6 OUT OF 10

The more I hear about the proposed Planning (Wales) Bill the less I like it. The draft bill has been proceeding through various stages for a while, in its present form, it will actually take decisions further away from communities and further erode the democratic accountability of decision-making over land use in our country. Now none of this should surprise anyone, Labour in Wales at various levels of government have over the years long seen people as part of the problem when it comes to planning.

In essence the Labour in Wales Government has aimed to makes it more difficult for local communities when it comes to trying to stop developers building on green spaces. It was originally suggested that its Planning Bill would stop "vexatious" bids to register greens intended, it claimed, simply to frustrate development. Applications for village greens must show people have had a right to use the site in question for at least 20 years.

Affordable Housing?

The reality of the current relationship between local and central government is that when it comes to housing developments those members of the public who question or challenge planning decisions are seen as part of the problem. The Labour in Wales Welsh Government has missed a real opportunity to actually deliver a modern planning system to meet the needs of the people of Wales in the 21st century.

Plaid is right to call for root and branch reform of our planning system to strengthen local voices. That probably does not suit the labour in Wales Government who’s current Government Bill looks to be enshrining a top-down regime that will take decisions one step further away from the decisions that affect them.

Our planning system, along with our pretty much nineteenth century local government setup is not designed to coexist with devolution or for that matter to deliver planning decisions with real and lasting benefits for local people and local communities. There is a real need for root and branch reform and reorganisation of our planning system; the Welsh Government’s simply decided to tinker and tweak with existing outdated legislation rather than reform it.

The current Bill has proposed a system where a National Development Framework sets the parameters for Regional Development Plans, which in turn set the parameters for Local Development Plans. This will create a top-down approach, which runs contrary to any notions that our communities should have a stronger say in planning decisions that will directly affect them.

It would be more democratic, if even at this late stage, the Labour in Wales Welsh Government began its bill again. Starting with the simple idea that the development aspirations of our communities should be the primary building blocks of our planning system.

The introduction of unelected and effectively unaccountable members to the Strategic Development Panels must be unacceptable. While there is a need for a wide range of different voices be heard it would be both sensible and democratic for any co-opted members not have voting rights.

What should be more disturbing is that current legislation as is, contains some 65 examples of Ministers being empowered to make subordinate legislation, which will be afforded significantly less scrutiny. The legislation is effectively a government power grab with the Minister literally picking and choosing powers without any clarity as to how he intends to use them, if at all.

This potentially sets a dangerous precedent for increasingly unaccountable governance and an even more unresponsive planning system. The bill includes the creation of a National Development Framework, which would replace the deeply flawed but at least nominally publically accountable Wales Spatial Plan, which at least periodically required the actual endorsement of the National Assembly.

Whether Wales needs new strategic development plans at present is open to question? Especially as there is about to be a significant (and perhaps more ominously) a largely Labour in Wales driven reorganisation of our local government, which will by default create larger planning authorities.

Is there a need for Strategic Development Plans, as the Local Government reorganisation will create much larger planning authorities, which will inevitably take on more of a regional and strategic roll? There is a need for development planning to take place on more of a regional basis but this could be dealt with joint Local Development Plans rather than another whole new tier of Development Plans.

What is not being addressed is the observed reality that the current planning system remains too focused on railroading through large housing developments that often bring little real benefits for local people and local communities and often fail to resolve real and pressing local housing needs. We need a fundamental change in planning culture to encourage appropriate and sustainable smaller scale housing developments, which are based on good design and actively promote energy efficiency and good environmental standards.

An opportunity to address the shortage of affordable housing, to encourage more small-scale renewable energy projects, and to actively support small businesses in relation to the Planning Bill has clearly been missed.  It is time to start the process of actually addressing the flawed LDP (Local Development Plan) system, which does not deliver for local communities and fails to serve our national interests.

Our planning system and planning processes are too slow, too bureaucratic and too unresponsive to real local needs and local opinions. The current system is based on the post-war Town and Country Planning Act from 1947 and is simply outdated; our country needs a modern planning system that meets the needs of modern Welsh society. In line with the realities of devolution our country needs an independent Planning inspectorate for Wales as the old single planning inspectorate for England and Wales is increasingly unsustainable.

Local democracy on a county borough level has been undermined, as developers (and here we are not just talking about housing) simply appear to carry on appealing until they get their way or get their development retrospectively approved at a higher level. Local government officers will (and do) advise local councillors not to turn down developments (whether grounds are reasonable or not) because the developers will simply appeal until the cows come home and local government just does not have the finances to cope with this situation.

