Evolving the Welsh Baccalaureate

Curriculum 2000 & "Key Skills" - My Experience

The Welsh Baccalaureate - in itself - is a Welsh evolution of the Blair government's Curriculum 2000. My year were the first cohort to be taught under this new curriculum - which introduced A/S and A2 Levels. The Welsh Assembly - which was barely a year old at the time - was still in the administrative devolution stage, and merely enacted policy with a bit of tweaking here and there.

The relevant part of Curriculum 2000 vis-à-vis the Welsh Baccalaureate is "Key Skills" - in numeracy, communication/literacy and IT. As a sixth-former, I had to prepare a portfolio of evidence for each of these key skills as well as take a short exam. Each key skill was worth a certain amount of UCAS points, and although it was clear that the teachers were trying their hardest to take this seriously, the whole thing seemed like a complete waste of our time and their time.

While I was conducting in depth analysis of war poetry, I had to prove for "key skills" that I could write a letter. While Geography was introducing us to the student t-test and I had to balance equations for Chemistry, for "key skills" I had to prove that I could read from a bar graph. Use of IT was an integral part of every single subject, yet I had to collect evidence that I could word process properly.

The exams for these key skills could best be described as an insult to the intelligence of any sixth former. My GCSE exams were harder. I'm not sure what the portfolio or the exams were supposed to prove to myself, teachers, universities or future employers.

The Welsh Baccalaureate

The Welsh Baccalaureate, in its current form, could be described as "A-Level General Studies on steroids". Former WJEC chair and Bridgend Council leader Jeff Jones described it as "an A-Level with a load on nonsense added on." Even the Institute of Welsh Affairs have been critical.

The "Key Skills" element from Curriculum 2000 is still there, but there are additional requirements for the Advanced Level - such as work experience, volunteering, community service, an individual investigation - in addition to traditional A-Level subjects.

This year, some 7,000 students received the Advanced Level Welsh Bac - a big rise on 2010. It's claimed that UCAS consider it the equivalent of an A-grade at A-Level, but it's not as clear cut as that. It depends on the courses applied for and the university itself. Some universities and some courses only consider it a B-grade (like Cardiff University), or only accept the Welsh Bacc in lieu of certain A-Levels. Others, like Aberystwyth University, accept the Welsh Bacc fully as an A-grade. This is an unacceptable situation in my opinion.

As someone who's gone through Curriculum 2000, the Welsh Bac is a huge improvement on it. If I were in the position of going into sixth form, I'd consider the Welsh Baccalaureate a worthwhile qualification. However, I can't help but feel it falls short of its peers on the European mainland.

International examples Wales can emulate

French baccalauréat – Divided into three "streams" (sciences, economics and literature). French, Maths, philosophy, PE and a second language are all compulsory. Subjects are weighted based on their importance in their respective "stream" (i.e. Life sciences is weighted heavily in sciences stream, while languages more so in the literature stream). Exams average 3 hours and are essay based, multiple choice questions are unusual.

International Baccalaureate (IB) – A "core" of six subjects; maths, the native language, a second language, a science, a social science subject and an elective (usually arts). This is in addition to an extended 4000-word essay project, a critical reasoning module and up to 150 hours of extra curricular activity (called creativity, action and service).

Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs (VWO) – Dutch pre-university eduction. Four "specialisations" (Culture/Society, Economics, Nature & Health, Nature & Technology) each placing a different emphasis on various subjects (i.e. Culture & Society focuses on history, arts and languages). Maths, Dutch, English and an additional language are compulsory, though different specialisations emphasise different mathematical disciplines.

A proposal for the Welsh Baccalaureate of the future

Key Principals

• The Welsh Baccalaureate should be a qualification worth getting in itself, not just a matriculation/university entrance one or an additional A-Level. It should prepare students for employment as much as university.
• Academic and vocational qualifications should have equal status.
• The teaching structure of post-16 courses should be changed to a university-style one (lectures in large groups, tutorials/seminars in small groups, practicals where applicable) with more self-directed learning and a de-facto 9-5 day.
• Post-16 education should be provided exclusively by further education colleges in the medium to long term. Provide a university-style experience without actually needing to go to university, including a students union and membership to NUS Wales. Make sure there is as wide a choice as possible in post-16 subjects and courses.
• Marks should be given in percentages instead of grades, with a 50% pass mark. A student would have to pass all of the elements to get the Baccalaureate. There should also be "Honours", "Distinction" and "Merit" categories for high-acheiving students i.e. Top 1% in Wales get Welsh Baccalaureate with "Honours".
• Exams should take place at the end of each module (spreading the exams out over the academic year), should be essay based and ideally not exceed 2 hours in length. Coursework should be replaced with teacher-monitored in-class assessments/assignments. Arts subjects are an exception for obvious reasons.

Proposed Welsh Baccalaureate Structure

• A student chooses a "profile" (outlined below) and a selection of A-Level, A/S Level or vocational courses, some of which will be compulsory depending on the profile chosen.
• Students should be able to make their Baccalaureate as challenging or pragmatic as possible and be able to choose up to 5 A-Levels or its equivalent.
• Short courses should be offered to partially meet compulsory profile requirements (i.e. An "Essential Maths for scientists" course instead of A/S Level Maths). These shouldn't be seen as a "soft touch", and would be examined/assessed to the same standards as A and A/S levels.
• A student prepared 4000-word investigation on a subject of their choice along with a 5 minute presentation of its key findings. It would be assessed on quality of argument, research skills and quality of language/presentation.
• Each student should spend two-weeks either in work experience or volunteering in the summer break between year 12 and 13.
• Students should be able to organise their own extra-curricular activities to provide a greater breadth of choice. There should be greater organised inter-college competition in sport and other activities.

The Proposed Profiles

Natural Sciences

Careers/University Courses : Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Sciences, Academia, Laboratory & Industrial Science, Chemical Engineering, Earth Sciences, Conservation/Environmental Science

• Compulsory Course I : At least 2 natural, earth or applied science A-Levels
• Compulsory Course II: At least an A/S Level in Mathematics or equivalent

Physical Sciences & Engineering

Careers/University Courses : IT, Academia, Physical Sciences, Astronomy/Space Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civic Engineering, Product Design, Architecture, Energy Industries, Skilled Trades

• Compulsory Course I : Mathematics A-Level
• Compulsory Course II: 2 A-Levels from physical sciences, computing, engineering or technology

Business & Economics

Careers/University Courses : Entrepreneurship, Business, Finance, Economics, Public Relations, Retail, Personnel & Recruitment, Law, Marketing, Advertising, Management, Politics

• Compulsory Course I : Either Mathematics or Economics A-Level
• Compulsory Course II: A non-native language A-Level
• Compulsory Course III: A humanities, business, computing or technology A-Level

