Nick Bourne AM

 On Thursday night  I attended a crowded meeting at the Community Hall in Llanbadarn Ffynydd on windfarm applications in the srategic search area  around the area of Beguildy identified by the government for large windfarm development. Feelings were running pretty high and represenatatives of the applicant companies were given a pretty tough time–  although lines like ‘we feel Powys could be doing better on wind production than it is’ did not help their cause.John Brunt did a good job chairing a difficult meeting and Roger Williams MP told us he was a sceptic on windfarms– a sure sign ( forgive me ) that Roger knows which way the wind is blowing!

 I have long believed that we should be looking at other renewables than wind and that the policy document TAN 8 should be withdrawn and revised.Ultimately local communities should be given a much more decisive say on these matters than is the case at the moment whether pro or anti.

Next day at surgery a farmer who is hoping to develop a windfarm came to surgery and on the principle of local decision making I think we were in agreement.There was some talk at the Llanbadarn meeting of community benefit to the area of £1 million pa–I find that hard to believe –Carno gets £14,000pa  but let’s see the proof.

I also visited the excellent  museum at Brecon which is literally falling down with sections closed off because of rain damage and falling masonry at the front.The staff are strugggling heroically and a grant is being sought from the lottery as £2million is needed.Naturally the funding decision to help the Wales Millennium Centre came up and I promise to scrutinise the minister’s promise that arts funding outside of Cardiff will not be prejudiced by the new money for the WMC but will be matched pound for pound 

I also visited a stretch of road in Rhayader which is currently a 40 mph limit routinely ignored and which needs to be lower with some dangerous junctions on the road ( the A44 towards Llangurig ).The awful thing about these problems is that the question asked in these cases is what is the accident record an the road as if we should be waiting for a seriou.s accident to justify a review. Although difficult to assess we should be asking are accidents likely to occur on this road.

Two issues that come up frequently in surgery and around the constituency are the future of post offices and the problem of the availability of housing.

 Labour and Plaid in Cardiff are doing their usual  ’not me gov’ on the subject of PO closures –’it’s all the fault of that wicked government at Westminster or alternatively the Post Office has  been privatised ( by Labour ) so our hands are tied. However, the government ended the benefits book and took away business like TV licences and passport renewal– very much you gov!

On housing the issue of second homes comes up quite often in parts of Wales  and is  admittedly a difficult one to crack — in some areas we have to look, I believe, at planning restriction policy where the home is a second home although the amount of use is difficult to police. As a party we believe in a  policy review of this area.There is an interesting piece in the Observer today on the issue focussing on Cornwall. One of the Cornish MPs, Matthew Taylor, who was  appointed ‘an honorary goat’ ( member of the  so called government of all the talents’ )  has been advising the government on the issue.

At last the fourth edition of the textbook has seen the light of day.My thanks to the editorial team at Routledge-Cavendish and to Sandra Morgan who in an earlier life would have been running rings around the enemy in the Second World War as an enigma code breaker at Bletchley Park such was her ability to decipher manuscripts and decode discs during the production of the text.

When I embarked on the fourth edition I was unaware that the Companies Act 2006 was to become the longest piece of Westminster legislation on any topic ever.I recall exchanging notes on the matter with David Jones who was on the committee looking at the Bill.

 As Touchstone said in As You Like it and it could well be me on the book–’ an ill-favoured thing sir, but mine own.’ This sums up my feelings but I did feel a great sense of pride seeing it on the shelves of the local bookshop in Aber.

I have driven the Toyota Prius, the number one of the top ten green cars in the Green Car guide.  It is an environmentally friendly car with a battery pack backing up its 1.5 litre engine.  My existing car is in a state of imminent collapse in terms of body work although mechanically it is still sound, but as everybody keeps telling me it is time my car was changed.

 
The number plate used to disguise its age, but now it is so old that people are assuming it is even older than it actually is.   In any event, after some advice from Lisa Francis on the Toyota, I have now ordered a Toyota Prius and am matching my green rhetoric with a green decision. 

 
I must say that test driving the car it did feel pretty good.

