Bethan Jenkins AC/AM Blog

Everyone is starting to talk about who has the most political bloggers- is it Plaid, lib dems etc (its certainly not Labour in Wales that’s for sure, although Labour are excellent at providing plenty of anonymous comments…)

Nevertheless, my plea is for more Welsh women to blog about Welsh politics. From scanning welshblogindex.blogspot.com I can only identify seven women bloggers - Betsan Powys, Miss Wagstaff, Heledd Fychan, Leanne Wood AM, Jill Evans MEP, Valleys Mam, and me. If there are more then let me know. Perhaps some of the other bloggers with pseudonyms are women, but I don’t think they are. Jane Davidson AM started a blog on her myspace page before the election but that has fallen by the wayside, and some of the other women candidates for the National Assembly stopped blogging very soon after the May result.

It would give a different angle on the blogosphere if more women decided to blog, but I think many are put off by the mainly male orientated vibe that the blogosphere exudes. The remarks which are left in some of the comment boxes of various blogs are sexist on occasions - one comment talked about the weight of female politicians in a negative way, for example. Yes, I know that you will say that we should take it with a pinch of salt- and believe me I do, otherwise I would never blog again, but there has to be a positive way in which we can attract more women to the world of the blogs. In other fields of interest, women have embraced the blogosphere (often to the detriment of their personal lives) but here in Wales the phenomenon hasn’t really taken off.

Considering that there are so many female politicians at the Assembly we should encourage a campaign to get more women blogging and contributing to the debate online. Only then can we rival Glyn Davies’s infamous wet t-shirt competition blog entry a while back…

I have to admit that I don’t particularly see eye to eye with Elfyn Llwyd’s analysis as to why the Wales Office should not be reformed under new constitutional changes by Gordon Brown- i.e that “it would slow down the democratic process and hinder the work being done on LCOs [legislative competence orders]‘ and that ‘ it would be foolish to take this step at this moment in time. ‘

The Westminster Government has plans to introduce a new super department for the UK’s nations and regions. Whether Wales is classed as a region in this instance I’m not so sure, but the main thrust behind this particular change is the argument that it would serve to benefit devolution, not undermine it. I haven’t seen the plans in full, but I would tend to agree with Peter Black AMs analysis ( there’s a first!) in that the main concern lies with the status of any new super department, and the need for Wales to be fully represented in such a department. To do away with the current system of having a dedicated Secretary of State for Wales would be insufficient without taking this into account.

I am more flexible about changes to the Wales Office as I believe that it must evolve as devolution progresses. To leave it as it stands would be in denial of the system that we have in place at the moment, and the development of the Welsh Assembly to date. Of course, as I have said on so many occasions that I am now becoming bored of myself, the current LCO system was created by Labour for Labour, and the veto by the Secretary of State on new legislation brought forward by AMs still stands. I would be much more supportive of any ideas to change the make up of the Wales Office if Gordon Brown and his advisers scrapped this injustice, and gave the Assembly more flexibility to govern without strict caveats to power here in Wales.

The sooner we get a Parliament for Wales the less we will have to worry ourselves with the workings of the Wales Office. In my opinion, an office that combines the work of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland could be given the flexibility to be more progressive in that it may encourage those in the department to share cross border ideas on legislation, and encourage greater communication between the Celtic Nations.

We shall wait and see what comes of this idea.

In early September TOTAL POLITICS, in association with APCO WORLDWIDE will publish the 2008-9 Guide to Political Blogging in the UK. It will contain articles on blogging by some of Britain’s leading bloggers, together with a directory of UK political blogs, and a series of Top 20s and Top 10s. The book will be available at the Green Party, TUC, Labour, LibDem and Tory Conferences, where TOTAL POLITICS will have exhibition stands.They’re asking for your votes to decide the Top 100 UK Political Blogs.

Simply email your Top Ten (ranked from 1 to 10) to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com. If you have a blog, please encourage your readers to do the same. Iain Dale will then compile the Top 100 from those that you send in. Just order them from 1 to 10. Your top blog gets 10 points and your tenth gets 1 point.The deadline for submitting your Top 10 is Friday August 15th. Please type Top 10 in the subject line. Or you can of course leave your Top 10 in the Comments on Iain’s post.Once all the entries are in a lucky dip draw will take place and the winner will be sent £100 worth of political books!

