And Then There Were Thirteen: Plaid AM defects to Conservatives

Plaid Cymru AM Mohammad Asghar has crossed the floor to join the Conservatives in the Welsh assembly.

The defection was announced by Welsh Conservative leader Nick Bourne and Shadow Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan.

Mr Asghar, the assembly's only ethnic minority AM, said he felt "out of tune" with Plaid policies, in particular its desire for an independent Wales.

Plaid Cymru said his decision was a "shock" and called for him to be "honourable" and resign his seat.

It is the first time an AM has left one party to join another, although others have sat as independents after resigning or being expelled from their own parties.

Mr Asghar was elected as a regional AM for South Wales East in 2007.

Joined by the Conservative group at a news conference, he said he had "felt out of tune with the views and policies of Plaid Cymru" and "believed in the royal family and one United Kingdom".

"My politics are very much in line with wanting a stronger Wales within a successful United Kingdom," he said.

"I believe that the Welsh Conservative Party in the national assembly, led by Nick Bourne, reflects my beliefs.

"I am also attracted by the caring Conservatism and policies for change put forward by David Cameron and the Conservative Party at Westminster.

"I very much look forward to playing an important role in the shadow team in the national assembly and to helping to shape the policies for the Assembly elections in 2011," said Mr Asghar.

Asked why he had stood for Plaid Cymru when he was opposed to independence for Wales, he said his voice had been that of "a little parrot in a jungle", with little chance of changing Plaid's stance on the issue.

Mr Asghar was originally seen as a political tool by Plaid Cymru:

"We were very proud of the fact that in campaigning hard for Mohammad Asghar's election in 2007 that Plaid Cymru ensured the first ever assembly member from the black minority ethnic community."

... Now there appears to be sour grapes:

"It is has come as a shock that he has now decided that he shares the same values as those held by the Conservative and Unionist party." Plaid Cymru assembly group chair Dai Lloyd said it would be wrong for Mr Asghar to remain in the assembly as a Conservative. "We now call on Mohammad Asghar to take the honourable decision to resign his seat as a Plaid Cymru AM," Mr Lloyd said. "The people of the South Wales (East) region did not want a second Tory AM to represent the area - they elected a Plaid Cymru AM. "Mr Asghar does not have the political mandate to sit in the assembly as a Conservative member..."

Hat-tip to the Welsh Conservatives and Mr Asghar for pulling that one out of the hat, and on the day that Rhodri Morgan tenders his resignation as First Minister.

Another AM understandably retires at next election

Karen Sinclair AM, a former cabinet minister in the Welsh Assembly Government is to stand down at the next elections in 2011. She has served as Labour AM for Clwyd South for 10 years, and told her constituency party on Tuesday she would not be seeking re-election.

Last year, Ms Sinclair was diagnosed with the bone marrow cancer myeloma and has been undergoing treatment.

First Minister Rhodri Morgan said Ms Sinclair had always "put others first and not herself".
Ms Sinclair served as business manager in the cabinet between 2003 and 2005, and was chief whip.

She said it had been a "great honour" to represent the constituency, adding: "The recovery from my recent illness is going very well, but I felt the time was now right to announce I will step down and tell my local party I will not seek re-election in 2011.

Miss Wagstaff wishes you well in retirement.

Bonus* Bonanza Balls up

Just when politicians are having to bite the bullet over expenses, it seems that the tide has not turned in other parts of the Assembly. It appears that others are slow to catch on when it comes to the general mood of the public.

The Welsh assembly official overseeing substantial cuts in AMs' expenses received at least £15,000 extra pay in the last year, it has emerged.

Chief executive Claire Clancy's salary rose from a salary range of up to £125,000 to at least £140,000.

The assembly said it reflected a bonus from a previous year and, as Ms Clancy and the directors had given up their bonuses, her pay would fall next year.

The pay of another senior official also rose by at least £15,000 in 2008-09.

