Mayor makes a meal of it - again

According to press reports, it seems that a majority of Gorseinon town councillors managed to lived down to local expectations when they opted to discuss the hot potato of council largesse with the public locked out. In the ruckus that followed, five members who had voted for details to be heard in public walked out in protest.  

Mayor Bruno, whose inauguration dinner allegedly cost local residents over £4000 - and which was supposed to be the subject under debate – later stated that “checks would have to be made to see if any councillors had breached the authority's code of conduct”. However it’s not exactly clear if he was speaking about the events of the night or the manner in which detailed costs of the civic shindig fell into the hands of the local press.

Either way, the comments possess as much sensitivity as a house-brick given the circumstances and will do little to help the reputation of an elected body that is seen in the locality as fast becoming an embarrassment rather than an asset.

In fact, for a meeting that was held in private, there seems to have been an awful lot said afterwards, including an insistent mayor stating that the whole purpose of the dinner was to recognise the work of “ordinary people in the community”. Yet sceptics are likely to ask just how many ordinary people were actually invited along with all the other civic dignitaries, official guests and entertainers.

Celebrating what is good in a community is always something that should be supported. But refusing the give the same community an opportunity to be told how its money is being spent in such endeavours only serves to put the credibility of its councillors, both at a personal and political level, in a very poor light. ‘Nuff said.

Oh, and by the way, we’ve noted that this site has received a regular number of hits in recent weeks from a Gorseinon-based firm of solicitors (83.104.243.202). We wait to see if said interest is a professional one.

Broken policing needs money – not a makeover

Reform can be a frustrating business. In the last days of the Soviet system, the grim glasnost joke was how, when Gorbachev’s train broke down outside Moscow, he stoutly rejected his predecessors’ solution of shooting the drivers and sending their families to Siberia. Instead, he and his politburo colleagues formed a semi-circle around the engine and joining hands, they shouted loudly, “the train isn’t working, the train isn’t working”.

It is hard to disguise the same emblematic pointlessness which underpins government plans for each police force area to elect its own commissioner in May 2012 – even if the Home Secretary insists it is intended to “re-establish the links between the police and the public”.

It was inevitable that local government would make its own bid but whilst the Western Mail has understandably chosen to focus on unflattering comments by Dyfed-Powys’ chief constable, a tough reality for the town-hall brigade, who have been encouraged by successive governments to regard themselves as community leaders, is that their views do not so much lack merit as they do actual relevance in the debate.

In truth, the WLGA carries less weight in such matters as the network of local police forums set up in recent times. Let’s be honest, the only occasion that anyone even remembers the existence of police authorities in Wales is when the media report on attempted budgetary blackmail by the gang of four. Could directly elected commissioners be any worse? Perhaps not - but there is no evidence that they would be any better, either.

Devolving administration down to modern-day equivalents of the old watch committees presents its own inherent dangers but the fact that the idea has no Assembly sponsors puts all the past talk of inclusiveness and partnership by Rodders and his successor in perspective. Local government in Wales is still perceived as little more than a sub-contractor of the Welsh Assembly – a fact epitomised by an outbreak of inter-government consensus that councils need to be kept firmly in their place.

Very few at the sharp end are under any illusion that the rationale behind the gimmicky of commissioners is that they will present a convenient focus for public anger when the consequences of having to police the streets with a lot less resources becomes painfully apparent. According to recent research, insurance groups estimate premiums will rise exponentially to match a predicted 15% increase in crime & disorder. Analysts foresee the inevitable return to the scene of the private security patrol firm which flourished in the 1980s as public spending on policing fell.

The same alarming figures are set to find their way into ACPO and Police Federation briefings sent to MPs of all parties who will in turn be seeking to ‘moderate’ the Home Secretary’s reforming zeal. The expectation among the thin blue line is that something resembling a status quo will emerge. They know as well as anyone that, in politics, fixes have a habit of becoming a fudge.

Uphill struggle for coalition cheeleaders

A noticeable and unexpected trait emerging among the hitherto free-thinking souls behind a few Welsh tory and Lib Dem blogs is their unreserved endorsement of whatever right-ish but populist mantra that comes out of the Cameron-Clegg government.

Partisan commentary of this ilk is hardly surprising in this post-honeymoon period. After all, it’s over a decade since the Conservatives were in power and very few people alive today can remember when Liberals last roamed the earth Whitehall thus there is still some sense of novelty. Even so, all the unabashed cheer-leading from the acolytes makes it feels a bit like the Life of Brian as they swarm back and forth in synch with whatever ministerial muttering has made today’s lead news.

The reshuffling of reality (and short term memories) that followed the VAT announcement is the sort of thing you might expect as the coalition finds its feet - not an easy trick on constantly shifting ground. But the trend seems to be that if Cameron is angry about continued resistance to admitting Turkey to the EU then tory bloggers are incandescent – and who cares about institutionalised human rights abuses sanctioned by Ankara against the Kurdish population, anyway. Similarly, on-line Lib Dems who have previously lambasted  Conservatives for seeking to dismantle simplify the benefits system, are now thoughtfully backing IDS by reproducing some helpful examples of just how jolly well complicated the present arrangement has become – and ASBOs don’t really work either, apparently.

