Neath Port Talbot has dipped its toe in the water by adding a couple of electric Renault Zoes to its car pool, so the recharging facility is already there.
Sunday, 30 June 2019
Let us have more green mayors!
Both Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot county boroughs own (or lease) Ford Mondeos as mayoral transports. One can understand this support for a company which had a branch factory in the area, but with Ford's departure from Bridgend, local councils no longer owe them anything. Surely the time has come for our local authorities to make a significant gesture towards a low-carbon future by switching to a hydrogen-powered limousine, an all-electric one or at least a hybrid, as Swindon has done.
Friday, 28 June 2019
You, too, can be an MP
Karen Roberts, our candidates supremo in Wales, has just advertised that the party will be assessing our next tranche of parliamentary candidates towards the end of July. It is a rigorous process, as one would expect from a party not driven merely by media headlines and one simple-minded policy.
It is probably too late for new members this time round, unless they are prepared for some serious mugging-up on policy! However, there are also candidate development days to be scheduled. So, if you want to do more than support the Lib Dems with your subscription, please let us know. I am not alone in wanting the party to broaden its base of representation, especially in Wales.
There is every chance that after the next general election, Liberal Democrats will have a say in government again. Help us avoid the screw-up of 2012.
It is probably too late for new members this time round, unless they are prepared for some serious mugging-up on policy! However, there are also candidate development days to be scheduled. So, if you want to do more than support the Lib Dems with your subscription, please let us know. I am not alone in wanting the party to broaden its base of representation, especially in Wales.
There is every chance that after the next general election, Liberal Democrats will have a say in government again. Help us avoid the screw-up of 2012.
Thursday, 27 June 2019
Co-operatives and mutuals
There was a promising debate in the Commons this afternoon on the contribution which co-operatives and mutuals have made to society. It is a shame that the current crop of Liberal Democrat MPs seem to be unaware of the co-operative strand in Liberal party history, deserting the chamber, leaving the field to Labour/Cooperative MPs and a few Scottish Nationalists and Conservatives.
It is to be regretted that the Co-operative Party has now constitutionally welded itself to Labour. It has given up the freedom to lend its support to other progressive parties where their policies would benefit the Co-operative Movement. Indeed, there were times in the 'noughties when the Co-op was pioneering green policies which were more in line with the agenda of the Green party and the Liberal Democrats than the course pursued by Blair and Brown.
At a time when the debate about nationalisation versus private ownership was much more heated than it is now, it was the old Liberal policy of co-ownership which made the party attractive. For some reason which I cannot fathom, it never really caught on in spite of the high profile of one of its great success stories, the John Lewis Partnership which includes Waitrose. However, it is a standard model in Germany in companies great and small. It works for Germany, the power-house of the European Union
It is to be regretted that the Co-operative Party has now constitutionally welded itself to Labour. It has given up the freedom to lend its support to other progressive parties where their policies would benefit the Co-operative Movement. Indeed, there were times in the 'noughties when the Co-op was pioneering green policies which were more in line with the agenda of the Green party and the Liberal Democrats than the course pursued by Blair and Brown.
At a time when the debate about nationalisation versus private ownership was much more heated than it is now, it was the old Liberal policy of co-ownership which made the party attractive. For some reason which I cannot fathom, it never really caught on in spite of the high profile of one of its great success stories, the John Lewis Partnership which includes Waitrose. However, it is a standard model in Germany in companies great and small. It works for Germany, the power-house of the European Union
Wednesday, 26 June 2019
IT should support people, not exclude them
When activists proposed that IT should be used to make the court system more efficient, and thus spare money which could be put back into civil legal aid, they did not envisage that the ordinary seeker of justice would be excluded if they were not computer literate. But that is just what the government proposed until their Lordships stepped in. Congratulations to Lib Dem peers for forcing the breakthrough.
Tuesday, 25 June 2019
By-elections: why does Westminster not enter the 21st century?