Assembly members agreed last month to make substantial cuts in their expenses, including scrapping interest payments on mortgages for second homes and linking their salaries to changes in average earnings.

According to the assembly's annual report, in the last financial year Ms Clancy's salary was between £140,000 and £145,000, compared to £120,000 to £125,000 in 2007-08.

An assembly spokesman said the higher figure included a deferred final bonus payment from the previous year, under different rules.

The spokesman said:

Because the bonuses have now stopped, the figures published in the accounts for the current financial year (2009/10) will show...the chief executive's actual income dropping during 2009-10 compared to 2008-09, from the salary range £140,000-145,000 to £135,000-140,000.

The report says the second highest-ranking official, chief operating officer Dianne Bevan, enjoyed a salary rise of between £5,000 and £15,000.

She was paid within a scale of £115,000 to £120,000 in 2008-09 compared to £105,000 to £110,000 in the previous year.

Her salary next year is likely to stay the same under the new rules.

* not technically a bonus, but a welcome 'bonus' all the same.

Gun to the head blows "bits and pieces"

Following on from Monday, the Presiding Officer Dafydd Elis-Thomas has said the Assembly Commission had agreed to all the report's proposals.

The commission, which includes representatives from all four parties, took the decision on behalf of AMs.

Sir Roger Jones's report, Getting it Right for Wales, followed a 10-month investigation of the pay and expenses of AMs.

The report's implementation will mean

• After the next assembly election in 2011, AMs will no longer be able to claim mortgage interest on second homes.
• Some 25 of them will, however, be able to rent accommodation within five miles of the assembly in Cardiff Bay, half the number of AMs currently entitled to a second home allowance.
• AMs will not be able to employ family members in future but any existing arrangements will continue.
• The current link between AMs' pay and MPs' salaries will also be broken.
• AMs' salaries will be increased in line with inflation next year and in future be linked to changes in average earnings in Wales.
• The current "daily allowance" of £30.65 for members on assembly business to spend on meals will also be scrapped "as soon as possible".
  

Lord Elis-Thomas said work would begin "immediately" on implementing the changes.

That these changes have been endorsed during the year in which we mark the tenth anniversary of devolution is a testament to the assembly's maturity and is a signal that the assembly is committed to operating in ways that are right for Wales.

[The report] addresses the contentious issues of remuneration and financial support - issues which have been such a stumbling block to people truly engaging in the democratic process.

But of equal importance, it places a strong emphasis on ensuring the capacity of the assembly and Members to undertake our work - to represent the interests of Wales and its people, make laws for Wales and hold the Welsh government to account.

Earlier, Conservative AM and commission member William Graham told the BBC Wales am.pm that the plans "were agreed with ease" at a meeting on Tuesday evening.

Labour commissioner Lorraine Barrett said there were "bits and pieces" in the report that not all AMs would like, but "you can't unpick it".

Will it be panel beating of a different kind?

An independent panel investigating pay and expenses among members of the Welsh assembly is about to report back.

The findings will come after almost a year of investigation and following recent controversies over expenses.

Panel members have held more than 20 meetings - including two in public - and compared procedures at other parliamentary bodies.

The panel say the aim is to reward AMs fairly for their work, but with the emphasis on transparency.

"We have adopted a number of principles to guide us in our work. One of these is that our recommendations must be based on evidence," said Sir Roger Jones, who chairs the panel.

"We want to get this right - to ensure not only that any new system of pay and allowances is fair, transparent, and recognises and rewards AMs' skills, but also that it provides value for money."
The panel was established in August last year to "look at all aspects of financial support available to AMs."

The independent review panel includes chair Sir Roger Jones, pro-chancellor at Swansea University, Jackie Nickson, a senior human resources manager, Nigel Rudd, the former chief executive of the East Midlands Regional Assembly, and Dafydd Wigley, the former Plaid Cymru president.

Dead tree press can't see the wood for the trees

At this time of the year we're in need of a good story that not only demonstrates the inconsistency of those running the WAG machine, but also an example of the civil service not getting their own way and promoting one of their own numbers from within.

