To Blog or Not To Blog Debate Videos

This is the full set of the speech videos kindly recorded by Peter Black.

The event itself provided the answer to the question in the title, when the agenda was partly changed due to "advanced feedback" after a debate on the blogs (especially here).

You can read my reflections, and also find a list of articles about the event, in my previous article about the "To Blog or Not to Blog" event.

Introduction

Part 1: Daran Hill, of Positif Politics (and the first bit of Peter Black).



Part 2: Peter Black, and the first part of Eleanor Burnham AM.



Part 3: The rest of Eleanor Burnham AM and Betsan Powys, BBC Reporter and Blogger.



Part 4: More Betsan Powys and the first part of Annabelle Harle of the Electoral Reform Society.



Part 5: More Annabelle Harle of the Electoral Reform Society, and the first part of Matt Wardman



Part 6: More Matt Wardman

and Victoria Winckler, of the Bevan Foundation.

Senedd Blogging Debate Updated Programme

After some kerfuffle last week around the debate on the usefulness (or not) of political blogs organised by the Bevan Foundation, I've been invited to join the panel to give a blogger perspective.

This is the new agenda quoted from the Bevan Foundation website:

To Blog or Not to Blog? !!!! NEW PROGRAMME !!!!

6.00pm to 7.30pm on Tuesday 21st October 2008

Conference Rooms C&D, Ty Hywel, National Assembly for Wales

The line up now is enthusiastic bloggers Peter Black AM, Matt Wardman and Betsan Powys, Political Editor of BBC Wales, along with scepticism and commentary from Eleanor Burnham AM, Annabelle Harle from the Electoral Reform Society, and Victoria Winckler, Director of the Bevan Foundation. The discussion will be chaired by Daran Hill, MD of Positif Politics.

This event is being held in the Assembly with the support of Peter Black AM. Refreshments are provided with the support of Positif Politics. We are trying also to get the discussion streamed.

All welcome - please confirm your attendance can you email Daran Hill on daran@positifpolitics.co.uk

I'll be going down for early afternoon on Tuesday on the train. If anyone is going to be around drop me a line on mattwardman AT gmail DOT com and we can meet up for a coffee.

During the afternoon I may make a couple of videos around the Bay area. If you see someone holding a balloon at arms' length in protective gloves, that will be me trying to find out whether it is a threat to life and limb as reported by Betsan Powys back in the Spring. (*)

I'm also hoping to get cameo interviews with as many Welsh bloggers as possible, and I'll be looking for recommendations of Welsh Blogs that us uncivilised oiks on the other side of Offa's Dyke should be reading for self-improvement purposes.

Unfortunately it is a steam powered video recorder which records to a small 1Gb hard disk. So I won't be attempting to record the debate itself, as I hope that somebody else will be doing that.

In the debate I'll be focusing on specific examples where blogs have achieved things that would not have been possible - or at least would have been very difficult - if they did not exist.

I am told that bookings are OK to give a decent debate, but there is still some room left for more.

(*) For the record, Latex allergy is a problem worth taking very seriously but banning children's balloons is totally wrong-headed in my view, unless you are going to ban a whole lot of other things as well - including stress balls, rubber keyboards on calculators/computers, bananas and the wrong sort of carpet underlay.

Cardiff Political Blogging Debate misses the point

A day after writing a piece about the Slugger Awards celebrating blogs as a tool for creating a greater involvement in politics by ordinary people, I have run across an example that is in the opposite direction.

There will be a debate about the value of political blogging organised by the Bevan Foundation in the Senedd on Tuesday 21st October:

To Blog or Not to Blog?

6.00pm to 7.30pm on Tuesday 21st October 2008
Conference Rooms C&D, Ty Hywel, National Assembly for Wales

You are invited to attend a debate on the value of political blogging.

Speakers are Peter Black AM and Betsan Powys, Political Editor of BBC Wales, and Eleanor Burnham AM and Annabelle Harle from the Electoral Reform Society. In the Chair is Victoria Winckler, Director of the Bevan Foundation. This event is being held in the Assembly with the support of Peter Black AM. Refreshments are provided with the support of Positif Politics.

I think that that list of names for this debate, comprising two professional politicians, a specialist in the political process and a big media journalist, misses the point. It is also a symbol that the most important aspect of political blogging - the potential for engagement in the political conversation by those who would not do it otherwise - may not yet been sufficiently absorbed.

