Dropping in on Islwyn?

We hear that Labour activists in Islwyn are scanning the skies for parachutists following the news that MP Don Touhig will not be standing in this year’s general election.

In the past, later than expected announcements of this sort usually signalled a rapid selection process which saw the expeditious installation of a bright young researcher or somebody’s assistant into the frame. Blaenau Gwent changed all that, of course, but old habits are known to die long and lingering deaths at Transport House.

There will undoubtedly be a few looking for prior indications that an accommodation has been reached to enable a latecomer to sneak in under the wire. But, as one cynic at the Ebbw Vale WM observed last night, the only sure indicator will be how speedily Lord Touhig of Oakdale is installed. Another possibility discussed was that Don had been persuaded to hold on to his resignation letter until Alun Davies was committed elsewhere. Bitchy or what?
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(PLR)

Is perspective shifting – or just shifty?

It is certainly a day for things and people being shown in a different light.

The Sunday Times reckons that the Audit Commission - which monitors how other people spend public funds - apparently paid nearly £60,000 to lobbyists with links to Labour for advice on how to undermine Tory frontbenchers who challenged its activities.

Meanwhile, the Press Association says that Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, the chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority which will control MPs expenses in future put in a £16,000 bill for taxi fares. (Interestingly, the Independent on Sunday claim the same story as an exclusive).

Not to be outdone, the Sunday Telegraph reports claims that an important environmental work by the UN Climate Change Panel about ice loss from the world's highest peaks is based on a student's dissertation and an article in a mountaineering magazine.

But despite all the disillusionment, the best story of the day is the one about the guy who got fined for blowing his nose - if it's true, that is.
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(CS)

Accused

We note that Peter Black has not managed to comment on our earlier post about the colossal amount of time & money associated with a complaint made by Swansea Council leader Chris Holley against opposition members. This is strange as he usually goes out of his way to put the record straight – when he thinks we get it wrong.

Meanwhile, Rockin’ Rene Kinzett reveals the amazing extent to which he has been shopped to the Public Servcies Ombudsman by senior figures within the ruling Lib Dem-led administration for trivial issues. He does sound pissed off.

Rules of engagement

The rules of local engagement are fairly simple. Let’s face it, they have to be if you’re a politician. Usually, it goes along the lines of if you’re Conservative, then you should be safe slagging off the unions; if you’re Plaid Cymru, take a shot at Labour in Westminster; if you’re Lib Dem, give Labour in the Assembly a kicking and if you’re Labour, have a go at Tesco.

At least that’s the theory, but Swansea Labour leader David Phillips has not won over many friends with his suggestions of a pick and mix planning policy when dealing with supermarket applications.

Some of the website comments accompanying the news report of his call to ‘combat’ Tesco’s drive to dominate town centres indicate he might wish to review his current priorities as opposition leader. Others are a lot less charitable.

..
Say what you like about Tesco, at least they have a dress code.

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(CS)

Democratic dissent under attack

We understand that opposition members on Swansea council have been receiving unwelcome packages in the post this week. Heavy duty cartons weighing up to 22lbs each have been arriving by courier. They contain copies of an in-depth investigative report from the Ombudsman that could lead to measures that will forbid democratic protest in council chambers.

The investigation stems back to August 2008 when Labour and Conservative councillors walked out of a meeting in protest after losing the vote 35-32 to have a report on the local authority’s disastrous e-government venture (a.k.a. Shambles@Swansea) discussed in public. Even the normally supportive local newspaper had earlier given the council a stern finger-wagging about excessive secrecy over the cost of payroll systems, albeit to no avail.

But despite having his way over getting the dirty deed done behind closed doors, Lib Dem council leader Chris Holley was sufficiently miffed by the opposition's exodus to grass them up to the Ombudsman, stating they had "voted against the specific advice of the monitoring officer and head of legal services, plus the Section 151 officer for a report on eGovernment going into private session.”

This improbable complaint was initially rejected after it was pointed out how council summons papers state councillors are "requested" to exclude members of the public prior to debates on certain items.

"This implies the council can deny the request," was the perfectly reasonable conclusion of the public services watchdog.