So the Conservatives in Brecon and Radnorshire have re-adopted Chris Davies as their candidate. Given his indication that he would stand again, party backing or no party backing, they clearly felt that there was a danger of the Tory vote being split.
But when will the by-election be? The parliamentary web-site says:
On another page of the web-site:
It seems to me that there are two anomalies here. First, that the electors of the constituency have no say in the matter and secondly, that while parliamentary legislation and convention is mostly blind to the existence of party or faction, the important function of filling a vacant seat is in the gift of party managers.
Local government legislation gives local residents more rights over principal councils - and note that there is an automatic by-election if a councillor is disbarred by court order:
89 Filling of casual vacancies in case of councillors. (1)Subject to the provisions of this section, on a casual vacancy occurring in the office of councillor for any principal area, an election to fill the vacancy shall be held—
(a) in a case in which the High Court or the council have declared the office to be vacant, within thirty-five days (computed in accordance with section 243(4) below) from the date of the declaration;
(b) in any other case, within thirty-five days (so computed) after notice in writing of the vacancy has been given to the proper officer of the authority by two local government electors for the area.
Rob Orchard, the former BBC political correspondent recalled on Sunday Supplement how he was press-ganged by the corporation into covering the 1985 by-election which Dennis Skinner had shamed the Conservatives into calling and now counted it as one of the highlights of his career. In the debate which prodded the Thatcher government into taking action, some interesting history was revealed. For instance, a 1973 Speaker's Conference on electoral law recommended the present time limit of thirty days within which a writ for a by-election should be moved. This has been incorporated into law, but only in respect of a parliament in recess. It seems to me that there is nothing to prevent a government resisting an embarrassing by-election while the House is sitting, though it is unlikely we will see again the waits of nearly a year which occurred in the 1960s. (On the other hand, the House moved with alacrity to adopt another recommendation of that Conference, the raising of expense limits, with the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1974.)
It should be noted that the Government of Wales legislation states that a by-election must be held within 30 days of a vacancy in a constituency coming to the attention of the Presiding Officer.
But when will the by-election be? The parliamentary web-site says:
Moving the writ for a by-election
A writ must be moved in the House of Commons to trigger each by-election that takes place. It is customary for a member of the party which previously held the seat to move the writ. Normally, this takes place not long after the seat becomes vacant, so that the seat’s constituents are not left without representation in the House for longer than necessary. Occasionally, however, there may be a significant delay between the vacancy and the by-election, or the vacancy and the issuing of the writ.
It is also possible for the Speaker to issue a writ during a recess period. When this occurs, the Speaker informs the House when it next sits.
Must a writ be moved?
There is nothing in statute law or in Standing Orders obliging the House to move a writ for a by-election. It could choose to leave the seat without representation until the next General Election (General Elections must be held every five years). One of the by-elections listed, North-West Leicestershire, was left vacant until the 2010 General Election some five months later.
On another page of the web-site:
The Chief Whip of the political party whose MP held the vacant seat starts the process of a by-election.
"that the Speaker do issue his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown to make out a new Writ for the electing of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the constituency of .... in the room of..."
The Speaker puts the question to MPs to decide whether to agree to the motion.
If MPs agree it becomes an Order for the Speaker. The Speaker then issues a Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown who then sends the writ to the Returning Officer.
Local government legislation gives local residents more rights over principal councils - and note that there is an automatic by-election if a councillor is disbarred by court order:
89 Filling of casual vacancies in case of councillors. (1)Subject to the provisions of this section, on a casual vacancy occurring in the office of councillor for any principal area, an election to fill the vacancy shall be held—
(a) in a case in which the High Court or the council have declared the office to be vacant, within thirty-five days (computed in accordance with section 243(4) below) from the date of the declaration;
(b) in any other case, within thirty-five days (so computed) after notice in writing of the vacancy has been given to the proper officer of the authority by two local government electors for the area.