If these bloggers are happy to reproduce cut-and-paste spin from their respective HQs then that is entirely their business; to be honest we find it quite entertaining to read the implausible suggestion that each party is leading the other when initiatives find fleeting popular approval - and the reverse when the shit hits the headlines. But this continued insistence that the coalition has produced a government run by enlightened tories and moderated by hard-nosed Lib Dems only serves to raise one key question, namely: who on earth are they trying to convince?

Questions over bus station project

There is no question that the Evening Post website is a vast improvement on the poorly presented and woefully edited version that went before. But it still somehow manages to miss out on the more intriguing items that appear in the printed publication.

One example is the news the architects behind the new £10 million Quadrant bus station have walked away from the scheme months before completion. The official reason attributed to designers Jefferson Sheard is that a ’business review’ has prompted their abrupt exit. Insiders however say that there have been so many changes to the long overdue project, that costs are now massively over the original estimates.  There have reportedly been a series of fall-outs between various contractors and the council over who is at fault and who picks up the bill. The current betting is that it will be Swansea’s taxpayers doing the latter.

However, another item which appeared in print, but not on-line, is that Labour have selected Julie James as their candidate for Swansea West in next year’s assembly elections. James is the local authority’s ex-chief legal officer and was something of a utility hate figure for the Lib Dem-run coalition prior to her resignation. No doubt she will be eager to engage in a bit of payback.

Asking some pertinent questions about the bus station would probably be an appropriate starting point.

The unkindest cut of all - for some

We read that Welsh MPs are getting twitchy at the suggested speed with which the ConDem government want to press ahead on its plans to ‘reduce and equalise’ the nation’s electoral map.

The stated aim is to cut the number of MPs sitting at Westminster from 650 to 600; about an 8% reduction overall. But the suggestion is that Wales should see the number reduced by 25% (from 40 to 30) if the same ratio per representative is to applies here as it will in England. At present, the average constituency in England has 71,500 voters, compared to 65,500 in Scotland and 56,500 in Wales.

If the rearrangement of seats takes the same approach as outlined by the Electoral Reform Society – and there is no identifiable reason so far why it should not – then the axe will fall on the existing constituencies of Arfon, Aberconwy, Cardiff South & Penarth, Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South, Delyn, Gower, Islwyn, Montgomeryshire, Newport East and Ogmore. These will then be divided up among the remaining 30; but it does not stop there as there is quite a bit of edging and trimming as communities are shuffled around to balance things out.

Of course, changing the number of constituencies also affects the Welsh Assembly but MPs are understandably not too bothered about that extraneous aspect just at present. As the various voting scenarios unfold, Labour insist the changes are ruinous for them Wales, the Lib Dems argue that “fairness is a simple principle which should operate in our democracy” but don’t explain why Scotland is exempt from the changes. Meanwhile, Plaid are still counting on their fingers and the Tories appear to be keeping out of it.

Meanwhile, those chickens members keen to stay on in the Smoke are busy re-discovering family roots and connections in adjoining constituencies.

Boulevards!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ... a local newspaper employed a business editor by the name of Mary Rees. Mary’s ‘robust’ attitude towards new schemes gained her a reputation among the local commercial world akin to Darth Vader in knickers - and it was deserved in many cases. But what no-one ever disputed was that she had a keen nose for bullshit whenever it was offered up to her on a plate.

So her nostrils would have been twitching overtime at the hyped up announcement of boulevards and suchlike which Swansea Council spinners are sending out for eager consumption by un-enquiring minds within the media.

As can be seen from the plan which accompanies a report going to this week’s cabinet meeting, what is actually up for decision is an initial phase to fill in the underpass beneath Quay Parade and build a new pedestrian crossing. So far, so good - after all, the proposal has only been on the drawing board for about 20 years.

But the absolutely gob-smacking part is the suggestion to “improve traffic flow” by closing up a lane so that eastward heading vehicle [i.e. heading from Sainsburys towards the city] will no longer be able to turn right into Wind Street!

Not content with screwing up one of the last remaining north-south roads in the city centre, the geniuses at Calamity Hall also want to turn Adelaide Street, which runs along the frontage of the Evening Post, into a one –way street.

What affect all this will have on businesses on Wind Street and High Street – not to mention Morgans and nearby residents - is anyone’s guess. It is probably too much to expect that anyone has actually been consulted; beyond the usual council stooges, that is.

If these incredibly stupid measures are nodded through on Thursday then businesses in the city centre will be entitled to ask if the bodies set up to work on their behalf are worth the money.

Swansea’s electors, on the other hand, will continue to ponder if they afford a local authority that is patently run by forces from the dim side.