But in October, it was revealed that this view had been modified. The ambiguous official explanation given was: "In view of additional information received, the Ombudsman has decided that councillor Holley's complaint should be investigated”. Details of the ‘additional information’ were unforthcoming but it is alleged a lengthy legal argument written on behalf of Holley by council officials was involved.

No actual estimates are available on the overall costs of the an 18-month investigation into democratic dissent - although we imagine a Freedom of Information request can be expected pretty soon. It is safe to assume however that staff-hours spent on interviews, travelling, recordings, compiling the evidence plus binding, packaging and delivery by courier service of 32 draft reports runs to quite a few grand.

However, we’re told this is only the draft version and that the whole process will be repeated once the councillors have had a chance to comment on the contents.

Earlier this week, Holley was telling the world how hundreds of council jobs would have to go because of impending budget cuts. He blamed the government and the Assembly for the situation. Then again, this is the same fatuous individual who promised ‘a new era of openness and transparency’ when he assumed office over five years ago.

Meanwhile, others are looking on at Swansea in horror. If the Ombudsman’s findings go to a series of hearings and are subsequently upheld, then the implications are for institutionalised secrecy and hamstrung oppositions in council chambers throughout Wales.

The complaint to the Ombudsman and the follow-up appeal by the council leader are themselves a kick in the balls for openness and transparency. The fact that it was initiated by someone heading up a Liberal Democrat-led local authority is something that even Peter Black will be hard pressed to explain away.

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(JX)

Grand Slammed

A thousand-a-plate for a Labour fund-raiser sounds optimistic - even if the recession is officially over. But the naivety among WRU officials seems no greater that Nick Bourne's in thinking that his 'expose' is going to get the event cancelled.

Similarly contrived outcries can be heard in Gower where there are claims that Lib Dem Peter May appears to be endorsing the tory candidate. Well that's what Rockin' Rene Kinzett says and he wouldn't make something like that up - would he?

Badgers

We've been sent a comment asking if we have a particular view on badgers. Here it is.

Not in the news

Newspaper publishers and impeccably unbiased chaps like Andrew Gilligan have been raging on for simply yonks about how council newspapers are ruining it for the print media.

But last week, the following letter , accompanying an in-depth report, went to digital minister Stephen Timms (virtual government?) from Steve Bundred at the Audit Commission. The AC concludes that English local authorities are not wasting or misusing public money through the publication of council-run newspapers. It goes on to debunk claims by publishers that councils are in a position to attract local advertising and states “The money being spent by councils is not unreasonable, though they should always consider whether it provides good value”.

Strangely, the findings have gone largely unreported in the press.

No indication if the Wales Audit Office will be doing similar work – or if there is a spare Assembly committee looking for something to do.
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(CS)

One committee too many?

The old adage is that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. What then are we to make of the wish list of 21 recommendations by the Assembly’s Enterprise & Learning Committee which include one for a £5bn light railway system for Wales?

Presumably the same members making these recommendations were around when IWJ announced that there was not enough cash in government coffers to finance a new M4 distributor road at Newport. No doubt all of them have done the obligatory hand-wringing over about looming cuts in public spending and how their constituencies will be affected.

Yet another report stating the screamingly bloody obvious that the level of investment in track & infrastructure in Wales stands somewhere between piss-poor and non-existent is one thing. Adding suggestions that billions of public funding can diverted into new schemes merely raises the question as to whether Wales can continue to afford a surfeit of committees in Cardiff Bay with far too much time on their hands.

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(JX)

Make your own David Cameron poster

An entirely free offer from website genius Andy Barefoot that is just too good to miss.

POSTER LINK



....and here's one we made earlier


Update: more creative examples

Force majeure

Sent over by Sid -

The man about to make the fourth estate fifth rate

Columnist and ‘self-styled iconoclast’ Rod Liddle, who has been earmarked as incoming editor at the Independent, has been speaking to the Jewish Chronicle in defence of his on-line rant to the Millwall FC fan forum that he was not allowed to smoke during a visit to Auschwitz.