The Labour in Wales Welsh Government in Cardiff favour changing the planning rules in Wales to ‘tilt the balance in favour of economic growth over the environment and social factors’. This is something that appears to be aimed quite specifically at overturning those few occasions when our Local Authorities have rejected some developments (often at the behest of local residents) rather than putting economic needs ahead of economic and environmental benefits.

KALM Rally in Abergavenny

The proposed Planning Bill is bad news for those residents of south Monmouthshire, and the residents of Torfaen, who fought the plan and the good citizens of Abergavenny who fought to retain the livestock market. Not to mention the concerned residents of Cardiff and Carmarthen who have real worries about the impact of over large housing developments or the residents of Holyhead who opposed a planned new marina development and people who are genuinely concerned about how their communities develop.

The bottom line is that over the years our communities have been increasingly ill served by the planning system, by our local authorities (and the system of Unitary Development Plans) and more recently by our own Government in Cardiff. We need a planning system that takes account of local housing needs, the environment and looks sustainability at the whole of our country and above all it needs sit firmly within local democratic accountable local authorities which are elected by STV. 

A FRACK FREE SCOTLAND!

It is interesting that in Scotland Labour called for this power to be devolved. In Wales, they talked the talk, and then never even asked Westminster about devolving control of fracking to Wales. A recent Parliamentary Question by Jonathan Edwards MP has revealed that the Labour in Wales Welsh Government failed to press the Westminster Government on devolving powers over fracking to Wales. When Plaid Cymru tabled amendments to devolve powers over fracking to Wales our country’s Labour in Wales elected representatives in Westminster sat on their hands or made their excuses and left.  Perhaps it is simply a case of talking the talk at home and figuring that no one will notice when their colleagues continue to do little for Wales at Westminster.

STILL WAITING FOR THAT TRAIN?

Driver training on the Gaer spur (Ian Brewer)

The news that the Labour in Wales government in Cardiff has agreed to make funds available to finally upgrade the final short section of track to connect the Ebbw Vale line to Newport should be welcomed. It is worth noting that the rail service from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff has been running for slightly under 7 years.  Clearly, despite the cuts passed on from Westminster by the Cons Dem Coalition Government, the money is available to pay for the work. So why has it taken so long?  Have their been a lack of vision? A lack of understanding as to how this link will help bring in a more connected rail service and open up the possibilities of commuters travelling direct to Newport o catch trains to work further a field? The decision, if action, does not necessarily mean that any additional rail services will necessarily be provided by the rail franchise holder, when the franchise is renewed. So we all may yet have a long wait for this particular train…

AND JUST LIKE THAT…

Driver training on the Gaer spur (Photo: Ian Brewer)

And just like that it was gone as if it had never been, blink and you might have missed it... Now that the extensive maintenance in and around Cardiff has finished normal service has been resumed, with trains on the Ebbw Vale line running directly to and from Cardiff. Between May 1^st and May 18^th services ran into Newport with regular services ferrying passengers into our capital city. For 18 days is was entirely practical for potential commuters in the Ebbw valley to make connections to Bristol, Gloucester, Cheltenham and beyond rather than put up with the nonsensical idea of riding the train westward into Cardiff and then picking up a connections eastward. No more, normal service has been restored, which raise the question as to who exactly is making the decision to run services direct into Cardiff, ignoring the potential economic benefits to commuters and to the region – Network Rail? Arriva Trains Wales? The Department for Transport or the Labour in Wales Welsh Government?  My money is on the latter, despite loud and persistent calls for over a number of years for the completion of the long promised permanent rail link from the Ebbw Vale into Newport, nothing has been done. This whiff of inertia and duplicity has Labour in Wales written all over it. The South Wales Argus valiantly took up the gauntlet and actively backed the campaign to restore the rail link from Ebbw Vale to Newport, which would complement the rail link from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff. Our local Labour in Wales elected representatives have gone been awfully quiet foe some time, whether they represent us or their party, may be debatable, but their silence is I feel particularly telling. 

WAITING FOR A TRAIN

Driver training on the Gaer spur (Ian Brewer)

"The train on platform 4 is for Ebbw Vale Parkway, calling at Risca, Rogerstone, Cross Keys…"

The announcement took me by surprise, especially as I was standing on Platform 2 on Newport Station. No they have not gone and done it, trains from Ebbw Vale to Newport and vice versa are not up and running. The only reason why these trains are running via Newport is because of a programme of improvements (running between 1st May and 18th May). 