Communication & Social Sciences

Careers/University Courses : Law, Translation, Business, Liberal Arts, History & Archeology, Anthropology, Classics, Social Sciences, Politics, Psychology, Performing Arts, Media/Journalism, Speech Therapy, Publishing, Criminology, Teaching, Child Care

• Compulsory Course I : English (or Welsh First Language)
• Compulsory Course II : Non-native second language A-Level
• Compulsory Course III: Humanities/Social Sciences or Arts A-Level

Public Service & Leadership

Careers/University Courses : Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Security, Skilled Trades, Politics, Teaching, Management, Retail, Nursing, Civil Service, Professional Sports, Child Care

• Compulsory Course I (Logic): One from Mathematics, Computing, Economics or Physics
• Compulsory Course II (Social Awareness): A humanities A-Level
• Compulsory Course III (Communication): A languages A-Level

Creative Arts

Careers/University Courses : Architecture, Performing Arts, Advertising, Graphic Design, Product Design, Marketing, Media, Photography, Teaching, Cosmetology, Fashion Industries/Textiles, Child Care

• Compulsory Course I : First language or humanities A-Level
• Compulsory Course II : Two creative arts A-Levels
• Additional Requirement : A maintained professional portfolio for one of the creative arts subjects

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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 to legislate on devolved matters as well as issues surrounding the transfer of powers to Welsh ministers via UK legislation.
• The Assembly Commission is drawing up a bill that will make the Assembly officially bilingual. The Official Languages Bill will mean that Welsh and English must be treated on an equal basis in the Assembly. Llywydd Rosmary Butler said that the Assembly should provide "exemplar bilingual services".
• Concerns have been raised about changes to a "first responder" scheme in rural Wales that trains fire crews in medical emergencies - if they are first on the scene. Peter Black AM (Lib Dem, South Wales West) said that the Welsh Ambulance Service had "scaled back the scheme without consultation".
• Ann Jones AM (Lab, Vale of Clwyd) described claims by Redrow Homes Steve Morgan that mandatory fire suppression systems would put developers off building homes in poorer areas of Wales as "reckless". She also rejected Steve Morgan's costing of the systems at more than £3500, saying they would cost between £1000 and £3000 and builders can make adjustments to offset the costs.
• Six areas of Wales will be able bid for local TV services as part of UK Government plans for a network of 65 "Channel 6" community TV stations. Cardiff, Carmarthen, Haverfordwest, Mold, Swansea and Bangor were shortlisted. Up to £40million of licence fee money will be available for start-ups.
• First Minister Carwyn Jones has condemned rioting in England, saying that it was "a tragedy that there are people in some parts of the UK who have such little respect for others who live in their own community." South Wales and North Wales police forces had sent assistance to London along with more than 30 other forces in England, Scotland and Wales.
• The National Assembly is half-way towards meeting its target of reducing its own carbon emissions by 40% by 2015. Peter Black AM said that it was "pleasing", and that he was confident that there would be further innovations and ideas for the future.
• Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams backed a campaign for the voting age to be reduced from 18 to 16.
• Unemployment in Wales rose by 10,000 to stand at 8.4% in the 3 months to June, higher than the UK average of 7.9%. All of the home nations saw rises in unemployment over the period.
• Former police officer Byron Davies AM (Con, South Wales West) has revived calls for a single national police force for Wales, saying that it was a realistic option in the face of public spending cuts.
• There was a slight rise in the number of A*-E passes at A-Level in Wales with 97.2% of students entered achieving a pass in 2011, compared to 97.1% in 2010. There was also a rise in the number of "good" (A*-C) A-Level passes. However there was a fall in the number of A*'s awarded in Wales, falling short of both England and Northern Ireland. In addition more than 8300 students were awarded a Welsh Baccalaureate, the Advanced Diploma being considered the equivalent of an A-grade at A-level by UCAS as well as many, but not all, universities.
• GCSE results showed another modest improvement on 2010 with a 98.7% pass rate at A*-G and 66.5% of entries earning an A*-C grade. Both figures remain behind England and Northern Ireland although the gap narrowed between Wales and England/Northern Ireland for high grades (A*-A).
• A BBC Wales Freedom of Information request shown that Welsh ambulances failure to meet a 20-minute turnaround time at hospital accident and emergency departments has cost the Welsh NHS as much as £10million.
• The Rarer Cancers Foundation charity has warned that cancer patients both Wales and Scotland are more likely to miss out on new cancer drugs - with patients in Wales five times less likely to get such treatments than those in England. The medical director of the Welsh NHS, Dr Chris Jones, has said that he saw no need for a separate cancer drugs fund, with Wales spending £5 per head more than England on cancer treatment and that NICE approved drugs were more readily available in Wales than England.
• A report by the Chartered Management Institute has shown that Wales has the smallest gender pay gap of all the UK's nations and regions, with men being paid on average £2,441 more than women compared to the UK average of £10,564.
• Projects announced in August include a 3-year, £125million Work Based Learning initiative part funded by the European Social Fund, a £2.8million skills fund for those working in criminal justice in Wales and a £5.4million revamp of Llandudno railway station.

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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 promise to hold a vote on repealing the fox hunting ban.


The Good

"What is social justice? A millionaire getting paracetamol [free]? Or a terminal cancer patient getting a cancer drug that could prolong her life? I think the answer is very obvious, it's the cancer drugs fund we need in Wales."

- Regarding the case of bowel cancer patient Lorraine Redmond from Cardiff, who is considering moving to England to receive life-extending drugs that have been denied to her by Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust.

The Conservatives did have a pledge for a national "Cancer Drugs Fund" in their May manifesto, and even if he gets ahead of himself sometimes, I don't think anyone can doubt his commitment to health.

A sign of consistency in policy.

"I do believe that if politicians make a commitment they should do all in their power to see the commitment through. If politicians say something and put it in writing, they should endeavour to deliver on that."

- His call for the UK Government to honour their election pledge to vote on the hunting ban.

I don't think the issue matters much to many people and personally I think a ban should remain in place. This does show he isn't afraid to stand up (or be seen to stand up) to the UK Government.

Whether he will do so in an issue that actually matters to Wales in the future remains to be seen.

I couldn't picture a Welsh Labour leader doing the same thing if Labour were in power in Westminster.

Good on him.

The Bad

On A-Level Results:

"Regrettably we are propping up the league table on A* and A grade A levels."

Getting facts wrong – check.


"Sadly, the grade levels in Wales are further behind the rest of the UK and there is a further gap between boys and girls."

Talking Wales down/"Six Nations" comparison– check. Wales outperformed some regions of England.

"It is regrettable and it does strike you almost of a former Eastern European dictator denying the obvious. [re. Leighton Andrews]"

Obligatory comparison with Cold War Europe (why oh why do the Welsh Tories keep doing this!?) – check.

"....." (as far as I know)

....on rising unemployment, and warnings that Wales could be "effectively back in recession" on the back of public spending cuts and weak economic growth at UK level.