The Constitutional Settlement

 Clearly there is much debate at the moment about the constitutional settlement for Wales. Yesterday Jonathan Morgan spoke in the Private Members debate at the end of business on Tuesday of his support for legislative powers, as did David Melding.  This is the view of the majority of the Group in the National Assembly.  My own view, shared by the Group, is twofold:-

 1.         In many areas we need full powers to be able to work effectively, and we are hampered at the moment in not having those powers.

 2.         We should not swim against the tide of history. There is support for full legislative powers, and given that we have devolution we have to make sure that it works effectively for a strong Wales within a strong Britain. We need to work with the grain.

 A similar position is taken by candidates in some of our target seats for Westminster. 

 Social Justice

 The Group, again, is strongly supportive of measures in the Assembly that will promote social justice.  I think there is a libertarian instinct within the Group too on most social issues. I, myself, am paternalistic in relation to issues like large casinos and licences for 24 hour drinking.  I was speaking to a Cardiff Labour Councillor just this week who told me that many councillors thought the relaxation of the licensing law had made things worse in the city centre, and certainly not better.

 The Private Sector

 The area where we have the clearest division between the Welsh Conservatives and other parties in the Assembly is over use of the private sector.  I, myself, am amazed when some politicians in other parties take an Orwellian line that using the private sector because it makes profit is a new addition to the list of deadly sins.  It is only because of profits made by private businesses that any of us get paid and that any public services are provided, and we should not forget that.

 The Welsh public are not stupid, and if they feel that there is better value in the public sector buying in from the private sector to provide services in health or education, then quite understandably that is what they will want.  The approach should be pragmatic – the people of Britain and Wales owe far more to Marks and Spencers than they owe to Marx and Engels,  despite the views of some on the wilder shores of Plaid Cymru and, indeed, the Labour Party. 

 Given the scarcity of resources, every last penny of expenditure should be scrutinised for value for money.

 We also need to explore the use of bonds and make use of the European Investment Bank.

 Welsh Language and Culture

 We are strongly supportive of moves to promote the Welsh language.  Indeed, we have got a proud record on the Welsh language as many in other parties will admit freely and graciously.  We need to build on that.  We do that in terms of support for language events and for the National Eisteddfod as well as looking at a review of the current workings of the Welsh Language Act and support for a Welsh Language Commissioner.

 As a Party we are moving forward on this front too.  We are looking at how we can provide translation facilities at our conferences so that those people who wish to speak Welsh at our conferences (they are growing in number) will be able to do so and be understood.

  

The Environment

 It is in the areas of the environment and global poverty that there has been the clearest shift in the way that our Party is perceived.  The credit for this, of course, goes to our Leader David Cameron. 

 These changes have not passed us by in Wales either. In relation to the environment I freely admit that my views have changed and that I take the issue of climate change far more seriously than I did eight years ago – I suspect that is true of virtually all of us.

 We are strongly supportive in the Assembly of measures to reduce carbon emissions.  Indeed this was at the forefront of the thinking in the All Wales Accord as well as being central in our own manifesto.  We are also very supportive of measures to promote recycling.

 As a Party too we are taking action on this front and I believe we are the only Party in Wales to have assessed their carbon footprint for their Party Conference.  We did that this year and we will be doing it again next year for our Llandudno conference. 

 Global Poverty

 Necessarily global poverty is, in general terms, outside the scope of the work we do in the National Assembly.  That said, the National Assembly did provide humanitarian assistance for the Tsunami disaster and the earthquake in Kashmir, which we supported. 

 The Party at large sees the tackling of global poverty as crucial.  This should not be the realisation of some far off dream but is realisable now given the proper use of financial and technological resources. 

 Policy Development

 The Party is already engaged in developing its policies as more powers are transferred to us from Westminster.  We have already set up a Policy Forum to look at economic issues and policy committees on other areas such as health, environment, language and culture, will follow shortly. The group of Assembly Members is also hard at work already on policy developments.  We see ourselves not just as a constructive and robust opposition, though I think we have already demonstrated that we are that, but of course we are a shadow government and that role is taken seriously by us too.

 

The draft budget presented by Andrew Davies this week is, of course, disappointing.  Against the background of the poorest financial settlement we have had from the Treasury for ten years, it was never going to be easy to handle competing demands.