This story also makes a refreshing change from the media ignoring what other AMs have claimed in expenses. Instead, they choose to turn the rack on the Conservative leader Nick Bourne over a piddling iPod in a desperate attempt to make the story run and run until his resignation as group leader. Hoping then to happily turn the story into a column stocking filler by running another series of leadership election stories that saves them from having to examine and attack the policies and politics of the Welsh Assembly Government.

More effort should be placed on looking into the National Assembly rules and regulations on expenses that allows what may seem by the general public to be inappropriate claims being made by elected politicians. We need to remember that no politician has broken the rules of the Assembly as laid down by Assembly Commission staff.

Have the Western Mail also gone soft on the Assembly Government since coalition? Fear appears to have set in when it comes to taking on the Labour establishment and particularly since forming a coalition with Plaid Cymru. This needs to change.

The Western Mail's latest column filler - iPodGate - should go a long way to guarantee Nick Bourne's short term survival as leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the National Assembly. Welsh politics and political parties are not led by small Welsh media outlets, and no one is going to have the stomach to oust a leader just because a campaign is being run by a Welsh newspaper.

The Welsh Conservative party and group in the Assembly shouldn't follow the Western Mail's lead. It wouldn't be good for party politics in Wales whatever party you support.

Anyway. Enough of my rant before Christmas and back to the other Welsh politics story in the Western Mail that isn't classed as 'iPodGate' or 'a soapbox for Adam Price MP'.

This story of Christmas cheer can be read in the next blog.

Early Christmas present for Minister's constituents

Counsel General and Leader of the House Carwyn Jones AM has new office in town [Bridgend].

According to the Glamorgan Gazette, Minister Jones (unsure if we're allowed to call him Minister - not officially) is aiming to become Bridgend’s most accessible politician by taking up a new office in the town centre.

He is dipping into his own pocket to rent the former Mortgage House premises, at the top of pedestrianised Caroline Street, from landlords Compute Bridgend.

Mr Jones’ office is currently to be found at the top of a steep flight of stairs above Townsend Florist in Queen Street, Bridgend.

He said:

I’ve had a very generous landlady until now but I need somewhere more accessible as people have been struggling up the stairs to see me.

It’s important to be in the centre of Bridgend and I’m very grateful to be given the opportunity, which was too good to turn down.

I’ll have to finance some of it myself given the present state of allowances but it will give the accessibility people need.

I’ll still come out and visit people in their homes and hold surgeries in the community.

Welsh Labour members take note when voting for your new leader next year (if the main man doesn't stay on a while longer). Bridgend constituents take note while out Christmas shopping and overcome with the urge to reciprocate the Christmas cheer when passing Carwyn's new office.

[Pippa Wagstaff is currently on a blogging break]

AM's Expenses: Take a pew

Eight AMs claimed the maximum possible amount of £12,500 for second home expenses in the last financial year.

The detailed expenses breakdown were released to BBC Wales in response to a Freedom of Information request. Atleast one AM will be able to 'take a seat' while she curses the day such requests have to be answered.

Diplomatic gesture to the Presiding Officer

The Israeli ambassador has confirmed that he received a warm reception in Wales, despite a call by Presiding Officer Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas for AMs to boycott a meeting with him.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas said he objected to Israel's "failure to meet its international obligations" towards the Palestinians.

The ambassador Ron Prosor [honorary Welshman] said the boycott call did not make sense but his welcome had been "wonderful".

The ambassador met party leaders in Cardiff Bay and is attending a private meeting with around 15 assembly members organised by Wales' only Muslim AM Mohammad Asghar.

Ambassador Prosor said he had enjoyed "a wonderful reception from the people of Wales and also from people here at the national assembly".

