Plaid-led Assembly Commission?

I would've thought that one Assembly Member of sixty, defecting from one political party to another would be newsworthy from a collective, objective, and transparent National Assembly for Wales. Obviously not!

All or Nothing

Lord Elis-Thomas told BBC Wales' The Politics Show that the Welsh Assembly had purchased computer software from the Scottish Parliament which enables expenses to be published online.

He said the expenses for the last financial year would be published at 0900 BST on Monday and that later this year all claims would be published on a monthly basis.

When asked about what information had been redacted, Lord Elis-Thomas said that individual receipts wouldn't be available online on Monday.

The new log of AMs' expenses can be viewed at http://www.assemblywales.org/allowances from 0900 BST on Monday.

The full list of what AMs have claimed

Welsh Political Awards and National Assembly bias

Strange that there are 3 non-government Assembly Members among the winners of ITV's Welsh Political Awards, and the website of the National Assembly for Wales only manages to announce Dafydd Elis-Thomas as a winner.

Just who clears press releases from the National Assembly these days? Seems clear to me who runs the show at the Senedd.

Sights you don't see in the Senedd

Part 6:

Politicians scuffled and threw punches at each other in the Ukrainian parliament ahead of a vote on whether to dismiss speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

Mr Yatsenyuk, an ally of President Viktor Yushchenko, is setting up his own political force.

No comparison with Dafydd Elis-Thomas (wink).

Senedd Circular w/b 20 Oct 2008: Opening Old Wounds

This article appears in The Wardman Wire:

This week, Miss Wagstaff has been excited and down in the dumps at the same time, if that’s at all possible. On the one hand, she’s unwell, and on the other she has the opportunity to write a Senedd Circular post that is long overdue.

We can safely put leadership elections on the back burner for a while, the Welsh Labour leadership election has been talked to death [well, nearly!] and the Welsh Liberal Democrat election is a two-horse race that is slowly gaining momentum – and both always seem to be topical on Welsh blogs.

Plenty has happened since my last post to this column, though it appears that nothing changes when it comes to a rift between the Commons and Assembly, MPs versus AM’s in what one leading Welsh blogger has described as “…the Welsh Affairs Select Committee’s response to the housing LCO suggests that it is, illegally, attempting to make itself the Assembly's upper house.” and by another as a constitutional stand-off between the National Assembly and the Welsh Affairs Committee of the House of Commons.

You can always predict when disaster and controversy will strike at the heart of the Assembly, and it’s usually when Lord Elis-Thomas opens his bi-lingual mouth. Bi-lingual in terms of speaking - both as an Assembly Member and Presiding Officer - and occasionally mixing the two when convenient. Not this week. Though it has opened old wounds with a former adversary.

This week’s main tension comes from the to-ing and fro-ing of work by the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee and our own National Assembly. This has resulted in resident villain [usually], or as others call him, Presiding Officer Lord Elis-Thomas [Dafydd Elis-Thomas to his friends, I’m told] in having to stick his nose in where it needs to be for a change - in policing the remit of LCO's. His lordship has taken time out to write to two-time Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy, expressing concerns and accusing the Welsh Affairs Select Committee of MPs of "anti-devolution sentiment". Elis-Thomas is no stranger to offering his opinion on a whole range of ‘constitutional’ matters.

It may sound odd, but even other Assembly members have queued up behind the Presiding Officer, not just fellow Plaid members this time, and called for him to be heard as the voice of reason.

This fistfight between Commons and Assembly has happened before and was largely seen as a straight fight, with the Assembly’s proposal dumped from a great height without sound – simply no remit to turn this into law. This time it’s different.

The present bout over the Welsh Assembly Government's request for powers to legislate over the so-called right-to-buy-scheme. In short, the Welsh Ministers are asking for more than they originally sought and are being ticked off by the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. The committee’s jabbing response is one of - you do have the right to do both, but you only discussed suspension of the right-to-buy when you talked to us about it originally. Because of this we believe you should stay within the original draft.

On this occasion the common sense approach is needed as much agreed by those that generally take a step back from those MPs that it directly affects. MPs do seem to be interfering too deeply into matters concerning the remit of the WASC when it comes to dealing with LCOs. Their role as committee members is to work within the remit of the Government of Wales Act when it comes to guiding LCOs through their part of the process. Anything more, and they run the risk of being accused of standing in the way of devolution, the Assembly, sometimes their party colleagues, and what their future has in store for them.

Too much interference may stave off extinction of some of their numbers, and will – in some cases – harm their legacy as Welsh politicians. Common sense and mutual trust is a must, but sometimes hard to come by, even within members of the same party.

And finally…

A welcome back to blogging to my old friend, Matt Wardman after his short trip to Wales, where he took in the ‘To blog or not to blog’ debate. I hope it was all worthwhile after the blogging banter that arose beforehand, and that the best side won.

