The Pain of the 'Long Goodbye'

Regular readers will know that I have a soft spot for Plaid Cymru - even though I'm not sure whether it's OK to have soft spots for political opponents! Perhaps its a bit like when I had a soft spot for Warrington Rugby Club, when I played for Shrewsbury. Great club, but nothing I liked more than kicking lumps out of them on the field of play. Anyway, I'm a bit worried about the state of Plaid Cymru - and mainly its down to the lack of a leader. I do not count Ieuan Wyn Jones, because once you've announced that you are standing down, authority just drains away.

Don't suppose my advice would carry much weight, but I thought Ieuan should have announced his resignation the day after the May election - assuming he was not going to fight another election. I reckon that Lord Dafydd El took the same view which is why he threw his hat in the ring immediately. The first timetable that Ieuan gave us was ridiculous. At least its been brought forward to next spring. I don't buy this excuse that its necessary to complete a review of what's gone wrong before electing a new leader. The new leader should should take charge of the review. Whatever, its time to look at the runners and riders.

I just do not think Dafydd El wants to be the leader - what with all that discipline and example setting. Not his thing. I'd make him Ambassador to Buckingham Palace. He will find spoons to stir elsewhere. I can see but two runners, with Elin Jones the firm favorite. And Simon Thomas will make it a contest. I'd love to see my old friend, Rhodri Glyn having a pitch, but just cannot see it. Saw Adam Price last week, and Dafyydd Wigley, and I see Jonathon Edwards every week. Just saying.

Lembit - take it on the chin like a man.

In the General Election of May 2010 in Montgomeryshire, I managed to inflict defeat upon the wannabe Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London - Mr Lembit Opik. Seems that Lembit does not think that I actually had anything whatsoever to do with it. And neither does Peter Black AM who thinks defeat was due to his self-obsessive and flamboyant behaviour, loss of perspective, free cruises, and his daft response to the expenses scandal - and a whole lot of others I talk to at Westminster take the same sort of line. Personally, I did not see much difference in Lembit's behaviour to that before previous elections. Whatever it seems that I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and be the fortunate beneficiary.

Lembit, in his personal manifesto, seeking nomination as candidate is putting the blame for his defeat on Mick Bates, who served as AM for Montgomeryshire, alongside Lembit for 11 years. I really do find this to be utterly nauseating. OK, so Mick's assault on a paramedic after a night on the booze might have had a marginal impact, but I worked with Mick for many years and he was a hard working AM, who I never heard make a negative comment about Lembit.

One of the things I like least about politics is the failure to take responsibility for what they say and do. The truth is that Lembit Opik went into the 2010 General Election with a lead over the Conservatives of 7000 votes (16,000 against 9,000). He came out of it with defeat by 1,200 votes - the biggest swing from Lib Dem to Conservative in the UK - and at a time when the Lib Dems were going into the Election on a roll. At Westminster it's seen as the biggest shock since Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston. My advice to Lembit is to act like a man, take it on the chin, and accept responsibility - and send a written apology to Mick Bates. And as for me, I just say "Look at the scores on the doors" and remember Gary Player who said "the harder you try the luckier you get". Think it was Samuel Goldwyn who originally coined the phrase though.

The 'Blue touchpaper' of Welsh constituency boundaries has been lit.

Since being elected a Conservative MP, I have always voted with the Government. Perhaps this loyalty was most tested when I voted (several times) in favour of what was to become the Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill. Despite reservations, I accepted that I was elected on a manifesto which included reducing the number of MPs by 10% - and it would be disingenuous to vote against the means of bringing our commitment into effect. I also supported the decision to reduce the number of Welsh MPs from 40 to 30. Didn't like it, but there can be no intellectual basis on which to argue that Wales should have pro-rata more MPs that the rest of the UK. In fact, the existence of the National Assembly could be (and often is) used to argue the number of Walsh MPs should be even lower.

Soon, we are going to be faced with the consequences of this Act - and its going to be messy, very messy indeed. In September, we're expecting to see the Boundary Commission's first stab at future arrangements. Montgomeryshire, and other well known constituenceis, as we have known them for many decades, will be no more. Fledgling Welsh political careers of promise will hit the buffers - across all parties. The consequences of this change will hang over the remainder of this Parliament, as most MPs will be working in a fog of uncertainty about their careers. More of this when we see the BC proposals.

But there's another potentially controversial aspect to these changes - the impact on the National Assembly for Wales. Just a few weeks ago I heard Labour MPs openly supporting the aligning of Assembly constituencies with the new Westminster constituencies. I knew this could not possibly last, and warned anyone who would listen that Labour would inevitably change its mind about this. (Constitutionally, what would need to happen is that the link between Cardiff Bay and Westminster boundaries which was broken to allow the PVSC Act to be passed would have to be reinstated.) Today Martin Shipton has reported on the first salvo by a leading Labour AM against this re-linking. Expect Labour MPs to follow.

Perhaps I see bigger problems than there will be. But let us consider what could well be happening. The Welsh Government, representing a majority in the National Assembly are likely to be opposing new boundaries for future Assembly elections, forced through by Westminster MPs. Martin tells us that Leighton Andrews, speaking with the full blessing of the First Minister, will oppose this as a tactic by the Coalition Government to change the constitution of the National Assembly to prevent there ever being the possibility of a Labour majority in Cardiff Bay. I see the makings of a major rumpus here. The blue touch paper has been lit.

What sort of Tory am I.

In today's Mail on Sunday, the great William Rees-Mogg, divides Conservative MPs into four sub-groups: the Old Right, the New Right, the Coalitionists, and the small pro-European group. (Note the Oxford comma!) - and he goes on to describe the New Right as 'Europragmatists. So, since I have so much admiration for the great man, I have to consider where I might place myself - and whether I agree that there are clear demarcation lines between these groups - and whether its possible to claim membership of two groups.

I am not a man of the Old Right, or of the pro-European group. I'm clear about that. So what about the other two. I find it difficult to decide. After much thought, I have to concede that I am first a Coalitionist. I would have preferred that the Conservatives won the General Election, and that we were not in coalition - but we didn't and we are. And the only way to go into a coalition is with 100% commitment. Of course it is restricting sometimes, but in general its worked well, and I'm happy that the two partners are making a decent fist of the teamwork.

The only problem with being grouped in with Coalitionists is that it tells readers not much about where I stand on our relationship with the EU, which is shaping up to be a defining issue of this Parliament. If my commitment to the Coalition was not so dominating, I would see myself very comfortable in the Eurosceptic New Right. Well, that's cleared that up.

Return of Edna Mopbucket to County Hall.

Fantastic news. Edna Mopbucket has been back on the phone - and up to her old tricks, listening at keyholes. Reckons she was cleaning at Powys County Hall last week when she overheard heated words and oaths emanating from a 'Cabinet' meeting. I had to explain to Edna what this 'Cabinet' is - and that it came about because the Powys Independents and the Liberal Democrats took over all the power for themselves, and kicked out the Montgomeryshire Independents, the Conservatives, Labour and Plaid. "Oh" she said "So that's why they looked so terribly 'puffed up' with importance and exuding the same sort of 'airs' that only come with new found wealth and massively increased salaries. I told her to stop exaggerating. It wasn't that bad.

Anyway, she reported much 'sound and fury' and gnashing of teeth through the keyhole. It seems things are not turning out quite as expected. She reckons one very self-important voice started complaining about these Montgomeryshire Independents getting all the limelight over the wind farms debate at Welshpool. Edna said the PIGS (I've warned her they don't being called PIGS) were furious that some ruse trying to claim all the publicity by issuing a press release to pretend it was all their idea had backfired, and that Councillors David Jones and Graham Brown emerged as stars of the day. Michael Jones, the new Cabinet Leader had to remind one very agitated chap in the back that he leads on the issue now, and he'd better fall into line if he wanted to keep his new salary. Edna reckons there was much tittering around the room at this. Told her she must be making this up.

And then another voice started complaining about formal questions that "these bl***y MIGS and Tories are tabling" - asking embarrassing questions about dismal performance in dealing with planning applications, and the comparative collapse in recycling performance. Edna reckons that there was outrage that all this stuff is public - and not being dealt with quietly, as happened under the old 'Executive Management Board'. She reckons that Mr Patterson, who seemed to be in control, told them "You voted to grab all the power for yourselves, and up your pay so its no good complaining. You took the gain; now take the pain".

I take all this with a pinch of salt because Edna's hearing is probably failing her a bit. And anyway, I approve of this new 'Cabinet' system. Always did. Great to see at Welshpool last Wednesday the 'political groups' competing to support the public, 1500 of whom had turned up to listen. 53 Councillors sticking 106 fingers (coincidentally, the same number as turbines at Llandinam) up to higher authorities. And great to see the planning and recycling performance (or non) being debated in public. As Edna said rather indelicately "Looks like they've stopped all p***ing in the same pot". As usual, I'm not sure whether to believe a word the old girl tells me, but it was nice to be in touch again.

Powys CC wind farm meeting on Wed

Cannot go to the special meeting of Powys County Council being held at Welshpool Livestock Market on Wed.. Councillors will be debating their approach to policy on wind farms and associated transmission infrastructure. To some extent, the Welsh Government First Minster's statement of 10 days ago has drawn the teeth on this debate, but its still an event I would like to have been able to attend. Let's start by looking at the motion that is currently down to be debated.

'Powys County Council calls on the Welsh Government to carry out an immediate review of TAN 8, and to call a moratorium on all wind farm applications, whether pending or in pre-application stage until the review is completed. In carrying out the review, the Welsh Government is specifically asked to consider environmental, socio-economic, community, ecological, transportation, cultural, and cumulative impacts of the construction of wind farms and the necessary infrastructure in rural Wales. Powys County Council also asks that in carrying out this review, the Welsh Government carries out a cost benefit analysis of wind farm energy production when compared to alternative sources of energy'.

