Wooden Spoon Contest

Plaid Cymru


Plaid Cymru -in Welsh. Spot the difference


Welsh Labour


Welsh Liberal Democrats -sorry, couldn't find an English version

The PPBs for the local elections in Wales leave a lot to be desired. In other words they're embarrassingly bad. So who gets the Wooden Spoon? Tough call. You decide. Oh, and I couldn't find one for the Tories.

UPDATE: Here's the Tory PPB, probably the least embarrassing of the lot:

Lies Gwynedd

It seems some Llais Gwynedd candidates have been up to some mischief, spinning yarns on Gwynedd doorsteps. It appears that their candidate in Penygroes has been circulating a pamphlet claiming that plans are underway to federalise Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle highschool. In reality no such plans have been discussed.

The Llais Gwynedd candidate in Beddgelert has accused the local Plaid councillor of wanting to close the school there, despite the fact that he has been vocally supportive of the school and voted 100% against the plan to restructure primary education in the county.

Another Llais Gwynedd candidate -this time in Pontnewydd- has been forced to retract claims he was making whilst canvassing that certain Plaid members were "in the pockets" of a local construction firm.

And some people are wandering why Llais Gwynedd has such a pro-Brit monarchist like Anita Kirk in their ranks (...apparently the idea of renaming the Prince William Cup as the Ray Gravell Cup made her blood boil on Radio Cymru...). She's guaranteed herself an uncontested seat on Caernarfon Town Council after switching wards

There's Lovely

Hat tip to Mr Cornock

The plaque around which these Welsh Labour politicians are assembled reads:

This plaque was unveiled by Ieuan Wyn Jones, the Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport, Welsh Assembly Government on the 28th of April 2008 to mark the return of direct train services from Wrexham to London...

Doesn't such a display of enthusiasm for One Wales makes you feel all warm inside..?

Causes For Concern

A report by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust claims that elections in the UK fall short of international standards with the system vulnerable to fraud:

Measures to improve choice for voters - such as postal and electronic voting - are actually risking the integrity of the electoral process, it said.

There have been at least 42 convictions for electoral fraud in the UK in the last seven years.

In 2004, a judge quashed the results of two local council elections in Birmingham after deciding there had been systematic large-scale postal vote rigging.

The problem is partly because "previously robust" administration systems have now reached "breaking point", says the report, called Purity of Elections in the UK: Causes for Concern.

It claims the benefits of postal and electronic voting have been exaggerated - particularly over claims of increased turnout and social inclusion.

The Register explains:

Postal voting does have a beneficial impact on turnout but only a short-lived impact, which levels out and subsequently declines. But postal voting, which has grown from just over two per cent of total votes cast in 1997 to 15 per cent in 2005 is more vulnerable to large-scale fraud. Most examples of malpractice found in the UK were associated with proxy or postal voting. For this week's Mayoral elections two officials from each borough have been trained by the Forensic Science Service to help them spot dodgy ballots.

The Rowntree Trust said there were no authoritative figures on the accuracy of the electoral roll, but pilot research in some areas of London found up to a third of voters may be unregistered.

The Rowntree Trust said it would be presumptuous to pre-empt conclusions for the Electoral Commission review but said it could not discount the need for "root and branch reform of British electoral law". It suggests following lessons learned by reform in Northern Ireland including registration of individuals rather than households, rolling rather than annual registration and requiring all voters to present a form of photo ID like a passport or driving licence when voting.

Barnett & The Shadow Chancellor

The Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said last night that a Tory government would have “an open mind” on whether to scrap the controversial formula that sets public spending levels in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland:

He told The Western Mail: “If we’re going to have a debate about Barnett, let’s start with the facts. Nobody has done a needs-based assessment of how much each part of the UK would get if there were changes.
“I don’t think we can have a debate about Barnett without that.

“I did ask Alistair Darling to commission a needs-based assessment and I’m still waiting.”

Mr Osborne said he appreciated there was a nuance to the debate, with arguments over changes in Wales very different from those in Scotland.

Estimates vary on how much Wales stands to gain from a move to a needs-based system, but Plaid Cymru have estimated it would be around £200m a year.

In 2006-07, the Government spent £7,121 per head in England, while the figure for Scotland was £8,623 and Wales £8,139.

