in doing is makinghimself look the utter arsehole he is.

Another interesting quote came from one Russell Todd, whoglories in the title of Communities First Advice Co-ordinator at the WalesCouncil for Voluntary Action. This of course is a 'third sector'outfit funded by you and me and stuffed with Left-liberal graduates of thatright-on, freemasonry for the twenty-first century outfit - Common Purpose.Quoth Mr. Todd: "Manufacturing areas tend to get hit first by a recession- that is the subtext to all of this". Does this man seriously believethat the problems of the Valleys began in - or have become appreciably worsesince - 2008!

Blaenau Gwent was in declineeven before the Ebbw Vale steelworks closed in 2002. For by then it onlyemployed 400 men, down from 10,000 in 1964. Add the gradual run-down of thecoal industry since the 1950s and it becomes clear that Blaenau Gwent'sproblems are decades old and now deep rooted. The same can be said for most ofthe Valleys region. Yet to believe Wayne David and Russell Todd we must blameeither the wicked Tories who only came to power in May 2010, or their friends in thebanking industry.

Another factor that we Welsh nationalists cannot shy away from is that in large parts of the Valleys thereis now a generational, benefits-dependent culture. Take a town like Merthyr.Those with get-up-and-go have been getting up and going for generations. I knowmany Merthyr people, and they love their hometown . . . but none of themactually lives there. Which leaves a largely unskilled workforce in a decliningformer industrial town that can not attract well-paid jobs, for such jobsof course demand the skills and levels of education that Merthyr cannot provide.

Merthyris trapped in a spiral of decline from which the only escape is either the discovery ofvast deposits of gold in Dowlais (which the English would probably steal) or,more realistically, politicians coming up with an education system that, ratherthan being obsessed with points-scoring, league tables, exam results and saving money, putsthe interests of children first by equipping them with the everyday skills that a twenty-first-century employer wants. For 'Merthyr' read the Rhondda, the Cynon, andjust about any other valley.

Wales is a rich country withpoor people living in deprived communities. What an indictment of the Unionwith England, and arseholes like Wayne David and Dame Chris Bryant who thinkit's the best we should ever hope for because we couldn't do better ourselves.

The Curse Of Cultural Nationalism

2011-08-29T20:23:00.002+01:00

Throughout the period of my political activism - now closing on fifty years - I have been suspicious of cultural nationalism. It began when I first got involved in nationalist politics, back in the mid-'60s. What worried me then, and still does today, is that many language activists involved themselves in politics to pursue essentially cultural objectives. If these objectives could be achieved within existing structures then they often saw no need for political and constitutional change. London politicians knew this and capitalised on it.

Then, because so many cultural nationalists attached themselves to Plaid Cymru, this reinforced the perception in most parts of Wales that Plaid was a party solely for Welsh speakers. I can recall canvassing for Plaid in Swansea back in the 1960s and as soon as I mentioned Plaid Cymru, hearing, "Sorry, Love; we don't speak Welsh". Plaid Cymru has never shaken off this perception, and it has suffered for it electorally. Even when Plaid started reaching out beyond its core support as it did under the leadership of Dafydd Elis Thomas, it seemed to be reaching out to English immigrants, environmentalists, Gay Rights activists and left wing groups rather than the anglophone Welsh.

Another feature that has made me deeply suspicious of cultural nationalism is the number of language movement 'firebrands' who metamorphosed into well-paid pillars of the colonial establishment. I won't mention names but many reading this will be able to think of quite a few. In addition, I find it puzzling how an organisation like the Tai Cantref housing group can pride itself on being a Welsh language employer while simultaneously anglicising Welsh-speaking communities through its housing allocation policies. Hypocrisy is the obvious word; and unsurprisingly the social housing sector contains a number of former 'firebrands'.

Academics within this 'flipped' group repay their masters by re-writing history. For example, according to them Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) led the opposition to the 1969 Investiture! But anyone who lived through those times knows that both CyIG and Plaid were deeply ambivalent towards that circus in Caernarfon. To support this revisionism Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (MAC), the Free Wales Army (FWA) and other groups must be written out of history entirely or else dismissed as misguided and dangerous buffoons. But the real and important message is that everything that has happened in Wales over the past 50 years had at its root concerns for the Welsh language and culture. Further, this movement - even when it resorted to law-breaking - was made up of individuals of the highest moral integrity who, having reluctantly broken the law, immediately gave themselves up to the authorities. At times this holier-than-thou approach becomes quite nauseating.

These perceptions have been tempered by the pleasure of knowing, and counting as good friends, many people who are totally committed to defending the language and culture of Wales while also believing in full independence; but this does not change my central premise. For my friends do not seek personal advancement and have the sense to realise that the only hope for the Welsh language is independence.