I'm not at all sure that this is now directed at the right target. Since this motion was first being worked on, we have had the Carwyn Jones statement, which has fundamentally changed things. The most important sentence was that the TAN 8 limits should be regarded as the 'upper limits'. To that extent, I rather like TAN 8. And the second most important sentence was that there is no need whatsoever for a 400kV cable/pylons to deliver these 'upper limits'. I rather like this as well. This needs to be reflected in the Council's thinking. These sentences, if translated into policy, would mean about 100 new turbines, no 400kV cable, no sub-station, (and buried 132 cables as well). Not everything protesters wanted - but nothing like as bad as we were fearing.

The real target now is the Westminster Government, which will be debating recently published National Policy Statements on Renewable Energy Generation before the summer recess. Its what I'm building towards. Because energy (over 50 Mv) is not devolved, TAN 8 is referred to in these 'statements' as no more that a 'material consideration'. Not good enough, and the Council should be saying so, loud and clear - and it should be a part of the motion. Energy is not going to be devolved, but we need to raise the bar a bit higher than 'material consideration'. What about something like 'presumption in favour' of the TAN 8 targets. And I would like to see something about refusal by the Council to contemplate a sub-station. That should scupper National Grid's hideous plans. And there should be some serious questions about what the Welsh Government is going to do about all these wind farms that were thought to be heading towards forestry land. Expect to see some changes in the motion. This is all enough to make me wish I was still a councillor.

Its why we Welsh dream

40 years ago today, the British Lions beat the All Blacks on their own turf. They achieved legendary status by going on to win the test series 2-1, with one test drawn. Rugby was a big part of my life then, and the stars of that tour remain stars in the Glyn Davies 'Hall of Fame' today. Right up there with Trever Hunt, who joined me for a tour of the House of Commons and lunch last week. He was the surgeon who redesigned my lower body 10 years ago, while removing a cancerous tumour from my bowel.

And most of the 1971 Lions were Welsh. Let me list them - in no particular order. Coach Carwyn James, Captain John Dawes, Gareth Edwards, Barry John, JPR Williams, Mervyn Davies, Delme Thomas, Derek Quinnell, John Bevan and John Taylor. There were great players from the other home nations as well. Willie John McBride, Mike Gibson, David Duckham John Pullin, Fergus Slattery, Ian McLaughlan. There was even a second row named Gordon Brown. They were heroes. McBride's forwards never took a step backwards, and Barry John's backs were mesmerising. We all have our favourites. For me, the greatest of them all was Gareth Edwards.

Here's Carwyn's speech before embarking on the mission

- "Look here, I want each one of you to be your own man. Express yourself not as you would in the office for the next three months, but as you would at home. I don't want you Irishmen to pretend to be English, or you English to think you are Celts, or for Scotsmen to be anything but Scottish to the core. You Irish must continue to be ideologists off the field, and on it fighters like Kilkenny cats. Let you English continue to stiffen those upper lips, and simply continue to be superior. And the conservative traditionalism of you Scots - strong, dour, humourless in phony caricature - let it be seen as colourfully fired up these next 90 days by the oil of your country's new-found radicalism. As well, I demand that all of you make sure you let us Welsh continue to be bloody-minded and swaggeringly over-cocky in our triple-crowning arrogance."

Imagine Warren Gatland saying that - or any Welshman being in a position to say that today. 1971 is why we Welsh alway carry a candle of eternal hope. Happy dreams.

The Greek tragedy

Longstanding and dear friend, David Rowlands called in my office this morning, plonked himself down and handed me another of his letters. David is a full blooded Ukip man. I assumed it would be another of his 'outraged' letters - probably about the idiocy of pouring more billions down a Greek drain. But No, he was supporting me on my mission to prevent the mid Wales uplands from becoming industrialised by wind farm companies. It didn't matter because Boris dealt with the impending Greek tragedy in his Telegraph article today anyway.

Boris says that "We should stop chucking good money after bad". This will have a lot of purchase because so many people who talk to me about Greece agree with Boris. In fact people who talk to me about anything agree with Boris on this. Now, the consequence if no-one chucks more more money at Greece is 'default', exit from the Euro, followed by unpredictable turbulence across Europe and wider. Another way of looking at all this is to see the EU as developing into a single state (fiscally speaking) and these massive transfers as a sort of EU Barnett Formula - an extension of regional policy. This could well be the equivilent of Baldrick's cunning plan. I hope David didn't read the Boris article or he'll be back in my office tomorrow with another envelope.

Where now on wind in mid Wales.

Just about landed back on earth again following the First Minister's 'Statement' about onshore wind farms in mid Wales last Friday. It astounded me, which is a rare event for this old hand. Keep on looking for the catch, and cannot find it. OK, so there's all this 'side issue stuff' about devolving extra powers to the Assembly, which the media is lapping up (despite it having been on the agenda for at least 10 years). But it cannot conceal the main issue. The Welsh Government will not support a 400kV cable on pylons into mid Wales - and there is no chance that an undergrounded cable can be justified, while Carwyn Jones sticks to a max of 500 Mw of new wind generation in the 3 mid Wales development areas. I'm a cynical old b***** but this looks good however which way I look at it. The overall 'project' looks to be in deep trouble - which is just where I like it.

Am a bit reluctant to commit to 'next steps' for a few days. Need to talk to National Grid, SP Energy Networks and my 'advisers'. But I have already called publicly for National Grid to abandon their plans to run a connection from mid Shropshire to mid Wales. No doubt NG will consult Dep't of Energy and Climate Change for guidance on this. My advice (for what it's worth)is "Listen to me boys" (in a non gender sense). If you and DECC go ahead with this when all of Wales is opposing you, and that's how it looks, you will precipitate a constitutional crisis. Just throw darts at a photograph of Carwyn, and bite the bullet. Smell the coffee. Your plan to industrialise the mid Wales uplands is over.

Of course, there will still be plenty to argue about. There could easily be a wind farm that is economic running a 132Mw cable all the way to the Grid (that's onshore wind farm economics, or fantasy economics to the rest of us). But last Friday's Welsh Government 'Statement' will give the Local Planning Authority more confidence to refuse permission. There will still be a rumpus about the one big outstanding application at Llandinam that awaits decision, and which does have a licence to export electricity. Probably won't say much about this issue for a week or so - when future strategy has been decided. I talk about something else.

The 'Listening' First Minister

Was driving home from Llandrindod when I heard the news. Almost drove through the hedge. Carwyn Jones, First Minister of the Welsh Government had issued a Statement on Planning for Renewable Energy in Wales - blowing the project to industrialise the uplands of Montgomeryshire right out of the water. He said "My Government could not support the construction of large pylons in mid Wales and my ministers are pressing this case with Nationl Grid Transmission and with Ofgem" - and he made special mention of Montgomeryshire. I promise never to be rude about Carwyn ever in my life again. Well not for a few days anyway.

Of course there were the crudest of smokescreens to cover the huge reversal in policy, but the important point is that he did the right thing - so there will be no churlishness from me. The people of mid Wales have begged and pleaded and persuaded Carwyn Jones to amend Tan 8, and help us save mid Wales from the sentence passed upon it in 2004. Just as David Cameron has done in respect of the NHS, Carwyn has recognised that his renewable energy policy needed changes, and he's had the courage to deliver.

Lets look at the cover, which is itself interesting. First is the tossing of the ball into the Westminster Government's court. For weeks I've been building up my campaign to persuade Charles Hendry, the Minister to publicly reject the National Grid 400kV connection from mid-Shropshire to mid-Montgomeryshire. It had been going well, and I was planning a big speech on July 19th. Now I will have a new message. Its not just the people of Mid Wales who are opposed - its the people of Wales. To approve National Grid's plans when every political party in Wales, the thousands of campaigners and the First Minister would make Tryweryn look like a vicarage tea party. I will be asking National Grid to abandon its plans forthwith.

The second lovely strategy (which I really enjoyed) was to claim that there's a danger of Westminster imposing large wind farms on mid Wales, and that the responsibility should therefor be transferred to the National Assembly - supposedly to save us. Laughed when I read that. The main reason these wind farms were proposed in the first place was Carwyn's TAN 8 policy guidance. But lets be done with this churlishness. Today has been a great day, and I genuinely feel for the first time that the Powys protesters have a great chance of pulling off a spectacular victory.

Welshpool Livestock Market - centre of anti wind protest.

Interesting developments in Powys. Montgomeryshire Councillors David Jones and Graham Brown have submitted a motion for debate by the Powys County Council on 29th June. It demands that the Welsh Government conducts a full review of its renewable energy policy guidance to planning authorities before any new planning permissions for wind farms are granted - including a proper environmental assessment that (disgracefully) has never been held. This is an excellent proposal which I expect the Conservatives to support.

The meeting was to have been held in the Council Chamber at Llandrindod Wells, but it seems there is a high profile visitor to the town that day. If a decent crowd of protesters turn up, the important visitor could be discomforted. I know it can't be the Queen, because Mrs D and I are going to her Royal Garden Party that afternoon! They shouldn't have moved the meeting because if its a member of the Royal family, he or she may well have wanted to join the protest!

Anyway, Cabinet Business Manager, Steve Boyd has informed us that the meeting has been moved to Welshpool Livestock Market, where a building is being converted into a makeshift debating chamber. An audio system is also being installed so that any people attending will be able to hear what is going on. This is all rather a good idea. I'm only upset that I cannot attend, because of the afore-mentioned Garden Party, and a very important debate over dinner in the House on 'Care' that I'm sponsoring that evening. Let our councillors speak for the people - and expose the First Minister's attitude towards the the people of mid Wales.

In Praise of U-Turns.

I really have read and heard the most utter tosh about the NHS reforms that the Coalition Government are currently taking through Parliament. Sometimes I really despair at the hopelessness of commentary on our political process. And some of it from our own side!

Now lets start from the proposition that we want our Government to legislate in a way that delivers the best results. The 'best result' is not necessarily the Bill that is first put before the House of Commons (or Lords) - which is why we go through the various stages of debate before the final product goes forward for Royal Assent. Sometimes a lot of change is needed and sometimes no change at all. Sometimes a Government abandons its proposals altogether. What happened with the NHS Reform Bill was that the Health Minister and the Prime Minister decided to 'pause' for three months to reflect, after a fair bit of criticism from health professionals. We need to get any reform of the NHS right. A group of knowledgeable people were asked to advise, which they did today. And now we can move forward with a better bill. Seems to me a sensible way to behave.