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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 and piecemeal housing developments. The whole Pontyclun/Talbot Green/Llantrsiant area is a bit of a planning mess to be honest.

In the last few weeks Valad and Scarborough Developments unveiled outline proposals for a new £200million "town centre" that is hoped will provide much needed focus to the area, and provide up to 1,900 jobs. The development will include:

• A replacement store for Leekes and new supermarket
• Up to 40 other high-street stores, including at least one large department store
• 2 multi-storey car parks
• A cinema complex
• A "restaurant/cafe quarter"
• A hotel
• Apartments and townhouses
• Offices and civic facilities
• Improvements to cycling and bus facilities

Potential Issues

The site, next to Y Pant Comprehensive, is slap bang in the middle of the "new town" and would be a natural location for such a development. However welcome the jobs and development is, there are a number of concerns.

Firstly the impact on traffic. Valad and Scarborough are also involved in a mooted business park at Mwyndy Cross which has been controversial locally. Their plans there include a grade separated junction on the A4119. However, nearer the new town centre, the roads are unlikely to cope with additional traffic without further upgrades. It's an important route from the Rhondda and Ely Valleys to the M4, in addition to traffic being funnelled from Beddau and Church Village.

In addition, the new town centre is more than a mile away from Pontyclun railway station - and there's no timetable for the (proposed) reintroduction of passenger services on the railway to Beddau (planning permission is being sought to turn it into a cycle path currently). The fact there are two multi-story car parks hints that this isn't going to be a "sustainable" development, transport wise.

Also Talbot Green already has two large "big box" retail parks a stones throw from the new town centre. Lessons need to be learned from nearby Pontypridd. There's currently a redevelopment of the Taff Vale Centre as well as multi-million pound public realm improvements as part of the towns regeneration. The anchor store for the new Taff Vale Centre is...........Poundland.

I don't think it's a good sign when Poundland and anchor store are mentioned in the same sentence.

Could Talbot Green be the first new shopping development entirely housed by charity shops and pound shops? There is a critical mass needed to sustain certain chain stores and judging by the vote-of-little-confidence given to Pontypridd, who's to say it won't happen in Talbot Green?

Sign of a bigger Valleys southward shift?

Could Talbot Green actually attract the bigger chains and could this be part of an inevitable "M4-ing" of the valleys, with people and businesses in Rhondda Cynon Taf shifting southwards.

I believe that people should be "pulled" (economically) from the heads of the valleys area towards the M4. The days of bribing big foreign companies to set up a branch factory in the valleys are long over.

Instead of trying to develop the areas economy (with the exception of indigenous companies and entrepreneurship), the focus should be on quality of life, transport and a gentle depopulation in favour of larger housing developments, key economic developments and larger conurbations in the southern half of the Valleys -  places like Talbot Green, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Risca and Cwmbran/Newport. The area defined as the "Connections Corridor" in the Wales Spatial Plan.

Schemes like this hint that developers realise the trend and think they can make some money out of it. When will tub-thumping Valley politicians "get it" as well?

All in all though, an interesting development well worth keeping an eye on. I'm also slightly jealous as this is the sort of development Bridgend town centre has been crying out for for the best part of a decade. Time for a developer to raise the stakes in Bridgend methinks.

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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 down to earth spirit that sums up the nation. Wales has Cardiff – the smug cosmopolitan trendy capital that can't decide if it's Welsh or not, and its sidekick Swansea – the neglected laid-back industrial "town" that encapsulates the tortured, pessimistic Welsh soul.

There are fewer more instantly recognisable lists of towns and cities in the World than the English Premier League. Defying everybody's expectations, the first Welsh club to get there wasn't from the capital, but the sidekick, less than an hour down the M4. The ultimate act of sporting one-upmanship that brought scenes of unbridled joy to Swansea City fans all over while those of Cardiff City focus intently on more "what ifs" and another season in an increasingly competitive Championship.

Unfortunately, Swansea has a big inferiority complex. It's not any politicians fault that High Street is one of the worst gateways to a city centre in the UK, or that brutalist architecture dominates the skyline. The Luftwaffe should shoulder the blame for that. Swansea has never really taken to the "city" designation mentally. This can be endearing, and foster a greater sense of community, but the moaning, like that of Swansea Council's leader, Chris Holley, in a letter to Vince Cable last year (one of the most cringe-worthy incidents by an elected official in Wales in the last decade) do little but strengthen the impression that Swansea has a big chip on its shoulder. Wales is guilty of this in general at a UK level as well.

The rivalry between Cardiff and Swansea should be a driving force for good, not enmity or jealousy. Although more dependent on big public sector employers, and still vulnerable to UK government cuts, Swansea is establishing itself as a city of brains. Swansea University is in the early stages of a new £400million campus development in partnership with BP and the Welsh Government, which will house its engineering, scientific and technical departments. It's claimed the development would be worth up to £3billion to the local economy.

In the last week, university spin-out company Haemair announced additional funding from the Welsh Government for the continued development of artificial lungs due for clinical trials in the next two years. This follows in the footsteps of other successful Swansea-based technology companies like lighting specialists Photonstar (formerly Enfis), Acuitas Medical, Allerna Therapeutics and IT companies like Small Planet Technology. They're starting small, but there's no reason they couldn't grow given the right conditions.

Swansea's natural city-region hinterland is huge, encompassing both its urban neighbour Neath Port Talbot as well as Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and southern parts of Ceredigion and Powys. It may be mostly rural, but the population must be pushing 700,000+. Taking advantage of these large hinterlands is a challenge Swansea, Cardiff  - and to a lesser extent Newport and Wrexham - need to rise to in order to fulfill their potential.

Cardiff is using its capital status in a different way. The Porth Teigr development in Cardiff Bay hopes to make Cardiff a hub of media and creative industries - one of the sectors listed in the Economic Renewal Plan for special focus. A strong financial, property and legal services base is beginning to find a home there too - with work on Admiral Group's new HQ imminent and expansions by the likes of Capital Law, New Law and Hugh James. Property developers like JR Smart are transforming the capital's skyline. The best part is all these companies are Welsh and don't lack ambition or risk-taking. Wales is finally developing the indigenous enterprises we need to push forward into the economic big time. For the foreseeable future, most of these sorts of companies will come from, or base themselves in, Cardiff.

Both cities are specialising their economies to a large extent. Both cities, although competitors, can also readily compliment each other. This is especially true if competition moves off the football and rugby pitch and into architecture, economic development and regeneration. Trying to get one over on each other in these respects would do wonders for the Welsh economy.

I've been to both Swansea and Cardiff over the summer on (rare) sunny days. Both cities have different feels about them. Cardiff is confident, moneyed but a little bit bland and lacking definition. It feels like a American-inspired 20th century boom city like Portland or Seattle rather than a European capital.

