Translation of a post by Vaughan Roderick:
Damn, Elin Jones could give lessons to Geoff Boycott on keeping a bat straight. In a news conference today the minister succeeded in rejecting every attempt to suggest that there are tensions within the government regarding the fate of the housing LCO. In a series of answers the minister managed to say no more than that discussions were continuing between the government and the secretary of state.
The big question, I suppose, is to what degree the government feels yielding to the select committee sets a precedent for other LCOs - especially the language LCO. As fae as the housing LCO is concerned, there isn't much to lose by giving way to the demands of the select cvommittee. If giving way, on the other hand, means the committee has succeeded in elevating itself into being some kind of second chamber in the Welsh legislative process that would be a serious problem.
This quarrel was wholly inevitable. Some of us predicted this would happen during the Government of Wales bill's journey through Parliament. The response of some of those now in the middle of the quarrel was to accuse us of the greatest blasphemy ever, insisting that Peter Hain had "settled the constitutional querstion for a generation".
This is going to get dirty. Already one member of the select committee has asked the experts of the House of Commons for a definition of the rights and role of the Assembly Presiding Officer in order to undermine Dafydd Elis Thomas's efforts to put pressure on the Secretary of State.
Is One Wales about to fall to pieces? That depends on how stubborn MPs are and the indisputable talents of Paul Murphy to find a compromise. After all if Mr Murphy could secure an agreement between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland there's a chance he could work simular wonders between the factions of his own party.
Why General Dannatt is not all the press thinks he is: A guest post by
Julian Kavanagh
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The Wardman Wire welcomes Julian Kavanagh, who has written a guest post for
the Wire today. Julian Kavanagh works in the City but has spent time as a
resea...
2 comments:
"After all if Mr Murphy could secure an agreement between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland there's a chance he could work simular wonders between the factions of his own party."
Yes, but he doesn;t want to - because he's anti-devolution (and also anti-Welsh language , according to his colleague Paul Flynn). His big ally is Windfall Touhig, who is in turn the MP behind TrueWales.
Labour would be unswise to assume this as a political ploy from Plaid. We have a National Council a week on Saturday and the membership will have their say, then.
The progressive Labour AMs need to stand up and be counted and not wait like the last time, for Gordon to give them the nod.
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