There have been loud and persistent calls for many years for the completion of the long promised permanent rail link from the Ebbw Vale into the City but no concrete action.  The South Wales Argus took up the gauntlet and actively backed the campaign to restore the rail link from Ebbw Vale to Newport, which complimented the rail link from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff. In the last 18 months things have gone ominously quiet, with the silence from the Labour in Wales Welsh government and our local Labour representatives becoming particularly deafening. 

Now in relation to the completion of the final stage of the Ebbw Vale to Newport line, my advice would be not to hold your breath. I have begun to suspect, and here I hope I am wrong, that there is and has never been any real intention to complete it. The line as is works perfectly well for the proposed Cardiff City region – perhaps it’s time for the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff to come clean and admit it? 

UNDER ATTACK?

It was Peter the Pain (Hain) wittering on, on Radio 4's ‘Question Time’ from Chepstow the other week, that started me train of thought, he was having a go at the Lib Dems for not defending Wales. Naturally the panel contained no Plaid representatives but there would be Plaid representative the following week on the edition from Stroud. This sort of thing is now a simple irritant, perhaps you get used to this sort of sort of institutionalised not quite bipartisan behaviour from the BBC after a while.

I digress; it was the Pete the Pain’s behaviour that convinced me that this was the latest party attack / defence line from Labour Party HQ. Already the First Minister, Carwyn Jones, had claimed that the Conservatives by criticising the NHS and the education system in Wales were actually attacking Wales and Welsh values. While this is a less than subtle response to David Cameron's attacks on Labour in Wales it is potentially quite effective.

The basic principle of distraction is the substitution of a headline grabbing untruth, as with most blatant untruths it's simple and the more times it is repeated the more believable it will become.  What's actually occurred was in the run up to the recent Welsh Conservative Conference, DC was trying to score some political points at the expense of the Labour party in Wales (and Westminster).

Labour in Wales's less than subtle response to this was to suggest that the Labour Party in Wales is standing up for Wales and that it is the natural choice for Welsh voters. The problem is that this approach falls short of reality. Even the most disinterested observer may have noted that the Labour party in Wales (and Westminster) are split (if not downright dysfunctional) over their attitudes to devolution and to Wales.

Reasonably regularly Labour in Westminster's MP's who represent (electorally at least) geographically Welsh seats have put their own personal and Labour party self interest ahead of the Welsh national interest and the needs of the Welsh people. Part of the reason for this is that the transfer of more powers to the National Assembly will mean the call to reduce the number of Welsh MP's in Westminster will grow. The English electorate (and English MP's) will question the validity of Welsh over representation in Westminster and their influence on English only legislative matters.

One pretty predictable result would be fewer jobs for the boys - sorry fewer opportunities for Labour elected representatives to become geographically Welsh MPs. This is only a matter of time; the Con Dems have already looked at this once before dropping it as the coalition partners fell out of the democratically disastrous referendum on electoral reform. No doubt this lead too much relief on the part of our largely sitting Labour MP's in Westminster as this particular boundary commission bullet was dodged. This issue, is not however, going to go away...

NO SURPRISE THERE THEN...

The debate surrounding the debate around the Wales Bill (and the important related issue of fair funding for Wales) which took at Westminster has flushed out some blatant contradictions within the party formerly known as New Labour both in Wales and in Westminster. So rather than bringing clarity to the Labour position on devolution in relation to further financial powers and fair funding for Wales we have ended up with an increasingly bizarre series of contradictions.

Differences of opinions (which have existed for some time) have now fully emerged between Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones, Labour leader Ed Miliband and Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith MP (an individual with diverse and contradictory opinions on the tax lockstep as he is both for it and against it) in relation to devolution and how it should or should not develop. Whatever Labour in Wales and Westminster is or is not saying about devolution in Wales, they are saying something different in relation to Scotland.

People may well ask just exactly who speaks for Labour on devolution and just exactly who speaks for Wales. Some of this, I think, can be put can be down to simple ineptitude and some of it can be put down to  barely disguised self-interest on the part of Labour in Westminster MP’s. I suggest this as some of these peoples comfortable jobs will be on the line if Wales gains more powers and the number of Welsh MP’s are understandably reduced.