Cultural nationalism has failed everyone apart from those Welsh speakers who have slithered their way into the unreformed colonialist system, and the system itself. For the State has capitalised on the linkage between cultural and political nationalisms by pretending that 'Welsh nationalism' was nothing more than cultural concerns . . . which of course an understanding and sympathetic State would satisfy through legislation and by giving more 'respect'. Yes, but where is the benefit in official recognition, and where is the 'respect', when Welsh speakers become strangers in the towns and villages where they were born; when they are threatened with guns for speaking Welsh in their local pub; when the area they grew up in becomes a playground for strangers?

Cultural nationalism has failed the Welsh language itself, except on the official and legislative levels - i.e. the visible and the cosmetic. Cultural nationalism has discredited itself through its sanctimonious soul-searching and its pseudo-intellectual fixations with the abstract and the unimportant. And by operating on these levels cultural nationalism divorced itself from the pressing, everyday realities of life for the majority of Welsh speakers and their communities. While on a political level, cultural nationalism has served the colonialist system by making too many anglophone Welsh feel excluded from the national movement, and also by allowing the colonialist system to pretend that cultural nationalism is one and the same thing with Welsh nationalism.

The time has now come to put cultural nationalism into a box and no longer allow it to queer the pitch for those of us wanting to make the kind of progress that will benefit the majority of the Welsh people. We must henceforth unite our people under a new and inclusive concept of Welshness, for there is no other way of achieving the independence that will benefit Wales, and save the Welsh language.

Local? Forget It!

2011-08-24T21:35:00.000+01:00

I am indebted to an anonymous poster to my previous piece for drawing my attention to the qualifiction rules used by social housing providers linked under the Tai Ceredigion umbrella. These rules can be found (in PDF format) here. In essence, priority, is given to those scoring the most points.

For example: the maximum 40 points are awarded to those meeting the following criteria: Homeless, living in temporary accommodation, living in tied accommodation, living accommodation unfit for human habitation, leaving hospital / other institution, needing special accommodation.

The next category, 30 points, are awarded to those: with young children living above or below ground level, living in accommodation in a state of substantial disrepair, living in a caravan, when special accommodation is no longer required, if subject to neighbourhood or domestic disputes. In addition, 30 points may be awarded by a 'Director' (presumably of Tai Ceredigion) and in other circumstances "where the points already awarded under the allocation scheme do not reflect the urgency to secure alternative housing".

Where local connections are mentioned, later on in the document, it says only this: "Local connection points will not be awarded unless applicants are eligible for points under one or more of Sections 1 to 3, or 5 to 18 above which indicate that they are within the categories of applicants to whom reasonable preference must be given.
Residence - within Ceredigion (at least 36 months' residence at the date of application) 20 points

- within a particular community 10 points

Employment - within Ceredigion (at least 12 months' employment at the date of application) 15 points

Family associations 5 points

Special circumstances 5 points

So while local connections are recognised, they don't even come into play unless an applicant is homeless, living in a caravan, leaving prison, etc. Which means, in practice, that a local, in employment, living in acceptable rented accommodation, but seeking a more secure tenancy, will always be at the bottom of the list.

Or look at it another way, someone leaving an English prison, with nowhere to live, and having no connections with Ceredigion, or even Wales, immediately scores 40 points, probably more. A law-abiding person with roots in Ceredigion and wishing to move back to the area scores only 5 points.

As my dear, departed, Uncle Gwynfor would have said, 'This is arse-backwards, boy!'. For people living in England, but meeting the higher points criteria, will always receive preference over locals and returning locals. As will someone with no local connections before moving into a local bed and breakfast or caravan. In fact, all the types we don't want here get preference over those we do. Clearly - and heeding the wise words of Uncle Gwynfor - a better sysytem is needed. How about this . . .

'Tai Ceredigion accepts no responsibility to house any persons without local connections unless those persons are genuine refugess or else their presence in the area is deemed to be beneficial to the wider community'. Under this guideline the Points System could operate as follows:

Born and attended school in Ceredigion 40 points

Lived in Ceredigion for at least five years 30 points

Born and schooled in some other part of Wales 30 points

Genuine refugees escaping persecution 30 points

Strong local family ties 20 points

Key worker (where such skills are not available locally) 20 points

In it's defence Tai Ceredigion would probably argue that it has no alternative to operating this way because, as it admits, it adheres to "the Welsh Assembly Government's “Code of Guidance for Local Authorities on Allocation of Accommodation and Homelessness” and the Welsh Assembly Government's regulatory code for Housing Associations". Which makes it all sound democratic and above-board. But it's not. Because our Assembly Members never discussed these Codes. They were drawn up and implemented by civil servants copying English legislation because their loyalty is still to London.