Swansea definitely feels more "Welsh" in a south Wales sense, but were it not for the poor state of the pavement, my walk up Walter Road could easily have been San Francisco while the beach area felt stereotypically southern California - spoiled only by poor seafront architecture. I'd even go far as to argue that Swansea's dock redevelopment trumps Cardiff's. It all felt a bit more organic and coherent. Then again everything looks good in the sun!

Make no mistake, with enough will, planning and determination, Swansea will be able to look Cardiff in the eye confidently at all levels and a lot sooner than people think.

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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 study for a Welsh stock exchange.

In the current economic climate, it's vital that the Welsh Government assist businesses in finding alternative ways of raising capital. The banks are seemingly neglecting their responsibilities in lending to SME's while the Economic Renewal Programme commits the Welsh Government to move away from business grants towards repayable loans – in large, the right decision.

In addition Wales also has Finance Wales - which makes commercial investments in Welsh businesses - and there's also a (rather complicated) cobweb of various schemes aimed towards entrepreneurs and business mentoring like Menter a Busnes and EU schemes such as JESSICA.

A Welsh exchange is another way that extra funds can be raised without additional burden on the state. Though it's not without its own pitfalls.

Dr Eurfyl ap Gwylim, of Principality Building Society and Plaid Cymru's economic advisor, says that it wouldn't be "at the top of his list of priorities". I tend to agree with him. There are bigger structural problems with the Welsh economy at the moment - such as those relating to infrastructure, both physical (i.e. transport) and related to business (i.e. Business rates). However there's no harm in looking at the proposal in more detail.

If we use the likes of the West Midlands regional exchange (Investbx) and the Irish Stock Exchange as template, a Welsh exchange would likely need around 50 companies on board to be viable. At the moment, on both the FTSE and AIM indices, there are only 12 Welsh companies listed.

However, if we look at Prof. Dylan Jones-Evans's Top 300, there are certainly enough medium to large companies to support an exchange with some clout, with 103 Welsh companies having an end-year turnover of £50million+ in 2010.

There is, for some reason, a reluctance amongst Welsh companies to list.

Could an exchange closer to home, readily accessible and with some government backing change that?

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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 wing" by default, just a greater predisposition to vote Conservative and more marginal seats.

Yeah, it's a lazy one. The assumption is that Wales is dominated by centre-left politics, for good or for bad. Labour effectively run a one-party dominant system over large swathes of Wales. Next you have Plaid Cymru who are ideologically to the left of Labour. Even our Conservative and Lib Dem parties are a bit closer to the centre on policy than their UK counterparts.

England swings by a larger margin towards or away from ruling parties and there are far more floating voters. Wales's elections are far more predictable and by and large, we'll vote in a centre-left majority.

Why should Wales be beholden to policies from parties we don't vote for? Devolution has answered this one to a large extent, though, of course, nationalists will argue that it should extend to every single policy area.

2. Welsh (and Scottish) nationalism is less eurosceptic than English and British nationalism.

Plaid Cymru's long-term constitutional aim is "independence within the European Union" - similarly the SNP. Far from being cave-dwelling 19^th century romantics, Welsh civic nationalism embraces cooperation at European level. There are certain to be English nationalists who share this also, of course, but there doesn't seem to be any outlet for them - except perhaps the Greens or to an extent the Liberal Democrats.

Does English Democrat, BNP or UKIP policy on international cooperation end at the English Channel? The loudest opponents of the EU seem to come from east of Offa's Dyke. Though that doesn't mean euroscepticism doesn't have a role in Welsh politics, it doesn't seem to have made much of an impact bar a single MEP and some disappointing Assembly results.

Does Wales have a different outlook on foreign policy and what our international role should be compared to the rest of the UK? The answer -if we compare it to other policy areas - is a likely yes, but we don't have avenues to express it because foreign policy isn't devolved.

3. Welsh public policy is based around equal access to public services, England's is based on choice and competition as a means to promote excellence.

This is where policy between Wales and England is diverging most, and certainly warrants a separate constitutional settlement. In a sparsely populated country like Wales, there's very little "choice" in what school or hospital you use for topographical reasons. Policies like foundation hospitals and academies would've been largely fruitless. In Wales, the onus is on providing a sustainable level of public service for everyone.

You can argue from performance data that this has led to mediocrity and complacency compared to the English system of choice, flexibility and competition. Of course, in a nation of 50million+ with large metropolitan areas (and many sparsely ones too it must be said), such policies can be made to work and can be popular. Which approach is the right one is a matter for debate.

Will the English, via the UK Government, be happy to continue subvention towards increasingly different systems from their own? The answer is probably no. This isn't in itself a case for independence or further devolution, but once more raises questions about how Wales would approach non-devolved issues based on a distinctly Welsh public policy.

Political incompatibility that has no avenue for resolution leads to escalated tension.

Socio-Economic

1. "Middle Wales" less upwardly-mobile and more public-sector oriented while "Middle England" (and the UK as a whole) is private-sector oriented and shape, rather than make, public policy.

In Wales (and some parts of England) the only stable, highly paid work has traditionally been in public sector roles such as teaching, civil service, nursing, medicine, dentistry etc. As a result, the Welsh middle class are more likely to be unionised and at the forefront of public policy at all levels.

Wales also has a "working class mythos" that's hard coded into our national story, and acts as a social leveller. In Wales, the head of government could be seen pushing a pram down Adare Street. That just doesn't happen at the UK level.

There is a distinctively Welsh "social" egalitarianism - it could even be described as a matriarchy - that doesn't exist elsewhere in the UK. There's far more consultation and far less grandstanding, which means that big projects sometimes move at depressingly slow rates compared to England.

Does this happen in England? Of course. However, the English middle class are far more likely to have jobs in the private sector, far more likely to travel in general for business and leisure and will read different newspapers, have marginally more disposable income and support different cultural events. The howls of outrage from the London cultural elite when Zaha Hadid's Opera House in Cardiff was dropped for the "parochial" Millennium Centre is an example of this difference.

They are treated more as a massive focus group rather than a group that is at the heart of policy delivery.

The bigger question is can Wales, and it's needs, ever be taken seriously at the UK's top tables when we have broadly different ideas about what sort of people should be sitting there?

Here's a question for Unionists; will someone representing a Welsh constituency ever hold one of the UK "Great Offices of State" ever again?

If the answer is no, then is the UK truly a "union" in the proper sense of the word? Is there an emerging Malay-style privilege in favour of the English or is it just a natural reaction to devolution?

If it's the latter then England will need its own constitutional settlement separate from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland if the union is to survive in the long term.

2. The Welsh economy is based on exports and low-level manufacturing like other smaller European nations. England by itself is a global economic power with foundations built on global financial services. It's a complete mismatch and a one-size-fits-all macroeconomic policy can hurt Wales.

Wales lacks high value added jobs in business, finance and the quaternary sector. These kind of "megajobs" rarely base themselves outside of "global cities". England has several : London , Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham. Scotland has one, Edinburgh. Belfast probably sneaks in as one too.

