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 | Sian Roberts on Ebbw Vale and the Eisteddfod |
As Victoria explains below the blog is having a refresh and will be under new management. And after two years of writing for the Bevan Foundation I’ve decided that this is a good time to let others lead the way.
This is My Truth will benefit from a fresh pair of legs and I have other volunteering I want to focus on. I suspect I’ll be posting the odd thing here and there on my own blog.
Thanks for following this blog…its been emotional
Good luck to the new team
This is my Truth is having a make-over and will re-launch in mid-September – same name, same URL but a new look and new contributors. Watch this space.
A week and a half after the selection meeting the Western Mail finally reports this morning on David Melding’s failure to be selected in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Nick Bourne is quoted as saying “This year we have made changes to many of our selection procedures in a bid to broaden the appeal and support of our Assembly candidates. In the seats selected so far we have a diverse range of candidates, with considerable political, community and business experience”.
Indeed in Wrexham diversity has encompassed the sandal wearing community. John Marek ( ex-Forward Wales, ex-Independent, ex-Labour) was selected as the Conservative candidate in an open primary. Though not the first choice of the activists in Wrexham (for understandable reasons) he won as a result of the second preferences of members of the public who turned up at the public meeting – 26 people in total.
In the Vale of Glamorgan the Conservative Association didn’t fancy giving up their exclusive power of selection. They opted for a curious model where the whole membership were invited to a meeting to hear from the aspirant candidates and then select the shortlist. But the final decision was made the by the executive committee of the local party – a group of some 25 people. This is the reverse of what happens in most parties.
Clearly some in this magic circle had some issues with David Melding and we can only speculate what they were. In a typically understated response he is quoted as saying “I was asked about my position on the referendum by party members during the hustings meeting, but I don’t know whether that was material to the result”.
Candidate selection in all parties can be an arbitary affair. I’ve blogged before on the quirks in Labour’s selection process. The Conservatives deserve praise for opening up the selection of candidates to the wider community. It is a brave decision and though it is open to abuse it has the potential to open up the system. But it needs to be applied evenly. It is little more than a token gesture if in Wales it is only adopted by seats the party does not expect to win.
Apparently Ange Jones-Evans shone at the selection.
She is no intellectual light weight (she has a doctorate) and is very up on issues and policy
Also she has an enthusiasm for campaigning, having just fought in the General Election.
I see no reason why any sitting AM should feel comfortable in reselection, it’s a privilege to be chosen to be a democratic representative of a constituency.
New enlivened and feisty AMs would be such s boon.
Quite so. My point was as much about the process as the outcome
While we await an explanation from the S4C Authority for the aburpt resignation of their Chief Executive (and I’m not holding my breath) we’ll have to settle for speculation. The word on the Eisteddfod Maes today was that the Iona Jones was faced with a demand from her board she could not accept.
It is said that Authority members Sir Roger Jones (former WDA Chair), and Sir Winston Roddick (former Assembly Counsel General) met the S4C Chief Executive and demanded the Authority be given a greater role in the day to day running of the channel. It is thought Iona Jones told them how to re-tune their set top box.
Let me make myself clear, I am not making any attempt to defend the way S4C is being managed. But one look at the membership of the S4C Authority convinces me that if any board can ‘ditch due seperation’ and involve itself directly in the running of a television channel, then this is not the board to do it.
What’s more the S4C Authority has a role as a regulator, how can it scrutinise the management if it is part of the management?
If the rumours on the Maes are correct, then Iona Jones’ exit begins to look a little different.
outside the bubble and the media ,most would have no idea what’s happening with S4C or its staff,board or its programming,
Where does the scrutiny lie -WAG or Westminster?
Herein lies the rub! S4C is not devolved and is accountable to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Parliament. But little scrutiny takes place as Whitehall is nervous of interfering in a culture it does not understand – the ghost of Gwynfor Evans haunts the corridors.
Ironically S4C, and to be fair most Welsh politicians, have not wanted the channel devolved as it was feared that if the £100 Million budget was put under the control it would be vulnerable to other priorities.
But S4C have been pretty snotty in its dealings with AMs on the grounds that they are not accountable to them. A significant political misjudgement by the S4C leadership. Now, when the channel needs all the friends it can get, there are few who feel much goodwill towards the management
Perfect expression!!