I have to say that when I talk to people and I listen to them it's really an amazing thing to be here in Cardiff and I'm happy to be here... The good lord [Dafydd Elis-Thomas], although a lord, not everything that he said is very noble. Especially at the national assembly, here in Wales, I'm sure that people are not following his call and I'm being treated very very nicely. We conduct an open debate and I don't mind criticism of the only democracy in the Middle East.

He insisted that Lord Elis-Thomas's protest did not makes sense for "someone who is in a national assembly, in a parliament, which comes from 'parler' - from talking to each other".

A different Dunwoody: AM to PPC

Working class, ready for a class war, and proud.

Clearly some have been watching a very different Dunwoody to me. The only Dunwoody I've seen, is a desperate to win at-any-cost, brittle, playing on stereotypes, unimpressive, spinning, own-career wrecking, cold, and quite possibly misguided by someone/something greater than herself.

Even if you overlook the convenient name change from 'Moyra Tamsin Dunwoody-Kneafsey' to 'Tamsin Dunwoody' and her recent pretentious behaviour, this woman is certainly not her mother's daughter - one chip off the old block does not make a block.

Certain qualities have a habit of skipping a generation, and people get found out when they try to re-write their history.

Comment of the Week

Reviewing the Welsh blogs, I came across this little gem, by a reader named Rhys. The comment refers to the recent announcement on the subject of a payrise for AMs, which includes extra money for Whips and Committee Chairs.

The real scandal is that Carl Sargeant [as Labour Chief Whip] will still be getting paid £26,000 'on top' of his £50,000, just to remind his fellow champagne socialists how to vote as Labour Whip... Seriously, how can it cost the Welsh taxpayer £26 grand to tell Huw Lewis that he should vote with his government?

Couldn't a post-it note do it more effectively, leaving the remaining £25,999.20 to be put to something worthwhile, like say persuading a dentist not to abandon the NHS?

Well, I thought it was amusing [ever so slightly], athough I do think that a post-it note would also be needed for the desk of Lynne Neagle, so make that £25,998.40 - all the others seem to be in the palm of Rhodri's hand.

Democracy improves by 8.3%

No doubt blogs in Wales will be shrieking about the proposals by the Assembly Commission to give AMs a pay rise well above inflation. The standard criticisms will be aired: 'public service workers are getting a much smaller increase' and 'why are AMs getting so much when they have so little authority?'

It is worth stopping to listen to Dafydd Elis-Thomas, the Presiding Officer of the Assembly. Defending the pay rise proposals he said: "This is the cost of Welsh democracy. We need informed, businesslike, democratic scrutiny." While it is true that we need informed, businesslike and democratic scrutiny, how will this be achieved by stuffing the mouths of AMs with more gold?

To have informed and businesslike scrutiny we do need to attract decent people to the Senedd with a decent wage. If democratic and informed scrutiny is required then why not spend the money recruiting a few extra AMs to increase capacity? Starting to sound a bit familiar? Well, yes, it's exactly what the Richard Commission recommended years ago.

New Labour has never been particularly warm to the concept of devolution. Tony Blair didn't go along with the Richard Commission's findings and it is unlikely Gordon Brown will agree. Welsh MPs in Westminster weren't particularly happy with proposals to increase the number of AMs either. Perhaps Welsh MPs are more concerned about their jobs than the good of Welsh democracy, which is a running theme at the moment...

Update 16:07: Six Plaid AMs to refuse pay rise

How to make enemies and alienate people

As every member, staffer, cleaner and indeed visitor at the Senedd knows, there is little love lost between Mid & West Wales Regional Labour AMs Alun Davies and Joyce Watson. Which is odd when you consider that as both were elected due to serving Labour AMs getting the boot last May, both would be counting their lucky stars to be there at all.

While Ms Watson has pretty much taken that line, rumour has it that the ever-friendly Alun has not. You see, it is understandable that Alun Davies wants to be king-pin in this region, and views Watson very much as an annoying source of competition. It's alleged that with the tacit approval of a senior figure within Welsh Labour, he's been setting about undermining Watson at every available opportunity. This simmering hatred has, however, bubbled just beneath the surface for the past eight months, with Watson taking Davies' petty jibes with something approaching good grace.