The rules are simple:

1. Please only vote once
2. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents are eligible or based on UK politics are eligible
3. Votes must be cast before Friday 15 August
4. Blogs chosen must be listed in the Total Politics Blog Directory.
5. You must send a list of TEN blogs, ranked. Any entry containing fewer than ten blogs will not count.
6. Anonymous votes left in the comments will not count. You must give a name

So, once again, the email address to send your TOP TEN BLOGS to is…toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com

-this has been taken from Ordovicius’s blog. Feel free to vote for me as well!!

I hope you can take time to read this article that I wrote, that was printed in today’s health section of the Western Mail with regards to the treatment of eating disorders in Wales. If you want to join the cross party group, then just get in touch, or if you are on Facebook please join us for discussion there.

I also received a link from a member of the cross party group of a debate on eating disorders that took place this March at the Scottish Parliament- praising our action here in Wales on eating disorders. Well, it makes a change to Wales following Scotland all the time! A Tory MSP, Mary Scanlon was singing our praises, although I gather from her speech that she believes the cross party group to be a government led initiative. There’s pressure on us now to perform as a committee, which of course we will do!

Here is the quote:

“Whereas there has been a lack of action—or insufficient action—on the issue in Scotland, the Welsh Assembly has taken dramatic and decisive action to combat eating disorders. It established a cross-party committee on the issue to compile a comprehensive analysis of eating disorders in Wales, including recommendations from the NHS in Wales on provision and support for patients and their families. The committee has managed to raise awareness of eating disorders across Wales and has called for proactive campaigns that specifically target young women in schools and universities. It has also promoted the need for increased training in the health sector to equip front-line staff with the skills to identify and to deal effectively and efficiently with patients suffering from eating disorders.”

I am pleased that we are progressing on this issue here in Wales, especially following a meeting that a delegation of the group had with the Health Minister, Edwina Hart AM lately. There’s still much to be done, but we have recess to continue the work ( some of us are not taking 9 weeks holiday, I’ll have you know. We are working very hard in our constituencies, as some journalists such as Matt Withers needs to know…..;-)) and to follow up any issues in the next cross party group in the new term. B-eat Cymru will be launched in October also, which will also be an exciting time for those working in the sector, and for those suffering from an eating disorder in Wales.

A huge congratulations to the SNP for winning the by election in Glasgow East, and to the newly elected MP John Mason.It truly is a massive success for the SNP, and a big blow for Gordon Brown.

I bet he’s regretting not holding that General election when Labour looked better in the polls!The SNP are unstoppable at the moment. Independence could be a closer reality than we think. Let’s hope Plaid can emulate their success here in Wales.

I’ve heard from Plaid colleagues who were in Builth yesterday that Cameron refused to commit the Tories to a referendum on a Parliament for Wales. If he’s going to visit Wales he should be ready to answer such questions- and answer them directly. Nick Bourne is out of the country at the moment I understand(is this why Cameron visited when he did?) I bet he won’t be very pleased to return to Wales, only to understand that his colleagues are flip flopping yet again on the question of devolution.But after all, Cameron is the leader of the Tories, so we shouldn’t be surprised with the divergence of opinion.

It doesn’t surprise me one bit that Labour MPs are today moaning about the amount of LCOs that we are asking the Welsh Affairs Committee at Westminster to scrutinise.

David Cornock reports that they have sent a memo to Paul Murphy requesting that we limit what we do to 5 LCOs a year, and that the LCOs are not so broad( specifically referring to the ensuing Welsh Language LCO, no doubt). The cheek! Surely if more of them attended the meetings in the first place they could catch up with the efforts that we put into legislation at the Assembly?

We work really hard on any of the legislation proposals coming forward- I know this from sitting on the Mental Health LCO committee.

Stop complaining, stop trying to get out of doing the work, and get on with it is my message to Labour MPs. After all, it is your system to defend. If you don’t like it,then campaign with us for a Parliament so that we can do all the work in Wales.There will be nothing to complain about then….

I haven’t blogged in a few days sorry ( if anyone noticed or cared) In the meantime, while I have been away from the blogosphere, you may know that Plaid has a new Heritage Minister. I can tell you one thing for certain, he won’t be frequenting any of the Cardiff Bay pubs in a hurry- neither will most AMs if they want to make sure that they won’t be in the press for all the wrong reasons the next morning…Anyway, I digress.

