Thursday, March 27, 2008
Will 'misspeaking' be 'Out of Order'.
Who will be the first British Parliamentarian to accuse an opponent of 'misspeaking'? More interestingly, what will be the response to such a charge by the Speaker in the House of Commons, or the two Presiding Officers in Edinburgh and Cardiff Bay? Will 'misspeaking' be ruled out as 'unparliamentary'? As far as I can see, the word is a synonym for 'bare-faced lying', so it should really should be. Or perhaps it will become part of that collection of words and phrases that only parliamentarians use, and which forms the acceptable face of the English Language - rather like 'dissembling' or 'considering your position'. I daresay there are plenty more.
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10 comments:
I would understand entirely your motives for now wanting to become a Member of Parliament, but having read your blog for a while now, I can honestly say I do not understand your fixation with the Assembly or as one fellow poster used to call it, "The Arsembly".
Hardly a day goes by that you do not make some reference to it.
Why do you refer to it with such regularity, and yet hardly make reference to Parliament, certainly not with any substance.
Are you sure you should not just wait till the next Assembly elections and try your luck there?
With respect I know that at your age you do not want to waste any time, but I do wonder your commitment to getting into Westminster as opposed to hankering after your beloved Assembly.
tom - I post about my experiences, which have been based on farming and the countryside, sport, family, the garden we've created, people I know, Local Government and the National Assembly, and what amuses me (though I'm being more cautious about this now). As I prepare for my attempt to become an MP, my interest is turning more to matters relating to Westminster - but I cannot offer a personal insight into Westminster life. Otheres do it better than I could. And for me, the blog is my personal insight, which around 300 visitors a day find sufficiently interesting to visit. I do feel that my blog in its current form has almost run its course, and in two weeks time, I will not be posting in English anything like as much as I've been, though I may continue to post ocassionally. I should also add that even as an MP, my focus would be very much on Wales, initially at least, and Montgomeryshire in particular, which is why this was the only parliamentary seat I considered applying for. My blog is about my life. I'm a Welshman and I live in Wales, and my interests are principally about Wales. And for what its worth, the House of Commons is central to my politial ambition and where I want to work for Wales. You have me wrong.
Glyn - please do not give up this blog. Reading it is an important and cherished part of my daily routine.
You have been stuck in the assembly groove for a bit, but you do now appear to be broadening your horizons, with posts on subjects as diverse as birds and the embryology bill.
A lot of your electors read it. It is an excellent way of communicating with them and showing what a substantial man you are, unlike the Liberal incumbent.
I will be gravely disappointed if you give up. Do stick with it.
"Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire) (LD): Although I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that unemployment levels are low—they are certainly low in Montgomeryshire—does he not accept that there has been a degree of upheaval and that some businesses have gone to the wall? The consequences in areas such as mine are that there are jobs, but they are low-wage jobs. One of our problems is that people may be employed but they have a lower income than in many other parts of the United Kingdom, and that leads to a practical deficit in terms of quality of life."
Like him or loath him, that is real politics, he mentions that in the grand committee, when do you address issues like that in your blog?
IF you have 300 readers, here is a good start Glyn
My two favourites were Winston Churchill's "Terminological inexactitude" and Alan Clarke's "economical with the actualité"
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmgeneral/welshg/080326/am/80326s01.htm
Real politics Glyn, real politics.
This is the land of the big beasts of the jungle hang out.
anon - Thanks. I've promosed myself that I will try to learn to write in Welsh as well as speak it, so my aim is to write a post a day on my Welsh Language blog when I reach 1000 on this one. Decided that a long time ago - and they will take much longer to write, in the short term anyway.
Tom - I just can't see what you are getting at. Do you know Montgomeryshire at all? Do you know the involvment that I've had in promoting economic development in Mid Wales over the last 30 years - or that I try to meet local businesses most weeks? Why don't you try talking to them. Perhaps I will blog more about local business, but generally, the businesses would not want that. Oh, and I would very much like to be in a position to discuss the state of the Montgomeryshire economy in Westminster. And I think you can check up on visitor numbers via google analytics. It was almost 1000 last Thursday and Friday. And why don't you try engaging with the issues that I post about, rather than expending your time just trying to make rather snide undermining comments.
Very rude comment about Tom, Glyn. Politicians should learn to rise above insults. You never see David Cameron lose his temper.
" And I think you can check up on visitor numbers via google analytics. It was almost 1000 last Thursday and Friday."
I have just tried, nothing came up.
Would love the chance to see the figures.
You seem a touch sensitive, but why would locl business want to meet you at the moment?
I could understand when you where a councillor, but not as a PPC.
i am thinking of setting up my own blog soon, perhaps we could link to each other?
griff - I don't think I was being rude. If I'd thought that all he wants to do is insult, I wouldn't publish his comments. I meant what I said. It seems to me that Tom has something to say, and I'd like him to say it. In general, I like people who disagree with what I post.
Tom - my IT advisor, (Sally, my daughter) tells me that I would have to give you my password, which I'm not willing to do. Now, I don't much care about visitor numbers but for your interest last week's were as follows
Mon 262
Tues 298
Wed 278
Thurs 285
Fri 830
Sat 641
Sun 232
Friday's higher number was because there was a bit of controversy about something I posted. I've no idea how many visit other blogs , but I suspect that numbers are a lot higher than mine - probably because they post on issues of wider interest. I very much hope you do start a blog. There is a great need for new political bloggers in Wales.
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