Wales, Wales!

First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford                                                                   Source: Guido Fawkes, order_order.com

Nation Cymru reports:  "The Welsh Government is setting itself on a potential collision course with the UK Government after deciding to allow people to self-identify their gender when standing as candidates for the Senedd - much to the chagrin of Wales-Women’s Rights Network

Little surprise there  given this earlier report from order-order.com: 

"The Welsh government is paying out £9 million in taxpayer cash annually for woke jobs. The Taxpayers’ Alliance have uncovered data revealing that in 2022, a total of 138 posts in the Welsh Government featured words ranging from “diversity” and “inclusion” to “climate“, “wellbeing“, and “race“. A whopping 25 staff are employed in roles mentioning “equality“. The total cost of these, including salary and pension contributions, was £8,879,479."

Meanwhile, in NHS Wales, the health minister has warned that there may be fewer hospital beds in Wales, after asking health boards to make a further £64m in savings.

The Welsh Government has an action plan to make Wales  'A Nation of Sanctuary for asylum seekers and refugees' in which it has a 'vision' for Wales to become "the world’s first ‘Nation of Sanctuary’, celebrating Welsh hospitality and our history of migration and safety. " 

No matter what the cost in a cash-strapped Welsh economy it appears! 

Another government minister said that vulnerable people will "inevitably" feel the impact of spending cuts as she prepared to announce how the Welsh government will fill a black hole in its budget.

Nation Cymru also reports that the Welsh government is working on a plan to introduce a Bill "to make our parliament more representative of the people it serves", which includes provisions to introduce candidate quotas for people seeking election to the Senedd: “Our proposed model for quotas is designed to maximise the chances of achieving a Senedd comprised of at least 50% women."

With plans to increase the number of Senedd Members from 60 to 96, and change the electoral system to one that is "wholly proportional" no doubt the Diversity, Inclusivity and Equality (DIE) campaigners will will be keen to ensure that the real needs of the people of Wales do not come before the wishes of the Welsh DIEhards. First they need to know what a woman is.

Postscript [12.11.2023]

Fresh challenge for Welsh Government’s gender-balanced Senedd plan - Martin Shipton writes in Nation Cymru: "The introduction of a Bill to the Scottish Parliament that will end the rights of transgender women to identify as female when applying for public appointments should prompt the Welsh Government to ditch a similar plan relating to membership of the Senedd, according to a campaign group."

Drakeford's Pride Cymru

Welsh First Minister at Pride Cymru August 2022  Source: Twitter                                  August bank holiday traffic traffic congestion around Newport  Source: ITV 

  
On the left, no doubt enjoying the crush, First Minister, Mark Drakeford, can be seen in one of the "best photos from Pride Cymru" says Wales Online. 

Mr Drakeford prides himself on cancelling the desperately needed M4 relief road around Newport in South Wales. 'That decision is over', he said, as though the decision mattered only to him. He added, 'There is no point in people hankering back to it'. It may be over for him. For others it is still the obvious solution to a desperate problem.

On the right, the usual bank holiday traffic chaos on the M4 around Newport, the gateway to Wales. 

When Drakeford vetoed the proposed extension he said, instead he would be "concentrating on the alternatives" for solving the major traffic problems in the area. 

A "Network of Alternatives" suggested upgrading the South Wales Main Line and building six new stations between Cardiff and the River Severn, improving train services between Cardiff, Newport and Bristol:

"The rail backbone would be supported by new rapid bus and cycle corridors across the region, especially within Newport. Taken together, over 90% of Cardiff and Newport’s population would live within a mile of a railway station or rapid bus corridor if the proposals are taken forward. Many these recommendations can be delivered through upgrades to the existing rail and road network.

As part of their strategy "Ministers believe “road user charging” schemes are one potential way of encouraging people to use public transport, walk or cycle instead of driving but Newport City Council "does not support the implementation of a local toll on the M4".

Removing local traffic from the heavily congested M4 is not going to help through traffic held up by frequent accidents because there is no diversion apart from the inappropriate Southern distributor road, another accident black spot. 

It is not clear to me what Drakeford's strategy would be if/when these additional public transport facilities are provided if people do not use them. Something for him to consider in his retirement as he prides himself for saving a few toads and newts thought to be in danger if the proposed bypass had gone ahead. Also for those people stuck in queues on the M4 because there is no proper alternative way around the many road accidents.

So far there has just been more chaos affecting the Welsh economy with people missing events, finding themselves on the wrong side of the Prince of Wales bridge instead of listening to a pop concert. 

One can only imagine the congestion if Cardiff had pursued their desire to host the Eurovision Song Contest there. 

Others still see the M4 relief road as the obvious answer to a major problem. Drakeford's pride is the obstacle. 

The chaos continues.

BANKERS!

Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

It seems that having one's hand in the till is a difficult habit to break. The lessons of the past have been ignored encouraging greed on an unprecedented scale by people who clearly regard themselves as untouchable in what was once regarded as an honourable profession. It is time for an example to be made of these unscrupulous bankers before they wreak even more damage on the rest of us. Hot on the heels of the rate rigging saga yet another major scandal has emerged with the mis-selling of financial products to small businesses, the very people the government has been busy trying to encourage to help get the economy moving again. The governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King outlines here what needs to be done to change a banking culture which has "let down" the many honest and hard working people in the financial sector. Let's get on with it.