I was in Builth today- we held a petitions committee meeting at the show, where we took evidence from Cymdeithas yr Iaith regarding the funding of a Welsh language newspaper, and those who are opposed to the closure of Wyeside Arts Centre. The meeting went well all in all, but it didn’t help that our meeting took place right opposite the young farmers stage, where our proceedings were nearly drowned out by karaoke- esque singers blasting out old favourites! At one stage I thought it would be easier if we just gave up and joined in singing and dancing to the can can, but that would have just looked absurd;-)

I took a look around the showground as well while I was there, although I have to admit that I frequented the craft and food stalls more than I did the areas where they were displaying various tractors and diggers, not to mention special comfort mats for cows! The place was packed, although I did take issue with the massive McDonald’s stand which proudly displayed a fruit stall as if trying to trick us into believing that they are some sort of up market, locally producing food company! Hmmmm. I don’t think so somehow. That’s my lot for Builth this year, but I’ll be popping in to the Eisteddfod in a week’s time.

In other news, things seem to be looking good for the SNP in the Glasgow East by-election. Some commentators are saying that a loss for Labour could force Brown out as PM. I’m not so sure myself, as this was said of Crewe and Nantwich etc, but considering that this is in Brown’s back yard, ( when he isn’t at 10 Downing street entertaining the likes of Thatcher, that is) and that it is a clear Labour stronghold, to lose this seat would be a massive loss to Scottish Labour. Some of my fellow Plaid colleagues have been up there helping out.. the SNP. I only hope that they will return the favour when we need support in the future. The SNP would no doubt be very pleased to win this seat. It would definitely show a confidence in the SNP government, and signal a change in perception amongst voters in the area.

The Tories have let rip about civil servants bonuses today also. I wouldn’t mind them taking the moral high ground so much if they weren’t hypocritical in taking the pay rise for AMs that many of us refused to take at the time when public sector workers were being squeezed. So its one rule for civil servants, another for the Tories? Typical.

Iron Lady

Pieces of coal scrabbled from a heap
she flattened into so much dust;
but the one wheel proved her wrong,
every spoke a miner’s arm.

Wind through the hall windows
and trees grew as once orators:
door open to clouds, a child’s mouth
she parched like a collier’s.

by Mike Jenkins

Its been a busy few days for me, and now I have time to sit down and blog. I was privileged that Huw Lewis responded so quickly to my blog on his comments on devolution. I have read his article on this issue, but I based my blog on the general BBC story to clarify to all. I’m pleased that Huw is so passionate about devolution, and that he has emphasised his commitment to the process. I need never attack him again on this matter.

Yesterday a delegation of the cross party group on eating disorders met with Edwina Hart to discuss the future strategy for eating disorders in Wales. I will expand on developments in due course, but I can say that it was a very productive meeting, and we all came out with smiles on our faces! Sarah Aldritt, a young woman who is recovering from an eating disorder came to the meeting also, and put forward her opinions to the Minister regarding the lack of access to Dietitians in Wales, and a carer- Martin Ball also came along to provide the Minister with a valuable insight in to his experiences caring for a daughter with an eating disorder. Health professionals were also present, and could obviously provide the Minister with expert knowledge of what is happening in the Trusts and LHBs ( if anything) regarding the treatment of eating disorders in Wales.

Yesterday I also attended the launch of the AMs photo display at the Senedd. Many AMs took part, and the photos are there are week at the Senedd for you to look at. I took pictures around the theme of the ‘Iron Lady’. I’ll post them here for you to look at!

I also took part in a petitions committee event last night to mark a year since the establishment of the petitions committee. It was a hugely successful event, and Andy Williamson from the Hansard society chaired a panel debate about the petitions system, and how we are developing it here in Wales. We have had over 100 petitions now, and the committee is going from strength to strength.

Today I attended the Unison/Unite public sector pay rally at The Point in Cardiff Bay. I’m hoping to go and meet those who are on strike at the Bridgend picket line tomorrow. Its an issue that is totally unacceptable. When MPs can award themselves hefty pay rises and such, its unacceptable that those in the public sector are not been rewarded the pay rise they deserve. London Labour undermining the workers in the public sector again. No surprises there.