Enemy at the gates

It is starting to emerge that it was actually disgruntled members of Nick Griffin’s own party that got him banned from a Buckingham Palace garden party.

The embattled neo-Nazi leader has been struggling to regain his member’s confidence and recently set up a new campaigns executive as a counter-coup against internal critics. This was achieved in true style when former BNP webmaster Simon Bennett and several others were summarily dismissed by Griffin and his re-formed praetorian inner circle earlier this year.

One embittered ex-employee is said to have reported that the right-wing leader and MEP was “parading his invitation around at every opportunity” in political gatherings.  It was also alleged that there had been a suggestion he would raffle off the ticket to raise funds until it was discovered that invitations are not transferable. Griffin also boasted about the royal party on his blog, calling his attendance a "highly symbolic breakthrough".

Having been beset by a succession of power-struggles, the BNP now finds itself in the more mundane but equally costly territory of fighting off a series of unfair dismissal claims and dealing with a copyright infringement (Marmite) that refuses to go away.

Meanwhile, Bennett has maintained control of the party’s Facebook site with nearly 26,000 members and its Twitter feed. He linked them to a new website which exposes the financial dealings of named businessmen with the BNP and calls for reform of the party’s constitution.

The BNP has taken legal proceedings against Bennett, presumably paid for out of members’ donations, but that has not silenced him. His website is likely to become a focus for those planning to oust Griffin from the leadership following his public humiliation at the palace gates.

Do Lib Dems need a de-tox or just an identikit?

As you would expect, the slightly astonishing assertion made earlier in the week by Lib Dem MP Tim Farron that David Cameron and his party are “toxic”, has sparked a further flurry of press coverage about “growing unease” within the party over decisions and how they are taken.

According to various publications, activists on the ground report that the previously successful portrayal of Lib Dem ministers as a moderating force no longer carries much weight in the constituencies. Clegg has been reduced to compliant glove puppet status, thanks to perceptions reinforced by the press and Mock the Week.

Farron goes some way towards defining the dilemma facing Lib Dems by contending that it is vital for his party to avoid becoming managerial in government. He feels that ministers must remain spiky when it comes to defending their crusading principles. Otherwise, he says "our identity is going to be potentially compromised if we are not careful."

He fails to say whether describing the Iraq war as illegal from the dispatch box fits into this game-plan but you can see where he is coming from.

The kind of blurred accountability that arises from coalition government is particularly well illustrated by the on-line exchanges between Peter Black and former Labour council leader Jeff Jones. Neither can say with any authority whether the ‘signals’ that rail electrification from London to Swansea is about to get ditched reviewed are true. The same could probably be said of those higher up the food chain but whilst this no more than an indication that the process of government remains as opaque as ever, the danger is that the new third force in politics will be seen to be is living down to the critics’ expectations.

Even Simon Hughes, who beat Farron to become deputy leader, admits that Lib Dems have struggled to spell out their own distinctive policies so far. But then again both coalition partners appear to have their share of runners-up warning believers of the perils associated with straying from the true path.

Nevertheless, Hughes is just as clear that the Lib Dems should distinguish more clearly which policies they actively support from those they are obliged to back as where part of a collective responsibility that is unwelcome but unavoidable. He adds, "We need to be clear when things come from the Conservative stable this is not our proposal but we have accepted it because it is part of the package."

It will be fascinating to see, and if, Clegg and his colleagues can deliver on that aim when so many are demanding clarity and consistency on public spending plans. A coalition that is intent on internal blame-shifting cannot expect to have much of a shelf life – which may explain why the electoral reform package announced this week is to be fast-tracked by both partners.  

All that glitters ... etc

It’s remarkable how newspapers tend to modify their perspective whenever an A-list celeb looms on the horizon. The South Wales Evening Post proves itself no exception in today’s gushing editorial which lauds “Swansea’s own Catherine Zeta Jones” for making an appearance at the Children’s Hospital for Wales this week.

Memories may be slightly faded now, but the facts are that initial fundraising attempts for ‘a children’s hospital for Wales’ received a very lukewarm reception outside the capital – primarily because most people suspected that the agenda was a national campaign to fund a children’s hospital for Cardiff.

At the time, there was no louder, self-proclaimed sceptic than the Beans on Toast itself.

For many in south west Wales, the subsequent loss of children’s neurosurgery and other paediatric services was evidence that their fears were well founded but by then the bandwagon had already rolled over any remaining opposition.

The Noah’s Ark appeal has been equally skilful in projecting its cause as it has in lobbying the ministers to finance a second phase at the Heath. The charity works hand in pocket with agents eager to ensure a line-up of sporting & showbiz dazzle that rubs off on the politicians. It can be a tricky business, especially when squabbles break out within the same party over national versus regional priorities – although there was that brief outbreak of consensus to condemn Labour minister Brian Gibbons for conjuring up a £2m match-funding package for the hospital just a few days before the 2007 Assembly elections.