Indeed, even while Davies appeared to be groomed as one of Rhodri's trusted 'briefers' to the media, Watson got on with - shock, horror - trying to represent the people who [sort of] elected her.

.

Now, here's where it gets really nasty. You see, a few days ago the BBC broke a story that the Welsh Conservatives had made an official complaint about Joyce Watson's misuse of Assembly postage and resources to mail Labour Party members. The thrust of the coverage was pretty clear in its agenda - she should have known better, the rules are clear, and that her regional AM colleague Alun Davies may suffer in the fall out through no fault of his own etc etc.

But dig a little deeper, and alarm bells start ringing. For example, how would the Welsh Conservatives have ever found out that Watson had been mailing Party members? Of course, from a Labour source in her patch with an axe to grind [allegedly]. But which Labour source drinks with 'leaky' Conservatives on a regular basis in the pubs and bars of Cardiff Bay? And received almost universal sympathy in all the coverage of the story?

Now let me think...

.

(Hat tip to the anonymous)

AM Bloggers: A Remedy

Glyn Davies and Peter Black AM have recently aired their views on the Assembly's guidance to Assembly Members blogging.

Glyn Davies lets us know what his close friend Edna thinks of it all - I hope he's paying her phone bill for all these tit-bits he's being offered.

As the most active of current Assembly bloggers, Peter Black speaks from the gallows that Jeffrey Cuthbert has built:

Reading through the note it was difficult not to feel that they were protesting just a little bit too much. In the second paragraph they assert: 'From the outset, we would like to stress that we do not intend to suggest that the use of Blogs by Members be prohibited in any way.' Just four paragraphs later they tell us again: 'Members should not be discouraged from using Blogs – this note is simply trying to make members aware of the potential hazards of using the sites inappropriately.' All-in-all one could not help but get the impression that what they are really saying is that: 'We don't like blogs and we dislike bloggers even more, however we cannot do anything to stop you. If you must persist with this odious activity then watch out, because we are going to get you. 'So much for openness, transparency and the use of new technology.

N.B. Assembly Members that blog could carry on as usual or heed to the advice of the Standards' Committee. There is a third way - playing it safe like this man.

Former Assembly Members - Where are they now?

The journalist Matt Withers (Wales on Sunday) has recently been posting on the goings on of ex-Assembly Members.

To date, he's let readers of his blog know what is going on in the lives of former Culture Minister Alun Pugh, former Deputy Presiding Officer John Marek, and former back bencher Denise Idris Jones, who all lost their seats at the last Assembly election. I'm hoping that this will be an entire series that Matt is working on.

Being an ever helpful person, I've listed below all known ex-Assembly Members and wonder if anyone out there can assist Matt and I in our quest to find out more about our former members.

You will note that I haven't included David Davies MP, David Jones MP, Alun Michael MP and Dafydd Wigley as we all know what they've been doing since departure, due to media coverage. Alternatively, I've included Glyn Davies in the list even though regular readers of Welsh blogs will undoubtedly know what Glyn is up to. In fact, it is probably far easier to list what Glyn is not up to, as the man is a one-man army when it comes to 'projects'.

Fomer Assembly Members
(thanks to Wikipedia)

Conservative

Glyn Davies
(now President of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales, and prospective parliamentary candidate for Montgomeryshire)
Lisa Francis
(now studying tourism at Aberystwyth University)
Laura Anne Jones
(now campaigning to top the Welsh Conservative European list for Wales, and supposedly marketing Champagne)
Rod Richards
Peter Rogers
(stood as an Independent in Ynys Môn for the National Assembly for Wales elections in 2007)

