Well, that was better than last week.
That had more of the feel of an election debate, although I'm becoming annoyed that UK issues are still being dragged in, both by the candidates and the audience. Betsan Powys should well know if something is devolved or not and the questions at least should try and stay within the confines of the election at hand. What's the point of asking a fuel-price question for example?
What the Chuckle Brothers are up to in Westminster has no bearing on this election. I want to hear the parties take on our own issues here.
Elin Jones showed some of the experience she's gained from holding a cabinet position. She gave assured and straight-to-the-point answers, albeit monotone, to the questions. She only slipped up on the issue surrounding the NHS in Mid Wales, when she failed to mention cross-border services in her answer. Other than that, she did a very good job. 7.5/10
I listed Vaughan Gething as a "one to watch" in my Assembly Awards a few weeks ago and he showed why I'd done so. He's going to be a great asset to the Labour party if elected, as they lose one in the form of Jane Davidson. He was clearly the most polished public speaker but was prone to wandering off-topic or using hyperbole. For example he said Plaid Cymru's "scaremongering" about the centralisation of health services was "disgraceful". Well, centralisation of health services was a Labour policy until 2007. He defended Labour's record well and it was an impressive introduction to the Welsh public. 7.5/10
Peter Black is one of the better opposition AM's and he gave a good account of himself last night, just as his colleague Aled Roberts did in Wrexham last Monday. He did try and get too much into his answers, and at times, it was hard to keep up with him. We hear a lot about the Lib Dem's grants to business policy, but if that is the height of the Lib Dem's economic ambition then that's a worry. It's not as if grants haven't been tried before. Another good Lib Dem performance but spoiled by a depressing "talk Wales down" closing statement. 7/10
Last week, it was Sandy Mewies who toed the party line, and dragged UK-issues into the debate. This time it was Lisa Francis, who did so within a minute of the debate starting. Poor show. Other than getting a cheer for the done-to-death policy of "giving power back to teachers", I was left unimpressed. All I remember is that she seemed rather negative throughout and didn't say a lot, but in fairness she didn't have the chance to. 5/10
Last week UKIP's Nathan Gill spoke as the "token" minor party representative, but said nothing of any real consequence. This week though a special mention goes to the Green Party's Jake Griffiths. He criticised the Welsh Government's environmental record as essentially "all talk no action". The environment is one of the areas the WAG can point to great success in, especially with regard recycling, water quality and conservation. If he means energy policy, then he must realise, and the Welsh Green Party must realise, that large energy projects, whether renewable or non-renewable ARE NOT DEVOLVED. 4/10
That had more of the feel of an election debate, although I'm becoming annoyed that UK issues are still being dragged in, both by the candidates and the audience. Betsan Powys should well know if something is devolved or not and the questions at least should try and stay within the confines of the election at hand. What's the point of asking a fuel-price question for example?
What the Chuckle Brothers are up to in Westminster has no bearing on this election. I want to hear the parties take on our own issues here.
Elin Jones showed some of the experience she's gained from holding a cabinet position. She gave assured and straight-to-the-point answers, albeit monotone, to the questions. She only slipped up on the issue surrounding the NHS in Mid Wales, when she failed to mention cross-border services in her answer. Other than that, she did a very good job. 7.5/10
I listed Vaughan Gething as a "one to watch" in my Assembly Awards a few weeks ago and he showed why I'd done so. He's going to be a great asset to the Labour party if elected, as they lose one in the form of Jane Davidson. He was clearly the most polished public speaker but was prone to wandering off-topic or using hyperbole. For example he said Plaid Cymru's "scaremongering" about the centralisation of health services was "disgraceful". Well, centralisation of health services was a Labour policy until 2007. He defended Labour's record well and it was an impressive introduction to the Welsh public. 7.5/10
Peter Black is one of the better opposition AM's and he gave a good account of himself last night, just as his colleague Aled Roberts did in Wrexham last Monday. He did try and get too much into his answers, and at times, it was hard to keep up with him. We hear a lot about the Lib Dem's grants to business policy, but if that is the height of the Lib Dem's economic ambition then that's a worry. It's not as if grants haven't been tried before. Another good Lib Dem performance but spoiled by a depressing "talk Wales down" closing statement. 7/10
Last week, it was Sandy Mewies who toed the party line, and dragged UK-issues into the debate. This time it was Lisa Francis, who did so within a minute of the debate starting. Poor show. Other than getting a cheer for the done-to-death policy of "giving power back to teachers", I was left unimpressed. All I remember is that she seemed rather negative throughout and didn't say a lot, but in fairness she didn't have the chance to. 5/10
Last week UKIP's Nathan Gill spoke as the "token" minor party representative, but said nothing of any real consequence. This week though a special mention goes to the Green Party's Jake Griffiths. He criticised the Welsh Government's environmental record as essentially "all talk no action". The environment is one of the areas the WAG can point to great success in, especially with regard recycling, water quality and conservation. If he means energy policy, then he must realise, and the Welsh Green Party must realise, that large energy projects, whether renewable or non-renewable ARE NOT DEVOLVED. 4/10
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