What's to be the Question

The dust is gradually settling on the storm blown up by the publication of Sir Emyr Jones Parry's Report on the future of devolution to Wales. Personally, I thought it was a mini-storm in a mini-teacup. A lot of excitement about a report which told us what we knew already, and had known for a long time - even if the information was presented in an elegant and considered way. I thought the 'Broughton Statement' delivered by David Cameron last week was rather more significant. Plenty of scope for 'long grass', mainly because Sir Emyr, for reasons best known to himself, made specific reference to any request for a referendum being held by June. He should have said March.

It was the 'Broughton Statement' that turned Welsh politics on its head. Where are we now? The Conservative Party (in Wales and Westminster) is entirely comfortable allowing individuals to campaign for either a 'Yes' or a 'No'. So no problem. Its unusual, but long anticipated and accepted. But what about the others. The Plaid leadership resembles a horse eyeing up 'The Wall' in a Puissance competition - while the entire Labour Party resemble a herd of rabbits trapped in a giant searchlight. They were assuming that a Conservative Government would veto any request for a referendum before 2011. Just watch for the myriad of reasons that will be trotted out about why the referendum should,be delayed until after 2011. You can imagine the sort of thing. In private they'll be saying "What the h*** do we do now". In public it will be "Leave it until a Yes vote is certain". Well, in my opinion, its never going to be certain. For two years, the Coalition partners have faffed around, hoping that eventually, Part 4 of the Government of Wales Act would just be there for the taking, like a low-hanging fruit. In my opinion, there will be no Yes vote without a fight - nor should there be. No persuasive case. We stay on the ELCO slow train.

And then, what is the question on the referendum paper going to be. Simple is best, but 'simple' I can't come up with. What about "Do you support progressing to Part 4 of the Government of Wales Act 2006, which entails vesting in the National Assembly for Wales, law making powers in those areas currently devolved?" OK, laugh if you must - but come up with something better.

"Ouch"

Leuven is a town in Belgium. It could well be the home town of the new President of the EU Council, whom Mr Iain Dale, and others have christened Mr Rumpy Pumpy. It is reported in the current edition of Farming News from NFU Cymru that earlier this month, in the town of Leuven, animal rights campaigners released 20,000 pink balls at the HQ of the Belgian Farmer's Union. This 'direct action' was a protest at the practice of unaesthetised castration of male piglets. The union is reported to have responded by highlighting its support for research into alternatives to castration, and pointed out that consumers do like meat from uncastrated animals. This response seems to miss the point, which is about the absence of anaesthetic rather than the absence of testicles.

This report brought back to me one of the most barbaric practices I've ever been involved in. It was when I was quite young. We bred and reared pigs as part of the farm business. When the male piglets reached a certain age their testicles became sufficiently prominent to enable removal. Warning - the next sentence may make your eyes water. My job was to catch the piglets and dangle them in the air, holding them up by their hind legs. My father then cut open the sack, gripped the contents, and sliced off the little pink testicles with a razor blade. No anaesthetic. I remember our sheepdog (unoriginality named Pup) eating them voraciously. In fact Pup usually caught them after they had been tossed up in the air. I can do the same thing with peanuts and quail's eggs. Pup lived to be very old. Not sure what lessons are to be learned from this fact. Piglets can be very noisy at the best of times, but they were exceptionally so as this was procedure was taking place. I don't know how widespread this barbaric practice is today, but something like it is taking place in Belgium at least. Could this be why farmers are thought to be uncomfortable about having vasectomies?

Post early for Xmas

Had our first Xmas card today. It was from the Royal Mail. Are they trying to tell us something about how long its going to take for our cards to arrive this year?

A policy which hurts the most vulnerable.

A recurring theme on this blog is the way we treat the elderly infirm, particularly when they are suffering from dementia. This post concerns a most awful proposal in yesterday's Queen's Speech, which uses the most vulnerable of people as political pawns in a most shameful way.

No-one disputes that social care policy needs reform - and there are several aspects to the debate. Its unfair that everyone who has been thrifty and responsible all of their lives, and saved money have to pay for their own care - while everyone who have saved nothing at all (for all sorts of reasons) have social care provided free of charge. Also, there needs to be more investment in enabling the moderately disabled elderly to stay in their own homes. And there needs to be greater provision of residential places for the most severely disabled who would benefit from this greater level of care. Finally, there needs to a recognition that dementia is a 'physical' disease, involving physical damage to the brain, rather than a form of mental illness. There's a lot else as well. Tackling these issues is not straight forward because of the massive cost implications. There's a lot of thought being put into policy reform, both at Westminster and in the National Assembly.