Since writing this article it seems that blogging won the day, although I turn my face as there was much stick for anonymous bloggers – “Not accountable? True enough. Not reliable sources? Fair enough. Malicious? Some can be. Unchristian? Now hang on ... “

I’m still not convinced that I should ‘out’ myself!

Self-appointed Lord Protector speaks out (yet again)

Catching up with the news while I have five minutes, I can't believe how short-sighted our Presiding Officer (or as Alwyn calls him - Lord President) can be at times. Cardiff Bay regulars have always seen him as being self-serving when it comes to his role in Wales, and this also happens to be the viewpoint of some in his party. All the while, pomp and ceremony is meat and drink to his lordship, and this is hardly a well-kept secret.

It seems the Lord Elis-Thomas [Lord Protector] in an effort to get back in the news, can't help himself - yet again - when it comes to his 'position' in the National Assembly and Wales.

Elis-Thomas - in HIS latest political stunt - states that the role of the Prince of Wales should be redefined. He has questioned whether the Prince of Wales title was relevant to the "constitutional development" of 21st Century Wales. Elis-Thomas is no stranger when it comes to ceremony, including his own procession before each Assembly, and the renowned hypocrite should know better.

He also said there should never again be an investiture ceremony like the grand one for Prince Charles at Caernarfon Castle in 1969. But a historian has said a future event could bring global attention to Wales.

In an interview for BBC Wales' Dragon's Eye, Lord Elis-Thomas praised Prince Charles as "Cymrophile" [a desperate bid for more baubles in due course] but said "all constitutional conventions require a bit of refurbishment and re-examination".

He said he would argue that the title of the Prince of Wales was no longer relevant to the constitutional development of Wales in the 21st Century "...because the constitutional development has shifted to Wales' own institutions and obviously to the first minister and to devolved government in the National Assembly itself," he said.

"I haven't discussed this directly with the Royal Family and it's not my place to do that but if they were to ask me what should happen I would say that the role of the prince needs to be redefined if that title is to be continued."

But John Ellis, associate professor of British history at the University of Michigan, Flint, who has written a book on the 1911 and 1969 investitures, said the latter event was the most globally recognised event in Welsh history with television coverage across the world. "This was a huge event, that projected Wales across the world. Wales hasn't had a very high-profile image and I do think it did succeed in that aspect," he said.

He added there were risks attached to any future investiture, but said he could imagine it as an opportunity to promote Wales like in 1969 particularly with the worldwide media attention Prince William attracts. "I can definitely see how events like the investiture could put Wales back on the map like in 1969 but I do think it would invite a certain amount of controversy and debate," he added

In my opinion we have to accept certain arguments and facts. That being - our monarchy, or monarchy itself, is popular in the United Kingdom, and that happens to include Wales.

I happen to think that it works well for us, and can't foresee the idea of monarchy dwindling in popularity in the near future, or in my lifetime for that matter.

Prince Charles, the current Prince of Wales has his critics [don't we all], but is well-liked and has done some remarkable work through the Prince's Trust and its constituent organisations. His son, Prince William, will undoubtedly outshine his father in the popularity stakes and will be a great asset for Wales when his time comes to take on the role of Prince of Wales.

As long as you are a person, objective in nature (and not a republican for that matter), it would be difficult not to come to this conclusion. Unless you come to the ridiculous conclusion that the office is a symbol of our oppression and shouldn't be part of a modern Wales, with its shiny new symbol of clear-glass-democracy down the bay [yawn].

Wales, and its institutions will be stupefyingly ignorant to think that Prince William's tenure will not benefit Wales, particularly on the world stage. Whether you agree or not with the idea of monarchy, or the role of Prince of Wales, you have to agree that it is a position that would obtain instant recognition in the world, and can only do more good than harm for our reputation, and also providing a unique marketing strategy. The National Assembly and Assembly Government simply haven't made best use of this since its inception. Those, republican in nature, should simply put aside their issues of 'class equality' and chatter of 'monarchical primacy' for the good of Wales.

We shouldn't be naive on this and cut off our noses to spite our face. Embrace our past and its rich and sometimes controversial history; embrace the popularity of our institutions and certain members of the royal family; and make them blend well with the constitutional development of Wales for the benefit of Wales.

The Lord versus St Michael

There's too much free time during recess for letter writing, or so it seems. I haven't blogged on the latest saga involving former short-term Secretary of State for Wales and short-term First Secretary [FM], Alun Michael MP hitting back at the Assembly's rather long-term Presiding Officer. The gist of it is below. From an insider's point of view you're better off reading Peter Black AM's summary and the views of Glyn Davies, and pick out the best bits in order to gain a better understanding of what's really going on.

