Between the lines

The nature of the current stand off between former Boundaries Commission boss Paul Wood and the Welsh Government is best illustrated by how one of them appears to be making most effective use of the media.

Having been labeled damaged goods by government officials, the former deputy chief constable successfully used Dragon’s Eye last month to place a question mark against the integrity of those who allegedly wanted the Commission to bow to political self-interest.

Wood also submitted a series of FoI requests to get sight of internal government emails and diary records between a ‘former minister’ and his civil servants. The unmistakable reason for such a search is to reveal evidence confirming that the new incumbent changed the rules set by his predecessor after May and then sacked those commissioners who refused to toe the line.

It is not all that surprising that the Welsh government has since refused the request claiming it to be “vexatious” and “a fishing expedition".

What is mildly shocking however is that an administration with a total PR spend approaching £2 million has so far been consistently wrong-footed by an “obsessive individual”.