In a later interview with the Guardian, he stated: "All of these things [comments] are twisted out of context to make me look like a c++t. I may be a c++t but I'm not a racist c++t."

Well that’s reassuring.
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(CS)

Devolving

There is a scene early on in the film version of Ben Hur where the Roman nasty (who gets trampled later in the chariot race) states with conviction that it can be no accident how a small town on the banks of the Tiber came to rule the world. Such sentiments must be familiar to those among the Welsh establishment who have long felt that the gods had a similar purpose in mind for Cardiff.

It transpires that among those occupying this plane of consciousness is David Melding AM who believes that a possible answer to the capital's hitherto unrecognised inferiority complex is more statues.

Given the level of enthusiasm from some well regarded bloggers which greeted his article, it is difficult not to feel out of step. Even so we feel compelled to comment that, if after 10 years, we as a nation can do no better than to be governed & guided by the mantra of “what is good for Cardiff is good for Wales” then the most appropriate commemorative feature would be a small plaque outside the Senedd building bearing the simple inscription: 'Devolution died here'.

Invaders

Just belatedly spotted this over on Sid's site. Still a valley boy at heart, it seems.
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(JX)

Loose lips

We hear that there were a few intakes of breath among WAG senior officials at suggestions by Swansea council leader Chris Holley that he was influential in moves to get a Japanese car components manufacturer to take over the former Valeo plant at Gorseinon.

Although the Lib Dem councillor was clearly eager to give the local paper an impression of being up to speed with events, stating “I'm trying to attract more and more of that business”, a well placed source tells us Department for the Economy & Transport staff have been equally keen to keep details to an absolute minimum during briefings with Swansea council.

Whether this reticence is related to a habit by some administration members to mouth off at boozy match-day events in the council’s Liberty stadium hospitality box is not clear. But we understand that suspicion has already fallen on Calamity Hall for news of on-going negotiations with Toyoda Gosei getting out prematurely and that government officials will be pointing fingers if the deal now goes sour.
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(JX)

It's the economy, innit?

It seems that everyone has a good idea today on how to tackle the economic malaise. Dylan Jones-Evans and Adam Price are in almost harmony in stating that Wales needs business-facing R&D facilities. The City & Guilds has launched a manifesto that skills training can counter the effects of global recession although it somehow also considers greater parity for Welsh language choices a priority in achieving this aim. Oh well.

Meanwhile, Gwilym Morris at WalesHome argues that having fewer public sector jobs and fewer councils in Wales would be a major factor. One example he proffers is an amalgamation of resources and expertise to support operations at the DVLA, Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University NHS Trust, Swansea University and Swansea County Council. It’s an intriguing scenario. Even Sid expounds his views at length on how it is premature to think that Wales can turn its back on sweeteners needed to entice the dragon.

Sadly, the counter-point to all this useful advice is the usual cliché-ridden stuff from Cardiff Bay - although Leighton Andrews does at least offer some hope.
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(CS)

Lib Dems split on something or other

Strange goings-on in parliament as Lembit votes with the Conservatives and against his Lib Dem colleagues on amendments to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill. (OMG)

Details are on Boulton & Co, but the gist is that Anagram and about half the Lib Dem MPs present thought that the tories had a point on technical measures designed to ensure a European referendum even though Nick Clegg had apparently said something different in 2005 and anyway .... ZZZZZ. On second thoughts, read it yourself.
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(JX)

Overworked or over the top?

An item in yesterday’s Beans on Toast (no link) quoted the Public Services Ombudsman as citing Swansea Council as having the worst record in Wales for councillors grassing each other up for alleged misconduct.

No doubt among these complaints under investigation would be the one submitted by the council leader against 31 opposition members who left a meeting in protest over an administration refusal to debate controversial IT issues in public. Accordingly, one might be tempted to suggest that the Ombudsman is actually making a rod for his own back by deciding to give credence to such patent twaddle.

But as the man charged with deciding issues of maladministration as well as misconduct was named consecutively as Peter Tutnalls, Peter Tyndale and Peter Tyndall in the article, it’s just as well that his remit does not extend to quality control in the local press, innit?
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(CS)

Swansea World

Having written once or twice about what looks to be a tightly-fought contest over Swansea West in the looming general election, we were sort of puzzled at the lack of activity by the candidates.