Yesterday's Queen's Speech proposes that a part of the NHS budget in England be used to support the most frail elderly in their own homes. Superficially attractive - and completely bonkers. Just listen to authoritative Labour Peer, Lord Lipsey rip the proposal to shreds. It will take money from social care for those who would benefit from home care - in order to spend on social care for those who would not. My interest in this issue extends to england as well as Wales. The new digital TV was lucky to survive not having my fist through it last night, as I watched the increasingly oleaginous Ben Bradshaw on Newsnight, trying to justify the Government's poisonous proposal. It was nothing more than a political gimmick, the price of which will have to paid by the most frail elderly in pain and suffering. On its own, this proposal is good enough reason to remove Gordon Brown from office.

Centenary of a Village School

This young lad's name is Jamie Owen, and he's a pupil at Aberhafesp Primary School in Montgomeryshire. Earlier today, we were cutting the School's 'Centenary Cake'. Aberhafesp School has been in existence for a long, long time, but its been on it's current site for 100 years. Such schools are so much more than places of education. They are the heart of communities. The head teacher of the school is Mr Eifion Thomas. He's the captain of a very seaworthy ship. A regular visitor to the School is TV personality, Sian Lloyd, who lives 'up the hill'. Today's celebratory lunch was just one part of a programme of events, organised by the community, centred on the School. On Friday, there's a concert, with a 'community choir' especially put together for the occasion. A book about the history of the School is being 'launched' at the concert. Powys Catering prepared the food. I felt privileged to share in the School's celebrations. Reason I've blogged on this event (apart from it being part of the life of this blog's author) is that the School has 29 pupils. Earlier this week, the Executive Board of Powys County Council decided to approach every primary school in Powys with less than 35 pupils to discuss voluntary closure. I know the Council's facing an almost impossible financial position, but as joining in today's celebrations, I find the idea of closing this school as impossible to contemplate on such a significant day in its history. It must not be allowed to happen.

The Report of the All Wales Convention.

Today, Sir Emyr Jones Parry presented the Report of The All Wales Convention to the First Minister of the National Assembly for Wales. Regular readers will know that I thought the establishment of this Convention to be no more than a 'device', which enabled the Labour Party to consign a coalition promise to the long grass, and provided Plaid Cymru (particularly its leader, Ieuan Wyn Jones) with a fig leaf of an excuse to cover any decision to renege on the promise he made to his party activists that a referendum on law making powers in all devolved policy areas would be held before the next Assembly election in May 2011. None of this is to suggest that Sir Emyr and his group haven't done a thorough job. They have. Today, the ever urbane and diplomatic Sir Emyr delivered a sensible 'conclusion' - but pretty well exactly what I expected from Day 1. Its pretty well what every Labour and Plaid Cymru Assembly Member would have expected on Day 1 as well.

The 'conclusion'. - "We are convinced that Part 4 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (an Assembly with law making powers) offers substantial advantages over the present arrangements in Part 3. It would offer greater efficiency, permit a strategic approach to the drafting of legislation, provide greater clarity, be more consistent with the rule of law and democratic tradition, and reflect the emerging maturity of the assembly. This appears to be a view shared by the majority of the Welsh people." I agree with his every word.

So where now? There will be a formal 'Statement' from the outgoing First Minister, before he 'goes out'. There could be a bit of knockabout when Peter Hain presents the Queen's Speech to AMs next week - assuming he comes out of hiding by then. But Peter's too cute to be embarrassed - and most AMs won't see the point in doing so anyway. All this is 'going through the motions stuff'. The big step, (that's the one that's been avoided for as long as possible) will be the debate on the floor of the Assembly. And I mean a decisive debate, tabled by the Coalition Government, proposing that the UK Government be asked to hold a referendum of the Welsh people to decide whether we should move to Part 4 of the 2006 Act. I've been 'chewing over' whether it would be sensible for an opposition party to use a 'Minority Debate', if there is no promise of an early Government debate. It would certainly cause political chaos, especially for Plaid Cymru. But its our constitution we're talking about here, and that's not a subject for political opportunism. It should be done properly. It could easily be that Labour will not support a decisive debate before the General Election, and it may well be that Plaid Cymru will accommodate this desire. This is not crucial.