Cardiff doesn't come close. Swansea can forget it. Absolutely anyone can set up a small business making car parts - Wales does well at this kind of thing. We're even pretty decent at energy generation, supply line processing, some specialised areas of high-technology (such as optronics, some aspects of IT and aerospace) and we are finally building a more solid financial and legal services base.

Being in a unitary state where one nation's wealth generation vastly outstrips that of the others, disproportionately makes Wales look bad for investment and as an economy - even if that's not the case on the ground. It's an unfortunate but crippling side effect. Wales will always be aiming for an economic target completely beyond our reach.

Does the UK's macroeconomic policy help the Welsh economy? Or will it always maximise tax-revenues and growth in the most productive parts (London and SE England)? Does Wales need its own macroeconomic policy - that works to our economic strengths -which are clearly different from England and by extension the UK?

3. Wales has a romanticism about a "cradle-to-grave" government role. England as a whole is much more flexible and open towards public sector reform and the rule of law is more important than "being ruled".

Wales has never been weaned off the role of big government (economically or psychologically) and the Welsh turn to government because - for some reason, perhaps born out of industrial hardships - government (whether UK, Welsh or Local) is seen as part of a grander "safety net" that protects the Welsh people from adversity (part of the working class mythos). The NHS for example, is seen as Wales' baby. Private interests in public services are met with some suspicion in Wales. It could be a legacy of past poor labour v capital relations that's integrated into Welsh history in a way not seen in England as a whole.

In England, in times of adversity the people are more likely to turn to the rule of law. The police and courts are held in higher regard than government generally. Organised labour and big capital are equally mistrusted and that means reforms to government and public services are much easier to sell to the English public than the Welsh. England doesn't have a romanticism about the government's role because they - as a nation - have never needed government as a crutch.

If there's a big problem in England, they look to the courts, inquiries etc. If there's a same problem in Wales, they'll turn to the local council, form a committee, go to an MP/AM or the relative public body.

If the view of the role of government is fundamentally different, then isn't there a need for different governments? Why create needless tensions for the sake of keeping one "symbolic" sovereign parliament?

Cultural

1. Cymraeg
Despite loan words from English, or English words that have been "Welshified", Welsh is completely different from English in almost every single way. Different alphabet, different syntax, different linguistic evolutions.

We should be proud that it's lasted thousands of years against the odds, and I believe the majority of Welsh people support the language even if they don't speak it - including myself. It's a massive part of what defines us as a nation and our shared history.

Likewise, England should be proud of English - its greatest export. It's produced some of the world's greatest literature and poetry, and provides a means of communication for billions globally.

Wales is the only officially bilingual part of the UK. That makes us very different indeed from England. Wales has two avenues of expression in addition to all the other minority languages of various immigrants down the years. That's absolutely priceless in an increasingly homogeneous US-dominated media and entertainment industry.

As Cymraeg is inherently Welsh, shouldn't Wales have the ultimate custodianship of it at all levels?

2. Wales and England have different attitudes towards high culture and sport. There are also distinctly different attitudes towards pursuing them.

Wales and rugby union. England and football. It's not as clear cut as that but there are underlying differing attitudes towards sport and culture.

Wales takes performing arts quite seriously, but less formally, compared to England. It's that old "land of song" stereotype but Wales does produce more than it's fair per-capita share of singers, actors etc. Katherine Jenkins is something of a national icon in Wales. If she were English she would probably just be another opera singer confined to Times and Guardian reviews. Performing arts in Wales are at a level playing field as long as you have the talent.

In England it does seem to be something for the middle classes and a skill that to be honed to the highest level. It goes back to the differences between attitudes to public services : equal access v competition and excellence. England doesn't really have an equivalent of the Urdd or the Eisteddfod for example, though Scotland has the Mod. England's high culture, however, if far more avant garde and cutting edge/innovative while Wales is more traditional and grounded - although that's changing.

When it comes to sport in Wales, it's about participation at the expense of elite performance. We have tons of sports clubs, spreading talent thinly - but as long as every village can put out a team, we're happy. Wales also has an enviable record of producing world-class disabled athletes.

In England, it's about excellence on an globally fair playing field. If the English football team were ranked 112^th in the World it would be a national scandal, in Wales, we tut and moan but don't do anything about it, we even accept it. It might be a different case with the rugby team of course!

Culture and sport are about projecting all that's good about England (and using England as a vehicle for the UK or Great Britain) to the World. In Wales it's about entrenching identity and belonging, maintaining a semblance of cultural difference in a top-heavy union. Wales protects. England projects. Introversion vs Extroversion. Night and day.

One thing Wales, England and the rest of the UK share is a sense of "fair play". This doesn't mean that how we approach things like culture, broadcasting and the media are the same across the UK. Seeing as Welsh culture is a more important stamp of national identity, should Wales set the political policies and priorities as a distinct nation with a distinct culture?

3. Welsh Nonconformism v Church of England

This difference in thought on one of the most basic matters – religion, probably did more to re-establish Wales as a separate nation within the UK until the creation of the Welsh Office. The Welsh Revivals also brought the Welsh language back to the heart of Welsh cultural life, shoring it up despite repeated attempts to snuff it out.

The (at the time controversial) disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales was one of the the first times since the Laws in Wales Acts and the Wales and Berwick Act that a separate "Welsh way of doing things", like the Sunday Closing Act, was formally acknowledged by the UK government, long after Scotland and Ireland.

Would this have even been considered had there not been a nonconformist Welsh Prime Minister at the time? Or would it have been "too controversial" to pass? Why should it have been when there was a clear difference between Wales and England?

Legal & Geographic

1. Wales is developing a distinct body of Welsh law.

A separate legal jurisdiction from England is unavoidable if these laws are to be enforced effectively. Wales' border will be locked in permanently, and any changes to the delivery of services will have to take place within Wales's borders, not on an "England and Wales" basis or technocratic cross-border super-regions.

2. Wales and England need different approaches to climate change and the environment based on geography, climate, their relative economies and topography.

One of the areas devolution in Wales can point to some significant success is the environment.

In Wales, there isn't an immediate threat from rising sea levels or coastal flooding (with a few very obvious exceptions). Likewise, Wales' more maritime and upland climate makes drought a much lesser concern than some parts of England. You can even argue - as Rhodri Morgan once did rather ham-fistedly - that climate change could, to a certain degree, benefit Wales in terms of agriculture and tourism. Personally I'd rather not live in that world.

In Wales the environmental policy emphasis should be (and largely is) on better management and stewardship - for example : reducing carbon emissions from industry, reducing waste, public responsibility and more renewable energy. Being a net-exporter of electricity, Wales can help England go some way to meeting its own targets, but only if Wales has control over it and aims to meet the Welsh Government's own ambitions. Similarly for other natural resources.

