Paying the price of hacking

It is said that Andy Coulson was always considered a trendsetter – not least by himself. The former editor and government spin chief is suing his ex-employer News International after they stopped paying his legal fees. Coulson was arrested in July over the phone-hacking scandal but continues to deny knowledge of the practice.

His litigious example has now been followed by ex-assistant editor Ian Edmondson and ex-chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck who have lodged tribunal papers for unfair dismissal. The pair were both arrested on suspicion of phone hacking. Their bail has been extended to March.

It is further bad news News Corporation who are also getting twitchy that a number of UK victims of alleged hacking are considering US legal action. Lawyers in New York are said to be “exploring” the feasibility of a case against Rupert Murdoch's media group where court payouts could be crippling.

All indications are that News International continues to pay the legal expenses of Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive and former NoW editor - for now.

Is planning about people or politicians?

Swansea Council will debate a notice of motion tomorrow which complains that the authority’s Local Development Plan procedures have, according to Peter Black and Rob Speht, “not involved sufficient consultation with local members so as to help them explain to the public how that process works.”

They want politicians to be involved in “filtering” candidate sites put forward for potential development – presumably in their own wards – before draft plans and documentation are put up for formal debate.

It’s not an entirely surprising pre-emptive suggestion when you consider how the Lib Dem-led administration readily conjured up planning committees in the past to accommodate political sinecures. But it will be interesting to see if the relevant cabinet member (who is an Independent) backs this dubious move or whether he advises they should instead read the Council’s info website: Easy guide to the Local Development Plan.

The again, perhaps they already have and taken objection to the bit which states “councillors don't have a formal role at this [current] stage. They will get to vote on the plan as it is prepared including the final Deposit Plan which will then go to the Welsh Government for approval. After that it will come back to the Council for adoption.”

All a bit galling when you're supposed to be the person representing the community's view in the council chamber. You can bet Carl Sergeant approves of this approach, though.

.. and the second word is "off"

We see that the antipathy shown by Cardiff Bay towards Welsh local government is about to be reciprocated big time. Not only are the leaders of 22 councils set to tell the Welsh Government Carl to take a hike over collaboration proposals but they have put out a release stating their intention beforehand.

Sources say the move was not entirely unexpected. Although the Labour cabinet nodded through plans for six service delivery areas in July, local authorities soon highlighted the mismatch of services organised within the boundaries of local health boards and the strategic areas covered by the spatial plan used for economic development, European funding programmes plus environmental & social initiatives.

These points reportedly went unacknowledged by officials and matters were not helped by the announcement of an intention to impose 'intervention measures' at Pembrokeshire council - which is led by the top man at the Welsh Local Government Association.

Come Friday, the WLGA will be advised to stick to the current inter-authority working arrangements and ignore Carl Sergeant's coterminous template. The Beeb report that council leaders will also collectively demand that ministers agree to a number of pledges, including no policy changes for three years, more budget flexibility and a tighter agreement o intervention in councils' affairs.

Such unanimity of purpose among council leaders - except when voting through their allowance increases - is unprecedented. We hear that feelers are already going out, via sympathetic cabinet members, over the possibility review into the timing of any proposals, i.e. kicking it into the long grass until after next May's local elections.

Was it worth the wait?

There will doubtlessly be some discussion among the pundits (and a few Labour supporters) as to whether the "ambitious programme for Welsh government"actually merited a four-and-a-bit months gestation period.

At first glance, the only ambitious aspect about the published list of endeavours is the projected timescale for delivery. More to the point however is the feeling that if the programme is the result of "extensive consultation with key stakeholders', as is claimed by cabinet sources, then a good number of consultees are patently entrenched in senior public sector positions.

There is nothing ground-breaking or innovative on offer and precious little to generate excitement in respect of a "uniquely Welsh approach to fairness and sustainability". And yet the commitments bear a surprising resemblance to the party's election manifesto - and as much as it may irritate a few Plaid bloggers, it was a platform that put them in government (more or less).


The question for Senedd opposition parties is whether this is a programme they can support, whilst still lamenting its tameness, and if any of them feel that could play a practical role in delivery. Based on some of the coded dialogue of late, we rather wonder if this is what Carwyn also has in mind.


Update: Betsan Powys seems disappointed too.

Getting in the way

Among the funnier comments reportedly heard at a fringe reception in a Liverpool hotel was the 'back to the fuchsia' observation made about the number of carefully shaded neckties sported by various podium personalities. Less comical was the off-stage insistence by Peter Hain that there is a deal to be done over Assembly electoral constituencies.