What I find particularly childish is the portrayal of this entirely sensible consideration of complex and sensitive policy as some sort of dual between the two Coalition partners. There are still some who do not get it. We have a Coalition Government. The Lib Dems and the Conservatives are colleagues. Whenever I hear Conservatives undermining Lib Dems or vice-versa, I think its like watching footballers trying to kick the ball into their own net. We govern together as a team, and we win together as a team.

Welsh Football Supremo Speaks Out

I was pleased to read of the opinions of the President of the Football Association of Wales, Phil Pritchard in today's Wales on Sunday. I know Phil. He lives just down the road from me - in Welshpool. We sometimes have a coffee and chat about things. I've not seen him since the Wales supported the uncontested election of Sepp Blatter to continue as FIFA President, in what was widely seen as a farce. Football has become such big international business that it was just not reasonable for the FAW to say nothing. So the interview was a bit of a coup for the WoS.

Seems to me that more than anything else it was a big poke in the eye for the English FA. I quite approve of that. Now I had been ready to criticise the Wales FA stance, but now I'm not so sure. I think I have rather more sympathy with Phil's view. Yes, Blatter has become a comic figure. Yes, his continued presence at the pinnacle of world football brings the game into ridicule. But reading Phil's comments makes it clear that England's representatives treated the other home countries with casual arrogance, simply assuming they would fall into line behind them with minimal discussion. If England had not been quite so full of themselves they might have received a bit more support. Maybe Wales will vote for someone else when Sepp Blatter reaches his mid 90s, and FIFA meetings have to be held in his nursing home - assuming there is an alternative candidate who has not been barred from standing because of corruption charges. Until then, the activities of FIFA will carry on being a carry on. After all, football is in the entertaining business.

Its 'The Economy' Stupid.

Regular visitors to this blog over the last few years will know that I am no fan of onshore wind farms. My main opposition to them has been based on the damage they do to landscape and natural beauty for minimal benefit - even if my opposition to the project to cover the uplands of Mid Wales with mass turbines and pylons has been based on the sheer lunacy of the idea. But I've realised that no-one cares about landscape, and that there are many otherwise sensible people who have been conned into believing in this lunacy. So - in a moment of mental clarity today, it dawned on me that if we are to defeat this madness we must fight it on economic and financial grounds. We must help people to see the truth. Future posts on this issue will no longer be about the desecration of our uplands and valleys, awful though that is. Because its about a search for truth, I will write in a way that invites those who disagree to inform me, and my readers where they think I'm mistaken.

In this post, I'll look at the misleading nature of claims made by onshore wind developers - and use a local example to demonstrate. In last week's local press, a developer was lauding, with great pride, a new wind farm application which could produce 80 megawatts of power (and power several million homes! ). OK, so I exaggerated the second bit! Well, lets look at this a bit more closely, assuming that the power would be sold to Scottish Power. We know that the most recent production factor for Welsh onshore wind farms is 19% (despite some ill-informed journalists claiming it to be higher). So this new wind farm is actually going to produce an average of just 16 megawatts, at completely random times - sometimes delivering 80 megawatts and sometimes nil. This means that Scottish Power would need some other form of conventional power source (oil, gas or nuclear?) to provide 80 megawatts of rapid back-up whenever the wind doesn't blow. For the wind farm to provide anything at all needs some other form of power generation to be running at reduced power - and reduced inefficiency. A bit like a car idling.

What was being boasted about as delivering 80 megawatts, actually delivers bu**er all. Probably makes the position worse. And that's why the people of mid Wales, who began by opposing a mad project to desecrate their homeland, have become opponents of the whole onshore wind farm sector now that they know a bit more about it.

Philip Johnson's Must Read in Today's Telegraph.

I've never met Philip Johnston, who writes for the Daily Telegraph. I have read some of his stuff - but I've not read anything as good as the article he's written today. The headline reads ' Wind farms aren't just a blight, they're a folly'. As a PPS, I have to be conscious that I do not say anything that conflicts with Coalition Government policy of 'onshore wind having a role to play as part of the energy mix, but that proposals should have strong community support and democratic legitimacy". So I'll just tell you what Philip wrote, without embellishing it with my opinion.

"there is one fundamental difference, between the great transformative projects of the 19th century and today's wind turbines: the latter don't work"

"To produce the same amount of electricity as one coal-fired power station, you'd need a wind farm the size of Greater London. And when there is no wind - or too much - the power produced is minuscule or the turbine has to be switched off while fossil fuel stations take up the slack."

"to see remote tracts of countryside that, by and large, survived the industrialisation of the landscape now threatened with defilement for no good reason is scandalous."

"A conspiracy of vested interests is seeking to bludgeon communities into accepting what has become a money-grabbing free-for-all masquerading as an environmental panacea."

"It is the greens and not the opponents of wind farms who are the true heirs of the 19 century Luddites, standing in the way of an energy policy that would benefit us all - and protect the landscape."

Pulling a fast one ?

Had an interesting email this morning from probably the sharpest legal brain I know, which accuses the Welsh Government of seriously duplicitous behaviour in respect of the timing of its controversial TAN8 decisions. Its a bit complex but I'll try to simplify what he claims happened.

European Directive 2001 requires member states to undertake statutory consultations with other agencies before proceeding with any "plan or programme" concerning "land use" or "energy". This directive was adopted in Wales by Statutory Instrument no 1656(W 170), taking effect on 24.7.04. The Welsh Government rushed through its TAN8 announcement just 11 days before the deadline - before when it would have been statutorily required to consult the Countryside Council for Wales, Environmental Agency and CADW. Environmental scrutiny of a massive land use change, supposedly to benefit the environment. The only people who would have understood what was happening would have been the relevant civil servants and the Minister they were advising.

Probably too late for Judicial Review, but its being looked at. Personally, if this is as reported, I would find it quite shocking to discover our new devolved democracy behaving in such an underhand way. Just one more thing. The First Minister was a barrister, and responsible for energy policy when all this happened.

Caring for the Elderly

'Appeared' on BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement this morning. The subject was 'care of the elderly'. Fellow guests were Baroness Finley and a new Labour AM named Mark Drayford. Never encountered him before. He seemed very keen to be party political. Started off by talking about Mrs Thatcher for goodness sake, and later on started talking about reductions in public spending as if it was nothing whatsoever to do with the Labour Party. When discussing a really important subject I do find this approach to be so tiresome - so I just ignored him. I think Vaughan found him tiresome as well.

Reason this issue was under discussion today was the publicity there has been through this last week about Southern Cross, an issue that's been on my radar for a year. Southern Cross is the biggest care provider in the UK, and has been an accident waiting to happen. Lets set aside the 'care' aspect of this, and consider the financial structure of this company - put together in great haste, during a property boom about 5/6 years ago, by a private equity company, split into two and sold on (at graet profit). The problem as I see it, is that the property side of the business, and the operational side are completely separate entities. There's nothing wrong with this model if its a group of hotels say, or golf courses. If the property side goes awry (which happens) the casualties can look after themselves. But care home residents can't. When there are unplanned home closures, there is inevitable a great deal of human misery, and accellerated deaths. My view is that there should be financial regulation as well as care regulation to ensure that only sound business models are allowed to operate in the sector.

Truth is we are moving forward into a massive crisis in care delivery. We are living to be older, which brings with it a huge dementia problem which we are not ready for. It must be faced. The Coalition Government did put some 'sticking plaster' money into this sector last year, while we await the publication of a comprehensive report into the future - by the Dilnot Commission, expected later this year. We cannot carry on as we are. We have to find some way of paying for care. We have to find ways of keeping people in their own homes for longer. Failure to do these things will carry a massive price - paid by the most vulnerable people in our society. Its too big an issue to play political games with.

Hello, I'm back - blown in by a wind storm

Have not blogged for weeks. Truth is that I'd become a bit bored - mainly because there are too many individuals around with so little to do that they spend time reading my musings in search of something to cause me or my party embarrassment. So I've decided to take a different approach. No-one who fails to identify themselves will have comments published. So the trolls can p*** off. Anon will need to be relevant, clever or funny.

Reason for me coming out of retirement is that I want to write about some issues which matter to me, one being the industrialisation of the uplands of mid Wales with wind turbines and cables. This first post is no more than a reflection on where we are. I'm going to tell you what is going on over the next few weeks. To begin, we need to look (briefly) on where we've come from.

In 2005, the Assembly Government decided that mid Wales should become the dumping ground for a 400kv cable's worth of wind turbines (as a starter) - 600+ turbines. The then Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire, Mick Bates thought this to be a splendid idea. I didn't. I stuck with that opinion thereafter. I knew that the local population would agree with me, when they realised what this all meant in terms of infrastructure. But even I did not expect the level of public outrage. When I called a public meeting in Welshpool Livestock Market in April, I was stunned by the numbers that turned up - somewhere between 1500 and 2000. I did get a bit carried away standing on a couple of big bales in front of such a responsive crowd, and asked the assembled throng to come to Cardiff with me to show how much we cared. I thought a bit of a do on the Assembly steps would be a good plan. They all came - and some. It was the best demonstration there has ever been outside the Assembly. At a conference two days later, the Secretary of State for Wales said that the people of mid Wales should not be ignored. Carwyn Jones told the conference that they would be ignored. I wasn't disappointed because I expected him to say exactly that. Within the Welsh Government, the opinion of mid Wales is of no consequence.

The Cardiff event was a stunning success - way beyond the wildest dreams of those of us involved in arranging it. But there is the question of where go now. Ideas are welcome on this blog. But a few of us did meet this morning to develop a strategy, and I was shocked by how things have changed in just a few weeks. Tentative beginnings have been replaced by cast iron resolve. The onshore wind farm sector will rue the day they joined in with the Welsh Government to trample all over the people of Mid Wales. They just picked on the wrong target. I always thought there would be a bit of a rumpus. I was wrong. There's going to be a bl***dy conflagration. I have no idea how its going to end. All I know is that they picked on the wrong people. Next blog will be about strategy - or at least that part of it that we are content for our enemies to know about.