A few months later, the Cardiff LHB decided against putting up its £1.1m share of expected annual running costs, stating that the board was unconvinced the proposal “would meet the future needs of medical care for children, particularly the provision for outpatients and for care once youngsters are fit to be discharged”,

But such inconvenient contradictions somehow tend to evaporate and, true to form, Carwyn announced at the beginning of this month that WAG would be stumping up for the overdue second phase. (Of course, that was before he set off to tell the rest of the NHS in Wales that tougher times were a-coming).

One of the pearls given to CZJ by her publicists is the quote “It's hard to believe there was never a designated children's hospital in our country”. A lot of people here could probably say the same thing - albeit from a slightly different perspective.

With office comes responsibility

We see that Peter Black got his underwear in knots over ‘speculation’ by the Western Mail that plans for a £1bn upgrade of the London-Swansea rail line will be derailed – although it seemed to us that the paper mainly reported what respective politicians had to say on the subject.

Being in government, as Black has observed himself on quite a few occasions, involves taking unpopular decisions and accepting that you and your party are accountable for them. Petulantly blaming Labour in every paragraph because circumstances now require ministers to decide on priorities is hardly going to help matters.

Plaid chairman stands down

Further adding to Plaid’s minor string of internal difficulties is the news that John Dixon, the party’s well respected chairman, is standing down after eight years in the post. Citing personal and business reasons for the decision, Dixon adds on his blog that there are some “significant political reasons” that have also prompted his resignation.

He states, “There are a number of ways in which I feel that the party has moved, or is moving, in a direction which I cannot support, but being a national office-holder has fettered my freedom to say so.”

About as helpful as a hole in a lifeboat

We remarked on Sunday about how plans were allegedly afoot to displace Bethan Jenkins as top Plaid nomination for South Wales West at next year’s Assembly elections. The convoluted reasoning behind this suggested overthrow is that it was payback for intrigues by her partner Neil McEvoy, deputy leader at Cardiff council, who is trying to unsettle the natural order of things in South Wales Central.

Whilst the purported threat comes over as a bit fatuous, McEvoy for one appears to be taking it all very seriously and has decided to help out.

Copies are now circulating of an email he recently sent to a local contact urging ex-car workers to sign a letter of mass support for Bethan after her campaigning work on their behalf. A passage in the letter states, “imagine the surprise of the Visteon workers when we learned that someone from within Plaid is standing against Bethan in her South Wales West region”.

The covering email, which is copied in to Bethan Jenkins and her press & political officer Duncan Higgitt, carries the advice to “ask for email responses that they are happy to sign. We can then add that to an electronic version to release. Let me know about the responses.”

We can only imagine what Wales on Sunday will make of this but party managers, and others, who are reportedly aiming to frustrate McEvoy’s political ambitions will no doubt be delighted by his apparent willing assistance.

Death and taxes revisited?

Government Accused Of 'Death Tax' U-Turn - Sky News

Putting the boot in

Last month, spokespersons at the Sustainable Development Commission in Wales were portraying the challenges of public spending austerity as opportunities to introduce better energy efficiency and smarter use of resources.

Today, the Guardian reports that the ConDem government is to announce plans to scrap the Commission in order to meet targets for public sector spending cuts.

The paper also predicts that the unilateral action will “raise tensions” between the UK government and devolved administrations who jointly own the agency. Jane Hutt is quoted a stating that the SDC is playing an important part in the assembly's plans to move Wales to a zero-carbon economy. There is no comment from Conservative or Liberal Democrat AMs on the subject.

News of the agency’s demise comes on the day it releases its annual report into green improvements to the government's operations. This contains details of millions of pounds in savings in fuel costs, water and waste.

Welsh economy is expendable, apparently

The gobsmacking news tonight is that at least 250 jobs are to be axed in a shake-up of the Assembly’s department of Economy & Transport in Wales. This represents a 25% cut in the workforce of an arm of government that is supposed to deliver its Economic Renewal Programme.

The Beeb quotes sources as saying that reductions will be mainly by early retirement, voluntary redundancy and departmental transfers.

Reaction from the Welsh CBI, who allegedly had advance notice of the announcement, is fairly sanguine about the whole thing. Unlike Dylan Jones Evans who has consistently challenged the flimsy rationale underpinning ERP, the view from the decidedly cheap seats is that decapitation is an inevitable outcome of an ongoing supply-side downsizing action vis-a-vis golden eggs.

And after all, everyone knows that IWJ doesn’t really do ‘economy’. He was more than happy to shunt off the responsibility to Leighton Andrews – and now Jocelyn Davies – in order to concentrate more of his time on trains, planes and whatever.

But while First Minister Carwyn is out and about chewing things over with the proles, between soundbites, a few opponents on either side of the chamber are already asking why the DE&T and why now? Some are even pondering whether the recent expositions in committee by Andrew Davies about civil service intransigence actually had a degree of official sanction.