Why the shadow Welsh Secretary continues to bang this particular drum - when even his fellow FPTP proponents admit that a substantially different motivation was involved in the popular rejection of the Additional Vote - is something of a mystery.

What was very apparent last night was the pronounced irritation among Carwyn's cadre that media attention would be diverted away from today's /welsh Government policy announcements.

What's going on?

A less appreciated aspect of being in opposition for just over a year is that you don't have to actually deliver on anything for a while. Of course, things are arguably less straightforward when the government is a coalition.

Nonetheless, the murmurings in Liverpool are that shadow chancellor Ed Balls could have afforded to be a lot less constructive (and contrite) from the platform. Labour conferences, when all said and done, are primarily about tory-bashing, saying nice supportive things about trade union affiliations and only then espousing an alternative policy on something or other.

Suggesting a course change in government economic strategy and then offering to support it is ... well ... it's not right. Is it?

Curing the wrong problem

In his eagerness to find fault with the Welsh government’s economic policy (and being somewhat spoilt for choice) Peter Black queries why ministers have ignored Swansea when determining the siting of enterprise zones. His view is that a worthy candidate would be the “Life Science Institute” and which he extols for its activities in “high technology and engineering work”.

Although the general response to his question rests with Edwina Hart, it's probably worth pointing out that the Institute of Life Science (ILS) is actually the research arm of Swansea University's College of Medicine. In fact it is collaboration between IBM, Swansea University and the Welsh Assembly Government where staff currently specialise in medical research, business incubation and technology transfer.

Ah well. It is unlikely that the Evening Post will be so discerning over such rather basic inaccuracies when they print his press release tomorrow. Nor, we can assume, will they or the Lib Dems be asking why themed enterprise zones are suddenly so acceptable when the ‘discredited’ Technium concept is about to be dumped.

In government and in trouble

One of the arcane purposes of party conference season, or so the strategists would have you believe, is that it serves to clarify policy positions and can help boost popular support. The Liberal Democrats however seemed to have proved themselves an exception to this rule.

Key messages from the podium in Birmingham were that it was tough going in government but the junior coalition partners were punching above their weight and continued to be a moderating influence upon rabid, market-obsessed Tories who only wanted to help their rich mates.

But so much for perception management. A YouGov/Sun poll taken just a few days later showed that 35% (the single highest proportion) thought that Lib Dems most resembled the party that “seems to chop and change all the time: you can never be quite sure what it stands for”

Further bad news for Clegg was that just 4% felt the party is “led by people of real ability” while only 6% thought its “leaders are prepared to take tough and unpopular decisions”.

The only individual likely to take much encouragement out of such a dismal post-conference opinion survey is Tim Farron.

Creative differences

We've been sent an intriguing note from a Lib Dem-leaning source which suggests that an image in the local press of a campaigning Swansea MP may have been "photoshopped".

The claim is that the white outline around Labour MP Geraint Davies should not be interpreted as an aura of omnipotence but evidence of 'subtle re-positioning' for the purposes of creative emphasis. Our own art-troll tends to agree but thinks the local paper may well be the culprit.

Either way, we feel compelled to acknowledge Lib Dem expertise in such matters.

Inside joke

The late Dave Allen once observed that when a diplomat says “yes”, he means “maybe; when he says “maybe” he means “no” and when he says “no”, he ceases to be a diplomat.

Yet no-one appears to be laughing at the critical comments by Sir Emyr Jones Parry, former chairman of the referendum inquiry, who apparently thinks that Labour's plans for new legislation are "not a natural fit" for the problems facing Wales. Indeed, his polite but pointed questioning as to whether a cycle network represents an urgent national priority will chime with a great many people outside the government.

Of course, the same populist viewpoint could be equally expressed with regard to the spending of £600,000 on a bat bridge or the running cost of the Welsh Language Board - plus several other surplus and non-productive quangos.

Whilst it may be true that you cannot legislate your way out of a recession, you can nonetheless prioritise spending programmes accordingly, into areas that stimulate growth and boost employment. If we’re not mistaken, Ed Miliband was saying something very much in the same vein just the other day.

For the moment however, we shall just have to hope that this is the approach that Welsh government ministers will have in mind when they make their announcements next week. 

More of the deja vu

There are various journalistic devices for giving what would otherwise be a non-story some legs. One of these is to hype the status of whoever is being quoted. Even so, describing the very former heritage minister Rhodri Glyn Thomas as a “senior politician” is stretching matters.