Newtown Male Voice

Life is returning to normal - post back op.. Planted a 'fancy' oak tree this afternoon, and went out to a concert tonight. The Newtown Male Voice Choir were performing with 'The Three Basses' along as special guests. I've heard Tom Evans (Gwanas) sing several times before, and his voice floats through my mind whenever I travel up past Cadair Idris from Dolgellau, and down the other side past Gwanas. With him were Trebor Lloyd Evans and a new 'voice' to me, Sion Goronwy - a sound of such raw power that children should not be allowed to listen at less than 100 yds. It was just a brilliant night out, and well worth the bit of backache resulting from sitting in the same place for around 3 hours. And there was a message on my mobile to tell me that we have a contest for the vacant position of leader of the Conservative Assembly Group. Its good to have a contest. Pity Sion Goronwy isn't standing for us. At full volume, he'd blow Carwyn Jones out of the debating chamber.

My take on Thursday's results.

Been busy. Missed Thursday night's sleep - and paid a heavy price in pain and setback in 'operation recovery' for the pleasure of sharing Russell's victory. And fulfilling a promise to speak to Llanidloes 6th form at 9.00 Friday morning. Rested a lot since then, and today there's marked improvement in mobility. Be back on the treadmill in 10 days I reckon - after over a year's break. Anyway what did I think of Thursday's results.

In Scotland, Alex Salmond pulled off a huge success, leaving Labour in turmoil. Very bad day for Ed Miliband in Scotland. Not much to be said about the Conservatives really. What we know for the first time now is that some serious thinking needs to be done, to ensure Scotland remains a part of the Union. The Prime Minister needs to draw more on the well of inspiration that injected fire into the NOtoAV campaign.

In England, it was a good Council elections result for the Conservatives. Twelve months into a programme of repairing the national finances, with all the pain that entails, and we more than hold our position. That was an incredible result. The reality is that the Lib Dems had a disaster, Labour won fewer seats than expected, and the Conservatives won more than expected.

In Wales in was a good night for Labour, but not good as they hoped it would be. I'd felt they might do 31 - but fell just short. I sense that Labour might go it alone in the short term, with some sort of side arrangement for comfort. There is no Alex Salmond in Wales. Plaid and the Lib Dems had a poor night, especially the former. I was really sorry to see the demise of Helen Mary Jones though. Not only did we go to the same school, but she's made of admirably tough stuff, and her sister's a fellow soldier in the war on destruction of mid Wales by turbine. Nice to see another Powys man, William Powell take his place in the Bay (thanks to Russell). IWJ looks a beaten man at present. He needs to look as if he believes in himself, so that his colleagues can. Could the reverend who enjoys a cigar be looking to even up the score - or is that me causing trouble again.

The Conservatives had a better than expected night. I knew Russell George was going to win, and he'll make a really good AM. Because of my own experiences in 2007, I realised that his victory would mean Nick Bourne was likely to lose his seat. Angela Burns and Janet Finch Saunders pulled off cracking results, and at a personal friend level, its great to see Byron make it (by another turn of the quirky wheel). We need a new leader of the Assembly Group, and we chose an ideal man, in Paul Davies, to manage the contest. I'm think I know who's going to win, but I intend to keep secret how I cast that particular vote. I'm really sorry to see Jonathon Morgan lose his seat. He was a real talent. I wonder what Brynle makes of it all. I'd love a chat with the old rascal.

AV Rubbish (more) in the Independent

The Independent has informed its readers that Montgomeryshire is one of 21 seats which the Conservatives would not have won if the election had been fought under the AV system. It informs its readers that Lembit Opik would not have been beaten by me under AV. Total 'cobblers'. I've never actually bought an Independent, and if this is the sort of tripe it comes up, I'm not going to change the habit of my lifetime, at least that during which the Independent has been limping along. Lets just look at the figures, and you can tell me where you think I might be wrong. The result was as follows;

Glyn Davies - Conservative ----- 13,976
Lembit Opik - Liberal Democrat - 12,792
Heledd Fychan - Plaid Cymru ----- 2,802
Nick Colbourne - Labour --------- 2,407
David Rowlands - Ukip ----------- 1,128
Milton elis - National front ------ 384
Bruce Lawson - Independent -------- 324
50% of the vote would have been -16,907 --- assuming the same number of people voted.

Here's my guess on how preferences would have broken down, though this has to be no more than indicative, because only a proportion of people would have cast preferences. The one party that would have been expected to grasp AV with most enthusiasm, but since their preferences would be unlikely to come into it, we can leave then out. In any case, none of them could have given the Lib Dems a single preference vote! My assumptions are that the preferences would have broken down thus;

Bruce Lawson/Milton Elis would have been shared between Lib Dems and Conservatives
UKIP would have broken 2;1 to the Conservatives.
Labour would have broken 3;1 to the Lib Dems
Plaid would have been shared or been shaded by the Conservatives.

With us being 1,200 ahead (needing just 3,000 preferences) there is no way in the world that the Independent is talking anything but b******* - mathematical fantasy. Let anyone who disagrees let us see their realistic assumptions.

And I should mention that I've done very little canvassing in support of the No to AV campaign. I reckoned that because of the close link between the Conservative Party and opposition to AV, the best thing I could do was my best to support the Conservative candidate, Russell George. I have been proud to do that. I hope we've done enough to ensure he wins on Thursday.

Sir Henry Cooper - 1934-2011

I used to enjoy a bit of boxing as a teenager, but farm life didn't allow me enough time. Ernie Ray was my coach, though I never fought in an official bout. I was on the card to fight at Denbigh, but a ferocious nose bleed the night before persuaded Ernie that I should not fight without my nose being 'cauterised' - whatever that meant. Anyway, this is just a preamble to a post about Sir Henry Cooper, who died today. The sporting heroes of my early teens were boxers. There were some great Welshmen - Howard Winstone and Dai Dower being two of the best. But we all loved 'Enry. It wasn't just his boxing. He was a thoroughly good all round 'gent'. And hugely popular.

As a fighter he was not the greatest. Bit small for a heavy, and not quite good enough at the very top level. Mind you, he almost the best of them all - the magnificent Cassius Clay, later to be known as Mohammed Ali. I loved him as well, and watched his fights over and over again. When 'Enry fought Clay in 1963, the great man was too cocky, and was caught by 'Enry's 'Ammer close to the end of the fourth round. Many of us thought he'd never have survived if it had been at the beginning of the round. Cooper was a good 'finisher'. Clay's corner managed to delay things a bit, and he came out in the 5th and smashed 'Enry all over the place. The fight was stopped with a cut eye, a weakness that dogged Cooper's career. I remember enjoying all those fights between Henry Cooper, Joe Erskine, Brian London and Dick Richardson - all world class British heavies. Through it all, Sir Henry won three Lonsdale belts. Don't think anyone else managed that - not before all these Micky Mouse titles came along anyway.

He was so much more than just a boxer. I remember him as a captain on Question of Sport - with Cliff Morgan I think, though my memory could be playing tricks. I feel a bit sad that Sir Henry Cooper has died. The thing was, we all felt we knew him.

One benefit of A-V

I'd never heard of the A-V impulse system until today. I learned about it from leaflets familiarising me with what to expect from my consultant surgeon tomorrow when he goes to work with his knife. The A-V impulse system involves a pair of ImPads that wrap around your feet after surgery. They are attached by two hoses to the A-V impulse system controller. The Impads mimic the natural action of the soles of the feet, improving blood circulation while the patient is lying prostrate. At last I have found some useful purpose to A-V.

Monk Parakeets to the Rescue?

This may sound ridiculous, but one way of scuppering National Grid's plans to destroy our landscapes with hideous pylons would be to park a car on top of every one of them. I'm sure you can see how this would work - even if you might enquire how we could get a car up there - 150' in the air. Well its not as far-fetched as it sounds. Mother nature often produces the answers. Enter the Monk Parakeet.

About 150 of these colourful raucous and very greedy parrot-like birds are on the rampage in the Home Counties, following escape from captivity in the 1990s. They are reported as being a problem for two reasons. Firstly they devour copious amounts of agricultural crops, and secondly they build nests the size of family cars on top of pylons. In the US, these nests on electricity pylons have caused serious damage. And there's the added bonus that the Monk Parakeet can develop a vocabulary of several hundred words to tell us what they think. They would need only two to convey to National Grid the thoughts and message on the lips of everyone in mid Wales.

Where does the blame for wind farm 'Madness' lie?

Rather like a wind turbine after several days calm, this blog comes back to life. I suppose Easter Sunday is an appropriate day. And its the mid Wales turbines, pylons etc. that feature in this post - and some of the confusion about responsibility for it all. During the last few weeks, I've spoken at several public meetings, and pinned the blame on the National Assembly Government - and explained why. But not everyone was there,

For many years, there's been a drive to promote renewable energy by governments across the world, including the UK Government. It was, and remains entirely sensible that the Welsh Assembly Government should play it's part, even if the largest projects (nuclear power, Severn Barrage etc) remain a matter for the UK Government. Personally I'd not objected hugely to the odd onshore wind farm in mid Wales, though I'd long thought their inconsistency and huge cost raised questions about viability. (The scales fell from my eyes in 2005). But none of the above justifies the stunning landscape of mid Wales being industrialised. The decision to do this was taken by the Assembly Government in 2005 when it published an updated version of it's planning guidance to Local Planning Authorities, Technical Advice Note 8 (TAN8). The decision was communicated to the public via a 'statement' to the Assembly by then Minister, Andrew Davies AM - and welcomed by all party representatives, except me. I was opposed to the new version of TAN8 for two reasons - firstly because it was all about onshore wind farms rather than renewable energy, and secondly because it meant the destruction of the mid Wales landscape. I knew that TAN8 meant that which has now become much more widely understood. What we are facing (in the next phase of industrialising the mid Wales uplands) is 700/800 new turbines, a 20 acre substation, and about 100 kms of new cables, including a 400kv cable from the Newtown area to mid Shropshire, carried on 150' high steel towers.

