Dream Ticket: John Prescott and Claire Short.
In the Chamber there are Finance questions and I have one to Sue Essex about her budget priorities. This is a difficult question at the moment now that we are in discussions and so the exchange goes something like this. “I know you can’t really answer this but I wonder if your budget priorities include spending on the ambulance service” and the answer, “Well no I can’t really answer that question but of course I recognise that that is an important priority”. I think we had similar exchanges in last year’s budget round!
David Melding, Jonathan and I are off to a Welsh Conservative Dinner at which Ken Clarke is guest of honour. We bump into Huw Edwards on the way there. Huw is the former MP for Monmouth and always affable and pleasant. He is now doing some training for officials on the Government of Wales Act – I believe his background is in training.
Ken tells me his work on the Democracy Taskforce, which is advising David Cameron, is proceeding well. It is clear that devolution is very much part of the landscape in his view. He will, of course, be looking at the West Lothian question, or the Clwyd West question as it is from a Welsh perspective. He is very happy with the direction of travel under David Cameron’s leadership. “Obviously lost to the right man” is his comment. He is pretty scathing about the Government’s handling of the Middle East situation and public services, and pressed on the Labour Leadership says he is hoping for a dream ticket of John Prescott and Claire Short. Now that would be good!
