AT HAGUE’S COMMAND?

The Conservatives sudden interest in "English votes for English laws” something conveniently happens to put the Labour Party in Westminster an awkward spot, in relation to the status of its Welsh and Scottish elected representatives, may be purely coincidental or it may not. Aside from mixing things up for the Labour Party, one of the main reasons why the Conservative Party has developed a keen interest in all things ‘English’ is because the UK Independence Party has emerged from the shadows calling loudly for the reform of the governance of England – something that has been independently confirmed by the most recent report of the Future of England Survey (FoES).

The survey’s findings don’t make comfortable reading for the Conservative part of the Con Dem coalition government. The study has noted a clear and growing dissatisfaction among English voters at the way the UK’s most populous nation is governed and a preference for an England-wide political institution to represent English interests. Although the current Conservative leaders preferred option of English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) has the most widespread support, it is short of a majority and, when voters in England are asked who best represents the interests of England, both Mr Cameron and the Conservative party are well behind Nigel Farage and UKIP.

Yet when it comes to finding an answer to the English Question, voters continue to place concerns over the governance of England well behind worries about the influence of the EU. However, there is a clear dissatisfaction with the current arrangements for governing England – with no more than a quarter preferring the status quo. The study noted that if somewhat more tentatively; the support for EVEL appears to be the preferred choice of voters – again short of a majority – and has gained popularity compared to the earlier FoES studies in 2013 and 2012.

Support for an English Parliament is of the same order of magnitude as support for the status quo whereas support for localism either in the form of regional assemblies or enhanced local government remains very low. While David Cameron’s suggested answer to the English question may be slightly ahead but there is growing evidence that neither he nor his party is trusted to deliver it. When asked “Which party best stands up for the interests of England?”, the Conservatives ironically came fourth (16%), behind UKIP (23%), ‘None of the Above’ (19%) and Labour (17%), although well ahead of the Lib Dems (4%). Much the same pattern is seen in terms of the party leaders.

Interestingly enough when asked which leader best stands up for English interests, Nigel Farage was voters’ first choice (22%) his nearest rival though isn’t even another party leader, it was the ‘None of the Above’ option which came in second place, with 21% of the survey’s 3,705 respondents in England dismissing all of the available political leaders. Mr Cameron is third on 15%, just ahead of Ed Miliband on 13%. The Deputy Prime Minister’s rating matched those of his party and, at 4%, slightly behind Boris Johnson on 9%.

The Con Dems in Westminster have now issued a Command Paper with a number of different options in relation to the problem of English votes for English laws an issue that which been quietly rumbling away in the background since the 1990’s. William Hague’s Command Paper included four main options:

• Simply excluding Scottish and Northern Irish MPs from any role in English and Welsh bills and limiting England-only bills to English MPs
• Basically allowing only English MPs, or English and Welsh MPs, to consider relevant bills during their committee and report stages, where amendments are tabled and agreed, before allowing all MPs to vote on the final bill
• Allowing only English MPs, or English and Welsh MPs, to consider relevant bills at committee stage and giving them a effective veto in a separate vote before their third reading
• There was even a Lib Dem plan for the establishment of a grand committee of English MPs, with the right to veto legislation applying only England, with its members based on the share of the vote.

These, to varying degrees subject to safeguards cold be said to be reasonable options and despite the bluster from Westminster and the Labour Party, potentially sensible and fair solution which could be worked out, given sufficient time and effort on the part of the Westminster based and focused political parties. The problem is that the on-going row over the issue could result in the real issue of the legislative imbalance between the different nations and regions within these islands continuing to remain unresolved.

Part of the problem can be put down to the overly complex nature of legislation, as bills that appear to relate to England only can include some well buried clauses that relate to Wales, some of which could have significant and potentially unforeseen consequences for our country. The way the budget works at the moment, means that if Welsh MPs are excluded from voting on English measures there could be a real negative impact on the Welsh budget. At a very basic level this would be both unfair and unjust.  

What’s needed is the implementation of a much more sensible and balanced devolution settlement whereby the four constituent parts of the British State have the same legislative and executive powers. Unless this happens then any drift (and drift may be a fair description) towards developing “English Votes for English Laws” would be pretty difficult to enforce and could result in the existence several different tiers of MPs.