But we see that Lib Dem Peter May has launched his election website and a glossy magazine entitled ‘Swansea World’. It’s a well produced and a surprisingly readable publication – although we should have expected nothing less given his printing background.

We wait to see if Rockin’ Rene Kinzett and the tory election machine have anything equally eye-catching by way of a response in their campaign to capture the marginal Labour-held seat. Anything would be better than his disappointing blogsite.

Update: Whoever wins better make the most of it, for if Lib Dems at Westminster have their way, then the number of MPs in Wales will be slashed significantly. The effect of their plans in our immediate neck of the woods would see the single seat constituencies of Aberavon, Neath, Gower, Swansea East and Swansea West coalesced into a West Glamorgan constituency returning just three members, each elected by single transferable vote.

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(CS)

Considerable difficulties

Funny how things come around to bite you. Just the other day, Geoff Hoon and Patricia Whosit were questioning Gordon’s grip on things. Today, Hoon faced the Iraq Inquiry to answer questions on his cabinet role in the run-up to to the 2003 invasion.

Prior to his appearance, copies of correspondence between the former defence secretary and [then] attorney-general Lord Goldsmith were helpfully made available. The letters show that Goldsmith told Hoon in March 2002 – nearly a year before the war began – that he had put him "in a difficult position" by claiming in an interview that Britain would be entitled to use force without a specific UN resolution and there was no legal necessity to go back to the United Nations.

Some observers drew several parallels of Hoon’s performance today at the inquiry with the interview of eight years ago in that he succeeded in talking a lot whist saying very little – although he did concede that extra supplies of enhanced body armour for troops were not regarded as a top priority.

Perhaps it was his training as a barrister, but his repertoire of guarded answers made him look decidedly shifty. He looked especially uncomfortable when stating he did not think it was "appropriate" in March 2003 for Goldsmith's legal arguments to be debated by the whole cabinet even though he had earlier claimed that, if Goldsmith had said there was no basis for war, there would have been no military action.

They must have loved it over at No 10.

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(PLR)

Protest and the environment

The spectacle of people in badger costumes miming outside the Assembly yesterday in protest at the forthcoming cull is something which you can either sneer at or empathise with depending on your disposition – but protest, in whatever guise, is something long associated with the environmental lobby.

So you have to wonder at their absence during residents protests at the resumption of landfill tipping at Tir John on the eastern outskirts of Swansea.

Friends of the Earth Cymru claim a link exists between landfill activities and birth defects. They list the Tir John operation as a ‘landfill site of concern’ but did not apparently make a peep when tipping started up again. Perhaps the local paper did not contact them for a comment but since when is that an excuse?

The city boasts a long established, well-staffed & independently run Environment Centre but the prospect of household refuse getting dumped next door to a special conservation area does not merit a mention on their sustainable website.

Swansea councillors who voted overwhelmingly in March 2009 to reject plans for a biomass facility at Kings Dock half a mile away did not raise a murmur the following September at the prospect of refuse trucks returning to Port Tennant. As it happens, Swansea Friends of the Earth objected to that same application and expressed concern about the “effect of nitrogen deposition on Crymlyn Bog which is listed as a special area of conservation under the European Habitats Directive”. As mentioned, Tir John landfill is directly alongside the same protected site yet no concerns were heard from the FoE – although they do seem animated about tipping in a quarry elsewhere in the city.

Given these facts, it is questionable as to just how well Swansea is being served by politicians and environmentalists who seem to hold such strong views about biomass plants (and badger culls) yet do not question a cabinet decision to re-open a landfill site – or at least challenge the rationale involved.

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(PLR)

Swansea's not working

Statistical studies usually depict Swansea as a middling sort of place where Goldilocks would have felt right at home but the latest Cities Outlook 2010 report has some very mixed economic messages for Wales’ second city and it's rudderless local authority.

The report is the second in a series of annual assessments that look at the economic prospects & performance of the 64 largest UK cities with particular emphasis on jobs.