Others look on askance and point to far more superfluous limbs on the money tree that could be lopped off with little noticeable effect. One such candidate is arguably the National Leadership & Innovation Agency for Healthcare (NLIAH) whose annual ‘core’ budget of £10.4 million goes towards “developing and providing programmes and support to the NHS in Wales, together with NLIAH’s staff and running costs”.  Yet no-one seems able to say how what this body is better placed in performing this role than the Wales Centre for Health or Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) or the Health of Wales Information Service (HOWIS) or even Public Health Wales.

To date, the WAG spin-corps has just about managed to sell ERP as something approximating the Big Society with bells on but that situation will only last for so long. Given a bit of time, even the compliant Welsh media will start to question how the One Wales government can tackle the rising level of unemployment in Wales when they plan on adding to the total. But by then it will probably be too late.

Throw this one back in the water - quickly

Every so often, Swansea’s local paper feels obliged to take public bodies and politicians to task for being demonstrably out of touch with local priorities. So it will be interesting to see if anyone among the great & gobby actually has sufficient bottle to give the Beans on Toast a bit of grief over their bizarre suggestion on a future use for St Helen’s sports ground.

Bemoaning that the historical venue is no longer fit to host first class cricket, an editorial blithely comments that: “It could be a wonderful location for an aquarium — something Cardiff has not got — which would be a valuable addition to the city's tourist attractions”.

Considering the regularity with which the paper reports on economic gloom, treasury deficits and ever deepening public spending cuts that will affect every household in its circulation area, you have to wonder what the weather must be like on Planet Northcliffe – perhaps we should all go there for a break from day-to-day reality.

As it happens, the UK’s newest aquatic attraction, The Deep at Hull, was built at a cost of £53 million (nearly twice the amount spent on LC2) and is run by a charitable trust. It is already tipped to become the North East’s equivalent of Wales’ Botanical Gardens as visitor numbers fail to match original projections; despite an extensive marketing and PR campaign. Even the popular London Aquarium is only able to break even because of substantial public subsidies and corporate sponsorship – which may both dry up in the near future.

There is no doubt that St Helen’s is fast becoming an run-down eyesore which Swansea Council has failed to address because of persistent dithering at leadership level & vested interests within the ruling Lib Dem group. But even their half-baked development plans which were quickly dumped a while back in the face of local opposition had at least a tinge of credibility about them.

More stormy waters

Another squall has been spotted developing in the South Wales West regional constituency. This time it’s in tory waters where the detritus from the decision to keep Alun Cairns in two jobs continues to float to the surface.

Cairns should have given up his Assembly role after winning a parliamentary seat in May. But despite having supported earlier recommendations to stop ‘double-jobbing’ in politics, Welsh Conservatives insisted that the newly installed MP for the Vale of Glamorgan also stay on in the Senedd. This understandably enraged the number two name on the regional list, Chris Smart, who accused his party of showing "total disregard" for voters.

At the time, press commentators put the contrary decision down to the outspoken Smart telling Capn' Cameron’s lackeys to take a walk a few years earlier when they tried to get him to withdraw following allegations about the Porthcawl town councillor in an anonymous leaflet - although his personal bankruptcy in 2008 might also have been a factor.

Since then, reciprocative niggles about Cairns’ own suitability have been highlighted through various non-attributable sources. Most attempt to recycle the allegation that the AM lobbied officials in order to get expenses guidelines changed so that he could keep his second home in Cardiff Bay. The latest, from an un-named ‘member of the public’ but dutifully reproduced by the Nick Bourne fan-base chapter within the Western Mail, is that the Assembly is refusing to publish specific details of his expenses.

Whoever is dripping the poison is unlikely to be thanked by party managers for rocking a leaking boat by resurrecting memories of iPods and trouser-presses in the minds of the electorate less than a year before Assembly elections. But you tend to get the distinct impression that seeking approval is not part of the perpertrator's stratgey anyway.

Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see in this day of new politics how the old adage still runs true that the people who sit across from you in the chamber are merely the opposition; the enemy are those who sit alongside you.

Turning a coup into a drama

A gossipy piece under Martin Shipton’s byline offers Plaid watchers hope that internal selection squabbles are about to beset the Party of Wales. Although it has to be said that the details read like a poorly scripted daytime soap.

According to WoS, ex-Llanelli parliamentary hopeful Myfanwy Davies is allegedly part of a plot to ditch South Wales West regional AM Bethan Jenkins because she is the partner of troublesome Cardiff deputy leader Neil McEvoy who may decide to try toppling Chris Franks in South Wales Central if he (McEvoy) doesn’t get the Cardiff West nomination – or something like that.

Far more interesting, from our perspective, is that Ms Davies seems to think that the boundary changes mentioned here a few days ago are a done deal. It will be instructive to learn if her party colleagues are equally happy to see Penllaergaer, Pontardulais, Llangyfelach and most of Mawr absorbed into a new Llanelli constituency.

Veiled threats over burkas

According to immigration minister Damien Green, emulating French parliamentarians who have outlawed full-face veils, including burkas, in public would be “rather un-British” and run contrary to the conventions of a “tolerant and mutually respectful society”.

