The clash of vested
interests which resulted in a cull at the Boundaries Commission was given
limited exposure on Dragon’s Eye last night. Editorial qualms may be the
reason why the programme only touched on the lesser extent of manoeuvrings
sparked by the post-May internal regime change at Cardiff Bay. That reticence may alter in coming weeks.
Stories of how
ministers have thrown proposal documents back across the table at commissioners
have been a stock in trade among the apparatchiks. Similarly, it became a
challenge to find a senior politico who did not spit on the ground whenever the
body charged with reconfiguring the Welsh political map was mentioned.
When the crunch
finally came, even those outside the bubble understood that a ministerial
verdict of “not fit for purpose” following the sacking of three commissioners
actually meant “not doing what we tell them”.
January
will bring announcements of how 40 parliamentary seats will become 30 and if
coterminous Assembly arrangements are feasible. Despite residual opposition,
the sense is that a majority of the horses have already been traded; all that
remains is selecting the riders. Yet it could turn out to be an interesting
process if the role played by some of them in setting out the course ever comes
to light in the meantime.
3 Comments:
It was the members of the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales who were taken out and shot over the summer. They did a good job in rural Wales reducing the number of county councillors.
Unfortunately, they came head to head with vested Labour interests in the Valleys, hence the verdict of "not fit for purpose".
The group tasked with the quart in a pint jar miracle is different: the Boundary Commission for Wales is convened by the Speaker of the House of Commons, and therefore can't be disbanded at the whim of a Minister in Cardiff Bay.
Emlyn Uwch Cych
I have heard much the same stories about tantrums because the Commission would not play ball. A single badly drafted report was used to justify sacking Paul Woods. That's what happens to people who stand their ground when confronted by the stooges of a small-minded administration. What a shame that other parties let it happen.
I think I'm right in saying that two individuals were members of both the local government and parliamentary bodies. It is right to say that they were removed from the LG commission and were obliged to stand down from the other having lost the confidence of minister. Such is the system of patronage in Wales.
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