I can't help asking why Valleys Mam (for example) - or somebody (anybody!) using a political blog to comment on politics from below - is not speaking in this debate? It may be that the focus is "the value of political blogging for politicians", in which case the focus itself is in the wrong place.

I'm not trying to show disrespect for the participants - all of whom are excellent in their own right - but it is the wrong group of people.

My suggestion is that there is still a week to go, so why not add a couple of political bloggers into the debate? I'd also invite Mick Fealty to give a 20 minute address + 20 minutes of questions afterwards about what can be done.

Mike German takes a bow

The BBC have reported that the Welsh Liberal Democrats leader Mike German is to step down at his party's autumn conference later.

Mr German, 63, who was a former deputy first minister, has been at the helm of his party in Cardiff Bay since the assembly was set up in 1999. He has also been leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats for the last year.

Mr German will warn there is a danger of the Welsh Assembly being left behind by the devolution movement in his speech at Clydach, near Swansea. He will warn that while Wales is grappling with the question of law-making powers, Scotland is racing ahead by pushing for more financial autonomy.

Ahead of the speech, aides said Mr German will declare unionism "dead" and say that in the future the devolution debate will be between supporters of a federal Britain and independence.

Party activists will discuss a long list of amendments to the party's constitution at the two-day conference. These include changes to the way candidates to succeed Mr German, who has vowed to keep out of the contest for next leader, are nominated.

Immediately after the assembly elections in May 2007, Liberal Democrat AM Peter Black called for Mr German to go. He said the party needed a leader with a "fresh mandate".

Fellow assembly member Kirsty Williams has already declared her candidacy for the job and is supported by Peter Black.

Two colleagues in Cardiff Bay, Jenny Randerson and Eleanor Burnham, are deciding whether to stand against Ms Williams.

The BBC asked back in March 2007... Has anyone else at this conference noticed the striking similarity between the Liberal Democrats' assembly member for Brecon & Radnor, Kirsty Williams, and the socialist French presidential hopeful Ségolène Royal? Or is it just that they happen to share the same burning ambition for leadership?

Kirsty will be hoping that she doesn't suffer the same fate.

Getting on or off your modern soapbox

Not being sure whether this is a public event or selective gathering within the Senedd, Peter Black brings to our attention, the not-so-well-publicized interesting debate [to bloggers anyway] that is taking place on 21 October 2008.

Just a pity that we're not all invited. We could watch, listen, possibly ask questions, raise important points, and most importantly - guess which person in the audience matches their blog persona.

Could be the biggest Welsh public outing this year since the last one was cancelled.

Peter Black AM's To blog or not to blog?

The Bevan Foundation and Positif Politics is to stage a debate in the Assembly from 6pm to 7.30pm on Tuesday 21 October 2008 on the value of political blogging.

Speaking in favour are myself and BBC blogger Betsan Powys. Opposed are Eleanor Burnham AM and Annabelle Harlle from the Electoral Reform Society. In the chair is Victoria Winckler, who is Director of the Bevan Foundation.

First Minister proved wrong within 72 hours

As if by magic, a comprehensive example has been given in today's media which inadvertantly responds to a previous post of mine, and point the finger firmly in the direction of Rhodri Morgan's Welsh Assembly Government.

Just days ago, First Minister Rhodri Morgan was quoted as saying "If you look at our record I have led a government without any scandals" Reacting to an accusation from Mr Bourne that he had "squandered" public money, Mr Morgan said the assembly government had consistently been given a clean bill of health by auditors.

An official report by the Wales Audit Office [note the word AUDIT Mr Morgan] now reports that the £13.5m bail-out of the Wales Millennium Centre followed "severe deficiencies" by assembly officials and ministers. A "Wholly inadequate record-keeping" by the assembly government added to its lack of understanding of the venue's finances.

Former Labour Culture Minister Alun Pugh claims he inherited a "flawed" plan from his Lib Dem predecessor, which has been rebutted by Peter Black in a post earlier today:

What was equally bizarre was the performance of the former Culture Minister, Alun Pugh on the radio this morning. As far as he is concerned it was all the fault of his predecessor, Welsh Liberal Democrat AM, Jenny Randerson. He pointed out quite correctly that the centre's original business plan underestimated the cost of running the facility.