It states that the recession has hit cities hard over the last year and put a decade of urban renaissance on hold. Unemployment has risen sharply, particularly among young people. The cities hit hardest have been those with lowest skills, and employment in exposed sectors, according to the authors.

Last year, the Centre for Cities highlighted Swansea’s vulnerability due to its high dependence on public sector employers such as the DVLA. The latest report shows that Swansea is languishing at 56th out of the 64 cities in terms of employment growth. This is despite an almost 20% increase in private sector jobs recorded during the period from 1998 to 2008.

Actual employment figures see the city at the last but three spot with 65.9 while Cardiff stands at 69.2 and the national average is 73.9. Bottom is Liverpool with a 62.5 employment rate.

Swansea Council’s own economic statistics show an almost 40% increase in unemployment over the last year, yet actual expenditure on economic development & regeneration - and which includes job creation strategies - has been successively cut during the last three years. The only growth has been the number of inter-agency forums navel-gazing discussing the need for 'economic equity' or 'employment gateways' and the accompanying secretariats & support staff that seem to be thriving.

Overall it is a very poor showing and one that is very different in factual content to the upbeat picture painted in the council propaganda rag which drops through letter boxes every two months at public expense.

It is also a situation that council leader Chris Holley and his cronies should be asked to explain – when they are not on little trips to Brussels and elsewhere. Although given the state of political opposition in the city and a local media that puts continuity of advertising revenue before serious scrutiny, we do not anticipate too much pressure in that direction.

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(PLR)

Going on the record

At a time when political parties are recruiting former senior police officers as candidates it is something of a challenge to decide the possible eligibility of ex-South Wales chief constable Barbara Wilding following her reported comments to Jane’s Police Review about valley life.

Wales on Sunday recounts Wilding as stating, “I have worked in some of the worst inner city areas in London and the deprivation here is different. There is generation upon generation with no hope or aspiration.

“The girls’ aspiration is to get pregnant as quickly as possible and get a council property, one that is probably at the top of the valley, where the bus runs once a week.

“The Co-op (supermarket) runs at a loss because if it closed there would be no shops, and it does not sell fruit because no one buys fruit and poverty is of an entirely different kind. It is just dire. It makes you want to weep. And the area is just grey, because they are wet, concrete jungles. There is nothing.”

Regardless of the reaction on the WoS article - gained by providing individuals with a reporter’s verbal shorthand down the phone - it has to be remembered that her evocative account is essentially a policing perspective without the "we're all in this together" rhetoric that the uniform demands. It would be even more impressive if she can claim to have formed this powerful and provocative view as a first-hand witness.

Wilding was in post during the 18 months when 24 teenagers killed themselves in the South Wales area and told Welsh Assembly Government officials that they had to intervene, saying “If this many horses had died in strange circumstances, you would have cordons and protection and we would be calling it an epidemic.”

With that kind of perspective to offer, she might be just what Welsh politics needs at the moment.

(Sid)

Whither Plaid in Swansea?

About a year ago, we commented on Plaid Cymru’s dormancy in Swansea and not much has changed since – although there was a period when you would get this slightly worrying warning if you googled “Plaid Cymru Swansea”.

As far as the party’s official website is concerned, the main news is an announcement of the launch of its 2007 Assembly campaign with party stalwart and Searchlight veteran Ian Titherington as Swansea West candidate. Ian has since migrated east to become Grangetown Jack (an often informative & entertaining blogger).

Out of date websites are by no means rare among the political parties, especially in Wales, but the absence of any candidates listed for Swansea east and west constituencies – despite 31 out of 40 having been selected – is not encouraging news for local supporters.

Plaid electoral fortunes in Swansea have dipped significantly since 2005 with a steady decline in vote share. The party got stuffed in the 2008 council elections, losing 3 of out their 4 seats to the Liberal Democrats. Their remaining representative joined the ruling anti-Labour coalition.

Lately there have been rumours, admittedly emanating from partisan sources, that a local accommodation has been reached by which Plaid will tread very softly in the anticipated Swansea West contest thus allowing the Lib Dems to mop up what is expected to be a steady trickle of defecting Labour voters.