I like it .
Much has been made about the economic benefits of hosting the Eisteddfod in Blaenau Gwent, but after a few days on the Maes then visiting Ebbw Vale town centre, I suspect the ‘regeneration effect’ has been over-hyped. Town centre businesses are certainly doing their best, with bunting and croeso signs displayed in just about every shop. But Eisteddfodwyr are noticeable by their absence – it’s just another Saturday / Sunday / Monday on Market Street. Why? Because for the most part the Eisteddfod is self-contained – there are car parks with shuttle buses direct to the Maes for visitors, a shuttle bus from the station to the Maes, even dedicated Eisteddfod caravan and camping. Ironically there is NO easy access on foot from the Maes to the town centre, so the spare cash burning a hole in visitors’ pockets is extremely unlikely to be spent in the town. As my taxi driver (like I said – no easy access on foot) said this morning, ‘It’s like it’s turned its face away from us’.
If a major event is to have an impact it has to encourage people to spend in local businesses – no doubt a few visitors have stayed in local hotels but this is not enough. A week of good business could be the difference between survival and going under for some small firms.
Yes, it’s proving a great Eisteddfod and yes, loads of people from Blaenau Gwent went on Sunday. And then … what? Next year, more concerted efforts are needed if the Eisteddfod is to make a difference.
This is a constant refrain. Unless it’s a festival like Bala, where the high street becomes an extension of the Eisteddfod because it’s close, then the sheer size of the field makes it difficult to integrate it into a community. It’s become even more marked since they started selling alcohol on the field, thus stopping wasters (like me) from sloping off to the town’s drinking holes in the afternoons.
I’m sure the rugby club will do a roaring trade from the Cymdeithas gigs but there’s precious little in it financially for many local businesses from the Eisteddfod’s visit. On the plus side, it gives a town like Ebbw Vale – not a well-visited area – a place in the sun for a week and there will hopefully be a feelgood factor that extends beyond that week.
Just one tip – never ever quote a taxi driver. It’s the laziest form of journalism (even for a blogger). They never have anything good to say, even when they profit from a site that’s too far away to walk.
It always is for any major event. What will be interesting is to see what both the short term and long term economic benefits of the Ryder Cup will be. I doubt if most day visitors and the majority of fans will probably be day visitors will go much further than Celtic Manor. Even if they arrive by train I doubt whether they will take much notice of the large investment in Newport station before they get on the shuttle bus to go to the course. On the long term effects it will be interesting to see if it does lead to more tourism or even investment by overseas firms in the present economic climate. I’ve not seen any evidence that the event held at Valhalla in Kentucky had much of an effect on the local economy. It would be interesting to see if anyone eventually will undertake a cost benefit analysis of the considerable public investment that has taken place in the last 10 years. The problem of course for politicians with all these events is that it so difficult to say no when it comes to public subsidy. At least with the Eisteddfod the WLGA decision to make an all Wales local authority contribution makes it easier on the host authority. In Bridgend in our first few years we were in the absurd situation of making cuts in services whilst making a large contribution to an Eisteddfod which frankly achieved nothing both in the short or the long term for the local economy.
Jeff Jones in anti-Welsh cultural event shocker! Well well.
There were regular shuttle buses from the Maes to the town but not very well publicised. Also, the shuttle buses from the caravan park would stop in the town on request. There was no shop on the caravan park this year, so I suspect Tesco and Morrisons did well. I caught the bus to town + back twice + did a little shopping in Aldi and Greggs. Wetherspoons always seemed to have a few groups of Eisteddfodwyr + there were quite a few at the Premier Inn on Saturday. There WAS easy access on foot from the Maes to the town centre – about as close as Bala, I think – but not well signposted.
Sian you are right, about half way through the week a notice appeared on the bus shelter to publicise a half hourly town centre service. But on the first day, saturday 31st, there was no sign and no service. After a 25 minute walk from town to the Maes I complained to the organisers. On the way home I had to beg a bus going to the Rassau car park to drop me in town. Sunday – well there are no service buses anyway, nor was there any publicity about buses from town to the Maes on Monday either. After that I stopped looking and got a taxi. The walk from the bus stop to the Works entrance is shorter but is pretty well hidden and you couldnt buy a ticket there either. On Saturday 31st, Monday 2nd and Friday 6th I spent time in the town centre and maybe there were a few Eisteddfodwyr but not many.