England has several more deeper and fundamental issues that don't get anywhere near the attention they deserve : overcrowding in the south east, drought and pressure on resources (again largely in the south east). Also along the east coast of England in particular, issues such as coastal erosion and coastal flooding on a scale far beyond that of Wales. In addition, being an energy importer brings into question the security of those supplies.

Flooding and extreme weather in general is another big environmental concern that affects Wales and England equally, but Wales has a landscape and geography far better equipped to deal with significant rainfall changes than England on the surface of it.

There's a chance for mutually beneficial cooperation on the environment in a post-devolution (or post-independence) world, but it will have to be on a government to government, equal-to-equal basis.

3. Wales has an east-west divide, England has a north-south divide.

Based largely on topography and a "extractive" transport network, Wales is divided along east-west axis rather than north-south. The eastern half of Wales (Powys, Deeside, coastal Gwent, Cardiff and the M4 corridor) are the wealthier areas containing the economic "powerhouses" while the west contains the sparsely populated parts of Wales and the de-industrialised Valleys. It mirrors perfectly the EU's NUTS2 area for Wales.

England's situation is far more complicated. There are northern areas that are major regional centres - such as Manchester and Leeds - likewise there are areas in the south that are economically deprived - like some inner-city London boroughs and coastal towns like Hastings.

There's a clear and growing gap between the north and south in England, with no real attempt to close it, leading to the overheating of the south east and London. The regions of England are on their own by and large and this has led to a few successes but nothing to close the gap in any real terms.

In Wales however, there have been decades-long attempts to bridge the "east-west" gap - from EU funding through to social programmes and transport projects. It comes down once again to Welsh equal access v English competition and excellence. It's seen as a failure in Wales if a region - for example Ceredigion - cannot access the same services or economic opportunities as Cardiff, however unsustainable that might be. In England it's more about spreading prosperity out from successful areas - for example enterprise zones and high-speed rail. Clearly different approaches to a similar problem.

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Senedd Watch - July 2011

• University leaders agreed to cooperate with proposals for "fewer but stronger" universities in Wales. Higher Education Wales also said that mergers should be a matter for the universities governing bodies to decide. The Welsh Government welcomed HEW's "positive statement".
• The Welsh Government is understood to be examining proposals to close four smaller regional offices around Wales. The offices earmarked for closure are believed to be in Newtown, Llandrindod Wells, Carmarthen and Caernarfon.
• The latest crime statistics for Wales show that recorded crime in Wales has fallen by 20% between 2003 and 2009, with the level of overall crime being consistently lower than England. Also, the proportion of detected/cleared crimes was higher than England in 2010. Local Government & Communities Minister Carl Sargeant (Lab, Alun & Deeside) welcomed the fall, and said that it was proof that investing in crime prevention pays off.
• One of the suspended Lib Dem AMs, North Wales's Aled Roberts has been reinstated to the Assembly following an Assembly vote on July 6^th. The other suspended AM, John Dixon, was not reinstated and has been replaced by Eluned Parrott -  the second Lib Dem on the South Wales Central regional list.
• Former Welsh Lib Dem leader Lord Carlile said that the Welsh Lib Dems should have continued a legal battle to reinstate John Dixon. A Welsh Lib Dem spokesperson told BBC Wales that there was "very little support for his case in the Assembly".
• Chief Scientific Advisor to the National Assembly, Prof. John Harries, has been awarded the Distinguished Public Service Medal by NASA - its highest civilian honour - for contributing greatly to the understanding of the atmosphere and climate change.
• Eight out of ten universities in Wales will charge the full £9,000 tuition fees from September 2012. Welsh-domiciled students will have the fee increase paid for them by the Welsh Government. It's estimated that this will cost the Welsh Government an extra £280million per year.
• On July 12^th, UK Prime Minister David Cameron held a cabinet meeting in Wales at the Royal Mint, Llantrisant and addressed the Senedd, announcing a new package for super fast broadband in Wales and that a new commission would be set up to look at devolution in Wales and what fiscal powers - if any - could be devolved. He said that both his government and the Assembly "share common aims to make life better for the Welsh people".
• The First Minister formally unveiled the Welsh Government's legislative programme for the next 5 years to the Assembly, outlining 21 bills covering education, health, transport, heritage, public protection, the voluntary sector, planning and governance at both local and national level.
• The Welsh Government's school building programme, 21^st Century Schools, will be reviewed just over a year since it was launched. Local authorities will now be expected to contribute more towards the building of new schools, and many projects could be delayed or cancelled. Education Minister Leighton Andrews blamed capital budget cuts on the move.
• In a separate move the Education Minster has placed Blaenau Gwent schools into special measures, saying there were "systemic management failures" and that the shortcomings had been "simply unacceptable". An action plan, led by a Neath Port Talbot council task force, is now required for the 34 schools in the county.
• Andrew RT Davies (Con, South Wales Central) was elected the new leader of the Welsh Conservatives, and subsequently, leader of the opposition by 53.1% to 46.7%. Nick Ramsey (Con, Monmouth) was defeated.
• The UK Treasury has modified rules relating to Assembly end of year flexibility, this means that unspent funds can now be carried forward to following years. In a separate development, a commission to examine Assembly funding is to start work in the autumn, with the aim of a report in 2013.
• Environment Minister, John Griffiths (Lab, Newport East), announced that businesses employing under 10 people will not be required to keep records relating to plastic bags when a 5p charge comes into effect on 1^st October.
• Plaid Cymru leader Ieuan Wyn Jones has said he will stand down before Plaid's 2012 Spring Conference. Nominations for the leadership will open in January 2012, with an expected 10-week leadership contest.
• Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said he wouldn't oppose a coalition deal between the Lib Dems and Labour in the National Assembly.
• The Welsh Government held a cabinet meeting in Llandudno on July 26^th for the first time. The First Minister said "it was only right that the business of government takes place across the country."
• Rhodri Talfan Davies has been appointed the new director of BBC Wales. Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillen congratulated him on his appointment and hoped he would "continue to strengthen the output that is so vital to Wales and its culture."
• Welsh language activists Cymdeithas yr Iaith have reacted with bemusement to suggestions that the Assembly Commission are considering using Google Translate to provide bilingual records of Assembly proceedings.
• A permit for a £1billion gas-fired power station in Pembrokeshire has been halted due to "gaps" in analysis submitted by the Environment Agency.
• The National Assembly is now in recess until Monday 19^th September.
• Projects announced in July include a £2million expansion of a scheme tackling broadband "not spots" in rural Wales, a UK Government package of £57million to expand super fast broadband coverage, the expansion of a programme targeting families affected by substance misuse, £6million to develop sustainable travel, an £11million tidal energy scheme in Pembrokeshire and £15million targeting up to 4,000 young people in north Wales at risk of falling out of education.

