Now that the Assembly has set and pulled the trigger for the referendum we need to start the campaign, General Election or not. Mrs Jones in Penparcau or Penparc will not care about the difference between Part 3 or 4, what will be of concern is the quality and reliability of public services. True Wales have been allowed to frame the debate as one where the poor quality of public services is the fault of the Assembly and further powers will only make things worse. Negative rubbish! The agrument that Wales needs the additional powers to deliver better public services has not been properly deployed and it must not be left too late. Cymry Yfory Tommorrow's Wales is organising event to focus the debate, if you can attend - do.
Can even Trump get something right?
2 days ago
3 comments:
As a Welsh nationalist who wants independence soonest, my problem is this. Not True Wales have a simple argument - Say No. They also use the sleaze of the British parliament, which the "Welsh" media has rarely distinguished from the Assembly. So they blame all elected politicians. Finally, the sterile consensus politics - under the Labour hegemon - in Cardiff Bay has hardly made our politics exciting or engaging. It's not about detail. What's the Big Picture for the Yes camp? Unless there is . . . .
I have not developed a view either way on the issue of Welsh independence, but the key question would be economic viability. Blind optimism aside, how is Wales going to pay for itself without outside support and to repay its part of the debt Gordon has built up? I would expect to see the business plan, proposed 5 year budget plan and set of accounts upfront as a core part of the realistic positive argument.
In relation to the last comment I think that it would be hard to go it 'alone'. The infrastructure for modern ways of working just isn't there and there seems to be very little interest in getting anything in place, e.g. high speed broadband, that enables people to work from home etc. Ceredigion , with it's 2 universities seems positively crippled by a lack of telecommunications infrastructure, no wonder Rural Wales has a high rate of unemployment, because their is investment or experience to deal with large projects. Look at the concerns raised by the people that are expecting a hospital in Cardigan, what is happening there, not even the local councillors know.
Really rural doesn't equal farming anymore, there are far fewer farm workers than there were and I think that other local schemes to be aimed at micro business.
I was just reading this on Communities First and wondering what they have done in the local area and if they've allowed locals to get involved, or if they've 'piggy backed' other projects and called the outcomes their own. It looks like the people that are involved come from outside these areas and sit on the boards for 'reputation'. To be honest, it's sad that it's gone this far. I would have thought that in times of economic recession that they would be targeting small business in these areas and looking at that in the community with a focus on eco/green business that is growing.
Communities First 'not good value' for £214 million
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