Nick Bourne AM

Blair has egg all over his face thanks to his “transparent” approach to reviewing Nuclear Power. In a highly unusual move, a High Court judge has ruled that the consultation was “flawed” and “not merely inadequate but also misleading” in respect of nuclear waste. This demonstrates the high-handed arrogance of the Labour Government. We see that arrogance, of course, in Wales as well as Westminster. This sort of action damages the public’s perception of politics and politicians. 

Nuclear does need to be honestly debated and all parties need to set out their position openly and honestly. Welsh Conservatives have said that nuclear is not our preferred option although we don’t rule it out. We do, however, have nuclear now, of course, in Ynys Mon where the local people support the plant which is essential to the local economy. It would be interesting to hear what other political parties have to say about Wylfa B.  However, we certainly do need to look at all forms of renewable energy. We need to look at solar, tidal (especially tidal lagoons), wave, hydro and bio mass. We have now probably reached our limit in Wales when it comes to wind, while I respect its green credentials we need to look at other forms of renewable,small scale micro-generation and energy efficiency measures. 

This week we have pledged to halt Labour’s plans for hospital reconfiguration across Wales. Instead, we have promised to hold ‘proper dialogue’ with clinicians, health bodies, and local people about the shape of medical services across the country.
This will prevent the closure of hospitals across Wales, particularly in my own area of Mid and West Wales and also North Wales. The message cannot be clearer – We will halt Labour’s hospital reconfiguration programme. Vote Welsh Conservative to save your hospitals.

I have made it quite clear that the Welsh Conservatives’ number one priority is our cherished NHS. I want politicians to be taken out of the day-to-day running of the health service, we trust our health professionals to get on and do their job.
  

I am absolutely amazed at Rhodri Morgan’s attitude to Climate Change; once again Rhodri Morgan has confirmed his status as the Clown Prince of Wales. 

Climate change is the biggest issue facing this planet today yet the First Minister has demonstrated his inability to tackle the problem head-on or indeed lead Wales in the 21^st Century. 

The idea that the effects of climate change will stop at Offa’s Dyke is completely laughable and ill-thoughtout comments like this are dangerous. 

Next he will be claiming credit for weather in Wales and how his government’s policy over climate change is making the people of England jealous. 

Rhodri has taken flak from every level in Wales and rightly so. 

  I have been catching up on Peter Black’s blog and read that Peter believes that the reminder that David Cameron went to Eton is likely to do him and the Conservatives electoral harm. I doubt that.

 I think that the electorate are far more likely to be listening to what David and the party are saying than to be worried about where he went to school. The very positive policies on climate change, on the need to address global poverty, on the importance of localism and the important role of public services are far more likely to be what the electorate looks at. Tony Blair went to the”Scottish Eton” and though the electorate has many issues with the PM where he went to school is not one of them and nor should it be.

By the same token I have not thought it remotely important that Sir Ming looks like a knight of the shires born to the purple (although I realise that he is not). People will be focussing quite rightly on what he is saying and what Liberal Democrat policies are on particular issues.

  It looks as if my good friend and colleague,  Brynle Williams, was right when he said he that the bird flu outbreak in Suffolk was more likely to be caused by a failure of bio-security with imports than by wild birds. These poor birds are the scapegoats of the exercise– no prizes, I am afraid,for the  Mike German mixed metaphor in the blog. The local MP, John Gummer, who knows a thing or two about crises of this kind, was praising the government’s handling of the situation on Radio 4 yesterday. I thought for one dreadful moment that he was going to get daughter,Cordelia to consume a turkey twizzler or two to demonstrate the safety of the meat but I recalled that Cordelia is now 20  and at Uni and well able to tell John where to stuff the turkey ( still no prizes )

The Sundays also feature the funding of the BNP, a nasty,mean, distasteful and grubby bunch of  sub-human flotsam and jetsam who we need  to ensure do not prosper from the democratic process.We do that by force of argument and so long as the BNP act within the law ( and they often do not )we cannot, in my view, treat them any differently from any other political party in terms of election addresses and PPBs and so on.

 Now at first sight there does not seem to be much to connect Barrack Obama, David Milliband and Mick Bates but it does seem that all three  have made or are are about to make significant announcements.