However, his tory colleague Phillip Hollobone who has tabled the Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill says he will not meet burka or niqab-clad women at his constituency surgery unless they lift their veils. His stance is said to be backed by a growing number of right-wingers who are annoyed at the degree to which the “softs” (previously known as “wets”) are in the ascendancy.

They will be probably be spluttering on their brandy & sodas to learn that Home Office officials have advised that the Kettering MP could be nicked under the Human Rights Act if he holds good to his threat.

No doubt someone will ask why this advice was not apparently to hand when former Home Secretary  and alleged lip-reader Jack Straw revealed how he “requested” veils to be lifted at his MPs surgery.

ConDem coalition to foster public services privatisation

An inevitable result of tories getting their legs under ministerial desks was a systematic rolling back of the state apparatus and more individual freedoms – or in more plain language, privatising a range of government services in return for large scale election campaign donations.

An investigation by the Guardian reveals details of how government efficiency plans aimed at slashing spending in town halls and supposedly boosting productivity in the health service are likely to deliver new business for private companies worth billions of pounds.

Executives in outsourcing firms such as Capita are said to be rubbing their hands in expectation of huge lucrative contracts that will put local authority back-office services up and down the UK into the hands of more efficient, i.e. cheaper, private contractors.

The paper also reports that US health giants Humana, UnitedHealth, Aetna and MCCI are all understood to be interested in healthcare contracts that could flow from a new commissioning system in which GPs may be given the power to buy in services from any accredited health group or hospital. Although the switch in responsibilities does not apply in Wales, there are plenty of other clinical and non-clinical opportunities for firms to pursue.  

Whilst the private sector is anticipating a payback bonanza, unions are pointing out that the instances where actual savings have been realised through privatisation are very few. Most end up costing taxpayers considerably more through poorly drafted and badly managed contracts which result in additional charges or penalties.

But a key difference this time around is that ministers are not pushing the compulsory competitive tendering of the Thatcher era which subsequently spawned several bastard offspring under Blair’s improvement agenda. The view is that existing powers are sufficient to induce councils, hospitals and public bodies to go down the road of private contracts without any additional legislation.

They could well be right if rumours are true that an imminent attack on minimum wage levels is also part of the ConDem strategy. It would be a huge enticement to the public sector operating outside Whitehall who will be desperate to achieve year-on-year savings and could be the determining factor for many public service operations.

As a spokesman for the New Local Government Network puts it, "The private sector likes the clarity it has seen from the new government,"

"It will see the present climate as a greater opportunity than over the last couple of years even though the budgets are shrinking. The low-hanging fruit have already been picked in terms of rubbish collection and street cleaning.

"The services that are now likely to be privatised are those such as probation and care homes, and the public will feel a different emotional attachment to them."

An added dimension of the Cameron-Clegg brand of privatisation is the advent of customer call-centres in service industries which could well mean some town hall functions being transferred overseas. According to the Guardian, The potential volume of work is so great that firms from India and Germany have already entered the market.

The Observer reports that DWP Secretary Ian Duncan Smith has told officials to redo their sums over the projected costs of the benefits change he is planning and anticipated take-up levels. Under the circumstances it sounds like very good advice.

Look who's talking - or are they?

Attribution can be a tricky thing for those practitioners who don’t take the cut-and-paste approach to journalism. So we should forgive the odd slip-up and if possible avoid trotting out the tired maxim that the best reporters never allow facts to get in the way of a good story (everyone knows it’s editors who say that sort of thing anyway).

After digging up figures which suggest that crowd control measures are needed for Assembly government staff, it’s natural that Martin Shipton would seek comment from the private sector. After all, a doubling in the number of civil servants makes reaction a prerequisite; preferably the more outraged the better.

A pity then that he chooses to quote, among others, one Wyn Price (or Pryce) of the West Wales Business Initiative when, as we’ve commented in the past, this almost invisible outfit has no business or website address and no accreditation with economic development departments in surrounding local authorities. Admittedly there is a glowing Wikipedia entry for the group but which also bears a clear disclaimer stating “This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards, as a major contributor may have a conflict of interest, it cites no sources, and does not use Wiki mark-up”.

The consequence is that most of Price’s comments and especially his allusion to effective HR in Ford in the 1970s – one of the UK’s most strike-ridden manufacturers during that period – need to be taken along with the appropriate seasoning.

Swansea’s Evening Post appears even less wedded to the principle of attribution when reporting instances of abject performance in the public sector. A recent front page horror story of theirs bearing the headline ‘Ambulance gridlock wreaks havoc at major city hospital’ managed to quote five different people on what appears to be a seriously life-threatening situation without actually naming any of them.

Strangely, several on-line readers’ comments that pointed out this questionable policy in favour of anonymous allegations, and which also suggested possible reasons for the blockage at A&E, were missing in action (presumed cut) when views were later reproduced in print, as is the paper’s practice.