The consistent failure over the last 15 years to address the imbalance between powers and funding in constituent parts of the UK along with cumulative nature of the fudged and bodged nature of the devolution settlement can no longer be ignored. The way things stand at the moment the Westminster based and focused political parties are treating Wales as a second-class nation and will they may pay for this at the ballot box next May, at least in Wales.

LUKE NICHOLAS AND CARDIFF SOUTH AND PENARTH

Luke Nicholas, Leanne Wood AM, Plaid leader  on the campaign trail

It seems like a long time ago now that I was selected to stand in Cardiff South and Penarth for the by-election on November 15th that is less than a week away.

It was only six months ago that I was stood, with my fellow candidates, in the Star Centre in Splott, watching the last round of votes being counted. We’d been up all night and just for a moment it looked as if we’d recorded a historic win for Grangetown in May’s council elections.

In the end we were only a couple of hundred votes short of winning those Council seats. All of our candidates actually gained more votes than the Councillors who had won the seats in 2008. So we were very close, but the statement was made; Plaid Cymru is becoming a major force in Cardiff and Penarth.

The Council elections had been hard work and it had taken a lot out of everyone. Many of us were looking forward to a period when we wouldn’t be fighting another election so we could get back to the everyday campaigning we do in the community.

But we had to pick ourselves up quickly. So we got organised and by July I was selected as the candidate. And I have to say, I’m glad that I was. I had been encouraged and asked by others to stand in the first place and their support was the deciding factor for me.

To stand in Cardiff South and Penarth for Plaid Cymru is a privilege that few people get to enjoy. The constituency is absolutely integral to the modern history of Wales and continues to be one of the most important and interesting areas of the country. This is a point the historian John Davies, like me a Grangetown resident, made to me very forcefully in May.

The Cardiff Docks and Penarth played a key role in the industrial revolution and the British Empire. The Empire is gladly over but its gift was that it brought new people to Wales who have enriched our culture. Muslims from Yemen who built the first mosque in the UK in Cardiff in the 19th Century, sailors from Somaliland (still an internationally unrecognised state) who worked on the coal ships, Gujaratis from Uganda who were fleeing Idi Amin and people from across the Indian sub-continent who are now proud to call themselves Welsh. And of course, many people from elsewhere in Wales.

Cardiff has always embraced newcomers but it remains a uniquely Welsh experiment. The Welsh have never lived like this before; so many of us together in one place; engaging with each other; socialising with each other; expressing new ideas with each other. There are new frontiers for the language too, which is now flourishing in a modern, urban and Welsh environment that it has never experienced before.

Nonetheless, Cardiff has significant problems. I’ve knocked on literally thousands of doors over the past few months but you only need to knock on a couple to realise that all is not well. The cuts being made to social security are beginning to have a devastating impact on the people of Cardiff and Penarth.

Many people here are close to losing faith in politics. The economic crisis, the Leveson inquiry, the injustice suffered by the families of the Hillsborough victims, and the general out-of-touch attitude of successive governments in Westminster - all have contributed to the breakdown in people's trust and faith in politics.

A layer of society now thinks that there is little point in voting - that there are too few differences between the so-called "major" parties. But what I’m telling people is that there is always a point to vote for Plaid because every vote for us is a statement that Wales does have a voice and we are going to use it to chose our own path. And I have to say, many people are agreeing and will be voting for us for the first time on November the 15th.

People are now discovering that Plaid Cymru has played a major part in reforming the constituency, despite having never held the seat. Our influence has in fact been felt across the whole nation. But a major problem in Wales is that we haven't had enough Plaid Cymru. We may have just achieved our highest ever popular vote in Cardiff, but there still remain parts of the city where we haven’t told people enough about the party. My job is to begin turning this around, a job which I am pleased to say is already very much underway.

What is so unique about Cardiff is its ability to keep reinventing itself and we as a party must do the same. Cardiff has gone from being one of the busiest ports in the world with Tiger Bay - to the home of Welsh democracy with the National Assembly in Cardiff Bay, all in less than a century. This is what inspires me about standing in this constituency, because I know that once again Cardiff South and Penarth will be at the forefront of reinventing Wales and Plaid Cymru will play a major part in this.