In The Western Mail on Monday, the National Assembly’s Presiding Officer, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, accused a group of MPs of misrepresenting the facts about the making of new Welsh laws. Today, Alun Michael MP hits back at the claims, labelling them an attempt to undermine devolution.

The rulings of Elis-Thomas, Part I

An odd exchange at the Senedd last Wednesday as two Plaid Cymru members discussed the birds and the bees. Well, the bees at least:

Leanne Wood: This year more than one in five UK bee colonies have been killed off due to a mixture of bad weather, stress and disease, according to the British Beekeepers’ Association. I know that bees are not animals, but if they disappear— [Interruption.] Perhaps that is a matter for another debate—

The Presiding Officer: Order. Bees are definitely animals.

Leanne Wood: Thank you for your ruling, Llwydd [Laughter.]

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".

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

Lord Elis-Thomas goes to London

Is he a Presiding Officer [a role of equality and impartiality] or a party politician that feels he is the real voice of Plaid Cymru?

The Cardiff Bay crowd have always been left confused and bewildered by this dual role, and his thirst for getting involved in anything that not only raises his own profile, but also puts him in the position of official spokesman for Wales - it is seen as legendary in the corridors of Elis-Thomas House.

Elis-Thomas is in the House of Lords this week - we all know that the National Assembly is NOT in recess - but we note that they are left in the capable hands of Rosemary Butler.

In the House of Lords this week, Elis-Thomas, is not only fighting on behalf of Welsh Ministers - did he do that before the coalition in Cardiff Bay? But can also be seen to play party politics.

House of Lords Debates: Local Transport Bill, Wednesday, 16 January 2008

Lord Elis-Thomas (Crossbench) Link to this Hansard source

My Lords, in rising to speak against the amendments in this group, I declare an interest as the Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd in the National Assembly. I am disappointed in the noble Lord because I tried to offer him a piece of gentle advice in Grand Committee—that he should reflect on this matter and consult with his Conservative colleagues in the National Assembly. Therefore, I have to spell out in more precise terms what I was trying to allude to in a gentler manner during our earlier discussions.

There is exhibited this evening a massive contradiction on the Conservative Front Bench. On the previous amendment, we heard his noble friend argue that charging by local authorities in, I presume, England should be for transport purposes and that this was the attraction of such charges. He mentioned a series of broad transport spending decisions that could make charging acceptable. As an example, he quoted the very successful congestion charge scheme in London. Yet, the noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, is denying to Welsh Ministers what his noble friend is willing to grant to English local authorities. Surely, the Conservative Party needs to develop some consistency on these matters.

The noble Lord is seeking to limit spending on transport to trunk roads and, in Amendment No. 119D, to stop the onward march of devolution. I would ask him to reflect: is this now Conservative policy? I have followed the development of his arguments from his speech on Second Reading on 20 November, where I detected a difference of emphasis between the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Conwy, who took a balanced view of devolution, its progress and the implementation of the 2006 Act, and this crusade against framework powers. As a practitioner and student of devolution for some 35 years, it fascinates me to know where this is coming from. Is it now Conservative Party policy in Westminster, Cardiff and anywhere else that no powers are to be granted to the National Assembly for Wales by the framework powers route? If that is the case, it is absolutely contrary to what was set out in June 2005 in the original White Paper of the then Labour Government, Better governance for Wales, which said that the Government intend to draft, "parliamentary bills in a way that gives the Assembly wider and more permissive powers to determine the detail of how the provision should be implemented in Wales". That was stated in the White Paper and it has been the settled, understood view of Welsh Conservatives, and of any other Conservatives who take an interest in devolution—that it is appropriate for both these routes to be pursued.

In Grand Committee the noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, deployed three arguments to demonstrate why this should not be the case. First, he said: "Broadly speaking, we disapprove of this process for three reasons: first, a provision on Wales in a broader Bill may not be adequately scrutinised".

Well, what have we been doing? His speech on Second Reading, the discussion in Grand Committee and our debate this evening are fine examples of scrutiny by Parliament and of framework powers. I am sure that the House of Commons can match that when this Bill appears in the other place. He goes on to say that these framework powers involve, "the transfer of powers that the Assembly has not requested".

I will not tell the noble Lord that he is misleading the House as that would be out of order, but it is the next best thing to it. These powers have been requested by Welsh Ministers—in fact, by my honourable friend in another place, Ieuan Wyn Jones, the distinguished Deputy First Minister and Minister for Economy and Transport. It has been requested by him, because he is the Deputy First Minister of a Cabinet that has the support of two-thirds of the Assembly. By any democratic calculation that I make, that has been requested by Welsh Ministers with the support of the Assembly.

Perhaps Elis-Thomas is just seeing this as his party and public duty and showing the way for others in the party to follow. A training video on behalf of the Plaid Cymru party - I'm the first, the last, the everything - this is how it should be done!