“When you’ve got nothing to say, say nothing” seems good advice to me. Except of course if you are running a blog.
Casual visitors to this site will have noticed the sporadic nature of postings. And despite a wide cast of contributors the most regular postings come from a small number.
Does it matter? You tell me.
The intention of setting up this blog, and its predecessor, was to create a space for debate where a range of contributors could contribute from different perspectives. Since then the excellent Wales Home and Click on Wales have both sprung up.
Inevtiably competition for contributors means someone will lose out, and unlike our rivals this blog does not have large team of dedicated editors. The Bevan Foundation itself is a very small charity and I am a volunteer with lots of demands on my time.
None of this is meant as a complaint or a whinge but an attempt to explain how we’ve fallen behind. I’ve tried to reconcile myself with the thought that where this blog struggles with quantity we make a reasonable job of quality. But as anyone who runs a blog knows you need a steady stream of postings to keep traffic coming to the site and to keep it relevant. There we are failing.
So what next? In the absence of a rush of quality contributors this blog can either keep doing what it has been doing as best as it can, or it is time for a change.
This blog is not an exercise in vanity, it exists to be read and provoke. So as our readers, it is to you I turn for advice….
I would say its quality not quantity .also keeping to your remit of social justice and not being too political will restrict you.
Unlike some blogs bevan has a membership which you also hav eto pay attention to , but which you could also use if yu invite paid up members to contribute
You may have some one horse jockey type of posts – but ok so do the other blogs.
As long as you retain you editorial pen and can control the posting onto the site I think yuo will find it easier for you
I have written for a a few blogs and for Bevan ,I apologise Lee for nor being more prilific. My problem is I am not good at the physical posting of my thoughts.
Will try to do better
I should have check my spelling before posting too grrrrrr
I’d hate to see this site go out of business. I read each post and what it lacks in regularity it more than makes up for in quality. I think Angela has a point; you have a specific focus which the public debating space in Wales really needs.
There’s one other point you might want to consider: many people (me included) read blogs via an RSS aggregator like Google Reader. It means that they see your posts whenever they appear, so perhaps regularity of content isn’t such an issue after all.
Best
Watch this space for some changes coming in September – which should give quality and quantity (she says with fingers crossed!!)
Given the emphasis on the so-called ‘big society’, you might think that the Big Lottery Fund’s spending on a variety of social, community and environmental projects would be increased. Not so. A Department for Culture, Media and Sports consultation suggests that the Big Lottery Fund’s share of funding should be cut from 50% of the total of ‘good causes’ funding to 40%, with the proportion allocated to sport, arts and heritage increasing to 20% each from April 2012.
The rationale for the change is a ‘belief’ that some of the funding has been used for projects that are statutory responsibilities – no evidence of this however – and that more cash for cultural activities was the Lottery’s ‘original purpose’.
So, instead of projects that build a ‘big society’ and support some of the most vulnerable people in that society, there will be more funding for activities that, for the most part, are accessed and enjoyed by the most well-off. Yes, cultural activities are an extremely important part of life and should be available for all to enjoy, but at the expense of health, educational and other charitable activities? – no.
Closing date for the consultation – which has had little media or other coverage – is 21st August.
I understand that last Monday the Cabinet finalised the Assembly Government’s Climate Change Strategy to be launched in October. From May all parties in the Assembly are committed to starting cutting our carbon emissions by 3% every year. Ministers have been justifiably proud that this makes the Welsh Assembly Government one the world’s leading regional Government’s. Indeed, one of Carwyn Jones’ first acts as First Minister was to head to Copenhagen to represent Wales and parade our record.
But we are some way off matching the rhetoric with action.
Had the ‘Rainbow Alliance’ been formed between Plaid, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats in 2007 Government Ministers would have pledged to cut 3% a year from all Welsh emissions starting immediately and delivered by 2011. The One Wales agreement had a watered down version. The 3% target would only apply to devolved areas (so the fear of shutting down the steelworks at Port Talbot could be avoided) and would only come into effect after 2011.
Between then and now WAG officials have been trying to find ways of achieving the cut, and indeed one senior civil servant has been arguing internally that the 3% target is unachievable and should therefore be dropped. He’s been slapped down; instead the target has been watered down further still.