In the future we hope that Cardiff will be a modern, European capital; with clean, electrified railways that connect the south Wales region, an airport regularly connected to the city that brings in tourists and business people alike; jobs in green energy production and sustainable industries, a growing cooperative sector; and, of course, a culture that will continue to develop in our two national tongues, with contributions from many others along the way.

It’s building this future that drives me and this is why I’m standing in Cardiff South and Penarth.

MAKING CHOICES

Only a strong Plaid team of MP's who can act as local champions for their constituents can be trusted to break the Westminster bubble and deliver the best deal for the communities of Wales in a hung or balanced Parliament. Our communities have been particularly ill-served by New Labour and previous more Conservative Governments. The last thing our communities in Wales need is more of the same, it was politics as usual got us into this sleaze ridden mess, as did MP's who sought to further their political careers within their London based parties, at the expense of their constituents needs e.g. Jessica Morden (Newport East) and Wayne David (Caerphilly) to name but two.

We need independently minded MP's who will stand up for their constituents needs and aspirations and the issues that really matter, who will be much more than mere lobby fodder. Whether you live in Amlwych or Chepstow only Plaid MP's can be counted on to put the needs of their communities first. There is a real danger that this Westminster election campaign will turn into an argument between Brown, Clegg and Cameron about who is going to cut the hardest and the deepest, so that they can continue to bail out their banker chums in the City.

It's worth remembering that it was New Labour and the Conservatives who were willing to allow the deregulation of the banks and the subsequent mismanagement of the UK’s finances. It was these same London parties – Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems – who are more than happy to be bought (sorry funded) by the same big corporations, the same banks and city financiers who helped get us into this economic mess in the first place. This is the real legacy of the cosy Westminster club and you wonder why people feel let down and disillusioned.

However, to coin a phrase it does not have to be this way - there is a real choice available in Wales. Only Plaid can be depended upon to ensure greater support for our pensioners and fairer funding for the Welsh budget to protect jobs, schools and hospitals, with more Plaid MP's we can guarantee that the needs of Wales will count for something, especially within a hung parliament and get a better deal for Wales.

Plaid MP and leader of the Westminster group, Elfyn Llwyd said:

“Plaid MPs are now synonymous with ambitious campaigns motivated by justice and fairness – whether it was the Impeachment campaign against Blair or compensation for miners – there are examples of issues where Plaid has led the way. It is undoubtedly because of Plaid MPs’ repeated efforts to hold the Government to account over the illegality of the immoral Iraq War that the current Chilcot Inquiry is underway – one which we hope will finally get to the truth of the matter. No other party has been consistent over Iraq and now we are the only party to being calling for a phased withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

“Plaid is the party that can be trusted to care about business growth, to care about our communities, to care about creating a better future for the people of Wales. But We need an even stronger team in Westminster. My appeal is that people do not waste their vote on May the 6th on yet another Labour, Tory or Lib Dem MP to toe their London party line. Vote for an independent-thinking Plaid MP who puts your area first. “With the likely outcome of a more balanced parliament following this election, we can guarantee that the greater the vote for Plaid – the better the deal for Wales.”

Thats the only real choice on the ballot paper come May 6th...

A STRONG VOICE FOR WALES

Never has there been more of a need of a strong voice for Wales in Westminster, with the prospect (whoever wins) of Wales facing massive cuts in public spending as a direct result of Labour’s utter mismanagement of the financial crisis. Wales needs a strong voice in Westminster, and only Plaid can do the job. Our communities and our economy need neither Labour nor the Tories in Government - as neither can be relied upon to stand up for Wales or Welsh interests, neither Gordon Brown's New Labour or David ('Call me Dave') Cameron's New Conservatives can be allowed to wreak havoc on the Welsh economy, undermine our welfare state and damage our communities. Only Plaid MP's can stand up for Wales, only Plaid MP's can provide that strong clear voice in Westminster and only Plaid will fight to protect jobs, public services, our communities and a fair deal for our farmers. The truth is that neither New Labour nor the Conservatives can be trusted to put the needs of Welsh communities before the needs of the financial interests of their questionable friends in the City of London and the square mile.