Permission for the 400kv cable, and for wind farms over 50mw will ultimately be the responsibility of the Minister for Energy and Climate Change at Westminster. Permission for the substation and wind farms under 50mw will be responsibility of the Local Planning Authority, ultimately the National Assembly for Wales. But all of the decisions will be decided against the planning policy backdrop provided by TAN8. It's only by changing TAN8 that we have any real chance of preventing this madness destroying what many of us hold dear. That's why I think those who object should demonstrate their anger in Cardiff Bay.

Immigration policy. Fuss over not much.

Call from one of Wales top journalists today asking for my take on the Prime Minister's comments on immigration. Since he went to the trouble of asking me, I shared my thoughts with him. Here's a flavour of what I said.

1) It's no surprise to me that David Cameron makes a speech describing his policy on immigration as being the same as it was before he was elected Prime Minister. He has consistently promised to reduce "net immigration back to the levels of the 1990s - tens of thousands a year, not hundreds of thousands." He also repeated his commitment to an 'annual limit'. I'd have been surprised if he had said anything else.

2) It seems wholly sensible that the Prime Minister should speak of immigration during the weeks before local council elections. During an election campaign is an entirely appropriate time to talk about policy. Its an issue which is of great concern to voters.

3) I'm not in the least surprised that Vince Cable expresses some mild unease with the Prime Minister's approach to immigration. Dr Vince has said the same sort of thing before. And anyway, the idea that every Liberal Democrat and Conservative Minister in the Coalition Government must hold identical thoughts is as daft as it is unrealistic. And Nick Clegg commented today that he is 'proud' of the work that he (and Mr Cable) had done for the Coalition's "sensible immigration policy".

The reality is that immigration has been too high for many years, the previous Labour Government had not much idea about how many people were entering Britain illegally, and that a great many people are extremely worried about it. We live in a world where accusations of antipathy towards immigrants are thrown around too casually. Its a serious issue, and if mainstream parties are not going to talk about it, there are plenty of others who will.

TAN 8 is a monstrosity.

Been to another National Grid consultation meeting today, on their plans to build the necessary infrastucture to accommodate another 800-ish wind turbines in mid Wales - in the village of Arddleen. Not quite as many people turned up as I expected. Becoming used to 500+ everywhere. Probably about 250 today. Tried to get some grip on how the decision on the 400 kv cable will be made - and how to influence it.

Following their consultation, National Grid will decide on its preferred option, and submit an application to proceed with the Infrastructure Planning Committee (or as seems more likely, a successor body) - which will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change - currently the Liberal Democrat, Chris Huhne. Inevitable, the SoS will take the decision against the backdrop of the Assembly Government's TAN 8 policy statement (TAN 8 is a 'renewable energy technical advice note for Planning Authorities). Now lets imagine my dream scenario - a refusal to allow this desecration of the mid Wales countryside. The outrage that would explode in Cardiff Bay, assuming it's a Labour or Labour-led Government. There would be one hell of a row. Chris Huhne would be holing below the waterline the Assembly Government's policy of dumping another 20+ wind farms on Montgomeryshire. Can you just imagine the rumpus about not 'respecting' the National Assembly. On this issue, I'm all for creating a full scale rumpus.

Another issue on today's agenda was the process that would follow a refusal to answer the question on NG's form about where the sub station should go. My intention is to refuse to answer the question and write "Nowhere. We do not want any of this madness", and attaching a letter explaining why. Seems this will not be a 'void' response form. I accept that it could not influence the choice of site that NG take, but my opinion would be noted - and if thousands of us did the same thing, would have to be reported as part of the overall response. Seems as good a way as any of making Chris Huhne think twice.

Its all so awful. Like throwing a tin of pink paint over a Kyffin Williams oil painting. How can they sleep at night.

Salary increases for Powys Councillors.

My salary as an MP is about £65,000. Its always seemed to me to be a very good salary for a job which involves a strong element of public service. Though I'll always take what's offered, I'd have done the job for nothing. Done it differently of course, and of necessity only part-time - and not have been able to afford all those things that are 'expected' of an MP. When I was first elected to Montgomeryshire District Council, I elected not to take any payment at all for my time until I became Vice Chairman, which involved four days most weeks. I then took £16.50 per day. This is by way of a preamble to commenting on what its proposed that Powys County Council's new cabinet members are to be paid from next month.

At present the Council is 'led' by an Executive Management Board of 15 Cllrs. who are each paid £21,700 - with the Leader being paid £28,217. From next month the Council will be 'led' by a Cabinet of 10 (I think) who will each be paid £25,600 - with the Leader being paid £36,017. It is also proposed that there will be special responsibility payments for other individual duties. The increases are being recommended by an Independent Remuneration Panel. The report going to the full Council for approval goes under the authorship of Councillors Tony Thomas and Stephen Hayes.The Conservative Group does not agree with these increases, and its Group Leader will refuse to take the new responsibility allowance.

This seems to me to be quite a strong story. In fact one journalist I spoke to described the increases as f***** outrageous - and she was a lady!!. Personally, I thought the public should know about this, so that they can inform Councillors of their opinion before they vote on these proposals on April 28th. When asked to comment by the BBC and Shropshire Star today, I just said that I thought such increases at this time of pay freezes and cuts are insensitive - and that I thought the public should know before the decision is taken. Some issues do not need hyping up.

Where now for the Welsh Assembly?

So where does the devolution process go now? Important question to which there is no obvious answer. I suppose there's no rush. It may well not go anywhere, anytime soon. The referendum result is in, and it could take a while for the National Assembly to get a confident handle on the substantial increase in it's law making capacity. In some ways its a big move forward for the Assembly, even if in my opinion, it's no more than what most Welsh people (except we anoraks) thought we were voting about in September 1997. And it irritates me a touch to hear so many people saying "the Assembly has now been given law making powers" - as if some great principle had been conceded. The principle of devolved law making power was granted to the Assembly in 2006. What happened in the Mar 3rd referendum was that the process of granting this law making power was greatly simplified and speeded up.

Reason I was thinking about this over the weekend is that Martin Shipton rang me for a chat about it. Don't know whether he's printed anything yet. The next step in the process, in my opinion, is the granting of some form of 'fiscal accountability' to the Assembly. Cannot be more precise than this, except to say I was impressed by Gerry Holtham's Report into the matter which was published last year. We've heard quite a bit of negativity from Cardiff Bay politicians about this, which really mystifies me. Even Berriew Community Council had 'fiscal responsibility' when I was its Chairman 30 years ago! So I reckon the next step is going to be a "Calman-like process" - Calman being he that led a major review of the granting of 'fiscal responsibility' to the Scottish Parliament. It will take a while to work though this though - several years probably.

Personally, I also reckon it will be a while until the range of policy areas that fall under the Assembly's wing is up for consideration - except for some tangential references during the 'Calman-like process'. The next big debate on transfer of policy responsibility, which is already being mentioned by some would probably be criminal justice. This is a mighty area, which would transform the National Assembly. I cannot see this debate firing up into something real for a long time. But then I could be wrong.

Supporting Craig Williams.

I travelled to South Wales yesterday (Saturday) to speak at a lunch in support of Conservative Assembly candidate for Cardiff West, Craig Williams. Craig is one of a Welshpool family, and began his political career working for and with me in my local office when I was a Member of the National Assembly for Wales. He then went on to work in Nick Bourne's office in Cardiff, and has settled down in the city. He is now hitched up with the lovely Claire, who works for a UK cancer charity. Craig is a Cardiff City Councillor and they live in the constituency.

I would like to support all of the Conservative Assembly candidates who have helped me in Montgomeryshire - but there are 7 of them. Hard to believe, but 7 of the Conservative candidates standing next month began their careers in Welsh politics in our office in Welshpool. There's Russ George, Suzy Davies, Simon Baynes, Aled Davies, Martyn Hughes, Ian Harrison as well as Craig. We produce candidates like Sidoli's produce apple tarts in its huge factory on the local industrial estate.

Its a big ask for Craig to win Cardiff West. But its not Rhodri Morgan standing as the incumbent this time. And the 13% needed is not impossible. Come to think of it, that was the percentage I needed in the General Election! So its "Come on Craig". You can do it.

AV on Dragon's Eye

Just watched Dragon's eye reporting on the Alternative Vote referendum. I'm biased. I really cannot see any case for AV at all. Guto Bebb (as always) made some very good points for the 'No' side. Could not see any sense at all in the 'Yes' case that Peter Hain was making. AV is more confusing to the voter, sometimes declares as the winner a person other than most voters first choice, and is a system that almost no country in the world uses. But why on earth did they have to link the item with the frivolous Eurovision Song Contest. The referendum is a serious issue and should be treated seriously.

Newtown Traffic Problems.

Most weeks I drive from Montgomeryshire, straight into the the Houses of Parliament. It usually takes an hour from Heathrow to the underground Car Park, where Guy Fawkes planned to start his little conflagration. The traffic can be dire. But nothing like as bad as it can be in Newtown in my constituency. The Newtown traffic problems are akin to those between Tokyo and its airport. So I asked for a meeting with Ieuan Wyn Jones, Deputy First Minister of the National Assembly for Wales, who also has responsibility for transport to discuss them.

Well, today the Deputy First Minister granted me an audience. It was a good meeting. I wish to share with you the position of the Assembly Government (at least the IWJ part of it) on the two issues of greatest importance. Firstly there is the mind blowing inefficiency of the current McDonald's traffic lights. I used to refer to them as the Tesco lights, but thought I should share the pain around. IWJ, supported by his transport advisory team, told me that immediate steps would be taken to improve the efficiency and if this failed, consideration would be given to re-instating the roundabout. The most incredible 'horlicks' was made when these lights were installed, but this is as good a response as I could hope for.

