I was away for a few days (in London), where from previous experience and observation any matters pertaining to Wales are understandably mostly out of sight and out of mind. In various after dinner conversations on Saturday night the issue of free prescriptions [in Wales, we have them, they don't in England], University Tuition fee costs [ours are (and will be) cheaper in Wales, theirs will be more expensive] and public services - here in Wales efforts are being made to protect them from the worst excesses of the Conservative driven Con Dem Government.
In England it appears alarmingly to be open season on the public services and some seriously deep, damaging and severe cuts are under-way, which will probably do some serious damage to the provision of public services in the NHS (in England) and in Education. The fate of the Forestry Commission (which was not sold off by Mrs Thatcher) is also going to be different with Forests in England may well end up as private land (sold of to the highest bidder, but, in Wales, that's not going to happen - a different path has been chosen.
This is just the start, over the next few years the differences between what goes on in Wales and what goes on in England are going to broaden, that's what devolution does. Ironically We may get more than a few envious glances being cast in the direction of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland over the next few years.
The people of England will be the ones to suffer from the medium to long term consequences of decisions made by the Con Dem Government in relation to cutting public services and the new wave of potential privatisation of state agencies and services. Down the line the electoral prospects for the Con Dems may be pretty bleak, but, that will bring no comfort to those who have found their public services wrecked and flogged off on the cheap.
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