Putting aside the issues of collective responsibility which makes the Labour Ministers at the time as equally culpable for this business plan, any proper examination of the facts reveal that Mr. Pugh is being fairly conservative in his choice of facts.

The Centre opened in November 2004, over a year and a half after Jenny Randerson had ceased to be Culture Minister. Alun Pugh had had ample time to get his feet under the table by then and sort out any problems he may have inherited. According to the auditor's report he clearly failed to do so. Instead he has tried to pass the buck, something that does him no credit at all.

The Auditor General's report on the Wales Millennium Centre reveals some very major weaknesses in the way that the Assembly Government has managed its huge investment in the facility. In particular, Ministers and officials failed to keep an eye on the business risks once it opened:

Auditor General Jeremy Colman reported:

The Wales Millennium Centre was a high-risk, complex project, and although the public bodies funding it followed good practice in many areas, particularly through joint monitoring, there were some fundamental weaknesses. The project would have been better served if the Welsh Assembly Government had paid equal attention to addressing the risks involved in funding a successful business as they did to addressing the risks in funding the construction.

He said the Assembly Government had failed to keep up-to-date records on the WMC’s performance. He added: “The civil servants took a view the material they would otherwise have to hold was commercially sensitive and therefore was at risk of having to be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act if anyone asked for it.“Well, we think that is an extremely bad reason for not keeping proper records; an extremely bad reason for not carrying out effective monitoring.

Conservative culture spokesman Paul Davies said:

This is a damning report that highlights in no uncertain terms the failings of the assembly government. The report clearly states the assembly government did carry out detailed reviews of the WMC's business plans, plans which highlighted several key risks. But crucially, it then stopped short of assessing and addressing these problems. This beggars belief.

He said the assembly government "effectively washed their hands" of the centre once it had been built, and added: "The assembly government have now got some very difficult questions to answer."

An assembly government spokesperson said:

The Minister for Heritage [Alun Ffred Jones] will consider the Wales Audit Office report on the Wales Millennium Centre, and the recommendations made, and will respond in due course.

Peter Black AM goes on to question on his blog:

This report states: “Although officials told us that they could access records held at the WMC on request, we have seen no evidence that they did so.”

The fact that officials failed to keep proper records because they were afraid of the Freedom of Information Act is just bizarre. How many other projects are they taking the same approach to? We need some answers.

Mr Morgan. The Welsh public will need you to greatly improve, not only in areas of policy proposals, competence and delivery, but also in the area of excuse making.

National Assembly for Wales Survey Results

I must say that I was alarmed (not) by the Assembly's positive spin in their statement "One of the most comprehensive surveys undertaken in Wales to gauge public understanding of the Principality’s political landscape has shown that 70% of people want Wales to have either full or partial devolution."

Lib Dem Commissioner in the Assembly, Peter Black AM has provided us with a full account:

The Assembly Commission has just published the results of the most comprehensive survey undertaken in Wales to gauge public understanding of the nation’s political landscape.

The survey was commissioned by the National Assembly for Wales and carried out by Aberystwyth University's Institute of Welsh Politics in collaboration with GfKNOP. It involved questioning over 2,500 people in June and July 2008.

When questioned, the majority of respondents (39%) wanted Wales to remain part of the UK but to have its own elected Parliament with full law-making and taxation powers. 31% of the people questioned wanted the Assembly to retain its current level of powers and 10% wanted Wales to become a fully independent nation.

Of the remaining respondents, 15% wanted to return to the pre-devolution status and 6% expressed a ‘don’t know’ opinion.The survey indicated that this preferred constitutional status was based on a robust level of political understanding among respondents. When asked to identify the scope of the National Assembly for Wales’ law-making powers, 77% correctly identified that it “has powers to make laws in a number of areas, and these can be expanded with the agreement of the UK parliament’.

The survey also indicated that there is an increasing homogenisation of opinion and understanding across Wales. Previous surveys had seen variations in levels of support across various regions. However, the National Assembly for Wales survey indicated that there was more consistency in people’s aspirations towards devolution across the country, and aligned to this was a greater consistency in levels of understanding. (There was a modest regional difference in understanding across Wales on the Welsh Assembly’s law-making powers, with 72% of people in North Wales giving the correct answer, compared to 83% in South East Wales.)

However, the survey also indicated that many Welsh citizens are unclear about the distinction between the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government, with 52% admitting that they know only “a little” about the National Assembly for Wales.