Rob Orchard, the former BBC political correspondent recalled on Sunday Supplement how he was press-ganged by the corporation into covering the 1985 by-election which Dennis Skinner had shamed the Conservatives into calling and now counted it as one of the highlights of his career. In the debate which prodded the Thatcher government into taking action, some interesting history was revealed. For instance, a 1973 Speaker's Conference on electoral law recommended the present time limit of thirty days within which a writ for a by-election should be moved. This has been incorporated into law, but only in respect of a parliament in recess. It seems to me that there is nothing to prevent a government resisting an embarrassing by-election while the House is sitting, though it is unlikely we will see again the waits of nearly a year which occurred in the 1960s. (On the other hand, the House moved with alacrity to adopt another recommendation of that Conference, the raising of expense limits, with the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1974.)
It should be noted that the Government of Wales legislation states that a by-election must be held within 30 days of a vacancy in a constituency coming to the attention of the Presiding Officer.
Sunday, 23 June 2019
Resettlement grant
https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/fymp/m05.pdf refers.
It seems that disgraced former MP Chris Davies is entitled to stand in the forthcoming Brecon and Radnorshire by-election. As a losing MP he will be able to receive a resettlement grant of at least £39,700. There will no doubt be objections, as there were when the de-selected Mike Hancock stood again for Portsmouth South in 2015.
However, these grants, brought in by Edward Heath's Conservatives in 1971, are a good thing and one should not let a couple of hard cases break good law. The Great British public expects its MPs these days to be full-timers. The drawback to this is that the man or woman who embarks on political life will have to give up their place on a ladder of professional advancement or the best years of building up a pension in an unskilled or semi-skilled job. I would add that IT experts and medical practitioners find it virtually impossible to update their skills in fields where the technology is moving fast if they are conscientious MPs. A period at Westminster counts for something, but the stars like Nick Clegg who can slide effortlessly into a top customer relations job after falling victim to an electoral swing are few and far between. There is the vanishing breed of learned gentlemen (and they were typically men) who could sort their MP correspondence and take in a debate in the morning before a profitable afternoon in the Law Courts. They still exist, but I suspect that changes to the sitting hours of the Commons restrict their opportunities for fat fees.
So, if you want to do away with resettlement grants, you would have to allow MPs to become part-timers, which discriminates against non-professional people and favours those with private incomes.
It seems that disgraced former MP Chris Davies is entitled to stand in the forthcoming Brecon and Radnorshire by-election. As a losing MP he will be able to receive a resettlement grant of at least £39,700. There will no doubt be objections, as there were when the de-selected Mike Hancock stood again for Portsmouth South in 2015.
However, these grants, brought in by Edward Heath's Conservatives in 1971, are a good thing and one should not let a couple of hard cases break good law. The Great British public expects its MPs these days to be full-timers. The drawback to this is that the man or woman who embarks on political life will have to give up their place on a ladder of professional advancement or the best years of building up a pension in an unskilled or semi-skilled job. I would add that IT experts and medical practitioners find it virtually impossible to update their skills in fields where the technology is moving fast if they are conscientious MPs. A period at Westminster counts for something, but the stars like Nick Clegg who can slide effortlessly into a top customer relations job after falling victim to an electoral swing are few and far between. There is the vanishing breed of learned gentlemen (and they were typically men) who could sort their MP correspondence and take in a debate in the morning before a profitable afternoon in the Law Courts. They still exist, but I suspect that changes to the sitting hours of the Commons restrict their opportunities for fat fees.
So, if you want to do away with resettlement grants, you would have to allow MPs to become part-timers, which discriminates against non-professional people and favours those with private incomes.
