See England for Secretary of State… for Wales
Posted on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 5:06pm
14 responses
Cheryl Gillan has been appointed Secretary of State for Wales, and I understand that David Jones MP is her deputy. I have read a few angry blogs about the fact that Cheryl Gillan represents an English constituency and will now be representing Wales. However, I was astonished when Peter Hain criticised her for this on radio the other day a) because his first home is registered in London and b) he was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and I don’t remember him living on the Falls road.
I don’t particularly like the fact that a Secretary of State for Wales resides in England and represents Wales, but the position itself to me just reinforces colonialism- our UK masters watching our every move. Personally I think the role is outdated, and should be scrapped. If the role changed, then I would possibly support a combined role of a Minister representing the devolved Nations. Surely the link with Westminster that our First Minister and Deputy First Minister has would suffice?
The Government of Wales Act gives the power of veto to the Secretary of State over the LCO process- Peter Hain obviously didn’t look far enough ahead to a Tory government when drafting that one. Time will tell whether or not Cheryl Gillan will use this power- which in my eyes can only be used adversely. The main priority for Cheryl Gillan should be delivering on a referendum on more powers for Wales. We need a time scale for that referendum, and it needs to be announced soon given that the Tory/Lib dem coalition document says that it supports such a referendum. I am hosting an event next Wednesday evening at the Pierhead on the experience of referenda, and no doubt the future of Wales in the context of the newly formed Tory/Lib dem coalition will be a topic of discussion by the panelists.
Some commentators have speculated that Cheryl Gillan has been appointed due to the fact that there are not many women in the cabinet. I think its a little insulting to women to suggest they’ve only appointed her to make up the female numbers. No, there aren’t enough women in the cabinet, that is true, but I hardly think that the Cameron and Clegg chose the women randomly so as to appear more balanced. We will have to see if Cheryl Gillan is cut out for the job. Her media performances up to this point have been poor, and the fact that she did not know that Rhodri Morgan is no longer the First Minister is very worrying indeed. It may be a case of Cameron and Clegg not really prioritising Wales in choosing Gillan for the role. Or as one AM suggested to me yesterday, she could be given a chance at the role, to be replaced at a sooner rather than later date…
Nonetheless, I am surprised if it is confirmed that David Jones is her Deputy. I truly expected a Lib dem to be allocated that position.
I will blog about the coalition document between the Tories and the Lib dems at a later date, when I see a more detailed version. Peter Black AM stated yesterday in the Senedd that this was a ‘draft’ version at the moment. Its very worrying if his party has signed up to a draft coalition document, that’s for sure- especially when its been in the public domain before a wider discussion has taken place within both parties respectively. At a glance there seems to be a lot of independent commission’s being set up ( a commission on the banking industry for example) and Lib dems will be able to abstain on issues like nuclear power.
There is a short paragraph on immigration, and nothing at all on human rights/ social justice ( as members of the cross party group on human rights noted last night at our meeting). I am also deeply concerned about the fact that it appears that the Independently Financed News Consortia will be kicked in to the long grass, as well as the in year cuts that we now face….
The fact that she represents an English Constituency doesn’t bother me at all- at least she is Welsh. Had she been English then English Constituency I may feel different… give her time in my opinion.
Agree there should be a minister for the Devolved nations especially for N.I and Scotland. BUT because the nature of the LCO system, there may be need for a full-time sec of state for Wales. If however the upcoming referendum is passed then I definitely think there should be one minister for the nations.
Give her time, I’m sure she’s a nice person. And to be honest can she be worse than Peter Hain!!?!
Being an English MP doesn’t bother me… and I think the people of Wales and the press should give her a chance!
are you bethan now adam is not fighting neath next year going to give up the list sit and go and fight the neath constituency??
Jack, as far as I know Alun LLewelyn will be standing in Neath and I will support him in that role if he puts his name forward.
I think it’s the kind of appointment we can get used to for the duration of the next parliament. However, to see Peter Hain of all people making comments is typical of the man’s unwavering failures to realise his own position. That he enjoys a senior position within the Labour party, especially in Wales is something we should be grateful for as he’s often a liability!
To focus on Peter Hain or Cheryl Gillian though would be a mistake, if there is something that should have jumped out at Plaid supporters and mp’s/am’s following the election it is our abject failure to get the party’s message across. Politics is forever changing in the Uk, and a party that doesn’t have a charismatic message or a leader that can deliver that message with presence and authority will be a party that perennially struggles. I’m not necessarily advocating huge upheaval, but I genuinely believe that Plaid has to modernise it’s approach by more than a logo and name alteration if we are to keep pace and offer a serious challenge during next year’s assembly elections. We need to find someone who brings a real presence to debates, and some policies that will catch voters eyes and ring home with those people who are currently disillusioned with labour, the lib dems and even with conservative voters who may be disgruntled with the coalition. Is it therefore time for Plaid to move a little more to the right??
have to say i have no hang ups either over cheryl gillan’s constituency – she has after all been the tory shadow for wales for 5 years so her appointment as wales secretary should come as no surprise to anyone!