English towns and cities exchanging indigents and drug addicts, criminals and problem families, isn't going to make a lot of difference, but when people in these groups are relocated to Wales, especially rural areas, then the effects will be more marked, and more damaging. Therefore the rules under which social housing providers operate in Wales must change in order to protect Welsh interests.

But social housing is only part of the wider problem encapsulated in the ugliest word in our political lexicon - 'Englandandwales'. We shall continue to suffer until we have unravelled the last of these colonial links, still operating as before but now behind the chimera of legislative devolution.

P.S. I'm sorry if the columns don't come out so well on your browser, but I use Mozilla Firefox and on that it's OK. Why can't different browsers interpret and present data the same way?

Caer Las Cymru and Llanelli, Update

2011-08-22T14:45:00.000+01:00

Following my earlier posting about the problems being experienced by Llanelli residents due to the activities of Caer Las, a registered charity based in Swansea, I have received a comment from Andrew Templeton, a representative of that body.

In his rather bland and formulaic response Mr. Templeton at least had the honesty to confirm that Caer Las deals with "persistent offenders" i.e. criminals. It's a pity that this honesty is not shown or reflected on the Caer Las website, which talks only of the homeless, people with learning difficulties, and others who might be termed 'unfortunates' or 'victims'. Which suggests a certain dishonesty, and perhaps deviousness in the way it has attempted to place such people in residential areas of Llanelli without the knowledge of the people in those areas or their councillors.

Mr Templeton also states that all those being housed in Llanelli have local connections, and that none are being brought in from over the border. This is not what I hear from those living in the afflicted areas. Though, not surprisingly, this is the same kind of blanket denial also used by Welsh housing associations - 'Everybody we house is local'.

As Nick Bennett, chief executive of Community Housing Cymru (the umbrella organisation for Welsh housing associations), stated in an e-mail to me earlier this year after I had suggested that Welsh housing associations house far too many people from outside Wales: " . . . this is a perennial chestnut. It was once raised by Neath Port Talbot and all the Associations analysed all lettings during the year and found no-one who had come from England. Usually what has happened is locals have returned home, or someone has moved into the private rented sector, lived there for a few years and then got on the waiting list."

So there you have it: " . . . all the associations . . . all the lettings . . . no-one who had come from England." The word I used then to describe this response was "bollocks"; because it is insulting to people living in the kind of tight-knit communities that make up Neath and Port Talbot to suggest that total strangers, speaking with English accents, are all local. The same, I suggest, applies to Caer Las, which obviously has links with the Probation Service for Englandandwales. Which raises another interesting point.

For a tried and tested method of getting criminals to go straight is to take them away from their old haunts and their criminal associates. But it seems this widely practised method does not apply in Llanelli. For if Mr. Templeton is telling the truth then Llanelli recidivists are brought home to re-acquaint themselves with the cronies, the influences, the milieu, that got them into trouble in the first place!

Anyone going to my earlier blog about Caer Las and Llanelli will be disappointed if they to try to follow the link to the blog of Jim Bird-Waddington, the Caer Las hetman. All they'll get is the message, 'Blog has been removed'. But you aren't missing much. The 'full profile' said nothing and the postings gained no comments . . . well, apart from me. I do hope I wasn't - even in part - responsible for this blog biting the dust. I'd never forgive myself!

From everything I'm learning it is becoming clear that elements of the so-called 'third sector' are doing great damage in Wales. In pursuit of money - and remember, this is supposed to be 'the voluntary sector'! - housing associations, the Probation Service (for Englandandwales) and organisations like Caer Las are prepared to bring into Wales undesirables and foist them on Welsh communities. Politicians may fall for their lies but people who have to live with the problems do not. Nor do I. So I shall continue to expose these people and the damage they do.

Boys In Blue Aprons

2011-08-21T18:23:00.000+01:00

This disturbing little item appeared in today's Sunday Telegraph. (Click to enlarge.) Now, obviously, we have known for a long time that Freemasonry is a problem in the police service, but this development could make things a lot worse.

There have always been Masonic lodges in which serving and retired police officers predominate, but these were all local lodges and, mainly, confined to major cities. What is being talked about here is a 'national' superlodge reserved for serving police officers. What should be of concern to us is that two Welsh police forces, South Wales and Dyfed Powys, are mentioned as providing members.

