Nick Bourne AM

This Sunday we had a very successful policy conference at Gwbert on Sea, and many members from West Wales were able to attend.  Last week we had an equally successful conference for North Wales in Llandudno.  Our South Wales conference follows later in the autumn.

 It was a good opportunity for our new Assembly Members to speak.  I was able to listen to Angela Burns who spoke very effectively and movingly about the alienation of many young people in our society and how we must ensure that this doesn’t happen.  Angela brings a very fresh approach to her politics and it was a speech delivered from the heart. 

 It is also interesting to observe our members thinking about how we can develop our policies in the Assembly and, indeed, nationally to ensure that we inhabit the centre ground of politics which is the place clearly from which elections are won.   Jonathan Evans, Andrew RT Davies and Paul Davies also spoke at the conference, and although I wasn’t present for their contributions, from speaking to member afterwards I know how well received their contributions were.

 There was clearly much talk about the possibility of an early election as well.  Whether or not an early election happens, I do think that the constant “will he or won’t he”, which is obviously being fed by Gordon Brown and those around him, is wearing thin with the electorate.  I don’t think the British people will tolerate this for long.  Either he is going to call an election, which he should do forthwith, or he is not going to call an early election, and he should say so.  In any event we will be ready in Wales, but the uncertainty is not something which people welcome.   I begin to see the merit of the fixed term elections that we have in the National Assembly.

Today the burning issue which the government in Wales is keen to steer away from is, at the very least, the seeds of a dispute between Whitehall and Labour at Westminster with the Welsh Assembly Government in Cardiff Bay.  The Legislative Competence Order on the Environment and the Disposal of Waste seems to be getting a mauling at the other end of the M4.  Jane Davidson refuses to clarify what the problems are, and an oral statement to be given in Plenary on the government’s legislative programme in Wales (which is, after all, now very central to what we do) was withdrawn and replaced with a written statement.  Because this written statement came out too late for any proper scrutiny, people were not able to ask questions on this in any effective way in the chamber today.

 
The First Minister and the Counsel General tried to make light of any differences by saying that this was perfectly normal, that there should be a discussion. Of course, discussion is normal but if there are fundamental difficulties, which seems to be the case, it does seem extraordinary that a Labour government at Westminster and a Labour led (Labour dominated) administration in Cardiff were unable to see this coming and discuss it before the Legislative Competence Order was initiated. 

 
I am sure there will be more developments on this one!

 I am intrigued to read all the speculation about the Liberal Democrat leadership in the Assembly.

 Eleanor Burnham has already announced that she is up for it and has said that if she had been First Minister in the early days of the Assembly (interesting thought ) then she would have  made it a priority to unite North and South Wales physically.

 Now I have had many differences with Rhodri Morgan but I cannot say that he has  yet made an island of Noth Wales (or South) and I fear that  Eleanor’s  platform has already been delivered by the Almighty.

I have heard all the Liberal Democrat AM names mentioned as possible leader of the group save only  no mention of Mick Bates. This is tough on Mick He is a perfectly decent cove and could yet emerge in a Sir Alec Douglas Home type way!

 This weekend in Llandudno by tradition the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru meet not in any formal way but Plaid have their conference there and the Welsh Conservatives have a late summer policy conference.I was at pains to tell the media that there was no ulterior motive to my presence there, nor was I there to spy on Eleanor’s leaderhip campaign. I was there for our policy conference and very good it was too looking at policy for the third term in the Assembly and this process goes on next week in Gwbert on Sea.

 Much talk of ill advised comments by a Labour candidate on the  Welsh language ( why do Labour not act decisively on this? ),tea at Downing Street, Dafydd Iwan’s call for a Welsh House of  Lords and  Adam Price’s talk of a question in a referendum on tax raising powers ( are either or both of these in the One Wales document? ).

 Some talk too of Ming taking the waters in Brighton this week– but not much.

 I see that shrinking violet, Peter Hain, is telling us from a very non-devolved position what the Welsh Assembly Government policy is on neuro-surgery treatment in North Wales, This raises a couple of questions straight away. First, why  the government itself cannot tell us what the policy is, and secondly why there should be a need for the question to be raised at all.

 The answer is  of course the same to both questions– the government intends that patients in the North should have to use neuro-surgery services in South Wales rather than more convenient facilities in Liverpool. This is bonkers and treats patients as units of production rather than as our own  people  who need health care maybe urgently and hopefully conveniently. Where is the sense or compassion in requiring patients and their family and friends to make long journeys when there is a service of high quality much closer at hand; and most importantly a service which the patient wishes to use.

 Brynle Williams tells me that he heard a prominent Plaid politician at the Eisteddfod in Mold saying  that  she was unwilling to see Welsh money  being  used to prop up foundatiion hospitals in England. Obviously we have all been missing the point  and what some politicians at least on the wilder shores of Plaid Cymru want is an ideological cross border battle with Welsh patients in need of treatment caught up in the middle as pawns.

I want no part in this and nor does my party. In the twenty first century we should we seeing how we can offer the people of  Wales a choice of NHS provider to suit there needs not treating people as cannon fodder in some pointless cross border ideological battle.

Following representations I am glad that the Welsh Assembly Government is no longer maintaining that Carwyn Jones is a Minister and has amended the Welsh Assembly Government Website. 

I expect now that Labour and Plaid will seek to amend Standing Orders to allow Carwyn Jones to answer questions in plenary on Assembly Business as under our Standing Orders only Ministers can answer questions. They have the voting power to do so - but I do not believe a law officer of the Assembly should be answering questions on the Assembly’s business and we will vote against this. It is all a device to keep as many Labour politicians in the tent as possible – nothing to do with the good governance of Wales. That is not the way to run a nation. 

The Conservative Party’s Quality of Life Review headed by Zac Goldsmith and John Gummer positively bubbles with good ideas. Micro generation by homes with rewards for generating electricity makes much sense as does an emphasis on energy efficiency with a particular focus on raising standards for new homes with perhaps an incentive on stamp duty. 

Other good ideas include the limitation of standby buttons - 2.5% of the nation’s energy is used on these! Taxing airlines that fly empty is also common sense. This Review shows the party at its best, innovative, forward thinking, relevant and in touch. I hope those intent on attacking David Cameron take note. It is David Cameron who has put the party back in the CENTRE of British politics (I use the word centre advisedly) and that is where elections are won. The party nearest the position of the centre ground, or perceived to be, wins – this was incidentally true of Mrs Thatcher (recall the Labour Party wanted to take us out of Europe and have super high tax rates and no nuclear shield in those days!) Attacks on the Leader no matter how coded or subtle are welcomed only by our political opponents. 

David Cameron’s approach is the right one, right for the Party and right for  the country.