The appointment of Ian Jones as S4C Controller has clearly caused a frissance among the empty scabbards in the industry. But even they will consider the views of the AM for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr as irrelevant.

When all said and done, this is the same guy who was allegedly being sidelined by his own party to facilitate the assembly ambitions of exiled Adam Price. Furthermore, we seem to remember that is was the very same journalist who gave that particular suggestion a lot of credence at the time.

Tax dodge

If you Google “Danny Alexander” and “tax evasion” then there is a good chance that will get a bit confused. The best advice is to check the dates on anything you find.

Mostly because his announcement to the Lib Dem conference about a crackdown on tax evaders is more or less identical to the conference sound-bite of a a year ago.

The Lib Dems are by no means unique in recycling various policy initiatives for consumption by delegates eager for news of how ministers are pressing ahead with good works. Governments of all hues are notorious for the practice.

All the more reason therefore to wonder why BBC political correspondent, who covered both policy speeches, failed to remark on their pronunced similarities - or ask why the measures were taking so long to introduce.

Quid pro quo Clegg?

The Beeb report that Liberal Democrats are gathering for their autumn conference, with leaders defiant they will not agree to calls from tory coalition partners to abolish the 50p tax rate. It's just what battered and disillusioned delegates want to hear - but if you read between the lines in the Independent, there is also the possibility of a deal to be done over a so-called Mansion Tax.

There are some 15 policy motions on the conference agenda including welfare reform, adult social care, phone hacking and Lords reform. Thankfully for Nick Clegg, there is nothing down that would bind him to keeping to top tax rate. And even if there was, the deputy PM has already shown that he thinks his compliance with federal policy should be slightly selective when it comes to the "good of the country".

Whatever may be said from the rostrum in the next five days, the backdrop to events is that George Osborne (and the Treasury) are just as implacably opposed to a beefed up property tax. Clegg will need to do more that harp on about a 'moderating' effect in government. Clearly the question for him is whether a immovable stand over 50p tax is worth damaging a coalition arrangement that clears favours Lib Dems more than their partners.

Not an easy case for anyone to make when the jury consists of 8000 delegates still wounded by electoral losses and pissed-off about excessive security arrangements.

Blind spot

It would appear that the graphics trolls at WalesOnline have the same recognition issues on what is (and what is not) the correct logo for NHS Wales.

You can imagine the outrage in the paper if someone else had been found guilty of such a heinous crime as using the English version.

Just saying

Are we alone in thinking that there is something distasteful about how press and politicians seem to outnumber rescuers as events unfold at the mine in Pontardawe?

Update: Guido has a view on matters, naturally.

Crossing the lines

BBC Wales political editor Betsan Powys warms to her post-recess role by speculating on what arrangements await Welsh MPs and AMs next January now that Labour has ‘conceded’ the idea of a common set of boundaries for both the Assembly and Parliament.

Her conclusion is that Peter Hain has helped to prepare (if not actually cook) his party’s Yuletide goose through a series of ill-conceived interventions that argued against the Scottish process of decoupling constituencies. Such a move would have enabled a continuation of the current geographical balance of power, or so received wisdom would have it.

Ms Powys holds that that opposition parties are attracted to a 30:30 constituency & list set-up for the Assembly which would not only safeguard present seats in the face of parliamentary cull but possibly even presage an increase in future Senedd numbers. She is probably right. But whether this outcome is any more achievable, or desirable, than the configuration suggested by a learned document which emerged last year is a debate yet to be had. Moreover, the continued confusion as to who are the appropriate participants in these deliberations strongly implies a screw-up in the making. 

For some, a process of ‘equalisation’ in representation vis-a-vis Westminster and Cardiff Bay is a natural outcome of the powers referendum. For others it is a reasonable widening of the West Lothian question. If there are to be less Welsh MPs, albeit for reasons of UK-wide electoral parity, they argue, then there is a justifiable role for the First Minister and the Senedd in arguing the case for Wales in a different forum.

That’s the theory anyway. But the reality is that the coming months are more likely to see members of the respective political camps indulging in internicine chicken-run strategies than any sort of serious constitutional debate. We're talking about Wales, after all.

Yet another one for Jonathan?

Far be it for us to stir up antipathy (as if), but we can't help feeling that certain Plaid MPs eager to demonstrate the dismissive treatment of Wales by the news media should turn their attention closer to home.