The second issue under discussion was the much talked about Newtown By-pass. All sorts of stories have been floating around. Well, it seems that 'stories' they are. The position is that unless (and this is a big 'unless) there are unforeseen delays in the relevant statutory processes, it's intended to start building the Newtown By-pass in 2013, and finish it in 2014. OK, so none of like delays of any sort, but I'll take 2014. Only three more years of travelling to Newtown via Bettws!

Poor Man's Parliament

First visit to the London Welsh Centre tonight. It's on Gray's Inn Road - a big place, without any 'posh' pretensions. Anyway, tonight it was the scene of a book launch - Poor Man's Parliament - Ten Years of the Welsh Assembly. The author is Martin Shipton, Wales' most incisive political journalist covering the period up to and following the 1997 referendum which presaged the creation of the National Assembly for Wales. The book has been published by SEREN, and cost £12.99. I don't know if this was a special 'launch price' but I did immediately devalue my copy by asking Martin to sign it!

Martin Shipton has written this book from a standpoint of great frustration. He was a supporter of devolution, but does not believe it has delivered for Wales. Like me he believes that what we voted for on March 3rd 2011 was what we thought we had voted for on Sept. 18th 1997. But he goes further than I do in describing the settlement on offer to voters in 1997 as a 'humiliation' for Wales. And Martin shares my view that the standard of debate and genuine engagement with the people of Wales as a political institution, rather than a 'cultural' one needs there to be some financial accountability.

My advice is to go out and buy it.

400kv cable will be Montgomeryshire people's 'Tryweryn'.

Spent two hours today at an exhibition by National Grid and SP Networks of their proposals to construct the infrastructure needed to transfer power from the proposed wind farms in Mid Wales (mostly Montgomeryshire) to the existing Grid. They involve a 20 acre substation (Abermule or Cefn Coch) and a 400kv cable from it to somewhere north of Shrewsbury on 150' high steel towers (with the possibility of part being undergrounded. Plus various 132kv lines from the wind farms to the substation. Quite an event. Probably about 1000 people turned up. Everyone is very worried - and rightly so.

Posted on this before (ad nauseum), so will spare readers more of my outrage about the philisinic intentions of the politicians who gave National Grid and SP Network their instuctions. I'll just raise two questions in need of clarification, and one growing concern (with a bit of outrage creeping in!). Firstly, we need to know what role the County Council has played in selecting the two sites being placed before us today. We are being told that they have been chosen (and many others rejected) after much discussion between National Grid, SP Networks, the CCW and Powys Council (though not councillors). Is this true?

And secondly, there is the relationship with a Newtown Bypass. My understanding is that there is no relationship at all, but a counter view is circulating. Perhaps I'll be able to clear this up when I meet with Ieuan Wyn Jones next week to discuss Newtown's chronic traffic problems.

And finally, the growing concern. There were voices today which see the consultation as a battle between Abermule and Cefn Coch. This must not happen. We are in this together. When I'm asked where the substation should go, my answer is nowhere. The whole thing is completely mad. We must fight it to the bitter end, hoping that common sense will prevail. Abermule is a thriving community. The Vyrnwy Valley is one of the most beautiful in Britain. For the people of Montgomeryshire, it is our 'Tryweryn'. If this abomination goes ahead, the National Assembly for Wales will never be forgiven.

Libya, Japan and the Budget.

When was there last such a momentous time in UK (and connected) politics. 9/11 I suppose. Firstly, we have the reverberations of Japan's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear 'incident' - as well as the associated loss of life and impact on the world's economy. Secondly we have a very important budget on Wednesday, the success of which is crucial for the long term health of our economy, our public services and 'place' in the world. And we have, in effect, gone to war with a North African country - though I think the proper term is something like 'international conflict' rather than 'war'.

Tomorrow, There will be a debate in the House of Commons relating to the UN Security Council resolution on Libya. Sending our young people into a conflict zone is a really big deal, and this could well have been the most important vote of my political career. And I'm not going to be there. I have an appointment to see Mr Trevedi at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital at Gobowen, which I dare not miss. He is a spinal expert, and my spine has been giving me some serious gyp for a while. Because 'Libya' is a difficult issue, I do not want to dodge the responsibility involved in committing myself publicly - so I'm writing this blog post. My constituents should know which way I would have voted. Despite concerns about 'mission creep' and some uncertainty about what I see as the specific objective, I would vote to take whatever action is needed to enforce UN Resolution 1973. It would be wrong for world powers to stand aside and allow Gadaffi and his evil regime to slaughter tens of thousands of innocent Libyans. I suppose I could get to Westminster by 8.30 if all goes to time - so I might even just make it to vote.

The Madness of Turbines, Cables and Sub Stations.

Been catching up on the current state of play in the Assembly Government's plans to cover the hills of Montgomeryshire in wind turbines today. Reps of National Grid and SP Energy Networks called by my office to outline the awful options still on the table. They are all very nice people. But it was a bit like meeting your very nice doctor, who is also a friend, offering you the choice of ripping out your right eye or ripping out your left eye. There's no option of keeping both eyes - the Hospital Trust CEO has decided that your features must be desecrated. Anyway, this post is about the stage that these desecration plans have reached.

First issue is the location of the 20 acre sub station into which all the wind farms will connect. After months of discussion with statutory agencies (including Powys Council), there is a short list of two sites - one near Abermule and one near Bowen's Quarry in Adfa. It matters big-time which is chosen. If its Adfa, the 400kv cable carried on 50 metre high steel pylons will pass down the Vyrnwy Valley all the way from Adfa to connect with the Grid in Shropshire. If its Abermule, the cable will pass down the Severn Valley to Shropshire - or further South, with most of its length being the other side of Offa's Dyke. I'm told its a 50/50 call, and the consultation responses will make the difference.

Second big issue is how much of the cable will be 'undergrounded'. When I last met today's harbingers, there seemed little prospect of any of the cable going underground. The 'tone' has definitely changed, and we need to make a loud noise about this. Not that 'undergrounding' is undisruptive. Burying a 400kv cable makes a very big mess indeed - and its only likely in some places. Personally, I hope we can maximise it.

Third issue is the network of 132kv cables running from the various wind farms to the sub station. These are going to be carried on 25/30 metre high steel pylons. At present there seems little prospect of much of this network being buried underground, because its an upfront cost for the wind farm developer - which could render several of the wind farms uneconomic. "So bl****y what" I hear you scream - or was it me. Problem is that SP Energy have a statutory responsibility to the wind farm developers - and if some drop out, the cables could well have been built in the wrong place.

Fourth issue is the timetable. The plan is that the consultation period will end in early summer (June-ish) and the cruel, fateful axe will fall September-ish - announcing which valley in what is the most beautiful landscape of the UK will be desecrated for ever. My fingers twitch with barely controlled anger as I type these words. Hope does remain. Its all madness of course - the same sort of unseeing madness which created the much lauded tower blocks and coniferous forests of the 1960s. Let's hope that this blindness be cured, before we lose much of what the unafflicted lovers of Montgomeryshire, love to look out upon.

Pawb a'i Farn tonight.

Travelled up to Blaenau Ffestiniog tonight to appear on Pawb a'i Farn. Don't get much chance to use the Welsh Language at Westminster, and so was a bit tense about it. Felt a bit knackered as well. A head cold which has stopped me sleeping properly. Anyway, I set about preparing myself by stopping at the George 111, near Dolgellau. Nothing more than to talk to myself in Welsh about nuclear power and Libya, two subjects that were bound to be on the agenda. What a wonderful place the George 111 is. Just sitting quietly looking out over the Mawddach Estuary, glass of wine in hand, mountains all around, watching amorous swans participating in essential preliminaries to spring lovemaking. Wales at its glorious best. A place where memories are made.

I was wrong about Libya being an issue. Surprising, since we were contemplating declaring war while the programme was being broadcast. Personally, I think that current events in North Africa and the Middle East are hugely important to our world. But we did talk of nuclear power. Must admit to much ambivalence about this issue. I was a long standing opponent until about 6 years ago, when as Chair of the relevant National Assembly committee I was obliged to become involved in discussion about the disposal of radioactive waste. During discussion it dawned on me that we no longer have any option. Because previous Government's have refused to take seriously the approaching 'energy gap' the only technology which can deliver in the short term is nuclear. Except coal of course, but carbon emission targets rule that out. Surprisingly, almost the whole audience was supportive of nuclear. I suppose that the local economy has crashed since Trawsfynnydd was closed - and not far away, the economy of Ynys Mon depends on Wylfa 'B' going ahead. Dewi Llwyd pushed Elfyn Llwyd and me (the two politicians on the panel) about whether we were in favour of building new nuclear power stations. Both of us would probably have preferred not to be asked. I said 'Yes' but I'm not sure what Elfyn said.

As driving home, listening to Radio 5, I was amazed to hear the tragedy in Japan had been relegated to a distant second place in the news headlines. If UK and French planes go into combat tomorrow, it will be difficult to find news of Fukushima anywhere. "Events dear boy, events".

Politics Show today

Down in Cardiff today, for the Politics Show. Wasn't sure what to expect. Would Aled ap Dafydd have recovered from his recent 'savaging' at the hands of the Coco Pops kid, Leighton Andrews, Assembly Government Minister for Education. In what I thought looked like a premeditated attack, he described Aled as 'stuck up', middle classed and a disgrace to the BBC. I particularly enjoyed the 'middle class' bit! Turned out to be almost a 10 minute 'one to one' slot - and very civil. It must have been the muesli I'd eaten, instead of Coco Pops. But let's consider some of the issues we discussed.

There's the matter of what the Wales Office does. For some reason a few think that all the Wales Office does is deal with the Legislative Competence Orders that will be no more (thankfully). Just not true. Government departments do not operate in silos, thinking only about their direct responsibilities. It's nothing like that in practice. Every member of the Cabinet contributes to and takes responsibility for all Cabinet decisions. David Cameron has always greatly valued a Welsh 'voice' at the Cabinet table. I approve of that. And there are many issues with a major impact on Wales, where direct responsibility lies in other departments. Its crucial that the Wales Office has an active involvement - transport/electrification; DCMS/S4C; defence/St Athan, etc.. Why on earth anyone would not want a Wales Office involvement in these issues is beyond my understanding.