Neither instance of creative selectivity mentioned here is particularly rare nor, for that matter, out of step with professional industry guidelines as advanced to its members by the Press Complaints Commission; who are quietly integrating themselves back into the community following their recent enema governance review. But such examples do nevertheless serve as a reminder that journos, editors and proprietors who reflexively hurl rocks at public-sector newspapers for printing partisan accounts appear to live and work in the same glass houses.

Reduce and Equalise - a cull of the constituencies

If anything is certain to raise political hackles, it is the subject of electoral turf. No other issue can cause such outbursts of un-parliamentary language than the prospect of boundary changes that affect one’s majority – regardless of size or safety margin. So you can imagine the reaction of MPs, AMs and councillors to the recommendations within a recently published document from the Electoral Reform Society.

Reduce and Equalise: and the Governance of Wales is claimed by its authors to “analyse the effect that the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition’s proposals to cut the number of MPs in Westminster would have in Wales, and in particular on the National Assembly”. This relates to government plans to equalise parliamentary constituencies, at around 75,000 electors each, and thereby reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600.

The thoughtfully produced 56 page document - complete with tables, maps and projections – predicts an overall reduction in MPs from 40 to 30. However, they also point out that the present arrangements which link Westminster and Cardiff Bay in terms of representation would mean a similar cull of AMs from 60 to around 45. (Parliamentary Reform Bill notwithstanding).

Helpfully, in recognising the outcome would “threaten the ability of the Assembly to govern effectively”, the Society recommend a number of measures to head off the possibility.

It’s an intriguing read and regardless of whether it mirrors actual or eventual government thinking, the paper certainly offers up a blueprint for discussion that will run for some time – especially as it spells the end of a quite a few constituencies along with several political careers.

Update: How the changes affect Jaxxland

Can anyone smell something burning?

Lib Dems gather in London today. There’s nothing significant in this, according to the official line - just a frank exchange of views between MPs, peers and councillors (no mention of AMs) about life in government. Ho hum.

Yet Richard Kemp, who leads Liberal Democrats at the Local Government Association, might have a different view. He is already on record as flagging up concerns that the coalition deal is damaging the party’s grassroots electoral prospects. And he’s not alone in questioning whether backing an unpopular series of tory-driven policies in exchange for electoral reform is actually a good deal.

As Kemp is likely to repeat to his colleagues, ".. in Parliament you can be sanguine and say things will be difficult for two or three years, the party faces elections next May and those will be difficult elections for us, no doubt about it."

No doubt Kirsty will be saying the same thing – if she’s been invited, that is.

Good in parts

The news that Morriston Comprehensive School is to benefit from a £15 million Welsh Assembly grant to part fund a rebuilding project is in stark contrast to the misery wreaked upon communities by the Con-Dem coalition government over the border in England.

But before the ruling Lib Dem regime on Swansea Council energetically cranks up the spin machine about putting children first, etc they will first need to quash the growing rumours that their medium-term plans also include closing down the nearby Daniel James Comp – which is in special measures following an Estyn inspection in February.

Meanwhile, a letter in yesterday's Evening Post demands an apology for a photo in the council's propaganda rag which wrongly identified a primary school as benfitting from additional support. As it happens, the school depicted is to be closed for good this Summer as part of the council's 'inprovement' strategy. Oops.

Sick as a spokesman

Among the wordage over how the Welsh NHS has been disgracefully underfunded compared with its English equivalent in the last six years are two surprises.

The first is that the Welsh Assembly Government has admitted to this hugely embarrassing fact without anyone resorting to a Freedom of Information request - and that the only official explanation on offer is that the gap is “a legacy of the underfunding of Wales as a whole”.

Of course, such a bizarre rationale opens up a whole new other set of questions, such as could you please remind us who was in charge during this period of underfunding, etc. But the uncharacteristically stupid transparent response has also prompted speculation that Welsh ministers have decided to emulate the softening up process effectively deployed so far by their ConDem counterparts in Westminster in advance of spending cuts.

The second surprise, arising from a Lib Dem comment in the same article, is that the ubiquitous Peter Black has been quietly dumped from his health spokesperson perch by newcomer Veronica German. The effect of this very quiet transition – which somehow did not even merit a mention on his blog – is that both Black and German are credited as holding almost identical shadow portfolios on the Assembly website.

The upshot is that Black still managed to find his way onto BBC Wales radio this morning to speak on the health underfunding issue – but in his brand new incarnation of finance spokesman.

Then again, confusion does seem to beset Welsh Lib Dems at the moment. No more so than over comments by national party chief executive Jo Foster, who amazingly seemed to predict at last week’s IWA conference that Kirsty Williams should not plan on becoming a (real) minister after next year’s elections. The implication is that the party expects to fare very badly in Wales as a result of its power-sharing deal with Cameron.

Perhaps a more apposite footnote to the situation however is the irony that Aneria Thomas, the first baby born under the NHS and named after Aneurin Bevan, is now facing a £50,000 bill for the care of her late relatives.

