For Queen, Country and Leanne Wood

Leanne Wood AM does seem to bang on about certain issues until we're all sick to the back teeth of her lack of focus on devolution in Wales. It's all very well having a strong opinion. As an AM that does seem to have a lot of time on her hands, there are more important subject matters to bring to the discussion table.

In a recent post she discusses her plans on the Oath of Allegiance:

The Assembly Chamber can be a perfect place to draw attention to campaigns that politicians are involved in outside of the Assembly. For some time I have been a member and supporter of Republic, the campaign for an elected head of state, and
I am also supporting their Challenge the Oath campaign.

Always one to protest when a crowd is seen to gather, perhaps - like Bethan Jenkins AM who seems to involve herself in a wide range of campaigns - it is high time that Leanne concentrates on those matters that the Assembly does have responsibility for.

I suggest one of the following for starters:

• Agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development
• Ancient monuments and historic buildings
• Culture
• Economic development
• Education and training
• Environment
• Fire and rescue services and promotion of fire safety
• Food
• Health and health services
• Highways and transport
• Housing
• Local government
• Public administration
• Social welfare
• Sport and recreation
• Tourism
• Town and country planning
• Water and flood defence
• Welsh language

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.]

Early trouble at Mill: What happened to 'love is power'?

We’ve all seen or read stories about young love, where coalitions in their early years [months] experience romance so powerful that it blinds them to the rest of the world. The sometimes reckless abandon of young love is well known, as is evident in the many warnings from more experienced elders to young lovers who are just discovering the world of coalition romance.

The BBC has reported today on a little 'tiff' that is brewing between coalition partners, Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru.

Plaid Cymru's coalition partnership with Labour has suffered a Valentine's Day "lovers' tiff" over a new website. Plaid launched the site to help trades unionists opt out of subscriptions to Labour, saying some did not know they were "bank-rolling" the party.

Meanwhile, Graham Smith, secretary of the Labour affiliated unions association, Tulo, rubbished the website:

Nobody should forget Labour's roots within the trade union movement...This is Plaid showing their true colours.

But Plaid Cymru AM, Leanne Wood (famous for boycotting the Queen; calling Her Majesty 'Mrs Windsor'; and not accepting a Facebook friendship request from Miss Wagstaff), has insisted that the website is helping union members tackle a real issue:

Plaid has a long history of supporting trade unionism and workers' struggles in Wales. In the last decade, many of those struggles have been against the Labour Government. Trade unions bankroll the Labour Party; over the last six years unions have contributed £60m and many members are not aware that their money is going to the Labour Party. Plaid is launching a website today which will simplify what can be a difficult process.

The website named "Stop subsidising Labour" lets users click a link to a dozen of the UK's most prominent trade unions, bringing up a form to opt-out of political contributions.

A Labour spokesman said:

This is a particularly weak stunt from a tired party machine. Trade union members around Wales will be asking themselves where Plaid Cymru MPs were when the minimum wage was voted on in Parliament. The answer is, in bed.

Conservative Assembly leader Nick Bourne added:

If this is sort of Valentine's Day present Plaid Cymru is giving to Labour, the coalition partners are clearly in need of some serious relationship counselling. I'd hate to see what they send if they ever do fall out of love with each other. Somehow I doubt we'll have long to wait.

Looks like the two camps are unsettled before we even arrive at the local government election in May 2008.

Welsh Government Package for Disabled Children

Miss Wagstaff hears that there has been a call for the Assembly to cough up the 'consequential' in response to a massive investment in disabled children in England.

It is feared the £21m – Wales’ share of a £340m UK government package for disabled children – has been swallowed up by the general health, social services and education budgets, already struggling under the strain of a tight financial settlement.

In England this money will be used to fund short breaks for disabled children, provide childcare and support, and help disabled children shape the services they need.

The equivalent funding for Wales, known as a consequential, amounts to £21m. But the money is not ring-fenced and the Assembly Government is under no obligation to spend the money in the same area as England – in this case, on disabled children.

Labour AM Lynne Neagle has managed to get herself on the front page of today's Western Mail, along with a few high profile children's charities. She has called for the Assembly to cough up the money and put us on par with England.

Wayne Crocker, from Mencap Cymru, said:

Without real money to help them do this they will continue to be left at the bottom of the box and live lives limited by the type of poor opportunities given to them in today’s Wales.

The Plaid Cymru/ Labour coalition are saying "NO", which shouldn't be a big surprise after the recent budget announcement. Of particular interest, however, is Lynne Neagle's Statement of Opinion calling for the cash to be forthcoming. The Welsh Conservatives and Welsh Liberal Democrats have all signed up, and every Welsh Labour backbencher, bar one, has signed as well. However, as of Monday morning, only one Plaid Cymru AM, Leanne Wood, has signed.

How come? It has been explained to me that Helen Mary Jones might be trying to enforce a 'three line whip' (drastic measure) against signing the Statement of Opinion on the basis that... wait for it... it would mean the One Wales Government doing the same as they are doing in England!

This doesn't look good for disabled children in Wales, and all for the sake of Plaid keeping their political purity. As an aside, any idea who the only Labour backbencher not to sign is? Step forward former Plaid politician and now Labour AM, Alun Davies. Maybe he's trying to tell us something.

Update: 21 November 2007 at 11:30

The following was received from a reliable Plaid Cymru source.

This is Leanne Wood and Helen Mary Jones' amendment to the statement of opinion by Lynne Neagle. Worth adding to your blog discussion I should think.

This Assembly notes the evidence from the Children's NSF SAAT Report 06/07, showing that services for disabled children and their families are consistently the weakest area of service delivery across Wales.This Assembly therefore calls on the Welsh Assembly Government to reaffirm its commitment to fully implementing and funding both the NSF and the recommendations of the Equality of Opportunity committee report on services for young disabled people and to ring fence funding and make it clearly traceable through the Assembly government budget.