A New Take On Direct Political Action

I have a new excuse for people who ask me why I choose to wear a beard, apart from the obvious - laziness. I doing it for Belgium!

Symptom of a Sick Society

Words cannot express how totally sick the activities of these so-called 'Christians' make me feel. There is something very, very wrong with America if this sort of behaviour is tolerated and defended by religious leaders.

Additional Powers - Cui Bono?

I have long supported the idea of devolution within a federal United Kingdom, so I should have a natural propensity to vote ‘yes’ in the forthcoming referendum on more powers for the Welsh Assembly. However, it is no longer that simple. If I am to be persuaded to vote ‘yes’ I will need to be convinced on three issues.

Firstly, I need to be convinced that more powers for the Assembly is not merely a milestone on the way to full independence for Wales. Devolution is not the same as independence and it is devolution that I want and not independence. Living in rural Mid Wales, I don’t want to move from domination by a distant Westminster to domination by a slightly less distant Cardiff Bay. I want to be governed by an administration that understands the problems of my locality and is keen to improve my lot. I have been appalled by the priorities of the One Wales government who are doing their utmost to ruin local healthcare by severing the long established links between Powys residents and English hospitals in general, and Hereford Hospital in particular.

Secondly, I need to be convinced that there is a transparent and effective method of scrutinizing legislation created by the Welsh Assembly with their additional powers. Westminster has a second chamber which houses probably the best scrutineers of proposed legislation in the world. What will the Welsh Assembly be able to offer in terms of scrutiny?

Finally, I need to be convinced that the Welsh Assembly with its additional powers will act to the benefit of ALL people living within the borders of Wales and not just for the benefit of those living in the so-called’ heartlands’. To date the residents of East Wales, those areas adjacent to the English border, have had a rough deal from Cardiff Bay. Little regeneration, no recognition of the particular problems caused by rurality and little support for its tourism and agriculture industries. Worst of all there has been no support to help us sustain our vulnerable communities, only more school closures, more post office closures and no support at all for our village pubs and shops.

So if the ‘yes’ campaign are to secure my vote in March, they have got a lot of work to do. There is far more scepticism among the people now than in 1997, then there was hope for a better Wales. Now there is the realisation that devolution has benefited only favoured parts of Wales, the rest has been ignored. This cannot be allowed to continue.

The Crime of Eccentricity

Why can’t society deal with difference? What is wrong with us? We used to be proud of our eccentrics and now we pillory them. We have become an intolerant, insular and xenophobic society, and we are getting worse. The case of Chris Jeffries is but the latest example of how a rampant press can latch on to a suspect, try him and find him guilty by innuendo long before his interview by the police has been concluded. Is it too much to ask the press to act responsibly? We are fortunate in Britain to have a free press, so many other countries would long for similar freedom. But with this freedom comes a duty to report news impartially and responsibly. Is this really too much to ask?

A New Year's Message from the Grass Roots

114 Labour Members of Parliament have already stated that they are going to campaign for a ‘No’ vote in the AV referendum in May. These so-called ‘Progressives’ seek to deny the British people a fairer system of voting in parliamentary elections. Their stance is anti-democratic and they need to be challenged on this.

Of these 114, nine represent Welsh constituencies:

Alyn and Deeside: MARK TAMI
Blaenau Gwent: NICK SMITH
Cardiff South and Penarth: ALUN MICHAEL
Cynon Valley: ANN CLWYD
Islwyn: CHRIS EVANS
Swansea West: GERAINT DAVIES
Torfaen: PAUL MURPHY
Wrexham: IAN LUCAS
Ynys Mon: ALBERT OWEN

If you are an elector in any of these nine constituencies and you support a fairer voting system, please lobby your MP to ensure that they are made aware of your views and that their opposition to the Alternative Voting system is not acceptable.