Perhaps they should be asking why BBC Wales graphics people persist in using the English NHS logo when covering Welsh health issues. The Wales NHS logo, which was adopted nearly a decade ago, is a bilingual design that uses a Celtic knot.

It is arguably a minor point but it does flag up a worrying lack of understanding by a public news corporation that has the promotion of education and learning as part of its charter.

No doubt anoraks will be on the look out for similar inconsistences when the soap-drama Casualty relocates from Bristol to Cardiff.

Conspicuous absence

We see that Peter Black has taken the trouble to write in to the local paper to complain at the partisan stance taken by a Plaid supporter over the campaign to save Swansea's coastguard facility.

His letter insists that "all of us have attended meetings, been on protests, written letters, raised questions and spread the word about the petition". Good for him - and everyone else involved in the struggle against dangerous ConDem government cutbacks that could lead to tragedy.

So what is the explanation behind a reported absence of this vaunted local Lib Dem representation at yesterday's protest in Westminster?

So, where were we?

It's been a day for recriminations and retractions in the Welsh political bubble sphere. As ever, there are lessons to be learned - or ignored

The familial fallout that besets latest rehab entrant Helen Mary Jones shows that social networking can bite you even when you're no longer a politican. Meanwhile health minister Lesley Griffiths will have learned that 'help' from internal spinners over NHS priviatisation equates to political assisted suicide.

Rockin' Rene Kinzett, who leads the tory group on Swansea council, said he accepted his view about an 'independent' Conservative party in Wales was not shared by all party members. Just as well in light of some of the more pointed comments on Facebook.

And we've learned that Plaid Cymru sought to 'engage' with Libya's Colonel Gadaffi yonks ago - a trend that others would continue to emulate.

Good to be back.

A choice between frying pan and fire

Some cynics might suggest that in breaking its habit of ignoring local democracy matters unless some scandal is attached, there is quite possibly an agenda behind the Beeb’s recent coverage. Maybe so, but its portrayal of a Labour-run Assembly barely able to conceal its contempt towards Welsh county councils does not require a huge amount of creative license.

There are some sizeable gaps in their background research however – as evidenced by the clumsy seconding of Tony Travers to make his extraneous observations about Doncaster. The good professor would know that English local authorities have long endured the rigours of the Whitehall-driven comprehensive performance assessment; described by one council leader as “legitimised burglary”. There have been regularly expressed comments at Local Government Association workshops about the comparatively light touch exercised by auditors in Wales. Indeed, Prof Travers was reportedly one of the participants who made them.  Ah well.

As for the reorganisation announced in timely response to a performance 'crisis' in county halls, better formed insights would confirm that it is the upper strata of civil servants who pursue the nirvana of coterminous organisational boundaries – both as a means of “simplifying” public sector provision and achieving those elusive economies of scale. Their political masters need do no more than read from their prepared scripts and avoid any suggestion that they have not thought out the implications of another round of centralism.

There are clearly grounds for dissenters to flag up a looming democratic deficit inasmuch as the proposed Regional Boards are far more likely to be directly accountable to ministers than the local community (Oh yes there are). But it is the lure of “savings” that prevails in times of austerity and how many local council cabinets in Wales can claim to have a direct popular mandate anyway?

No-one really believes that Wales will continue to support 22 councils and 1264 councillors in the medium term. The quietly confident view in Cathays Park is that things will change after the inevitable parliamentary cull and associated messy boundary amendments. The only meaningful priority is that sixty seats are retained for the Senedd come the ensuing process of attrition – and there will still be plenty of quangos in which to bury the higher profile casualties.

Local government and local democracy have always been uncomfortable bedfellows and few modern day chief executives would mourn the loss of a political tier when grappling with the major strategic issues of team-based inclusiveness training or how to boost the senior officers' pension scheme. 

What strikes us as odd however – and as the great grand scheme of public service reorganisation unfolds - is that no-one (especially RT Davies) has queried if it is actually a wise move to graft responsibilities for education and social services delivery onto the lumbering inefficient monoliths that presently run health in Wales.

Discuss.

Another one for Jonathan

Another story likely to be portrayed by the usual suspects as an example of media contempt for all things Welsh is the Beeb on-line sports report that spending by the "twenty English top-flight clubs" was up £120m on last summer's outlay.

Business analysts Deloitte reports that English Premier League clubs spent £485m in the summer transfer window. There are only twenty teams in the league in total. One of them, of course, is Welsh.

Swan-zee, Swan-zee!