It is now believed that less than half the 3% target can be achieved by WAG. To achieve the remaining emissions cuts WAG are relying on policies being introduced by the UK Government being achieved, for example electric cars. And that assumes that the bits WAG are banking on being able to deliver will do so – which is quite an assumption. The end result may well be lower than 1% emission cuts.
So we’ve gone from 3% now (aka 2007), to possibly less than 1% after 2011.
Now of course the economic downturn will result in a drop in emission as a consequence of falling output, and that may well help the next Assembly Government present figures in its early years to show it is on the right track. But the work that the respected Tyndall Centre has been doing for the Welsh Climate Change Commission shows that we need cuts in carbon emission of 9% per year in order to keep global warming from reaching dangerous levels.
We’re a million miles for achieving anything like that. Environmental NGOs and advisers are in despair at the pace of progress but are self-censoring for fear of upsetting Ministers. This is difficult territory and I make no criticism of that. Leadership on this issue needs to be shared.
It is easy for all parties to pass motions in the Assembly promising cuts in ten years time. The tough politics is delivering cuts in the early years.
Over the next few months work on writing manifestos will intensify. If the political parties are sincere in wanting Wales to take a leading role in tackling climate change they must commit to a programme of Government which delivers cuts in devolved areas of at least 3% every year.
It can be done. There is little point in Wales having some of the world’s best strategies if we do not deliver them.
My mother is 92 and earlier this year she had a visit from two charming Age Concern workers to assess her needs. Some weeks later she was informed that she had qualified for Disability Living Allowance since she was “severely disabled”. She refused to accept it, adamant that she was not disabled. She was very upset and asked that the words did appear on any documentation about her saying:”Once I think of myself as disabled I will start giving up.”
Residents at her Sheltered Accommodation encouraged her to keep the money saying how their Allowance funded their holidays or enabled them to make generous gifts to their grandchildren. Eventually she accepted the money as her entitlement rather than something that she needed.
Every week in my work as a general practitioner I am asked to sign forms, write supporting letters or appeal letters for people claiming Disability Living Allowance or Incapacity Benefit. Since I have a duty to be the patients’ advocate, I do not refuse. I was inspired many years ago by a visionary London GP, Iona Heath, now President of my Royal College, when she used the phrase ‘empathic imagination’ to describe her thinking when engaging with broken, wounded people enduring deprivation. Using empathic imagination, I can picture the life difficulties that people asking for help are wrestling with. It is easy to write letters and to campaign.
The media and Government mood has changed since the election. Empathic Imagination does not make headlines or sell copy; those holding the purse strings may not be allowed to feel. Any talk of cutting benefits can only mean that people in the communities that I serve will be poorer. Will reducing benefits make the Community as a whole weaker or stronger? Do I have a new public duty to tell someone to pull themselves together and learn to get by? Should Society pick up the costs incurred by vulnerable people who do not have the resilience to cope with stress, the strengths to carry on working when disabled or ill? Can we afford to provide income for people who will not use it to address a fundamental need?
Perhaps I will have to lose my empathic imagination. It might be easier to think differently if the benefits were relabelled Vulnerability Crutch Benefit and Doesn’t Feel Able To Go Out To Work Support.
If by empathic imagination you not telling the truth in someones medical report in order to facilitate their claiming benefits that they are not entitled to, then I call it embezzlement.
Your age concern people need a benefits review themselves you cannot have DLA once you hit retirement age, Attendance allowance will be paid which is a lower single benefits.
Disability living allowance which is still under threat from the Tories now is only paid to people of working age.
Eights months out from a referendum on further powers Gerry Holtham’s latest report is, how shall I put it, unhelpful.
The conclusion by the three man Commission that the Assembly should be accountable for what it spends, just as a Local Authority is, by having to raise its own revenue is intelectually undeniable. But is manna from heaven for the No campaign.
And Holtham’s rider that his package of financial reform should be subject to yet another referendum is sure to be seized upon as confirmation that the slope towards independence gets slipplier with every incremental step.
These arguments can be countered, but whearas the first report helped the narrative of the Yes campaign, yesterday’s final installment does not.
angela elniff-larsen 6:10 pm on 17 August, 2010 Permalink
will looke forward to that