One of the more overlooked media events of the weekend was the gathering of Welsh Liberal Democrats at their autumn conference. Wales on Sunday managed a reference from Freedom Mental about Kirsty Williams castigating New-ish Labour for wreaking havoc in Wales, although neither mentioned that the Lib Dems actively helped the bastards do it – from 2001 to 2003 at least.
Whatever rationalisations were touted at the Brecon Castle Hotel, the impending devastation of public services & job in Wales is frighteningly apparent. Promises by Clegg and Williams to mitigate the scale of the damage have proved worthless in light of reported moves to scrap the Severn Barrage and the Defence Training College in St Athan. Moreover, the cynical fashion in which these cuts has been drip-fed into the public domain in advance of the CSR announcements puts Cheryl’s Gillan’s condemnation of union whistle-blowing in perspective.
After a succession of national leadership u-turns over VAT, child benefit and now tuition fees, Liberal Democrats have shown themselves all too willing to abandon their principles and their supporters. People are looking for a distinctiveness that sets Welsh Lib Dems apart from the Westminster crowd. If all Kirsty can offer them is a bit of Labour bashing then things look ominous indeed for next May.
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