I was particularly intriqued by the question which sought to determine how people get their information about the Assembly and Welsh politics. In percentage terms this is summarised as follows:

TV News (87%)
Friends, family and word of mouth (66%)
Local newspapers (64%)
British newspapers (56%)
National Welsh newspapers, Western Mail and Daily Post (39%)
BBC Radio, such as Radio 4 and 5Live (42%)
The Internet (37%)
Radio Wales/Radio Cymru (36%)
Commercial Radio News (23%)

Note the relatively high score for the internet. The breakdown of which daily newspapers the respondents rely on for news is also interesting:

Daily Mail (named by 12.8% of all survey respondents)
Daily Mirror (9.5%)
The Sun (9.1%)
Western Mail (6.3%)
South Wales Echo (5.0%)
Daily Telegraph (4.8%)
The Times (4.3%)
Daily Express (4.2%)
Daily Post (3.6%)
South Wales Evening Post (3.5%)
The Guardian (3.2%)
South Wales Argus (2.8%)
The Independent (2.0%)
Daily Star (1.7%)
Evening Leader (1.5%)
Wrexham Evening Leader (0.9%)

The Western Mail confirms its position as the pre-dominant Welsh newspaper even if its circulation is lower than more local offerings such as the South Wales Echo and the Evening Post. Top of the heap though is the Daily Mail. What is that all about?

WAG and the Assembly Commission catching up with the times...eventually

There have been developments within the Assembly corridors in relation questions on blogging and social networking. Assembly Member and Welsh blogfather, Peter Black, has been asking the First Minister certain questions relating to 'principles for participation online'

Peter Black AM has received the following response from the First Minister:

Following the discussion on this blog and others following Miss Wagstaff's exclusion from Facebook at the beginning of August I have now had a reply to my question to the First Minister as to whether the UK Civil Service guidelines entitled 'principles for participation on-line' apply to employees of the Welsh Assembly Government.

In a letter to me Rhodri Morgan explains: 'All civil servants are subject to the requirements of the Civil Service Code. Separate Codes exist in Wales, Scotland and England reflecting the differing legal position of civil servants in relation to their respective ministerial accountability. A Welsh Assembly Government Civil Service Code was introduced in July 2007 reflecting the legal position of civil servants in relation to Welsh Ministers. The provisions within the Assembly Government Code are the same as those that apply to Whitehall Departments and other devolved administrations.The 'principles for participation on-line' are published by the Cabinet Office as guidance for all civil servants with reference to how they relate to the Civil Service Code. Work is underway to supplement the Assembly Government ICT Usage Policy with a social network and blogging policy to ensure that the principles are reflected in the new policy.'In other words, watch this space. I think some more questions need to be tabled on timescales.

In a more recent post, Peter Black reports that he has received more information on the matter, which demonstrates that the Assembly Government has finally woken up to the internet, but is still drowsy:

I reported a week ago that the Welsh Assembly Government are putting together a social network and blogging policy for its employees to reflect the UK Civil Service guidelines entitled 'principles for participation on-line'. I now have more information.

In an answer to a written question Rhodri Morgan tells me that 'the Social Networking and Blogging Policy is currently under development, the first draft is expected to be complete by 18 September 2008. Following completion of the draft, the policy will be put to consultation with Legal Services, Human Resources and Trade Union Side. The agreed period for consultations of this nature is eight weeks. Provided that further amendments are not required, the policy should be communicated to staff at the beginning of December.'

The Assembly Commission is also developing its own policy

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This has no impact on me as I am not a servant of the State, but I did make me review my previous posts. Looking back over the last several months, it does bring some former discussions back to life...

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Why was Christopher Glamorganshire sacked from the staff of the Welsh Assembly Government if no blogging policy was in existence?

I've recently reviewed the online media and there's still no mention of a tribunal, and little relevance in the argument of not abiding to the civil service code on either the UK government website or that of the Assembly Government.

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I shouldn't admit to reading blogs while on holiday. Will have to write further on this when I return to blogging in the next two weeks.

Total Politics Results: Top 100 UK Political Blogs

Five Welsh blogs (numbers 58, 59, 61, 72 and 79) have made it into Iain Dale's Top 100 UK Political Blogs list for his Guide to Political Blogging in the UK 2008-9. Last year's position is in brackets.