Sounds unlikely to us but given the level of Plaid Cymru campaign activity in neighbouring Neath and Llanelli, the party’s lightweight presence in Swansea is puzzling to say the least.

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(PLR)

Website upgrade only on paper

We hear that the Beans on Toast website is likely to get a much-needed makeover. Northcliffe are reported to be "setting up a specialist team of digital publishers who will be charged with improving commercial & editorial offerings across the company’s newspaper companion websites”.

It is not a moment too soon for the company's Swansea site which is already well below acceptable standards in terms of content & format. This decline is especially noticeable when comparisons are made with group counterparts serving the Leicester or Stoke areas. It is rumoured that the sparsity of actual news on their current website is because consultants advised bosses at Adelaide Street that too much news electronic coverage harms circulation - a phenomenon not all that apparent anywhere else in the industry.

Changes are expected in the next few months but it remains to be seen if there are any local improvements in the pipeline.

Note : The Stoke Sentinel reports on ‘scuffles’ at the BNP’s election launch. By comparison, the Post announces something about an X Factor finalist.
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(CS)

Headlines

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New chief constable is not afraid to go shopping

WalesOnline - 15 Jan 2010

A funny sense of priorities

We learn from a usually reliable source that Lib Dem-led Swansea Council has been congratulated on its enlightened policy of allowing people to take photographs in public.

Among its other accolades, the ruling administration also has a cabinet that has made nearly a quarter of its decisions behind closed doors so far this municipal year and two cabinet members who allegedly advocated compulsory sterilisation as a social engineering measure. (But you can take their photos, apparently).
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(MC)

Probity begins at home

Given the general view of late that politics and probity are mutually exclusive, it is probably no great surprise to learn that the Electoral Commission is demanding more stringent measures to combat electoral fraud in coming months.

The Times reports that 48 cases of alleged electoral fraud were investigated by police after the European and council elections last year. In addition, five charges have also been brought against a candidate who stood at the May 2008 election for applying for a proxy vote in another name. The trial will be held in April.

A similar incident happened in Swansea when a tory candidate was arrested for allegedly forging signatures on nomination papers. We don’t seem to be able to find out if that incident ever resulted in prosecution. Anyone know?

Whilst electoral fraud in the UK is nothing new, its perceived growth is attributed by some studies to the advent of voter-friendly measures such a postal voting and on-line registration. There is also the ‘regulatory effect’ of the commission itself as it fulfils one of its roles by flagging up irregularities and breaches of electoral law. Yet very little has happened in practical terms to improve safeguards since Richard Mawrey QC concluded in 2005 that “The system is wide open to fraud and any would-be political fraudster knows that it's wide open to fraud”.

As the article mentions, election officers are presently required to cross match at least 20 per cent of postal vote identifiers (signatures and dates of birth) when they process ballot papers. Officials fear that there could be high levels of fraud slipping through in the remaining 80 per cent. The commission is pressing the Ministry of Justice to introduce mandatory 100 per cent cross-checking for the general election. Although the government is making the right noises, actual change it stifled by delays and arguments as to who ends up paying the cost for additional checks.

For politicians, the challenge is to demonstrate that they are equally willing to conduct a validation of the process that puts them in office as they are to see similar measures imposed in Afghanistan. For the public, as was the case with expenses, it comes down to whether politicians can be trusted to operate as effective game-keepers in their own backyard when so many of them are potential poachers.
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(PLR)

Doing what it says on the tin

Accounts in the Beeb and Western Mail both portray CJ as giving an above-average debut performance at First Ministers question time. There is however a slight hint of disappointment over his proficiency in the role that is tinged with an implied hankering after the kind of erratic narrative that Rodders often used by way of deflection on such occasions and which endeared him to political sketch writers otherwise plagued by a surfeit of colourless characters in the chamber.

We will try not to succumb to the temptation of remarking that they should have been more careful what they lobbied wished for.
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(CS)

Another election quote

"Once more the Liberal Democrats have positioned themselves as the party of economic competence who understand the importance of maintaining important frontline public services".
Peter Black

Update: Lib Dems' Nick Clegg shelving party pledges
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(MC)

Polls apart

It’s interesting, but not all that surprising how Peter Black prefers Ian Dale’s assessment of electoral outcomes rather than the gloomier projections on sites elsewhere. It makes a change to have someone else other than the Lib Dems talking up their chances but that doesn’t make them any more credible.