 The most far-reaching is undoubtedly that of the junior senator for Illinois who will announce today that he is seeking the Democratic nomination for the US Presidency.”There is a time in the affairs of man when taken at the flood …” and it is clear to me that Barrack Obama is a near certain President and probably in 2008.What is also clear and heartening is  that the support for him is not on racial grounds, indeed Hilary Clinton is well ahead in the polls among black voters.Race has become irrelevant in US politics,it seems, and that’s good.

Meanwhile it seems that modernisers in the Labour party want David Milliband to run against Gordon Brown when Tony retires to Chester le Street Les Deux Eglises.It seems that David M has not ruled this out completely! The  Question Time gaffe (see yesterday’s blog) appears in a quite different light now.

Now to reassure readers and Lembit (and indeed Eleanor Burnham ) Mick is not so far as I know planning a statement from the steps of Owain Glyndwr’s Parliament in Machynlleth. No Mick’s significant statement was made to the NFU, so Brynle tells me, that he,Mickand  the Lib Dems  cannot support the restoration of Tir Mynydd in the agriculture budget. Now I hope Brynle has got this wrong, but he was there and seems certain about it.If true this is certainly a volte face from the posiition that the Lib Dems adopted during those infamous budget talks.

We should be told.

 Arriving in Aberystwyth from North Wales- well done the gritters.After a good curry I settle down to watch  Dragon’s Eye and a masterly exposition of our Welsh language policy from Lisa Francis.Lorraine Barrett contrived to make it sound as if there was a plot to insist that we all speak some rare dialect of Serbo Croat and condemened it as an election gimmick. Labour seem determined not to review the existing Act. I think that is a mistake. 

There followed Question Time and Ken Clarke effortlessly dismisssive of the government and  David Milliband splendidly revealing when he said that he expected in less than a year people would be booing Brown and begging for Blair to come back.Well I suspect that  one part of that assertion could well turn out to be true! Poor David as soon as he said it I think he realised the gaffe and Gordon known more for his grumpiness than for his magnanimity may not forgive!

Today we launched some important language, cultural and sport policies. I drove up to North Wales yesterday and so managed to avoid the worst of the weather, the launch was at the Canolfan Ucheldre, a centre for the arts in Holyhead and Ynys Mon only had a thin coating of snow. It was also good to meet up with our North Wales candidates and to join them on the Campaign trail. 

I visited the lighthouse project with James Roach, this is an excellent project which operates as a day centre for homeless people in the Holyhead area. There is obviously a massive and also a desperate need for a hostel for the homeless here and James is campaigning hard alongside people on the island to try to achieve this. 

It seems stunning to me that sheep farmers. Andrew and Gail Wallbank of Carno are having to pay for repairs to their local church in Aston Cantlow. 

The case is somewhat like one of those cases featured in A.P. Herbert’s “Misleading Cases” where people wrote cheques on cows and such like 

This case is all too real however. By virtue of the Wallbank’s ownership of Glebe Farm in Aston Cantlow near Stratford on Avon and the inclusion in that farm of a field called Clanacre which is classified as rectoral property the couple became “lay rectors” of the parish. 

Under the Chancel Repairs Act 1932 they are responsible for over £200,000 worth of repairs following a seven year legal fight. 

The Chuch which is probably where Shakespeare’s parents married undoubtedly needs these repairs but it does seem harsh on the Wallbanks. They will now be forced to sell the farm but who will want that millstone of a field, Clanacre? 

Cannot the Royal Shakespeare Company put on a few performances to raise some of the money – I wonder. Is there a rich Shakespearean individual benefactor or society, in the USA for example, which could help?

It seems that all of Labour’s AMs have a view on when Tony Blair should go as PM. It would be strange if they did not. None of the AMs will go on the record, however, even the one AM who is reported to be solid in support of the Prime Minister. 

All of this is somewhat curious. The most obvious successor to Tony Blair and almost certainly the successor is in policy terms “joined at the hip” to Tony Blair. This has been uniquely (especially of late) virtually a dual premiership. All polls suggest that Gordon Brown’s popularity with the general public is no higher than that of the PM and probably slightly lower. 

Against this background why are Labour AMs convinced that Gordon Brown is a better bet than Tony Blair or are they all hoping that Peter Hain will win the deputy post and take over from John Prescott and vacate the Welsh Secretary’s job?