1. (2) Guido Fawkes

2. (1) Iain Dale

3. (4) Conservative Home

4. (3) Dizzy Thinks

5. (-) Political Betting

6. (-) Devil's Kitchen

7. (9) Spectator Coffee House

8. (12) Burning our Money

9. (42) John Redwood

10. (14) Ben Brogan

11. (20) EU Referendum

12. (15) Tim Worstall

13. (-) Tom Harris MP

14. (13) Archbishop Cranmer

15. (54) LibDem Voice

16. (16) Mr Eugenides

17. (-) Hopi Sen

18. (85) Daniel Hannan MEP

19. (-) Three Line Whip

20. (70) Stumbling & Mumbling

21. (35) Donal Blaney

22. (128) Boulton & Co

23. (-) Liberal Conspiracy

24. (8) Nick Robinson

25. (-) People's Republic of Mortimer

26. (11) Recess Monkey

27. (56) Adam Smith Institute

28. (27) Comment Central

29. (72) Luke Akehurst

30. (47) Waendel Journal

31. (38) LabourHome

32. (30) Ministry of Truth

33. (22) Tom Watson MP

34. (33) Nadine Dorries MP

35. (46) Dave's Part

36. (-) Letters from a Tory

37. (17) Norfolk Blogger

38. (-) Shane Greer

39. (-) Sadie's Tavern

40. (45) Samizdata

41. (32) Slugger O'Toole

42. (111) A Very British Dude

43. (21) Harry's Place

44. (-) SNP Tactical Voting

45. (61) Quaequam Blog

46. (104) UK Polling Report

47. (182) Socialist Unity

48. (59) Daily Referendum

49. (53) Liberal England

50. (172) Lynne Featherstone MP

51. (18) Paul Linford

52. (68) City Unslicker/Capitalists at Work

53. (51) Our Kingdom

54. (-) Labour Outlook

55. (63) Millennium Dome Elephant

56. (155) Paul Scully

57. (-) A Very Public Sociologist

58. (90) Peter Black AM

59. (78) Glyn Davies

60. (195) Obsolete

61. (99) Ordovicius

62. (-) UK Libertarian Party

63. (40) Biased BBC

64. (7) Croydonian

65. (69) James Cleverly

66. (-) Is There More to Life Than Shoes

67. (-) J Arthur MacNumpty

68. (120) Normblog

69. (-) Raedwald

70. (-) Three Thousand Versts

71. (-) Tory Bear

72. (-) Miss Wagstaff Presents

73. (52) Bloggers4Labour

74. (-) Pint of Unionist Lite

75. (151) Theo's Blog

76. (-) Kezia Dugdale's Soapbox

77. (71) Beau Bo D'Or

78. (25) Bob Piper

79. (-) David Cornock

80. (-) Forgesian Thinking

81. (-) Heresy Corner

82. (103) Love & Liberty

83. (125) The Daily (Maybe)

84. (161) Peter Hitchens

85. (81) Melanie Phillips

86. (0) Redemption's Son

87. (10) Ellee Seymour

88. (0) Lenin's Tomb

89. (83) Liberal Burblings

90. (-) Scottish Tory Boy

91. (-) Stuart King

92. (86) Matt Wardman

93. (34) Pickled Politics

94. (0) Ewan Watt

95. (41) An Englishman's Castle

96. (0) Centre Right

97. (0) Never Trust a Hippy

98. (0) Red Box

99. (76) Chris Paul's Labour of Love

100. (50) Last Ditch

The full list and entire series can be followed by clicking on the following link to Iain Dale's Diary.

Total Politics Results: Top 50 LibDem Blogs

Two Welsh blogs have made it into Iain Dale's Top 50 LibDem Blogs list for his Guide to Political Blogging in the UK 2008-9.

8. Peter Black AM
19. Dib Lemming

The full list and entire series can be followed by clicking on the following link to Iain Dale's Diary.

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.

Changing, not for change's sake

I've talked many times about changing the look of this blog. Sometimes family, friends, work, and even my lack of IT skills get in the way. I can't continue to pass the blame.

Some question whether bloggers are a dying breed, while others attempt to criticise the way we choose to blog (thanks to Peter Black AM and Al Iguana for their views). I obviously intend to post on this at some point. For now, I intend to stop putting off until tomorrow what I can do today, and work on the layout of this blog before I go any further.