Bizarrely however, ICM reports little change in the polls arising from the Hoon-Hewitt internecine debacle other than a slight discernable shift in favour of Labour (margins of error permitting and all that).

This could well change following Cameron’s sturdy performance with Andrew Marr this morning in which he showed no intention of getting wrong-footed by Labour’s sudden shift towards upfront austerity rather than delayed pain.

Another factor might be the book which Mr Dale’s company is publishing on the memoirs of embittered ex-New Labour apparatchik Peter Watt who found himself caught out as the sacrificial meat in the donor-kebab scandal of few years back. Based on the teaser extracts printed in the Daily Mail (where else?) it promises to be a bit repetitive in scope. We quite like the title though.

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(CS)

Headlines

Leadership coup "not discussed at cabinet"

Press Association - 8 January 2010

Truth about stadium gets kicked into touch

All is not well at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium – despite recent Swans and Ospreys performances to the contrary.

Earlier reports on this blog of alleged legal disputes between council and stadium management company SSMC were more or less confirmed by the Evening Post a few days later. Today it is the turn of the Western Mail to provide more details of litigation over design defects at the 20,000 seater venue.

It makes for very sorry reading. It is also sadly typical of a bungling political administration that may be in office but is clearly not in charge – as highlighted by the fact that two out of the six directors who plan to sue the council are cabinet members.

Concerns have also been voiced at officer level about a so-called ‘sinking fund’ earmarked for major repairs which SSMC are supposed to fund by £200,000 but has instead been used to pay for new shop fronts for retail units and consultants’ fees.

Having previously refused to make any press comment, Calamity Hall is now spinning some flannel about how ‘well-bring’ powers were used to finance building of the £33 million stadium and that they is no need for any return. It adds that it is “saving thousands” by passing on responsibilities for day-to-day running costs to the management company. The reaction elsewhere to this official response is that (1) Wormtongue must not have received extracts of the cabinet report which are supposed to be circulating; and (2) it’s all patently bollocks since the main financial beneficiaries are a couple of privately owned sports clubs.

The reluctance of SSMC to go into details, on the other hand, suggests that they intend to continue quietly screwing a lot more money out of council coffers for some time.

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Meanwhile, the bad news for Swansea’s council taxpayers is that there does not seem to be a single individual operating in the local press or politics with sufficient bottle - or without special interest - to be able to speak up loudly on their behalf and point out that there is glaring difference between the use of well-being powers and taking the piss.

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(JX)

Not helping

You have to hand it to New-ish Labour. No sooner do they appear to be steering on a course likely to bring them closer to defeat as opposed to electoral obscurity so a pair of embittered non-entities appear on the scene demanding that the party leadership is settled "once and for all".

The twosome have written a warning to fellow MPs that "There is a risk otherwise that the persistent background briefing and grumbling could continue up to and possibly through the election campaign, affecting our ability to concentrate all of our energies on getting our real message across" - an outcome some might say that they have already managed to achieve between them.

It's enough to make a chap sick.
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(CS)

Headlines

Man used shoelace to escape cell

S.Wales Evening Post - 5 Jan 2010

Best election quote so far

“There is nothing wrong with devolution that Conservative policies cannot fix”.

See the full text by Nick Bourne.

Bench-blocking

What sounds like a quaint parkland activity is apparently the effect of long-term absenteeism by members of the House of Lords. It is reported that a number of that august body have not actually turned up to a debate for the last 20 years and ‘reformers’ now calling for a cull of the missing peers.

No-one can actually say if having a dozen or more missing from the proceeding has had any noticeable effect upon business at the Upper House or why it has taken so long for anyone to do anything about it. But as up to 100 new life peerages are expected to be created after the general election, it might be simply a matter of finding space that has prompted moves to strip the truants of their ermine.