Most of the responsibility for this  confused and inherently contradictory Labour vision for Wales is down to the fact that Labour in Wales remains deeply split over devolution. The problem is that this shambolic situation does not help the people of Wales very much who are struggling with the effects of the Con Dem Government’s ill-thought out austerity programme. It also further strains the paper thin credibility of Labour in Wales's claim to be standing up for Wales.

BETRAYING WALES OVER WELFARE

Plaid was right to criticise Labour MPs from Wales who collectively voted in favour of Chancellor Osborne’s welfare cap in the House of Commons. Plaid Cymru’s Jonathan Edwards, along with his Plaid Cymru colleagues Elfyn Llwyd and Hywel Williams were the only Welsh MP to oppose the cap, as Labour in Wales MP’s voted alongside Conservative and Liberal Democrat MP’s to betray some of our country’s most vulnerable people to literally limit the help available to the needy. This is a yet another classic example of Labour in Wales saying one thing and Labour in Westminster doing something different, so much for standing up for Wales!  

Plaid Cymru’s Jonathan Edwards MP  said:

“This was a significant vote which proved that Labour MPs from Wales make their decision based on orders from London, rather than on the needs of their constituents.

“It signals a betrayal of some of our nation’s most vulnerable people by a Labour party whose fork-tongued politicians say one thing in Wales and another in Westminster. The people of Wales deserve better than their spineless hypocrisy.

“Plaid Cymru was the only party from Wales to unanimously vote against this ill-judged and immoral policy – Welsh voters will no doubt bear this in mind at the ballot box.

“With the economy being so unpredictable, it makes no sense whatsoever to put a cap on welfare spending with no idea of how many people will need support should unemployment rise drastically and public services face further cuts.

“We in Plaid Cymru have proposed far better ways of bringing down the welfare bill than making the vulnerable pay for the failure of the banks. A living wage, rent caps, and scrapping mandatory zero-hour contracts are just some policies that would put an end to the “working poor” label once and for all.

“It is now clearer than ever before than when it comes to protecting the interests of the Welsh people, Plaid Cymru is the only party to be trusted.”

MISSING IN INACTION

Once again the Labour Party has failed to stand up to protect our country’s natural resources from exploitation by Westminster. Labour Party MP’s put party interest before our national interests by abstaining on a key vote to devolve full control over Welsh water to the National Assembly – even though their own Government in Cardiff wants this to happen. The vote on Plaid Cymru's amendment followed a Commons debate on the final stages of the Water Bill - every single Labour MP from Wales was absent. Ironically the Labour in Wales Government in evidence to the Silk Commission noted that it wants to see the National Assembly gain full control over all matters relating to Welsh water. So much for joined up thinking and so much for standing up for Wales! 

Hywel Williams MP speaking after the debate said:

"This is an embarrassing episode for the First Minister and his Labour Welsh Government who, once again, have been let down by Labour MPs from Wales.

"Just as in the case of devolving energy projects up to 100 MW and devolving Air Passenger Duty to Wales, the First Minister says one thing in Cardiff while his London colleagues seem intent on undermining his every word.

"Water has been an emotive, emblematic and defining political matter in Wales. It is just one aspect of our nation's wealth of natural resources but our people are unable to benefit from its use due to the UK Government holding the power of veto over all matters relating to Welsh water.

"Had Plaid Cymru's amendment been carried, we would have seen control over Welsh water transferred from Westminster to the National Assembly, ensuring that any wealth generated from its extraction and export would benefit our nation.

"It is disappointing to see the Labour party in Wales yet again conform to the cosy Westminster consensus rather than put the interests of the Welsh economy and people first."

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

The news that the Labour in Wales Government (in Cardiff) made no representations to Westminster opposing the privatisation of Royal Mail will surprise any observers our inert government in the Bay. A Freedom of Information disclosure to Plaid has revealed that the Labour Government in Cardiff did not participate in the campaign to oppose the sell-off.

Our Post Office: Sold on the cheap?

A letter received by Plaid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in Whitehall states: “I can confirm that the Department has not received representations from the Welsh Government about the privatisation of Royal Mail.” While Plaid Cymru actively sort to develop a Welsh way forward to keep postal services in public hands, but Labour in the Bay could not be bothered to send a single email or a letter on this important issue.

On yet another issue of importance to the Welsh people Labour have simply sat on their hands while public opinion rallied to support of public ownership and to support of the postal workers.  Whether we are talking about chasing extra funding for our country as a result of the proposed HS2 development, belated support for our farmers, the lack of interest in value for money in relation to public transport investment, or missed opportunities for additional EU funding for Wales.  A recognisable if not well established pattern has emerged, with the Labour in Wales Government talking the talk, but actually doing nothing practical to back up the rhetoric.