The content, contributors (which may increase), enthusiasm, and support for blogging and bloggers will remain the same. In the meantime blogging may be light (I've said that before) while I work on the overall look of 'Miss Wagstaff Presents' over the next week.

The Radio Audio of blogging civil servants, and Miss Wagstaff on Facebook

In case you missed the discussion on 'Good Evening Wales' about recent events in the Welsh blogosphere and Facebook, Matt Wardman has kindly placed the audio on his blog.

We were talking about the restrictions on blogging Civil Servants in Wales, in the light of Miss Wagstaff’s expulsion from Facebook.

I’m delighted that Peter Black AM was more controversial than I was. Welsh Assembly Government “stalinist” indeed - ouch!

The only missing point that perhaps needed to be made was a detailed one that the Christopher Glamorganshire sacking case happened before the “Principles for Participation Online” were officially adopted in England.

I also didn’t get the chance to suggest that the Welsh Assembly Government are perhaps having their internal culture inspired too much by the Torchwood programme episodes set in the 1940s. A problem of working too close to a film set, perhaps.

Peter Black’s final point about the need for consultation with employees is excellent, and it seems to me that - if the Welsh Assembly Government can adopt the Civil Service Code itself with virtually no changes - then it can’t be very difficult to adopt a 79-word set of principles (warning: pic of Government Minister at end of link !).

Live at 17:30 - Good Evening Wales: Welsh Blogging and Facebook

Unfortunately, I'm unavailable for comment, however, my old blogging friend Matt Wardman will be taking part in the radio programme, Good Evening Wales a little later today (just after 5:30) talking about Welsh Political Blogging by Civil Servants from the point of view of an “outsider”, as a result of the coverage he has been giving to the Christopher Glamorganshire case in Wales, and also the Civil Serf case before that.

Matt writes:

I expect to be talking about the difference in attitudes to political blogging by Civil Servants in England and Wales. I am told that Peter Black AM will be joining us.

I think this is the first time in my life that I will have been on the Radio with a real politician. Is that good or bad?

I wonder if I can get a statement from Tom Watson by 5:00pm that the Principles for Online Participation apply in Wales as well as England?

Farcebook
Good Evening Wales are doing this piece because a Welsh Political Blogger - Miss Wagstaff - has been thrown off Facebook because allegations had been made that she was running a “Fake Account”.

You can read the account here. The serious point was that they just swallowed the allegations hook, line and sinker and took action with even checking. That looks far too reminiscent of what many webhosts do in respond to letters alleging defamation for me to be comfortable with it.

As Miss W says, "Why not raise the question with me of the possibility of ‘real and fake names’ in the first instance - before deactivation."

Research Question
Anyway - do you know anyone else that this has happened to, since Facebook seem to be making more than a little of an arse of themselves on this one. The problem seems to be one of action taken on the basis of allegations with no fact checking. I’ve been digging for a few minutes and I have found:

Last December Facebook told Steve Webb MP that he was an imposter and deleted his account. That may be true of the new Lib Dem satellite tracking policy pretending not to be Big Brother, but I think I believe that Steve Webb MP is himself.

Valleys Mam has also had problems.

Does anybody know of any others that are interesting or amusing?

I note that Genghis Kahn has an account. Presumably he is impersonating Alistair Campbell.

Any more for any more?

Bloggers put Wales in political spotlight

Too busy with work and the family lately to notice these kind words from Iain Dale "who runs one of the country’s most influential blogs"

Mr Dale sees blogs not as a way to sway mass opinion but as a means to introduce new ideas to debates.

He said: “It’s an incredibly liberating experience for ordinary people who might have an interest in politics.”

He follows the discussions on 38 Welsh blogs

Of those 38, I’d say a good half are done by ordinary people who have no record of party-political activism,” he said. His favourite is by former Conservative AM Glyn Davies, but he has respect for Liberal Democrat AM Peter Black. Peter Black’s is the one I’ve been reading longest. His blog is interesting because he won’t just come out with the Lib-Dem spin. He gives real views on things. If people think you’re just mouthing your party line they won’t be interested.

He considers Labour MP Paul Flynn’s “excellent” and regularly reads Ordovicius, Miss Wagstaff Presents and Valleys Mam.

Thanks for the endorsement Iain.

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.

Finance Committee Report

Following on from a meeting that took place on 27th November in the Senedd with the Minister for Finance, Andrew Davies AM, where the Finance Committee scrutinised the Minister in the light of the evidence it has received in relation to the draft Welsh Assembly Government budget - The committee's report has been published today.