Mr Osborne said: “I’m certainly open-minded about change, but I do want to know what a [new] funding formula would look like. And the people who are best placed to tell us are in the Treasury.

He added: “Wales may actually be under-funded.”

The Treasury argues the Barnett formula is easy to understand and any reforms may leave Wales with less cash, not more. But even Lord Barnett himself, the man who drew up the formula in the first place, believes it should be changed. The former chief secretary to the Treasury told a committee of MPs they were “raving mad” to have retained the system for so long.

A Treasury spokesman has confirmed the Government “had no plans” to review the Barnett formula, yet the Barnett formula is likely to be discussed at a meeting between the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish First Ministers and Justice Secretary Jack Straw next month. Rhodri Morgan may have no interest in a review but I'm sure the Deputy First Minister would beg to differ.

As for Osborne's remarks: keeping an "open mind" does not amount to a commitment to review the formula. Nevertheless the general perception among English Conservatives that Barnett is unfair to the English may ensure a review once George Osborne is installed in number 11 Downing street.

Oh Chris

You know it's local election time when Martin Shipton comes up with stuff like this:

Plaid Cymru has been accused of facing both ways after an aerospace exhibition previously criticised by the party as a showcase for arms dealers was praised by party leader Ieuan Wyn Jones.

'Accused by whom?' you may well ask. By none other than top Labour Y-Front model Chris Bryant MP, so it must be true. But why? Isn't the Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport supposed to welcome such an event?

...when the same event took place in the same location two years ago, it was strongly criticised by local Plaid councillor Gwenllian Lansdown.

Ms Lansdown, who is now Plaid’s chief executive, said at the time: “Even if there are no legal powers to stop this event taking place, at least we can raise our objections. I’m appalled this took place in Riverside.”

The key words here are who is now Plaid’s chief executive, since last September to be precise. Two years ago she was a councillor belonging to the Assembly's party of opposition; now she's the chief executive of a party in government. Maybe somebody should tell Chris.

Peter Black opines that "this lack of discipline and inconsistency within Plaid surely militates against them becoming a serious party of government." I'd be worried if it wasn't Peter Black talking...

Et Tu Brute?

Gordon Brown has been accused of losing his way by Peter Mandelson, who attacked him yesterday for leaping on “passing bandwagons” while failing to tell voters what the Labour Party stood for.

Okay, Mandy can never be accused of having been a Brownite, and he's far from being the first Blairite to bay for Brown's blood, but it still adds to Gordo's troubles. Caesar was warned to beware the Ides of March. Perhaps somebody should warn Gordo to beware the Calends of May?

Shaking hands with the Devil

Talking to Adrian Masters yesterday on the Politics Show, Darren Miller AM opined that the idea of the Tories coming to an agreement with Plaid Cymru in the event of a hung parliament was "academic", as present polls predict a working majority for the Conservative Party. This is not so. Even with a significant lead in the polls, the new electoral boundaries do the Tories no favours whatsoever and convert the task of defeating Labour in a general election into an uphill battle.

Recent remarks by both Adam Price and Helen Mary Jones as to Plaid's willingness to talk to the Tories may not be empty threats, but it can only be assumed that their chief purpose is to remind Labour of the importance of a referendum to the One Wales agreement. It is one thing to contemplate leading a coalition government in Cardiff Bay with the Welsh Conservative Party as a junior partner; it is quite another to become the minor party at Westminster that let the Tories back in.

The damage a Conservative government could do to Wales is to a certain extent limited in comparison to the Thatcher era -now that we have our own National Assembly. Nevertheless, a Conservative government in London could (and most probably will) still hurt Wales badly. Make no mistake, for all the gloss, at the end of the day the Conservatives will, as ever, target the poor and the unemployed, and lock social justice in a padded cell. They can't help it, it's in their nature. Nothing has changed.

But although a Conservative government seems inevitable, the hurt it would inflict can be avoided here in Wales -by ensuring that the Senedd has full lawmaking powers. Some Welsh Labour MPs should keep that in mind. Keeping Thatcherism out of Wales is just as important to Plaid Cymru as the concept of nation building -it's not all about easing Wales down the "slippery slope" to independence. Ironically this concern may -if Labourite devosceptics keep pushing their agenda- lead to Plaid shaking hands with the Devil in order to banish him forever.