Pass the ammunition, chaps.
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(CS)

Out of touch

Peter Black finds himself curiously out of tune with Evening Post readers who appear to have given a negative reaction to his critical press release over Jack Straw statement’s about lazy cops. There is little empathy with the AMs outrage over what he calls “a gross slur on the professionalism of a hard-working but under-resourced profession” by the Justice Minister. In fact, most seem to agree with the view that some police officers might actually prefer staying in the warmth of the police station than getting out on the beat.

What's the betting that the coming weeks see something a little less positive about local policing issued from Mr Black's office?

Update: Black finds himself eclipsed on the political unreality front by Labour’s Swansea West compromise candidate Geraint Davies who wants to screw up close off Wind Street for seven nights a week. Among his reasons is that it would be an effective “anti-terrorist” measure. Someone in the local party needs to take the nurk aside and explain to him what a “Trebanos Commando” actually means.
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(MC)

Headlines

"Nasty end" for Big Brother predicted

4 January 2010

Alliances

The Sunday Times carries the suggestion that a Labour and Lib Dem alliance might emerge if certain obscure augurs are to be believed. Transport Secretary Lord Adonis – who is not overtly part of the current dump-Brown brigade - is reported as sucking up to Nick Clegg big-time whilst claiming that there is “no ideological divide” between new Labour and the Lib Dems.

Tempting as it is to compare this engaging fantasy with Hitler’s urgent exhortations from his bunker in 1945 to regiments long since lost in Russian snows, it takes Jenni Russell, guesting in the same edition, to spell out the incompatibility between Labour in government and anyone else – including the New Labour regime that took office in 1997 when things actually did briefly get better.

Regardless of hints and approaches from ex-compatriots, everyone knows that Clegg will give the nod to a slender majority tory government – although he is astute enough to avoid making any commitments just now that would simply bolster the 20% barrier that he must break if he is to retain his own party’s leadership. Similarly, he must be aware that he will be face constant challenges from press, political opponents and his own members in the run-up to the election as to which of the coded tory spending decisions he is prepared to back – Ken Clarke notwithstanding.

Brown seems to be settling into the role of election underdog, according to the Sunday Telegraph, but even though it is David Cameron who once reputedly described the Lib Dems as the Yorkshire Terriers of politics who “yap loudly and only occasionally nip your ankles”, both will no doubt be going out of their way to give Clegg a pat on the head – that is, until the real fight starts.
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(PLR)

Council back-peddles on recycling

It’s that time when households get reminders from their local authority about doing their bit for the environment by recycling Christmas cards and present packaging. Swansea is no exception but this year the message carries more than a tinge of hypocrisy as the council’s green credentials get called into question by its decision to re-open a controversial landfill site.

A couple of year back, Swansea hit the headlines for taking a rather robust approach when enforcing its recycling rules. Recently, council officials were spotted rooting in bin bags around the city to ensure that they all contained the right kind of rubbish. Now, despite local protests from residents and the fact that the tipping area is alongside a site of special scientific interest, the Tir John site – located at the city’s main eastern gateway – is set to see another 10 years of landfill operations.

One councillor representing the area, and who also a ruling cabinet member, claimed the only issue might be one of smell. He could be right. His constituents certainly think the decision stinks.
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(JX)

Swabbing the other cheek

Every so often, the Swansea-based Evening Post provides a none-too-subtle reminder that it is not just part of the right-wing stable of publications (inc. Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday) but is also edited by people with highly questionable insights.

Whilst even the Daily Telegraph points out the unfairness of inconsistencies within UK police forces on DNA retention – recently highlighted by Conservative researchers - the Beans on Toast seems far more sanguine about people remaining on a national database even though they have never been charged with any offence.

In an inane editorial which starts off with blather about balancing individual rights with collective responsibilities, the paper questions if there actually is a public outcry and then states “Surely if you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear, even if you once did let the police swab the inside of your cheek”.

Leaving aside the temptation to suggest that the author should lead by example and trot along to the local nick to offer up a voluntary sample, such breath-taking statements do tend to make you question other claims about how the nation needs a “free, independent and powerful regional press acting as the voice of the community”.
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(CS)