The Minister presented his budget to the Committee at their earlier meeting on 8th November. Since then the Committee has taken evidence from Local Government, the NHS and other Assembly Committees.

The published report has been covered by the Western Mail and BBC Wales. The BBC summarises the detail as:

The finance committee's report said a lack of funds could affect the assembly government's ability to deliver One Wales coalition deal promises. It also has "grave concerns" the £15bn a year draft budget could hit core council services and urged a rethink. The committee, which is made up of a cross-party group of assembly members, has expressed fears that there may be a shortfall in funding for new capital projects. These include the building of new roads, schools or hospitals. Core council services could also be affected by the budget settlement, the report concluded.

The AMs fear that promises made in the One Wales agreement which led to the creation of the Labour Plaid Cymru coalition, could be threatened by the shortfall. They say it is also unclear how hundreds of millions of pounds in efficiency savings are to be met. The AMs also complain that the presentation of the budget created confusion, and have grave concerns that the local government settlement is inadequate to safeguard core services.

Alun Ffred Jones AM (one of two Plaid Cymru members on the committee) has already been on record to defend the costing of the One Wales' commitments, and rubbish the report.

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Any work carried out by the Finance Committee has to be seen as fundamental in the way the Assembly carries out efficient and effective scrutiny. I find it difficult to believe that a member of this committee couldn't attend a key meeting due to a prior engagement and then has the nerve to criticize the work of the committee on publication of the report, when concerns should have been made much earlier. I have to agree with Peter Black AM:

In the circumstances I do not see how Plaid Cymru can wash their hands of the report's conclusions and nor should they. Effective scrutiny requires government backbenchers to put partisan considerations to one side so as to question the actions of the executive. That is a lesson that some Plaid Cymru members need to learn.

Alun Cairns AM has also talked prior to starting work on the scrutiny of this budget of "failure of scrutiny in past Assembly Committees and the need for all this to change with the current set up"

Following on from an earlier post, we shall now see how the Minister and the government backers from the backbenches respond to these criticisms when the draft budget is debated in plenary on 11th December 2007.

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Update: Western Mail, 4 December

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Alun Davies AM:

It’s a very curious position to adopt, to make these criticisms today when the report is published. He’s had the same opportunities I have had to raise issues, discuss it, and question witnesses.

Mr Jones did not attend the final meeting of the committee prior to publication on Wednesdayn, although Plaid AM Mohammad Asghar was present. A revised draft was circulated at lunchtime the next day and final version circulated on Friday afternoon.

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?

Tinkering, Tailoring, but not Soldiering and Spying

After watching Dragon's Eye last night it seems obvious to me that someone needs to get a tight grip on the reins of Plaid Cymru.

.

As Glyn Davies and Peter Black AM rightly point out in their blogs today - it was awful to watch and just sums up how naive some of their politicians can be with their 'dangerous nonsense'.

With talk of the 'increasing militarisation of Wales', 'pulling out of NATO', and 'St Athan should be stopped until we have a full explanation of who the investors are, what their priorities are, who they're answerable to and who is going to be trained there', Jill Evans MEP seems to be doing damage to the party by pulling it back to its roots of pacifism, which is a narrow minded and idealist outlook to have in this modern world.

John Smith MP (Vale of Glamorgan) responded with:

The very idea that a senior responsible mainstream politician could be questioning [St Athan] at this stage is quite frankly madness... Every senior politician I approached to ask for help, including Plaid Cymru politicians, supported me on this.

Glyn Davies (Conservative PPC Montgomeryshire) posted:

But it does make you wonder what sort of a country Wales would be if Plaid Cymru were to be in charge. I have a message for all those Plaid supporters who must have been holding their heads in despair as Rhun ap Iorwerth was reading out the garbage that their only MEP had written, and watching with disbelief as Arfon made a bad position worse.

The BBC have also covered the story this morning. I know that it's only a proposal report to put to its National Council, but imagine there will be some embarrassed faces this morning as Plaid seem to be pulling in opposite directions - except within the Assembly.

Had a passing thought before I had to get back to work. I'm also beginning to think that Adam Price MP has added 'acting leader of Plaid Cymru' to his Chief Spokesman role since Plaid 'joined' the Labour party in the Assembly. Or have I just been a little slow in coming to this decision?