PMQs and Constitutional reform

PMQs today

Observations of Gary Gibson political commentator and blogger for Channel 4 News "The Prime Minister temporarily forgot himself and attacked David Cameron for talking about namby pamby (my phrase) constitutional stuff when the voters were really interested in public services and the economy....shortly before launching into an hour long statement on the Constitution." Hmmm

It is interesting that following a complete drubbing in the elections GB has suddenly found his passion for Constitutional reform. GB said the Govt was dealing with issues like "housing". In Wales Labour's record on social housing is totally dismal with less council housing being built in the years of devolution than under Mrs Thatcher.

European Elections Frank Field's Views

The following extract was posted by Frank Field today

"Labour supporters claiming that the European results were not a catastrophe for the party can only do so by inventing a new meaning for the word catastrophe. Whether one looks at them on a national, regional or local level the picture is pitiful.

The results reflect the collapse of support for the Government in the country. They also ring a clear verdict on the EU......

Don't let anyone kid themselves that this was an unimportant election where voters felt they could make a clear protest vote. Unless something changes significantly on a national level these results would be reproduced at a general election.

Labour cannot win with the present Prime Minister. I was one of the seven who would not support his coronation after Tony Blair was shoehorned out of Number 10. But even I didn't think a Brown administration would be as inept as this one.

The Brownites are attempting to terrorise Labour MPs into inaction. If they succeed then we deserve our fate."

In Delyn Labour got 18.7% of the Votes with the Conservatives on 27.2% share it would appear that voters in Delyn agree with Frank Fields assessment that the Brown Administration is totally inept

Historic vote in the European Elections in Wales

Tonight was a historic night for Conservatives in Wales. At the counting centre in the Pavilion in Flint it was clear that the Conservatives and UKIP had polled well, however for the Conservatives in Delyn it was also the first time that we have polled more votes that Labour since boundary changes moved Prestatyn, a Conservative area into neighbouring Vale of Clwyd.

Not only that but the Flintshire result overall saw voters turning to the positive policies put forward by the Conservatives with Conservatives topping the poll in both Delyn and Alun and Deeside. A Plaid Cmyru MP described the results in Wales as "earth shattering and we are seeing Labour imploding". Were these results to be replicated across the board in an election in Wales in the same proportions it would mean that the Conservatives would gain 17 seats in Wales. I am delighted as I know Dr Kay Swinburn as our MEP will fight hard for the interests of Delyn, she has already been here a number of times and is aware of the issues facing Flintshire.

I believe that I have alot of hard work still to do to earn the respect and trust of every voter in Delyn, but this is a great result for the Conservatives and a miserable night for Labour. So miserable that the Labour agent at the count refused to stay and listen to the result being announced.

D-Day, ID cards, freedom of speech

Today I salute the veterans and their fallen friends for the great sacrifice they made. I remember talking to my Welsh grandmother as a teenager when a friend of mine tragically died. She calmly and with great sadness told me of the great number of her friends that never came back from the War. I have particular reason to be grateful for the sacrifices made by those who so bravely fought and died in the Second World War, my mother's family were living under occupation by the Nazi's. I have grown up hearing from her some of what that meant, her description of watching people starving and having to eat flower bulbs as food, the constant fear, the inability as a young child to play freely or say what one thought, for fear of doing the wrong thing. The hope brought by occasional snatches of broadcasts from the BBC, passed on by those who had been able to hear them. I also know her relief and joy when the city she lived in was liberated by the British and Americans from Nazi rule, something for which she remains eternally grateful.

I have therefore grown up with a deep distrust of State "controls" which may account for why I am so against ID cards, why political correctness is such a corrosive thing - freedom of speech is vital and yet now many fear that they can not say what they think out of fear of being branded an "ist" racist, sexist etc. The attempted introduction of 42 day detention without trial, a DNA database even for children, and the threat of the compulsory administration of medicines (vaccines) being discussed as a serious idea by a Labour AM here in Wales in the last week. The increasing surveillance society where cctv cameras on streets and roads track our every movement, and with the Government seeking to monitor emails and telephone calls on a huge scale. Local councils using anti terror legislation to monitor benefit claimants and parents sending their children to a particular school. Complicity in "extraordinary rendition" and collusion in the use of torture.

Our freedoms were fought for at great cost.

I want to thank those who gave their lives, I thank those who watched their friends die and have lived with that for so many years, those who came (and to continue to come home) maimed and injured. I also thank those who continue to fight to bring those values to other countries. You have fought for our freedoms at such great cost, and we owe you a duty to preserve the values that you fought for.

The dying embers?

The events of the last few weeks have been monumental. I have been out and about in Mold market talking to people in Delyn to find out what they really think, that has involved stopping people in the street and talking to them. The great thing about Mold Market is that it attracts people not just from Flintshire but from all over the country, and the views have been pretty forthright. There is a feeling of being let down by all politicians, from all parties. The events of the last few weeks leave many people thinking why arent we talking about immigration, why arent we talking about recession and the lack of help available, and why are politicians lining their own pockets at the expense of all of us who work hard and pay our taxes. They have let us down.. When canvassing in March this year on an estate in Delyn I was struck by the number of houses which had no lights on. Although I knocked on the door and expected no answer those doors were opened. Whether you can pay the next bill is the real question and that is why "it was within the rules" just doesnt wash.