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Tunnel Vision - Renewed calls for an M4 Newport bypass

The severity of yesterday's fire shouldn't be underestimated,
however the M4 bypass plan refuses to die.
(Pic : BBC Wales)

For the second time this year, the Brynglas tunnels closed due to a vehicle fire, causing massive disruption in and around Newport and beyond. Yesterday's fire seemed to be far more serious than previous ones. Mercifully, nobody was killed or seriously injured, but the pictures and videos clearly indicate that could've easily been a different story.

Predictably (and harking back to my post on Wales's lack of perspective) there have been calls - by business leaders like David Rosser of the CBI and William Graham (Con, South Wales East) - to resurrect the M4 bypass around Newport.

To quote MH at Syniadau, it's a case of "taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It is overkill."

Accidents happen. However frustrating closures of the M4 are, it doesn't warrant a £1billion+ PFI scheme combined with a (possible) double-toll on entering Wales. What message is that going to send to business, commuters and visitors?

If the Brynglas tunnels close due to a fire, that suggests that they need some sort of sprinkler system (to put out fires before structural damage takes hold, and enable quicker clear-ups) which would cost significantly less than £1billion, I presume. In addition, there are probably several more road schemes just as important to the Welsh economy that don't get enough attention because of this notorious pinch point - including completing the Cardiff Peripheral Distributor and widening the Britannia Bridge.

Here's a suggestion. Tell business leaders they can have the bypass. However, only if they are willing to pay for it through hikes in business rates for M4 corridor companies, surcharges on office parking spaces as well as shouldering a big chunk of the PFI debt.

The National Transport Plan has gone largely unappreciated and unnoticed (with the exception of the likes of Syniadau). The previous Welsh Government were right to abandon the Newport bypass. They were also right to introduce variable speed limits and improve the A48 and Llanwern road - hopefully taking more local traffic off the M4.

These are perfectly sensible bang-for-buck projects that fiscal conservatives would otherwise be praising if it were not for the recession, which has reduced everything to zombified, frothing at the mouth "Must! Pwomowte! Gwowff!"

Progress on the crucial Llanwern/Magor improvement has been depressingly slow. That project clearly needs to step up a gear (excuse the pun). At the moment, the Welsh Government are going through one of those tiresome "consultation processes" which are expected to last into early 2012.

Not good enough.

In the longer term, providing more public transport options in and around Newport - including new railway stations, park and rides and bus corridor improvements - are also required. Of course, all this requires capital spending and there's precious little of that about. But "business leaders" seem to think the Welsh Government can magic £1billion out of their backside at their beck and call.

It's said that the M4 is one of south Wales's coronary arteries. A fair analogy. Yesterday's fire should serve as the heart attack that prompts lifestyle changes. Invasive heart surgery is something everyone should want to avoid, and quite often, never solves the underlying problems.

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Welsh Government's Legislative Programme

This week, the First Minister outlined the Welsh Government's legislative programme in more detail for the coming Assembly term in a statement to the Assembly (available here at Click on Wales). In my last post on this a few weeks ago, I was critical of the lack of ambition shown. Although I haven't greatly changed my stance since then, there are a few outlined Bills that could turn out to be very good laws.

That doesn't change the fact that many of them are what I would call "administrative". By that I mean they relate largely to the machinery of government and wouldn't have any noticeable impact on the Welsh public. In short, bordering on a waste of time and resources. Micromanagement at it's finest Welsh Labour best. There are obviously exceptions to that.

With no fewer than twenty one proposed bills, I think the phrase "less is more" should be drummed into the skull of every current and future Welsh Minister.

In the First Minister's speech, he clumped the proposed legislation into five bands. Below is a summary of what each bill is intended to be as well as some short commentary.

1. Environment, Sustainability & Heritage

(Click to enlarge)

2. Young People

(Click to enlarge)

3. Protecting Vulnerable People

(Click to enlarge)

4. Health

(Click to enlarge)

5. Improving Government

(Click to enlarge)

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The Banana Kingdom - NOTW scandal exposes UK's uncomfortable truths

It's said there are "worse revelations on the way" in the ongoing News of the World scandal, which beggars belief. This is what could be described as a "moral event horizon". The bottom of barrels haven't just been scraped, they've been punched through into the stinking mulch underneath.

The great irony in all this, is that a 168-year old newspaper's closure has been sped-up by the cynicism it - and other tabloids - have fermented in the "British" public's psyche. It's also ironic that it was brought down by the classic, tenacious investigative journalism that it used to be known for a long time ago.

It goes without saying that this investigation will expand to include other newspapers as well, the NOTW mess just opened the door.

This scandal has exposed some very good things about "Britain"; how it operates, the public and the entire foundation of its political system. It's also brought an awful lot of bad things to the fore.

Firstly, the relationship between the police and journalists. A sizable section of the "British" public have a blood curdling thirst for revenge - not justice - fuelled by populist UK criminal justice policy, and a runaway media that leaves no stone uncovered in the search for a byline. If this thirst extends to harassing victims families, or hacking dead teenagers phones, so be it. It sells papers.

Since they can't go to the local gallows anymore, the closest thing to that is seeing a villain plastered all over a front page, getting their comeuppance. Even better if it's a "celebrity". It's been alluded to that the only place journalists could get the information is from the police. "Britain's top police force" - the same force considered the most important in "EnglandandWales" - perhaps the whole UK, seems to have a sticky finger or two in this scandal. Can it really be considered fit enough to investigate itself?

Jac O' the North has an excellent piece on this, and although he links it very much to England - perhaps rightly - the anomaly of "EnglandandWales" makes this particular police problem as much ours too.

Secondly, the relationship between the media - especially the print media - and past and current UK governments. What's clear from this scandal is just how spineless MPs have been in standing up to the "Murdoch Empire". It's all very well the likes of Tom Watson and Chris Bryant making a creditable and welcome stand once the worst-of-the-worst is out, and News International is at it's lowest, but why didn't they do this years ago? Vince Cable can certainly consider himself largely vindicated now at least.

It wasn't the Sun "wot" won the 1992 UK Election for the Tories, it was Neil Kinnock's cringe-worthy triumphalism in Sheffield. Labour were never home and dry at any point during that campaign. After that result, Labour and Tories alike believed that, to win elections, you need the Murdoch Media on "your side". They wanted to think that winning elections was as easy as keeping the right red-top on side for a few months every 4 or 5 years. By doing this, they helped create a monster. The ultimate playground bully.

The reactions from MPs the last week have been akin to seeing that rather unpleasant kid in the playground kicked in the bollocks for the first time. Now they're all clamouring (especially Labour) to stick in a boot while they can. They know this is the best chance to "take back some power" for themselves from the press and Rupert Murdoch.

Except they've had the power the whole time. They've just been too cowardly to use it. They've allowed themselves to be far too concerned about how they look. Of course if our MPs and celebrities were better behaved in the first place, they might not have had any reason to "fear" the tabloids.