 However, where Labour and Plaid could have been more effective is in seeking extra help from Westminster for Welsh farmers and in terms of a Barnett consequential for Olympic regeneration monies.  I believe that the former negotiations are continuing for money for Welsh farmers, but in relation to regeneration monies Andrew Davies, in answer to questions from me and Alun Ffred Jones two weeks ago, indicated that there was to be no money from the Olympics for Wales.  I believe that this is a mistake.

 The settlement in the draft budget is not good either.  In terms of priorities the settlement for local government at 2.2% for the coming year is a very poor one and will inevitably mean hikes in council taxes or cuts in services, or most likely both.

 I think Plaid Cymru must be disappointed in the draft budget.  I would not be able to understand it if they are not disappointed because one of their key pledges for assistance for first-time house buyers is diluted to say the least.  The only amount in the budget line, and there is nothing in the current year, is for £500,000 next year and £500,000 the year after and £500,000 in the year after that, or approximately 1:30,000^th of the Welsh budget to meet Plaid’s key priority number 5 in their manifesto. 

 I always thought that the government would be dominated by Labour and, if proof were needed, I think the proof is in this draft budget.

It was good to see Alison Halford in the Assembly for the launch of Leeks from the Backbenches, Alison’s well remembered account of events here in the first Assembly term when she was the independently minded Labour member for Delyn.  It is a thumping good read for those of us who lived through the period and who have an interest in Welsh politics, with perceptive observations on the political scene and some amusing and interesting anecdotes about the period.

 For the launch in the Oriel Alison was able to command attendance from Assembly Members of all parties, including the Presiding Officer and the First Minister, and former members too including Dafydd Wigley and John Marek. 

 Alison is certainly recalled here with affection, and will always be the grit in the oyster with an independence of thought and an ability to analyse issues which are remarkable and in short supply.

Already we are well advanced with preparations for the Party Conference in Llandudno next spring.

 Our last Party Conference, organised superbly by Matt Lane our Director, was the best that I can remember.   There were many younger people there, there was an emphasis on the environment looking at an assessment of our carbon footprint (that will continue this year), it was united and there was much more Welsh spoken.

 Our Party Chairman, Lyndon Jones, will carry these reforms forward into this year’s conference in Llandudno, and that is very much to be welcomed.

 We are looking at possibilities of a translation service for the conference, so that those who do not speak Welsh will be able to follow all proceedings and, one again, there will be an assessment of the carbon footprint.

 With the conference straddling St David’s Day, it will be of particular importance to us and I really look forward to it as an opportunity to discuss policies and to push forward the Welsh Conservative cause which is, I believe, ever on the up.

It has been a good weekend for sport for the home nations.

Good to see Joe Calzaghe the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world, though many detractors who said that Kessler would be Calzaghe’s nemesis.  They were totally unquestionably wrong.

 Paula Radcliffe back on form, and Justin Rose taking the Order of Merit in golf and moving into the world’s top ten. To cap it all, I was able to cheer Aberystwyth Town FC on to victory 3-1 against Neath in the Welsh Cup.  It doesn’t get better than that!

 I had a very useful meeting this morning with Rowena Menzies,Sue Grainger-Wood and Rhodri Francis about the need for a centre for the treatment of eating  disorders in Wales.Currently there is no such centre despite the fact that there is an overwhelming case on the basis of compassion,medical care and on the basis of economy too.

I hope an all party group can be formed to take this case forward with the minister, who has shown some sympathy to the need for such a centre.

The enthusiasm and commitment of the volunteers is contagious.

I’ve been reading the life story of Duncan Bannatyne of Dragon’s Den.  Glasgow boy – left school without qualifications, discharged from the navy, beach bum in Jersey but determined to become a millionaire – and did big time!!

 
I worked in the private sector from 1979-1991.  My own money was in the business and on more than one occasion we lived in the business hand to mouth as the electricity supplier came round to turn off the power, so I have some limited knowledge of what he is talking about when he talks of business risks.

 
Last week at Dylan Jones-Evans’ excellent FastGrowth 50 event, I talked with businessmen and women who too had had a vision and worked hard to build up successful businesses.

 
We need such businesses – we should ache for them as without business success as a nation we would not have excellent public services.

 
As a nation we should cherish business and enterprise more.  They should be integral to the school curriculum and we should remind everyone every time that money is spent on public services that it is not government money as Jane Hutt recently suggested.  Nothing is more dangerous than such an ill funded belief.