Senedd Watch - August 2011

The First Minister signed a memorandum of understanding with the Trinidad & Tobago Olympic Committee, who have chosen Cardiff as a training base for their athletes in the build-up to the 2012 London Olympics. The National Assembly's Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee is to hold and inquiry into how powers are handled and transferred between the UK and Welsh governments - including Legislative Consent Motions which allow UK ministers...

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The Welsh are monkeys - forgive us if we can't take a joke....

"The Welshman's dishonest and cheats when he can A little and dark, more a monkey than man" Hat tip to Glyn at National Left. I hadn't written anything on Roger Lewis's review in the Daily Mail a few weeks ago, mainly because it hadn't really generated that much in a way of "controversy" and had been largely ignored. I...

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Andrew RT Davies - The good and the bad

It's been a quiet summer on the Welsh politics front, but there are stirrings of activity as AMs prepare to return to Cardiff in a few weeks time. Our new leader of the opposition in the Assembly has been  vocal the last week or so, locking horns with Leighton Andrews on exam results, and speaking out on the UK Government's...

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Enterprise Zones - Do they actually work?

It's one of the ways the UK Government intends to re balance the English economy and promote sustained economic growth. It's been suggested that Wales follow suit, with huffing and puffing that the Welsh Government are dragging their heels. Does this blast from the Thatcherite past really cut the mustard? Did it ever? The Enterprise Zone Concept It's pretty simple. Land is set aside (currently there are as many as 30 proposed enterprise zones...

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A new town centre for Talbot Green

The Proposal In the 1960s-1970s, there were plans for a "new town" at Llantrisant - in the same manner as Cwmbran - and linked to Cardiff by a duel carriageway. Hansard records from 1972 show that up to £300million of public and private money was to be invested. Not a small sum in 70's money. For whatever reason, the plans by the UK Government never went through. However, the area did develop as a key commuter "town", with no coherent strategy...

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The Western Mail - Unemployment hysteria redux

Dramatic news today – "Wales has the highest unemployment rate in the UK" screams the headline at Walesonline. "Surely, not," I thought. "If unemployment in Wales has risen that much - to top the North East and London - then we have problems. That's got to be at least another 35000 on the dole in Wales." Unemployment...

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Cardiff v Swansea : Inter-city rivalry can drive mutual prosperity

Swansea University has ambitious expansion plans that could be worth £3billion to the economy of south west Wales (Pic: ITV Wales Blog) In most nations, there are rivalries between the top two cities. One will be the elder child - the "capital", whether economic or administrative. The other will be the "heart", the...

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The Dai Jones Index - Time for a Welsh Stock Exchange?

Proposals for a Welsh "regional" stock exchange have been mooted several times down the years, and reared it's head once more in the Western Mail this week. It was in the Lib Dem's manifesto for the last Assembly elections, with Jenny Randerson being a vocal proponent during the last Assembly. Earlier this year, the previous Welsh Government were offering economic research grants of up to £20,000 towards various projects - including a feasibility...

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Reading the Riot Act

(Pic : BBC News) Perhaps I'm tempting fate, but IMHO we've probably seen a peak of the rioting in London. The bigger issue now, is whether copycat looting and rioting spreads in any meaningful way to other large cities in England over the coming nights. It's been said that the Metropolitan Police make up a quarter of...

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Differences between Wales and England - The Higgitt Question

Over on Wales Home last week, an interesting debate broke out in the comments section of an article by Adam Jones of Blog Banw. Adam Higgitt asked an unrelated, if interesting, question. What are the differences between Wales and England and why do they warrant a separate constitutional settlement? Believe it or not, this is actually the short version..........get the coffee. Political 1. Wales is a centre-left nation. England isn't "right...

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