The irony here - almost certainly lost on those making up this new outfit - is that in recent weeks and months we have heard regular condemnation of two problems facing society. The first is corruption within the police service, especially the Metropolitan Police, and the second is gang culture. Yet here we have the ultimate gang, guaranteed to shield and protect those of their number engaged in corruption.

When the Assembly was first set up there was much talk of tackling the pernicious influence of Freemasonry. For example, Assembly Members would be required to declare whether they were knee-flashers. But it all came to naught, talked out by, among others, the lovable Rod Richards.

This latest development in the deterioration of the police service of Englandandwales makes it even more important that our Assembly takes control of a single, merged Welsh police force. Then our Welsh Government must root out Freemasonry, not only from the police, but from Welsh public life in general.

Llanelli Riots Commemoration (With Pics)

2011-08-20T22:06:00.000+01:00

Just got back from Llanelli. Another good day out, and this time on my own, so I could detour and meander to my heart's content.

First to Machynlleth and the mountain road to Llanidloes, one of my favourite routes. Though I could see that one car had gone off the road recently - it was still tangled up in the wire fencing. A great road offering fantastic views but best avoided in winter, even when it's not officially closed. Thought of having breakfast in Rhaeadr but decided to carry on a few miles to The Halt, next to the Vulcan Inn. There I indulged myself with the big breakfast, flirted with the waitress and read my Western Mail. Then I moseyed on down to Buellt and out to Cilmeri, where I was delighted to see that the wreaths from last December were still there.

Next stop Llanamddyfri, and another intake of black coffee. The girl serving me was very pretty but too young. I'm into mature and voluptuous women nowadays . . . but in the most innocent way, you understand. While in the town I had to go and see the great statue to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan up on the castle mound. Made by two of David Petersen's sons it is a great piece of work. I was there at the unveiling a few years back and it was nice to see it again.

The A40 was a nightmare. Saturday at this time of year is either people coming down for their holidays or else going home after their holidays . . . camper vans and 4 x 4s towing huge bloody caravans, and idiots who must think that Welsh roads are more dangerous than English roads, because they drive at 40 miles an hour and refuse to pull over to let traffic pass. (Fear of bandits perhaps.)

By the time I got to Llanelli railway station they'd started without me! Fortunately I was able to park the car in a nearby street and quickly joined in the march up to the town centre. I was immediately struck by the eclectic nature of the marchers. Up front was the Cambria Band, with John Jenkins, Adam Phillips and a lot of good nationalists from the north east. Behind them were more nationalists of varying hues - yours truly found himself marching behind the FWA banner. Then, as I looked further back, I could see socialist and communist banners. All interspersed with trade union standards. Very colourful.

We stopped in the town centre for the obligatory speeches and it soon became apparent that the dignitaries were uncomfortable with the assembled host. The mayor and other local council bigwigs were there, the MP was there, the AM was there - the problem being that they were all Labour Party whereas the crowd was equally split between nationalists and hard left. I almost felt sorry for them . . . but I pulled myself together.

Then it was a two-mile hike to the cemetery for more speeches from uncomfortable local worthies and tribunes. And a few words from a local minister. Before the parchedig was allowed to speak the hard left had to be placated by the MC (no idea who he was) with "Many of us do not believe in God but you must remember that a century ago it was very different . . ." I couldn't help but notice that the headstone for John 'Jac' John is entirely in English, even though the family was Welsh speaking in a town that in 1911 was 90 per cent Welsh speaking. But of course, the stone was erected by the Labour Party.

At this point me and my mate Eifion decided to head off back into town and the pub we'd all agreed to meet in later. There was a delay as we listened to the choir sing O Fryniau Caersalem, well you can't walk away when that's being sung, can you? (If my Mam had found out!) Once they'd finished we were off. Leaving the cemetery we found ourselves walking alongside one of the coppers who'd accompanied the march. So Eifion - a policeman's son - said to him, "Funny, isn't it; after all those riots up in England here we are celebrating a riot". To which the policeman replied in an almost affronted tone, "Ah, but down here we have sensible riots".

The pub was a converted cinema and we were up in the balcony watching the rugby on a huge screen above the bar . . . that's right, just like a cinema. The rest of the gang gradually arrived, along with a few comrades of the Communist Party of Great Britain - Marxist Leninist (not to be confused with any other Communist Party of Great Britain). I've got no time for these buggers so I won't waste any time on them . . . except to say that they must have spent ages making their banner. Why not? they've got sod all else to do. History has passed them by.

A couple more non-alcoholic beers and it was time to go. This time I took the direct route, which allowed me time to write this. So enjoy!

UPDATE: 21.08.11 Here's a link to a film of the event. For whoever was asking after his health earlier, John Jenkins is in the middle of the front rank of the band.