Helping the press

The engaging media trait of dripping poison on something or someone in order to generate public indignation was once dubbed “spurnalism” by one notable exponent. However, the practice is by no means restricted to Grub Street and the blood-crazed tabloids.

Take for example a running story in Swansea’s local paper which has seen the following succession of headlines over events at beleaguered Gorseinon Town Council.

Fiddlers, magicians and harpist at "extravagant" mayor's dinner; Under-fire town council refused groups funding; Calls for mayor to resign as full cost of "lavish" dinner revealed; Are councils good value?; Under-fire mayor won't resign over dinner fury, etc.

All of which should be a storm in a medium-sized teacup. But what has presumably sunk in among the Beans on Toast brigade is that elector power is not just limited to voting out the useless incumbents on community councils but also extends to actually scrapping the council altogether. A potentially popular step in these days of austerity.

As it happens, the local press is getting plenty of active assistance from the council itself with the latest revelation of how the mayor, town clerk and one other have decided to go off on a fairly pricey training course without getting prior official approval. According to the town clerk, “it was felt it was not necessary to call a meeting of councillors”.
 
Some might argue that this is the kind of no-nonsense approach needed to effectively run a small outfit. Others however might regard the apparent 'screw-you' attitude as closely resembling the sound of turkeys eager to vote in favour of a seasonal break and offering to sharpen the axe into the bargain.

Not much of a concession

Unlike his colleagues who have been stomping around the Palace of Westminster in simulated outrage, the Sennedd’s presiding officer says he has no problems with coalition government plans to combine dates for various referenda with Assembly elections next year.

Despite protests from Plaid parliamentary knob Elfyn Llwyd who said the proposal smacked of "contempt", a more relaxed Dav-El said he thought cost was the "overriding issue".

This is probably not so much an internal party split as an example of how even the Party of Wales is prone to different perspectives in matters devolutionary. Of course, it may also be evidence that Elis-Thomas remains the more astute of the two when surveying political landscapes. His very reasonable stance will cost Plaid nothing whilst the current signs are that Clegg’s electoral reforms are unlikely to get majority backing from MPs.

Gove and take

New confusion over education cuts

Lib Dems pay the cost of coalition

As to be expected, the first early signs of cracks within the ConDem coalition have not appeared in rarefied ministerial surroundings but in communities where the effects of insensitive and incredibly ill-managed spending cuts are most keenly felt.

Warren Bradley, Liberal Democrat leader on Liverpool council has voiced his fears people will see no point in voting for the party in future as the disastrous aftermath of coalition unfolds. His comments found their way into the local press via a leaked e-mail following an announcement that twenty six school building projects in the city had been scrapped.

Lib Dems lost control of Liverpool council to no overall control in 2008 and suffered further losses this May.

Following yesterday's leak, Bradley later went on the record to predict that continued involvement in an already unpopular coalition could see the party wiped out in areas where it has previously enjoyed local support. "I just see a continual stream of bad news that will turn the core Liberal Democrat voters off", he told the BBC. "

There was also suggestion from another source that several of Bradley's colleagues were ready to abandon the party in order to retain their seats as councillors. A spokesman for the Liberal Democrat head office declined to comment.

Update: Many thanks to the contributor who provided the link to the original story in the Liverpool Daily Post. Somehow you just can't see Swansea's Lib Dems taking the same kind of principled stand.

Guess who's paying for dinner

According to reports, relations are becoming decidedly strained between residents of Gorseinon and their town council who stand accused, among other things, of wasting public money on freebies for itself while cutting back on support for community groups.

Much of the anger is directed at independent mayor Victor Bruno who was allowed a second term under what some claim to be questionable circumstances. But what has caused most anger is the alleged sum splashed out on his inauguration.

Council costs have risen substantially due to a succession of by-elections and problems with a new website. This led to them deciding to suspend grants to local community groups in March this year. Yet in April, Bruno’s inauguration was followed by a tidy old dinner attended by local crachach from around the city and who were entertained by magicians, fiddlers and a harpist.

Following a series of complaints, the council has now agreed to discuss the issue but they will be holding their meeting behind closed doors. Town Council clerk John Millard told the local paper the reason was that the matter was of a “personal and financial nature”.

Counclllor Bruno insisted that he had ‘followed protocol’ but the lack of transparency in this and other dealings the local businessman has overseen is not without some bitter irony when you consider his strongly held views which he shared when standing as a candidate a while ago.

”Decisions made in secrecy cause apathy”, he wrote. Perhaps that’s just the sort of outcome he hopes to achieve. Local opinion however would suggest that he is shit out of luck as election officials in Swansea’s civic centre already state they have received a number of enquiries on how to hold a referendum on the council’s future existence.

Update (9 July): Today's local paper carries a leaked report that the amount spent on the inauguration bash was £4000 or thereabouts. Understandably, the figure - which Bruno refused to publish - has led to demands for him to give up the chain.