Labour

Ron Davies
(now Chief Executive Officer of VALREC)
Tamsin Dunwoody
Richard Edwards
Sue Essex
(currently heading a WAG investigation into affordable housing. Rumoured to be joining the board of the Institute of Welsh Affairs.)
Delyth Evans
Christine Gwyther
(now a Member of the the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority)
Alison Halford
(joined the Conservatives in 2006. Wrote a book about her time at the Assembly, 'Leeks from the Backbenches')
Tom Middlehurst
Catherine Thomas
(now heading the Wales Women's National Coalition)

Liberal Democrat

Christine Humphreys
(now teaching Welsh part-time at Bangor University, and President of the Welsh Liberal Democrats)

Plaid Cymru

Cynog Dafis
(Soon after the elections in 2003, he announced his candidacy for Presidency of the party, but lost to Dafydd Iwan. Now retired to enjoy his life, and also sits on the steering committee for the All-Wales Convention)
Geraint Davies
(returned to his pharmacy practice)
Janet Davies
(retired from mainstream politics, but still involved in Plaid in her area. Has also joined the ranks of respected ex-politicians whose expertise will be called on to assist invarious reviews)
Brian Hancock
(went back to running his own business)
Pauline Jarman
(Returned to being a Rhondda Cynon Taf Councillor)
Owen John Thomas
(still active in Plaid in Cardiff)

I've tagged Bethan Jenkins AM, Alun Cairns AM, Peter Black AM and Huw Lewis AM, together with the BBC Political Editors Betsan Powys and Vaughan Roderick in the hope that either they or one of their staff can help.

Please let us know what you, or even they are doing now. We're curious and would like to know.

AM Bloggers up against the Standards Committee

This evening the Standards Committee is considering the use of blog sites by Assembly Members. Committee Members are going to "consider the issue of Members publishing to blog sites and the potential for this to result in breaches of the Code of Conduct, and consider whether to issue a note to Members regarding the use of blogs".

Standards of Conduct Committee, Agenda STD(3)-03-07
Date: Wednesday 21 November 2007, 6.00 - 7.30pm, Committee Room 2

1. Apologies
2. Nomination of committee member under Section 10.2 of the Complaints Procedure (6.00 - 6.05pm)
3. Review and Revisions to the Complaints Procedure (6.05 - 6.25pm)
   Paper STD(3) 03-07 (p1) Review and Revisions of the Complaints Procedure
   Committee Members are invited to consider the paper produced by the Secretariat in relation to the good practice review of procedure following each complaint.
4. Ministerial Code (6.25 - 6.35pm)
   Paper STD(3) 03-07 (p2) Ministerial Code
5. Status of the commissioner for Standards (6.35 - 6.45pm)
   Paper STD(3) 03-07 (p3)
6. Use of Blog Sites by Members (6.45 - 7.05pm)
   Committee Members are invited to consider the issue of Members publishing to blog sites and the potential for this to result in breaches of the Code of Conduct, and consider whether to issue a note to Members regarding the use of blogs
7. Chair’s Visit to Strathclyde University (7.05 - 7.15pm)
   Paper STD(3) 03-07 (p4)

Committee Membership:
Jeff Cuthbert, Labour (Caerphilly)
Christopher Franks, Plaid Cymru (South Wales Central)
Brynle Williams, Welsh Conservative Party (North Wales)
Kirsty Williams, Welsh Liberal Democrats (Brecon and Radnorshire)

Most blogs by Assembly Members consist of nothing more than surgery dates, advertising of local events, and letting us know that they are "Working Hard for You". There are a few well-worth reading and add something special to the political debate, and I think you know which ones I'm talking about. Let's hope they have a say in the matter and have briefed their colleagues well.

Good luck, Members!

Update: From the BBC at 15:20 and the blog of Peter Black AM at 15:43 including the following little gem from Peter:

People often complain about the creation of a nanny state. It seems that the nanny state culture is alive and well within the National Assembly for Wales itself... What will they seek to issue guidance on next, press releases, pamphlets, how to frame an attack on your own party leader, lectures to the Institute of Welsh Politics?