This week, the American bank JP Morgan valued Royal Mail at between £7.75 billion pounds and £9.95 billion pounds, the top figure being three times the flotation figure of £3.3 billion pounds. Citibank suggested an upper valuation figure of £7.3 billion pounds and Deutsche Bank argued that Royal Mail could be worth something between £6.4 billion pounds and £6.9 billion pounds.

The Coalition Westminster Government floated the company on a share price of 330 pence. In barely a week, shares had broken the 500p mark – an increase of more than 50% – valuing the company at £1.7bn higher than the original Government estimate and losing the taxpayer £900m. This, if nothing else suggests that the Con Dem Coalition Government in Westminster sold of the Post Office on the cheap.

IF WISHES WERE HORSES...

There is an old saying; if wishes were horses then beggars would ride. And if the Labour in Wales Government was capable of any original thought then it might consider purchasing the Welsh share of the Post Office and running it on a not for dividend model as per Dwr Cymru. The problem is that that their masters, Labour in Westminster remain ideologically comfortable with the idea of privatising the post office. When Labour in Westminster were last in Government, Lord Mandelson tried to privatise the post office and failed due to a combination of union discontent and public unhappiness with the idea.  When Labour in Westminster were in power they presided over the largest Post Office closure programme in history, following a policy begun and continued by successive conservative governments. Labour in Westminster, if they care to remember publically stated that they would have privatised the railways once elected, if they had not already been privatised. The Con Dems have pretty much continued in the same vein pursuing a programme of privatisation that even Mrs Thatcher would have thought twice about including the forensic science laboratories (something that may yet out the cold case archive at risk) and the air sea rescue service. 

WAKING UP FOR WALES?

News that the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff Bay has woken up for Wales by belatedly calling for Wales’s share of the UK capital funding being committed to the HS2 Rail project (in England) should be warmly welcomed. Plaid Cymru is absolutely spot on to criticise the hitherto lethargic approach pursued by the  Welsh Government's when it comes to standing up for Wales.

This somewhat belated u-turn on HS2 consequential for Wales should be welcomed Labour in Wales, previously their standing up for Welsh interests has resembled sleeping in the armchair for Wales. Plaid Cymru has rightly accused the Welsh First Minister and his party of being "all over the shop" and correctly drawn attention to the fact that Labour MPs from Wales failed to vote against the paving bill for HS2 when it was being discussed in Parliament.

Labour in Wales sudden interest in the Welsh percentage (potentially we are talking of a figure of some £4 billion pounds) of the HS2 UK capital funding is in itself interesting. It coincides with the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee’s public criticism of the planned HS2 high-speed rail link as estimated benefits dwindle and estimated costs soar.

Coincidentally Labour in Westminster may be positioning itself to ditch the much criticised HS2 project. Hence the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) suggestion that theDepartment for Transport was failing to present a "convincing strategiccase" and added that it was instead based on "fragile numbers, out-of-date data and assumptions which do not reflect real life".

The PAC said there was no evidence the line would help the growth of regional cities and would instead draw even more business to London. A target of getting the required legislation in place by 2015 was criticised as unrealistic and the committee wanted to know how quickly the department would fill gaps in commercial and major project expertise among its personnel.

Additionally the PAC said that out-of-date assumptions for the high-speed line had been made including failures to take into account technological developments that enabled people to work on trains using laptops and other mobile devices. The case for HS2 still needs to be made and there is a valid line of argument that suggests that the potential £80 billion pounds (HS2 costs) could go a long way towards making significant improvements to significant portions of our aging railway infrastructure.

What concerns me is that the Labour in Wales government in Cardiff may be cynically asking for something that it knows it won’t get. While the skids are not necessarily under HS2, as the PAC’s criticism may owe more to Labour in Westminster mischief making, serious questions do need to be asked about the actual economic benefits of large scale infrastructure projects be they M4 Relief Roads, the LG Development or High Speed Rail projects.

The one mantra often forgotten by failing midterm governments and opposition parties is that when you are spending public money it is important to work it exceptionally hard. As we begin to stagger out of the worst self inflicted economic downturn in recent history we need to squeeze every single possible benefit out of it and putting all the eggs in one basket with one off massive infrastructure projects may not be the best way to maximise the economic benefits.