Saturday, 22 June 2019
Travelling Jacks discriminated against
The Football League fixture list for 2019/20 was published on Thursday, and was immediately pored over by Evening Post staff. Totting up the miles involved in travelling to mid-week matches, they found that Swans fans had to spend more time on the road from Monday to Friday than the followers of any of the other 23 teams in the Championship. So what? is the immediate reaction; Swansea is out on a limb geographically. However, a closer look at the fixture distribution reveals some strange anomalies.I reckon Preston North End, Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic to be at the other corners of the Championship quadrilateral. Charlton fans have to travel only 808 miles as against Swansea's 1,316. (I am taking the Post's figures on trust.) That seems logical when you consider all the other grounds in or near the capital - but Brentford is also in London and nearer the centre of the country, yet Bees' fans have to face 1,074 miles of travel. Similarly, Boro fans face journeys totalling 782 miles, yet the figure for a more central Yorkshire team, Huddersfield Town, is 870. The biggest discrepancy relating to my chosen four is Preston North End (658) as against Wigan Athletic, further south in Lancashire (1,002).
The list has clearly been drawn up by a human being with issues. A computer would have done a better job.
Friday, 21 June 2019
Election reports
It was obvious as soon as I became aware of Jeremy Hurley's campaign and his backing by Steve Hunt that I stood little chance in Pelenna. Congratulations to Jeremy who is clearly going to be a strong local champion. The result:
Jeremy Hurley (Independent) 251
Hywel Miles (Plaid Cymru) 120
Peter Hughes (Independent) 105
Andrew Jones (Welsh Labour) 43
Frank Little (Liberal Democrat) 6
No spoiled ballot papers, 57.4% turnout and only 143 of the votes were
postal, which I make 27.2%.
Independent hold
2017 result
Martin Ellis (Independent) 133
Hywel Alwyn Miles (Plaid Cymru) 132
Peter Edward Hughes (Independent) 114
Andrew Richard Jones (Labour) 90
It is heartening that there was a turnout of over 50% and that a majority voted on the day, when the trend in by-elections has been for less than a third of the electorate to vote, and most of those using postal voting. But both Resolven and Pelenna sound a warning for all the established political parties - even Plaid Cymru who were nearly pushed into third place in Pelenna.
There is better news for Liberal Democrats in England, where we have the benefit of a surge in anti-Brexit feeling. There were two gains from Conservatives, one from Labour and some good moves up into second place. There are more details here (no sign-in necessary for the public ALDC pages).
Finally, the good - but not unexpected - news came through today that the recall petition in Brecon and Radnorshire has easily reached the 10% number necessary to trigger a by-election. As I understand it, the timetable is automatic and polling day will be in late July, shortly after the Conservative party has reached a decision as to who should be our next prime minister. Our leader in Wales, Jane Dodds, has already made herself well-known in the constituency. Our only enemy is complacency, but I am sure that Cadan ap Tomos, or whoever leads our by-election campign, will combat that.
Jeremy Hurley (Independent) 251
Hywel Miles (Plaid Cymru) 120
Peter Hughes (Independent) 105
Andrew Jones (Welsh Labour) 43
Frank Little (Liberal Democrat) 6
No spoiled ballot papers, 57.4% turnout and only 143 of the votes were
postal, which I make 27.2%.
Independent hold
2017 result
Martin Ellis (Independent) 133
Hywel Alwyn Miles (Plaid Cymru) 132
Peter Edward Hughes (Independent) 114
Andrew Richard Jones (Labour) 90
It is heartening that there was a turnout of over 50% and that a majority voted on the day, when the trend in by-elections has been for less than a third of the electorate to vote, and most of those using postal voting. But both Resolven and Pelenna sound a warning for all the established political parties - even Plaid Cymru who were nearly pushed into third place in Pelenna.
There is better news for Liberal Democrats in England, where we have the benefit of a surge in anti-Brexit feeling. There were two gains from Conservatives, one from Labour and some good moves up into second place. There are more details here (no sign-in necessary for the public ALDC pages).
Finally, the good - but not unexpected - news came through today that the recall petition in Brecon and Radnorshire has easily reached the 10% number necessary to trigger a by-election. As I understand it, the timetable is automatic and polling day will be in late July, shortly after the Conservative party has reached a decision as to who should be our next prime minister. Our leader in Wales, Jane Dodds, has already made herself well-known in the constituency. Our only enemy is complacency, but I am sure that Cadan ap Tomos, or whoever leads our by-election campign, will combat that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)