When the order to stage a referendum on law making powers for the assembly was passed onto then welsh sec peter hain (who lets be honest was hardly in a rush to impliment it) cheryl gillan went on record to say she would honour it if the tories formed the next govt in westminister – and it has to be recognised that she has thus far been true to her word!
She has ample time in which to identify a date for the referendum – over 4 weeks – so there is every prospect that it will take place this autumn as many of us on the YES side have always hoped! Failing that i could live with another mooted date – march 1st next year.
Anything but staging the referendum on law making powers for wales on the same day as the next set of welsh assembly elections! Im told there are some misguided fools on the Yes side who favour staging the referendum on the same day as the elections to the assembly – i presume such people have a death wish!
you raise some good points there matt…and clearly plaid needs to look at the campaign…and learn from any mistakes made! But plaid was always going to be marginalised in this election….as they have been in every westminster election campaign in which they have been involved….dont forget the snp were similarly marginalised in scotland…..and they are the largest party in the scottish parliament!
Just to add matt as regards plaid contemplating a shift to the ‘right’….well i dont think the problem with this election for plaid was that they were too ‘left wing’….! Dont forget a theme running thru this campaign for plaid was that we would be willing to prop up labour or the tories in the event of a’hung’ parliament! I cant help feeling that this apparent willingness to prop up the tories in westminster did not go down well with many working class welsh voters terrified at the prospect of a public spending slashing right wing tory govt and doubtless labour would have used this against us accordingly..and alas will in the future im sure too!
But a shift to the right would definitely be a massive mistake for plaid. With the libcon govt in westminster set to emabrk on the long held thatcherite dream of dismantling the public sector many people in wales wil be looking for someone to defend them from osbourne’s onslaught as we see levels of unemployment, poverty and social disintergration in wales we have not seen for two decades! Naturally then many people in wales will be looking for someone to defend them against the libcon onslaught….in the past they have usually turned to labour but if plaid puts itself at the forefront of opposition in Wales to osbournes butchery there is every reason to be optimistic…indeed i would not rule out plaid being the largest party after next years assembly elections!
I don’t care where they come from, who they are, or what party they represent. My only requirement is they do; to the best of their ability and competence, what is in the best interest of Wales and the Welsh economy.
Leigh- I have to disagree. We didn’t say we would prop up the Tories at all. Yes we said we wanted the best deal for Wales, but this never meant a full coalition with the Tories. The party simply would not have supported that. You would expect me to say that a move to the right would be undesirable. We have to remind people now that Labour have been in government for the last 10 years plus, and that claiming the left like they are trying to do now they are in opposition should not be accepted.
sorry bethan i think you misunderstand me…i didnt mean to infer that plaid had said they would enter a ‘coalition’ with the tories….but they did say they would be willing to back either labour or the tories in the event of a ‘hung’ parliamnet, depending on what was being offered! For me that is propping up however one cares to look at it! Clearly on this matter we will have to agree to disagree!
I echo some of the above, not bothered about Cheryl Gillan’s constituency, she is Welsh. Proof of the pudding will be in the eating – i.e. will she do what Hain tried not to do and set a date for the referendum on further powers.
A shift to the right for Plaid? Big mistake, I think, and would just be a continuation of the process of homogonisation of the political parties. Plaid needs to remain distinct. I am , however, concerned about the Assembly elections.
Bethan, I agree with you that it would have been better to have a Sec of State who is based in Wales. This may have to do with the quality of Tory/Lib Dem MPs in Wales. As for one of your points about colonisation, that says more about you and Plaid then anything else. The majority of Welsh people simple don’t think like that at all. Plaid has to ask itself if that attitude is one of the reasons why it did badly in the election.
I think, whether we like it or not, the Secretary of State for Wales has important decisions to make it. Even though Cheryl Gillan has said she supports devolution, she as Secretary of State could still turn down the Assembly’s Referendum Order. She has an important role to play in getting LCOs through Westminster, and when they hopefully come to an end, the Secretary of State will still be responsible for liaising between Cardiff Bay and Westminster – an important role to play, because it’s important that both institutions cooperate. In that context, the Secretary of State for Wales should answer to the people of Wales, not, as the case may be, the people of Buckinghamshire. I agree with Matt, who says that these sort of appointments should be expected – it just proves that the Tories are out of touch with Wales, no matter how many times Cheryl insists that’s she’s Welsh or David Cameron talks about respect between the two institutions.
I’m not advocaing a wholesale shift of Plaid policies to the right, more that on some key issues we are becoing a party that isn’t taken seriously. On issues of language, taxation and minimum wage we are making ourselves unattractive to business and voters in South East Wales (where I live) by having policies that appear to be less sensible than they in fact are. As I said in my post, with modern politics becoming so soundbyte-driven we need to make some moves towards the centre-ground in order to increase the elecability of the party. This isn’t about abandoning the values and ideals upon which the party was founded but a recognition that the political landscape is chaging rapidly. Let us not forget that the conservatives managed to gain 26.1% of the vote in Wales while we fell to just over 10%. It would be foolish to attibute this simply to the televised nature of the campaigns or to a protest vote agaisnt labour. It was also a reflection that people in Wales still view Plaid as a party that is too far removed from their daily lives and that is something we badly need to address before the assembly elections next year.