But what if there is no 'decisive' debate by June, a date helpfully provided by Sir Emyr today? The Coalition Government must fall. Labour would have to limp on until the next Assembly election as a 'minority' Government, unless the Lib Dems stepped into the breach again. Labour's breach of trust would become Ieuan's new fig leaf. Whatever, following David Cameron's announcement last week that a Conservative Government at Westminster would not veto a referendum, I reckon that there will probably be a referendum in October. Another reason why I really really REALLY do want to be elected as the MP for Montgomeryshire.

Tomorrow's another day.

I'm depressed. Not clinically depressed, or anything like that. Just depressed in a bored, p***ed off sort of way. And its not just the weather. Its politics. Can't seem to make enough difference. Everyone I've talked to today in the political world has been bored witless. I'm told that even today's budget debate in the National Assembly for Wales was boring. Well, its not really a budget - more a spending plan. Then there's the prospect of tomorrow's utterly pointless Queen's Speech. For once I can see a sort of half-sense in a Nick Clegg proposal - when he suggests that HRH should take the day off. All she's going to be required to read is a list of Labour ideas for embarrassing the Conservative Opposition, rather than what would be beneficial for the government of Britain. But Clegg makes his proposal utterly ridiculous when he suggests that the current Parliament should "clean up politics once and for all" for the next six months' rather than enact proposals in a Queen's Speech. He just does not 'get it' that the current Parliament has lost all credibility, and its only a new Parliament, elected after the people have had their say that can do the 'cleaning up'. There will no closure on 'expensesgate' until a General Election has been held.

But wait. Sir Emyr Jones Parry is speaking tomorrow. He's going to tell Rhodri Morgan that he believes the time is right for Assembly Members to ask the UK Parliament to hold a referendum on granting full law making powers to the National Assembly in all devolved policy areas. He might even suggest one or two further policy areas should be devolved, though I hope he doesn't confuse the two principles. Any referendum question will be difficult enough to explain as it is. I suppose there will be a 'Statement' from the First Minister next week, and I guess a debate in the New Year. Though I hear whispers that the Lib Dems might use 'Minority debate' time before Xmas. Never ones to miss the chance for a gimmick. Whatever, the proper debate should be fun - now that David Cameron has said that any request for a referendum will not be vetoed by a Conservative Government. Nick Bourne must be salivating at the prospect. Funny how just writing a post can help the mists of depression to lift.

Damaging row over the Welsh Language

Today's Western Mail has gone big on questions about Edwina Hart's suitability to serve as First Minister because of her inability to speak the Welsh Language. I'm really sorry to see this issue being raised. But Betty Williams, retiring Labour MP for Conwy has done so. Does she not realise that instigating this debate damages public support for bilingualism, and probably damages Carwyn Jones, the only Welsh speaker in the race to succeed Rhodri Morgan - the opposite of what she's reported to want. The best comment in the article comes from Menna Machreth Jones, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (The Welsh Language Society) who's reported as saying "Speaking Welsh is an important skill for anyone, including the First Minister, but just as important, if not more so, is their attitude to the Language. Is that person committed to delivering the cross party vision of a truly bilingual country?" Spot on.

I have to admit that Edwina doesn't help herself by comparing the Welsh Language with Bengali or Chinese. What on earth was she thinking when she said that? When I was a young man, there was much division in Wales about the language. It was all deeply unpleasant, and reflected very badly on Wales. A few hotheads even set fire to houses of non-Welsh speakers. But over the years, wiser heads prevailed, and depoliticised the debate. They realised that if the language was to prosper, it needed the support of those who did not speak it, as well as those who did. Eventually, the now Lord Roberts of Conwy secured a successful future for the Welsh Language by means of adaption of the 1988 Education Reform Act to encompass the linguistic distinctiveness of Wales. It became part of the National Curriculum in Wales. This was the single most important development in the long battle which halted and then reversed the seemingly inevitable decline of Welsh.

Edwina's honesty sometimes gets her into trouble. She could so easily have said that she was going to learn, and arrange to have a few lessons. I know plenty of people who have done that, and then pretended that they can speak Welsh - when they can't. That's not Edwina Hart's style, and its to her credit. We do not want to see the future our Language being put at risk by stoking up an unnecessary row - if its all right with you Mrs Williams.

Abuse of the Elderly

Why do they always use photographs of people's hands. I truly hate this photograph which the BBC has given such prominence. And then there's this one, which I do not hate as much, but dislike because its hands again. Perhaps its because hands show wrinkles of age more prominently. It's the same when people who have suffered a terrible personal loss are being interviewed. So often the camera homes in on the hands of two distraught people trying to give each other some support. Personally, I regard it as offensive intrusion.