Second issue was where we go now with the devolution process. Seems there's a bit of resistance to the idea of 'financial accountability'. UK Coalition Government policy, now that the referendum is over, is to establish a commission to look at how the Assembly can move on from just being a body which decides spending priorities - and how the 'trade-offs' between spending and tax raising, (which even Town and Community Councils have), might be devolved to Cardiff Bay. Governing means making tough choices and taking hard decisions. I think all groups in the National Assembly (I could be wrong here) established the Holtham Commission to consider 'accountability', alongside 'fairness' in funding. Quite a bit of work has already been done on the 'fairness' agenda (fair for or England and Wales) - even if action is on hold until the UK public finances are stronger. Even Gerald Holtham recognised 'fairness' reform to be a 'medium term' issue, which is why an interim measure is being considered (the Holtham Floor). Seems to me that we need to begin the process of thinking about 'financial accountability' as well. Anyway, Aled and I just talked around this important issue. I don't expect much progress until post Assembly election.

Finally, he asked me what law I would like to see the Assembly pass, using its newly acquired powers. I opted out of answering. An overriding objective for me is to strive for a good working relationship between the Governments at Westminster and in Cardiff Bay. It would not help at all if I start trying to tell the Assembly Government what to do. Both sides of the M4 should always have mutual respect in mind. Both sides should try to do its own job as effectively as possible, and try not to interfere in the other's responsibilities. At least, that's my opinion.

All in all, I thought it was a pretty good interview. Didn't drop any clangers, and stayed on friendly terms with Aled. And nobody's complained since.

Deepcut Re-visited.

I recently met Mr Des James of Llanymynech for the first time. Mr James is the father of Cheryl James, who was one of the four young soldiers who died at Deepcut Barracks 16 years ago in 'unclear' circumstances. Mr James is also one of my constituents. We met at the Ministry of Defence, where I accompanied him at a meeting with the Armed Forces Minister, Nick Harvey. I cannot divulge anything of what was said at our long meeting, except that I was deeply impressed by the passion and belief evident in Des James' presentation of his concerns about the circumstances surrounding his daughter's death..

But I can comment on today's BBC high profile coverage of a report by Devon and Cornwall Police about their investigation into the way Surrey Police dealt with the deaths of the four young people at Deepcut barracks. Its deeply concerning. The report said (according to the BBC) that Surrey Police did not properly consider a list of hypothetical suspects, even though they claimed to have considered all possibilities for the deaths. The review believes (again according to the BBC) that insufficient investigative work took place to identify an unknown male who could have been responsible for Cheryl's death. And a recently retired detective from the Surrey Force is reported to have said "....at the time there was another clear message from above 'These were suicides weren't they, and that is where you are going to end up, and that's what you will end up proving."

It is absolutely no surprise to me that Mr Des James is calling for a public enquiry.

The Wales Office - our voice in Westminster.

You have to admire him. The great Machiavellian Lord of Meirionydd that is. Whenever he feels a bit bored, he just puts a call into the BBC, tells them he wants to say something significant - and 'Bob's your Uncle' he's starring on the Politics Show. Despite his 'significant something' being no more than a re-hash of what he's said before - and blatant propaganda for Plaid Cymru, his own political party, during the run up to an Assembly election. Lord Elis Thomas plays the BBC as if it's his own personal Stradivarius. Mind you, I can't complain, because it nets me a 'slot' on Post Cynta tomorrow morning to comment on his comments. That's the way it works - like a circular firing squad.

Lets consider what his Lordship told the viewers he wants. Seems he thinks an appropriate response to this week's Yes vote is to abolish the Wales Office, including any ministers at Westminster responsible for Wales. Since he's a member of a political party that wants an 'independent' Wales, this should come as no surprise to anyone. This will happen if and when a majority of the Welsh people support it. But personally, I think it would be most unwise to set aside Welsh interests in favour of a political agenda, which around 15% of the Welsh people support. I see the Wales Office as the 'Voice of Wales at Westminster and the voice of Westminster in Wales'. Scrapping the Wales Office would be more self-destructive than when the WRU sacked Mike Ruddock.

None of the above either surprised or bothered me. But two of his 'opinions' did. Firstly, he gave credit for the announcement about the electrification of the Great Western Line into Cardiff, and the reduction in train journey time to Swansea to everyone except the Secretary of State for Wales. And the second irritating comment was that the Secretary of State delivered this week's referendum because she had "no choice". On both issues he was just plain wrong. On the second issue, let's look at the facts. It was AMs who left the decision to ask for the referendum until so late in the political cycle that it took a mighty commitment by Cheryl Gillan to deliver it before May 2011. So little preparation work was done on the referendum before the General Election, that only by total focus on the subject was the incoming Conservative-run Wales Office managed to pull it off in time. And in passing, was it not Lord Elis Thomas himself who at one stage wanted the referendum delayed until after May 2011 anyway! I was never sure that he actually wanted one.

I've just about heard enough unjustified Labour driven propaganda about the Wales Office not delivering for Wales. How many more times are we going to hear that the Severn Barrage was 'cancelled'. It was never going to happen. All that the previous Labour Government achieved was to 'blow' mega millions on an impossible dream. They did quite a lot of that sort of thing. And Cheryl Gillan did deliver electrification into Cardiff - which in my opinion no-one else would have done. And she delivered an Assembly powers referendum to a timetable that no-one else would have done. Actually, I never really get cross about these things. There's always the comforting thought that the people are not daft.

Feeling the hand of history.

Carwyn Jones said "Today, an old nation came of age".

Ieuan Wyn Jones said "The heart of this nation still beats strong".

Nick Bourne said "On this spring day, Wales takes a new step".

Kirsty Williams said "A new era of devolution must now begin".

Edna Mopbucket said "How much are they going to be paid for these extra powers".

Wales votes Yes

At last. After 12 years of devolved government, we reach a satisfactory constitutional settlement. For 12 years its been unfinished business. Today we voted for the settlement we should have agreed in 1997. There will continue to be capacity for constitutional conflict but we have finally acquired a devolved settlement blessed with logic and stability.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I considered the Government of Wales Act 1998 to be inadequate. Having been an opponent of establishing a National Assembly in 1997, I even more thought the idea of our National Assembly without primary law making powers to be utterly pointless. Immediately after its establishment in 1999, I have supported the transfer of law making powers in all devolved policy areas.

I've admitted to being no fan of the referendum held today. It had to be held, because of the requirments of the 2006 Act, but I'm not at all sure it was appropriate. There was a stronger case for a referendum on the 2006 Act, which conceded the principle of granting primary law making powers to the Assembly. All we have actually done today is speed up the process agreed in 2006. It's also been odd holding a referendum where few voters fully understood what it was all about. This is where I become partisan. The referendum would have been held if Cheryl Gillan had not become Secretary of State last May. On taking office, she committed herself to delivering what had been requested by the National Assembly the previous February - with a single minded determination to delivered. In my opinion, no Labour Sec. of State would have delivered it. She has delivered for Wales

I was pleased that Powys voted Yes, if only by a whisker. The vote was too close for me to know for certain that Montgomeryshire voted Yes, but I think it probably did. I would not have been at all surprised if it had been a No vote, because of the anger that we feel about the way the Deputy First Minister has treated us over the appalling transport problems he has visited upon Newtown. I reckon that cost the Yes side about 1000 votes.

It will take a while until we see any obvious difference, but I'm looking forwards to more clarity in the public mind about responsibilities - which will create greater accountability. It was a slightly better turn-out and margin of victory than I'd expected. All in all, its been a good day for Wales

The Power of Local Media

Perhaps the greatest pleasure I derive from reading my local weekly, the County Times, is that I can sit down with a coffee and rage at it. I still prefer this ritual to take place on a Saturday morning, as it did many decades ago, despite the paper now being published on a Thursday afternoon. This week's edition is a personal classic. If Mrs D's in the kitchen, and I'm reading in the Hall, she's learned to ignore my muttering and chuntering.

Front page of this week's edition carries a photograph of what the electricity substation at the end of a new 400kv cable into Mid Wales to serve wind farms will look like. A local Councillor has apparently "blasted it as a complete and utter nonsense". Absolutely right. We're expecting an announcement from National Grid next month about where this monstrosity is going to be built. They told me six months ago the location of the two short listed sites, in confidence, - so its still "No comment" from me. Of course this substation is going to be utterly horrible, surpassed only in its ugliness by the monstrous 400kv cable that is going to carried from it, on hideous steel lattice towers, all the way to Shropshire. "Its all very well to shout now" I muttered away to myself. "Why wouldn't they listen to me in 2005, when the National Assembly published its 'bonkers' TAN 8 document, which made the substation and the 400kv cable inevitable. When I attacked the then Government's proposals in the Assembly debating chamber, I stood alone, while the opposition condemned me. Montgomeryshire's AM, Mick Bates joined in with other Labour, Plaid Cymru and Lib Dem AMs as, one after another, they verbally assaulted me. That's when everyone should have been shouting - not when its too bl***y late. Or is it? I do have a little plan. Anyway, after a gulp of coffee, I turn the page. And its more of the same.

A full page under the heading "HANDS OFF OUR HOSPITAL SERVICES". Absolutely right. Over the last two weeks, 800 local people have attended three public meetings to listen to the Chief Executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Hospitals Trust tell us that he wants to move some emergency services (consultant led maternity and paediatrics) from the Royal Shrewsbury to the Princess Royal in Telford. I've been trying to generate interest in this issue for five years. Ironically, the one time there was a fair amount of publicity (including a huge local petition) fifteen months ago, it was in response to a previous consultation process, which we knew at the time was going to be postponed for at least a year! Six months ago I wrote a 600 word article for the County Times which was published as its weekly 'Politically Speaking' column. I put a lot of thought into it, and reckoned that it merited a big 'splash' but it generated almost no comment at all. Whatever, I hope its not too late to force a re-think. The three meetings have been terrific - telling Mr Cairns exactly what I thought they would tell him. I've been working with Shrewsbury MP, Daniel Kawczcynski over this issue, and I have a little plan - which will be disclosed in due course.