People like to call Westminster the "mother of Parliaments". It appears as though far too many of our MPs have been infantalised by this, and too busy preening in the mirror to do their job properly. Hugh Grant, Steve Coogan and yes - even the devolved administrations - look grown up by comparison. Is Westminster really fit for purpose? Or are they just a bunch of wimps? Wednesday's motion on delaying the BSkyB bid looks set to be a big test of this.

Then there's the amount of power held by elite social circles. Whats been dubbed the "Chipping Norton Set" seems to be involved. All that power and influence held by just just a dozen people, even fewer if you discard the likes of ex-Blur bassist Alex James and Jeremy Clarkson. I've no doubt that similar social circles exist in Wales, but it does put the whole "taffia"/crachach thing in perspective. Getting inducted to the Gorsedd of Bards or wangling a job at S4C aren't on the same scale.

There's the prospect of an establishment civil war over this, a second English civil war if you will. The "Cavalier" pro-market, pro-press/Murdoch, anti-regulation elite versus the "Roundhead" pro-press regulation, pro-BBC, anti-Murdoch elite. Instead of the battlefield, it'll be fought in the corridors of Westminster, social networking and - ironically - the press and broadcasters.

What's disturbing is we could be heading for knee-jerk restrictions on press freedom and we - those who read and buy the news rather than make it - will have very little say on the matter.

It'll be caught up in our convoluted "Westminster" parliamentary system for years. Where there is no clear separation of powers, there are an awful lot of grey areas and back alleys where things can be "lost" or conveniently forgotten about. The "British" constitution should be a few pages absolutely everyone in the land can understand. It shouldn't be a library. Wales has an opportunity to do things differently should we decide to in the future.

If this had happened in some "tin pot" eastern European country (the kind Conservatives in particular like to compare Wales to), some African dictatorship or even the United States, the flag wavers for the British project would be reminding us all how great it is to live in a "free", "honourable", "model democracy".

While they get dewy-eyed looking at the Union Flag at the top of Big Ben, they neglect to mention that the Thames stinks of sewage and has done for some considerable time.

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Poverty of ambition hurts Wales most

Some more feel-good news today from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The Welsh Government's long-held target to eradicate child poverty by 2020 is going to be missed spectacularly if the rate doesn't fall at least four times as fast over the next ten years as it has over the last ten.

In its research, entitled "Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in Wales 2011", the findings conclude that:

• Half of children in poverty in Wales belong to working families.
• Half of the improvement in child poverty rates has been lost in the last 5 years.
• 600,000 people in Wales, including 100,000 pensioners are in relative poverty, 23% of the population.
• One third of adults are disabled or have a disabled partner.

Statistical Tricks

Relative poverty is defined as income falling below 60% of the UK median - once adjustments are made for household size, housing costs and taxation. That median - being a whole UK figure - will no doubt suffer from the "bubble distortion" of South East England and London.

Wales - with average incomes at about 90% of the UK average - is always going to come off relatively badly in these statistics. These statistics also don't take into account the cost of living, which is marginally lower in Wales.

It's safe to say that the "real" relative poverty marker in Wales - 60% of the Welsh median incom -, is lower than that of the rest of the UK. That's probably the same case in other nations and regions as well - for example, the North East England and Northern Ireland.

£290 a week for a couple with two children in Merthyr Tydfil will go further than £290 in Berkshire, yet both will be classed as in relative poverty. Surely "relative poverty" should take these "relative" national and regional differences into account.

The good news we shouldn't ignore

Before we all hang our heads and browbeat ourselves about how we're all failures (the too poor, too thick, too sick gambit) the research also has some good news.

Firstly, that child poverty has fallen and remains lower than in 2000 - despite a recession rebound.

Qualification/skill levels in Wales are massively improved, with more people in Wales aged 25-44 possessing qualifications above Level 3 (A-Levels and degrees) and a big drop in those with qualifications below Level 2 (5 GCSE's A*-C). The unemployment rate in 2010 for those with Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications was lower compared to 2000.

Recent ONS statistics also showed that Wales has the lowest rate of workless households of all the Home Nations at just 1.3%. This will no doubt include a large number - of what the report describes as - "part-working families", for example, a single parent working part-time for the minimum wage. It's these people that have been let-down, as half of children in poverty in Wales belong to a "working household".

Could this be another distortion of the statistics?

Remember that the relative poverty line for a couple with 2 children is £300 per week after deductions. In many parts of Wales, for example the industrial estates of the Valleys, that would be considered a fairly average private sector wage and it would probably stretch a fair bit as well once cost of living is factored in.

I doubt many people in the wealthier parts of the UK would get out of bed for that money. It's a sad indictment of the "race to the bottom" in terms of wages, rising inflation and additional burdens on families such as the VAT rise.

Setting Impossible Targets

"Eradicating child poverty by 2020" is going to be engraved on Welsh Labour's tombstone.

Those parties that decided to ride along with it in the May election should be breathing a sign of relief that they don't have to deliver that pledge - despite foolishly including it in their manifestos.

The report states that "full (time) working" would need to become the norm, the child poverty rate would need to fall four times faster than it has in the last ten years and there would need to be significant policy changes both in Wales (over devolved matters) and in Westminster on things like tax and welfare.

Good luck with that, Carwyn.

The report describes this pledge as "extremely ambitious". I'd describe it as insane.

Relative poverty isn't going to go away. By definition there'll always be a section of the population that have an income below 60% of the median (even if incomes dramatically increased) through no fault of their own. Sadly, children will be caught up in this as well. The recession almost wiped out any progress made in this area in Wales. One of those benefits of being part of the UK, eh?

Having said that, I can't fault the ambition. It's a bit like wanting Wales to win the World Cup. The FIFA World Cup.

Poverty of Ambition

Wales is locked in a cycle of self-fulfilling prophecy and depression. We're naturally pessimistic as a people. We lack confidence and vision. Worse of all, we don't know how to handle success, only manage failure. This is an attitude that's prevalent in our media, our public debate, our homes and to a certain extent our levels of government as well.

There are certain communities in Wales that have been severely let down by the powers that be and by themselves. It isn't a human rights violation to travel from the Valleys to Cardiff to work (if there are jobs in the first place). Likewise it's not right to expect them to do so on scatty, inefficient public transport - only to earn slightly more than they would on benefits.

People shouldn't allow themselves to fall out of education, likewise they should have opportunities to learn to their strengths and not forced down narrow, academic routes.

If we are going to break this cycle, it's not going to be done through reports and commentary from various groups who mean well but tell us what we already knew. Wales needs action, and it doesn't stop at the steps of the Senedd or Westminster, but in every single household of the nation.

Only Wales can better itself - nobody is going to do it for us. We can all aim higher, but we don't have to lose sight of the ground in doing so by aiming for impossible goals or making wacky pledges.

Sometimes it's as simple as trying something new, learning a new skill or taking a new idea to people who can make it a reality.

Government can enable it, but ultimately it comes down to personal responsibility and self-respect - not just as a nation but as individuals that still have something to offer one another no matter how hard times might be.

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