Head in the clouds?

As the Telegraph rightly reported, the 'last-minute' conference speech change on "households paying off their credit card debt" was an embarrassment" but not the only embarrassment for the Prime Minister as he appeared for his keynote speech at their Party conference in a cross-wire against a backdrop showing him with his head in the clouds.

When the average food bill for couple is £60 a week and the PM's wife turns up wearing an outfit in which just the trousers cost £89, is it surprising that someone with no concept of living within his means could come up with the idea of slowing the economy even further by people spending even less - if they could!

In her Telegraph piece Janet Daley appeared to muddle her headline: "David Cameron shows his leadership – with just a hint of the PR man showing through". For me it wasn't 'just a hint of the PR man showing through' it was the complete PR man showing through and with the conference slogan "Leadership for a better future" it looks more like "No leadership, no future!". The image of a man trying to sell me a time-share in Spain was inescapable and that's not just my opinion. Here is the verdict of four top writers.

Queen and Pawn

The visit of Her Majesty the Queen to the Republic of Ireland is a gesture that should cement improved relations with our nearest neighbour but a small minority of people in Ireland see Her Majesty simply as a pawn in their political game. Queen Elizabeth II is a remarkable woman. A model of duty and service in an age when courtesy and good manners are regarded as outdated. Dwelling in the past, the protesters should recognise that far more unites us than divides us; indeed, many of us share mixed ancestry. The level of security imposed for the Royal visit is a sad reflection on the motivation of the few who seem unable to differentiate between the Head of State and politics. The estimated £26 million security cost resulting from their ignorance and petty squabbles will be passed on to the majority who simply want to live in peace, restore prosperity and enjoy the spectacle of a Royal visit that could do much for the Irish economy.

"We are all in this together." (3)

"David Cameron launched his "happiness index" yesterday as he announced that the Government would measure people's quality of life as well as economic growth."

It's all relative!

The Telegraph Fiddles while Britain Burns

How much more expenses poison will The Telegraph drip-feed in its attempt to kill off ministers and derail the coalition Government’s attempts to sort out our economic mess? Not satisfied with getting rid of possibly the best person for the job they are now after his successor. Who next? We must draw a line under the expenses saga.

If The Telegraph has evidence of wrong doing why have they held it back? We need to move on. If there are further stories which they think the public should know about, keep them until the economy is back on its feet. Then they can try to recoup the £110,000 they reportedly paid through a middle-man to the mole who illegally obtained the stolen data on MPs expenses.

Happy to profit from their stolen goods I heard one Telegraph columnist on Sky News suggest that they couldn’t not print a good story. Why? There are precedents, the Duke of Windsor’s affair and Churchill’s drinking to name but two. This is not to cover up wrong doing but to see the broader picture. We are at war with our financial crisis but the small minded in our midst continue to look at the minutia. Let’s have a sense of proportion please.

6 o’clock shadow

To say that I was disappointed by the presentation of the ‘BBC News at Six” this evening would be an under-statement. It was more worthy of The Sun than the Great Britain institution it used to be. The pattern was repeated at 10 o’clock.

There were ten items in the bulletin including ‘The Weather’ giving an average time of three minutes for each item but as ever, not all warranted equal coverage. Quite rightly in my view East Enders was bottom of the pile with the often repeated clip of Den and Angie’s impending divorce looking rather hackneyed now that such events are common place in our modern society. To be fair I am not a fan of current Soaps. They compare miserably with At the Luscombe’s in the glory days of the wireless though Compact did make a valiant effort before becoming irrelevant when scenes of rape, murder and violence became the norm.

Plaid Cymru and the Green Party must have been over the moon to find themselves temporarily relevant on the National scene with the prospect of a hung parliament – the last thing we need. Coverage of the disturbing annual Japanese slaughter of dolphins came after that but before Prince William’s photographic achievements. At least that project was in aid of CRISIS so no complaints there.

Previously we had the latest from Afghanistan where our troops are putting their lives on the line but less important news now that closer to home there was a tragic family event necessitating focus on the now compulsory floral tributes left to wither and die on the pavement and supplemented by standard statements from distressed neighbours and their children as a substitute for direct intrusion into the family’s grief.

The third item covered funding for care of the elderly as though it were something that only happens to others. But it was probably placed correctly given the state of the economy and how best to deal with debt repayment. - Different advice had been offered by a group of economists writing to the Financial Times in response to advice to the Government from a smaller group who had previously advised the opposite. No surprise there when you can get 11 opinions from 10 economists.

So what more serious story could take us six minutes into the headline news? An ex-Gillette sponsored golfer making a fourteen minute apology for being caught playing in the rough. Carefully stage managed, only the select few were gathered for this sombre event. The rest, including the BBC reporter were kept half a mile away in which case he may as well have been in a room next door waiting to hear ‘the apology the world has been wanting to hear’. What world do these people live in?