UPDATE - The photograph which I hated has now disappeared as news moves on. But the general point remains.

A Midnight Walk.

The brigade down at Welshpool Fire Station are a lot more than just fire fighters. They are a part of the social fabric of the town. Over the last few weeks they have organised a 'Midnight Walk' to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The event took place last night, and the Mayor of the town asked me to join her to cut the ribbon through which the 451 walkers burst out of the Fire Station. It cost £12.00 to enter, and about 500 did - so a fair bit of money was raised for one of my favorite charities. I thought it was called Macmillans Cancer Relief, but the name was changed about two years ago to more accurately reflect the charity's work.

It was a beautiful evening. Most of us were dressed for less clement weather, and were sweating heavily as we approached the summit of Red Bank. Most of the walk was through Powis Castle Park, where there was no lighting other than that which we carried ourselves. As passing under the imposing silhouette of 'Castell Coch', one of the male walkers, suffering perhaps from a flabby prostate, felt the need to disappear into the darkness for a pee. Don't suppose he was expecting the 500 torches to be trained on him, along with our cheers and best wishes. Mrs D and I did not take any short cuts, and the walk took us about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Now, the photograph above is significant. The Editor of the local newspaper, Nick Knight was there, fully equipped with a backpack, his mother (who was walking with him), and a camera, which he failed to operate at all. So he used mine, and only took a couple of photographs before my battery expired. So this could be the only photograph of a quality suitable for newspapers available anywhere in the entire world. Before going home we enjoyed the hospitality of the fire fighters, in the form of a coffee and sausage roll. In bed by three.

Lack of Respect.

I usually have a look at what Spin Doctor in the Wales on Sunday has to say - mainly because he or she often writes about the mood changing qualities of the water in Montgomeryshire. Today the column informs us of a story about.....

'two Welsh politicians who were barracked by war veterans when they continued to loudly hold an unrelated conversation during a remembrance procession through their constituency last week? A British Legion veteran felt forced to yell at them, telling the pair "You're walking around like you're in Asda and you just carried on talking"! When one of the politicians attempted to reply, the elderly man shouted "Shut your bl***y mouth - just for once in your life and listen to someone else, and you may just learn something." The politician was left shaking, while the colleague was left to placate the veterans..'.

Please note that blame for the awful 'split infinitive' rests entirely with Spin Doctor. Not sure why there should be such coyness about naming the individuals concerned. I was told about this incident soon after it happened (though not the actual words supposedly used) - which was during the remembrance procession in Newtown, in Montgomeryshire. I'm told there were 300 people on the street at the time. I'd accepted an invitation to join the procession in Welshpool, or I might have witnessed the incident myself. I'd concluded that the story damaged the dignity of Remembrance Sunday, and had not repeated it to anyone - so I must admit to being a tad surprised to see it appearing in the WoS. I'm not going to allow any names to appear in comments.

Should 'Policing' be devolved?

This article about the devolution of policing to the National Assembly in today's Western Mail interests me a lot. Downside is that it does make discussion about a referendum on devolving greater law making powers to Wales more confusing - just five days before Sir Emyr Jones Parry recommends that the Assembly Government 'goes for it' as soon as possible. Or so we are led to believe. Any referendum would be about policy areas that are already devolved - not about devolving new powers such as policing. I'm not necessarily against extending the range of devolved powers, but its an issue separate from the now anticipated referendum.

A few years ago, I was asked to explain myself to our group leader in the Assembly after being quoted in the Western Mail as 'not being personally opposed to devolving policing to the Assembly". Actually, it was no more than a casual conversation, but there had been complaints. I wonder whether these comments by Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Grayling have caused any similar ripples. They shouldn't - because what he's quoted as saying in very sensible, and the same as I've always thought.

The principle that matters here is how policing can most effectively be carried out. I would take a lot of convincing that total devolution would be sensible. As crime and terrorism have become more international and sophisticated, effective liaison across international borders becomes more important. There will be an important continuing role for the Home Office. But a lot of policing issues could perhaps be better delivered by the National Assembly. All other emergency services are already devolved. Chris Grayling is right to take the pragmatic approach.

This last week has been a very good week for those of us who believe the Conservative Party should become the party of effective devolution - driven by a commitment to a stable British constitution. One aspect of my conservatism is about allowing decisions to be taken at the nearest level to the community as is practical. Seems to me its just common sense. Its all very encouraging.