That's where the real pleasure of reading my local papers comes in. They help me come up with little plans which might create more headlines for me to mutter about in the future. Like planting a plum tree. The pleasure just keeps on coming.

The Coco Pops Kid.

Never again will I refer to Mr Leighton Andrews, Assembly Minister for Education as anything but 'The Coco Pops Kid' or the 'King of the Coco Pops' - you get the drift. Little badges of Leighton should be free in every packet of Coco Pops sold in Wales. Coco Pops should be available in the staff and AM canteen so that all can start each day with a bang. And the reason is Leighton's wonderfully inspiring interview with Aled ap Dafydd for this week's Politics Show. It went something like this.

Aled - "You're giving Coco Pops to kids for breakfast for free. That's something the parents might want, they might welcome that, but more importantly, I suppose, to parents will be the assessments when it comes to reading for example"

Leighton went off like a firecracker.

"I really object to your snooty middle class attack on our free breakfast scheme. That is a disgrace. A thousand schools in Wales are pursuing our free breakfast scheme and you talk about Coco Pops. You are a disgrace to the BBC".

Great stuff. Should secure a prosperous future for Aled ap Dafydd. If he can so get under the skin of a Government Minister that easily - no matter how sensitive that skin might be, he should be moved straight into Paxman's chair. As for Leighton, if he loses his position in the Cabinet, he might win an advertising contract with Kellogg's - "Start the day with Coco Pops - the breakfast cereal with the power to explode". David Taylor could set the jingle to music.

The Welsh Labour Conference.

The Wales Labour Party has been holding its spring conference at Llandudno this weekend. We're holding ours in Cardiff in two weeks time. Labour remains the biggest party in Wales, so this has to be treated as a significant event. There are but two aspects of the proceedings that I want to comment on.

Firstly, there's the overall theme. which is 'to protect Wales from the Coalition Government at Westminster', and to "send the Coalition Government a message". It seems awfully dismissive of the National Assembly for Wales to be treated as no more than a tool for influencing the UK Government. Its supposed to the Welsh General Election. I hope we don't replicate this approach at our Welsh Conference, even if we are holding our UK Spring Conference alongside it. We'll be just two months from the Assembly election and I hope we take the opportunity to showcase our Assembly candidates and our Assembly policies.

The second eye-catching aspect of the Conference was Peter Hain's call "To kick Nationalists out of government". Now its inevitable that Labour should want to form a Government on its own, but this is no way to talk about about your coalition partners. Two weeks ago, Matt Withers in the Wales on Sunday informed us that the vicious campaign to undermine Ieuan Wyn Jones was being orchestrated by someone close to Peter Hain and an ambitious AM who is not in the Cabinet. It does not take a Sherlock Holmes to work out the identity of the two individuals he meant. I really do hope we can maintain a more civilized approach to our Lib Dem partners before the next General Election.

Growing Up.

My gorgeous little granddaughter, Ffion can be very (how shall I put this without offending her) 'childish' when the mood takes her. As an example - she loves a 'smoothie'. But when I last offered one, she made it clear that not only did she want a 'smoothie' but that she only wanted it only if Mrs D give to her. Illogical I know, but its what three year olds do.

This little incident drifted into my mind when I read in today's Western Mail about the behaviour of Carwyn Jones, First Minister of the National Assembly. Let me explain why. This week Nick Clegg announced that the UK Government would offer to the National Assembly the chance to bring forward or delay the next Assembly election by a year - because the currently scheduled date of 7th May 2015 is the same as the date of the next General Election. Very good news I'd have thought. The freedom to choose given to the National Assembly. Almost as good as a 'smoothie'. But no, it may be good news, but Carwyn thinks that the UK General Election should be moved instead. He says this is because he had the date pencilled in first, but we all know is because the idea was suggested by Nick Clegg. What we call the 'respect agenda' prevents me saying exactly what I think of this. But Lib Dem AM, Peter Black is reported to have said "He would do Wales a great service if he stopped throwing his toys out of the pram and began to act as a First Minister". Little Ffion stopped doing that to her toys when she was one - moving on from 'babyish' to 'childish' - and soon she'll move on to adolescent, en route to 'grown up'. Oh that the same could be said about......

Wonderful Stadco News

Every six months or so I like to call in on Stadco Powys of Llanfyllin, a specialist low volume producer of car parts. 18 months ago it was a very depressing visit. The company was announcing a workforce reduction to around 40, with the possibility of losing the Stadco presence in Llanfyllin altogether. Everyone involved was desperate not to see that happen. When I called the week after being elected as MP for Montgomeryshire, prospects were brighter and there were green shoots pushing through. Well today, Stadco Powys is booming. Well over 150 work at the plant and its buzzing. This is fantastic news for the whole of North Montgomeryshire. And its not the only good news story on the jobs front that I heard of today. But that will have to wait for now.

More on England's Forestry Estate

I'm not sure that the Labour Opposition properly understand today's announcement concerning the Forestry Commission Estate in England. Not surprising - since it was obvious that Labour had little understanding of what had previously been announced. Actually, I don't think Labour wanted to know. Anyway here's the BBC report of the announcement.

Now I greatly support this move. As regular readers will know I considered the Coalition Government's Consultation Document on divesting the Forestry Commission of its forests as a very good working document. I have encouraged the 200 plus who have contacted me to read it and respond to it. I have also sent them all a copy of the Defra Secretary of State's excellent speech introducing the Consultation Document to Parliament.

But there was another related issue which was being largely ignored. For years, the British Government has been selling parts of the forest to raise funds, and the current Government had announced six months ago that 15% of the FC forests in England were to be sold. This was completely separate from the current Consultation Document which referred to the 85% remaining. What happened today was that Caroline Spelman decided to bring this 15% within the ambit of her Consultation Document - which is great news to me. My firm opinion is that the current Coalition Government will bring greater access to England's forests, greater biodiversity, and a more transparent regulatory system - a triple whammy as the Sun might say.

Organ Donation - Presumed Consent or Not.

That was the best edition of Dragon's Eye that I have ever watched. No shouting down. Serious considered debate. The BBC has done some fantastic reseach. Up until now, I've thought the debate to be shallow and partial. Tonight the debate grew up. I suspect there are people who genuinely believed that presumed consent would produce more organs for donation are thinking again. And perhaps the converse.

Lysistrata Re-visited.

It all started with Aristophanes in 411 BC, when his play, Lysistrata was first performed. This influential woman of Greece came up with a novel idea of persuading the men of Greece to end their love of war. She persuaded all of the wives and lovers of the nation's warmongering males to ban sexual relations until the warmongering stopped.

Then it was the womenfolk of Kenya who went on what they called a 'Nookie Strike' in 2009. The problem here was that President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga were in constant disagreement - like Blair and Brown used to be. Labour's women missed a trick. It seems that the problems in Kenya were sorted in a few days.

Anyway, now its the Belgians. I must admit this has come as a surprise to me. Greeks and Romans, Italians and French, Brazilians, Kenyans - all carry a certain credibility (in the nicest possible way). But surely not Belgians, and for a reason about which the ladies of Belgium will not give a damn. Its seems that the problem involves an inability of the politicians to form a Government. Perhaps the ladies of Wales will act to encourage interest in the law making powers for the National Assembly referendum. That could put a bit of a spark into the campaigning. Where will it all end?

'Touchy' Wyn Jones.

That's the thing about politics. You can be laying into a fellow (I find it more difficult if its a lady - old fashioned I know) and next minute sharing a convivial word over a glass of wine. I rather approve of this approach to politics. But it doesn't work if the person under fire is overly 'touchy'. Which is what I reckon the Assembly's Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones has been today. The BBC, and Western Mail have been giving top billing to Ieuan's distress at learning that Labour politicians have been seeking to portray him as a failure. Sorry Ieuan, 'but that's what they do'. On Dragon's Eye last week, Felicity Evans asked me to comment on Labour MP, Wayne David's attempts to portray Secretary of State, Cheryl Gillan in a poor light. I just scratched my head confusedly and said "But, that's what they do". I've heard it said that it's about all they can do.

He can be a bit 'touchy' though. I remember offending the Deputy First Minister (it was before he assumed such an elevated position) by calling him "Wobbly Wyn Jones" after some change of mind. I thought the phrase had a nice ring to it. Anyway, the phrase 'stuck' and Ieuan was so offended that I wished I hadn't said it. Life is too short to make enemies. But when I think of some of the things that have been said about me over the years.....

More on the English Forest Estate.

After receiving 200 emails and letters asking me to oppose the Coalition Government's plans to divest itself of it's English forestry estate, I've received 50 emails expressing disappointment that I did not agree. Which is all rather odd, in that I started off with some sympathy with the opposition. But I awaited confirmation of the actual proposals, and decided that I can hardly vote against a consultation process.

One aspect of the opposition that narks me is the implication that charitable and voluntary ownership and management is inferior to state ownership. Not in my book, its not. Until I was elected an MP, I was a trustee of Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust. We owned around 20 reserves in Montg. and had hundreds of volunteers helping out. I've also been a member of the National Trust for decades. We have millions of members. Several of my friends work as 'guides' at Powis Castle, an NT property 3 miles from my house. They volunteer because they love it. And I've been member of the RSPB for decades. The RSPB is one of the biggest landlords in the UK. The suggestion that voluntary and charitable bodies cannot own and manage land is as offensive as it is inaccurate.

And objection to the state selling its commercial forestry is not as straight forward as it seems either. On Saturday I was talking to the principal of a large local timber firm, who had wanted to buy lorry loads of felled Forestry Commission timber, only to be refused because he is not on a 'list' of preferred buyers. This timber will be allowed to deteriorate to a state where it is only fit for Kronospan chipboarding, at a fraction of the price. Can you imagine a private commercial business tolerating such stupidity.

I just hope that all these people who are emailing me and writing to me read the Consultation Document, and write to the Coalition Government outlining their thoughts - without 'guidance' from 38 Degrees. I want to see some changes, and look forward to seeing what changes are made.