From yesterday’s Western Mail:
Reflecting on the first week of campaigning, Mr Hain said: “I think it has been a score-draw and now we are moving up a gear to start scoring shots in our opponents’ goals.”
Ignoring the spectacularly mixed metaphor, one must wonder in whose goals he thinks Labour have so far been scoring.
Perhaps he has the former candidate for Moray in mind?
Welsh Questions today, and I decided to piggy-back on a question on pensions tabled by Clwyd South’s Martyn Jones (for whom today was his swansong, as he is standing down at the general election):
Mr. David Jones (Clwyd, West) (Con): Many Welsh pensioners would now be enjoying a considerably more comfortable retirement if the then Chancellor, the current Prime Minister, had not decided in 1997 to abolish advance corporation tax credits for pension funds. Does the Secretary of State think, 13 years later, that that £100 billion raid on pension funds was right?
Mr. Hain: The truth is that pensioners are a great deal better off under this Labour Government. Pensioner households in Wales will be £1,500 better off this year, and the poorest third of pensioner households will be £2,100 better off. Why does the hon. Gentleman not stop his party, and its candidates and Members of Parliament, attacking policies such as free bus travel and free prescriptions for pensioners in Wales?
It is hardly surprising that Peter Hain refused to give a straight answer to the question. Gordon Brown’s smash and grab treatment of the pension funds is probably one of the wickedest acts of this Government, damaging confidence in the British pensions system and rendering the retirements of hundreds of thousands of pensioners less secure.
Labour should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Yesterday, I wound up for the Opposition in the annual St David’s Day debate in the Commons. The debate was opened by Peter Hain, who spent most of his time denigrating the Tories; he must be deeply worried, which pleases me greatly.
An intriguing moment came when the veteran Labour Member, Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley), spoke about her early days in Parliament:
Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab): I first became an elected Member in 1979, when the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Mr. Williams) was in Brecon and Radnorshire, which was in my European constituency. I hope that I do not embarrass him, but I was very grateful for his help at that time. We remain good friends, even though we are on opposite sides of the Chamber, and I hope that he might help me in other campaigns some time in the future.
Roger Williams, the MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, turned scarlet.
“Were you one of them, Roger?” asked Cheryl Gillan, but received no answer.
So was Roger a Labour supporter? Perhaps a reader knows the answer.
Posted in Cheryl Gillan, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Peter Hain, Roger Williams
Tagged Politics
A panicky-sounding Peter Hain is warning that Plaid Cymru could be contemplating dirty dealing after the election:
“Plaid could never form a government in Westminster, and all the signs emerging from their conference are that they would do a sordid deal with David Cameron.
“The Tories, propped up by Plaid, would be a change we in Wales cannot afford. The election this year will be a choice between a Labour government securing our economic recovery and jobs for Wales, or a Tory government putting everything at risk.”
Understandable anxiety, but I really do think that Peter ought to relax.
After all, most of the sordid deals that Plaid have done to date have been with the Labour party.
Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones appeared on the Andrew Marr Show this morning.
When it was put to him by Marr, quite correctly, that Wales was more badly affected by the recession than any other part of the country, Jones pooh-poohed the criticism, saying that “the figures were not that bad”.
Actually, the figures are very bad indeed; Wales is the poorest part of the UK and it would have been better for Mr Jones to own up to it and say what he proposes to do about it.
It would appear, however, that, like Peter Hain, Mr Jones is another Labour politician who believes that so long as Wales is doing better than Rwanda, everything in the garden is rosy.
For those of you who missed it, here is Peter Hain’s Rwanda moment (also featuring fellow Welsh blogger, David Cornock):
Just what is happening to the Labour front bench?
Hard on the heels of Peter Hain’s “Rwanda” gaffe comes another gem from Housing Minister John Healey, usually a safe pair of hands and regarded by many as the most competent minister outside the cabinet.
Asked on Radio 5 Live why there were so many house repossessions despite Government support schemes, Healey replied:
“In some cases there is no way round that and in some cases it is the best thing for the people who are struggling with these mortgages.”
Given that the principal function of housing ministers is to ensure that as many people as possible actually have houses, it is hardly surprising that Healey’s comments have attracted a considerable degree of press attention.
And if you think I’m indulging in unseemly gloating, let me assure you that I’m not. Foot-in-mouthitis is a condition that afflicts most politicians from time to time, particularly in the run-up to a general election. And none of us, sadly, is immune. It could well be my turn next.
Welsh Questions today witnessed a spectacular stumble by the normally sure-footed Peter Hain:
Mr. David Jones (Clwyd, West) (Con): Given that recently published figures show that economic inactivity in Wales is worse than in any other part of the UK, that three Welsh local authority areas are among the five poorest in the country, and that Wales has the highest rate of severe child poverty of all the home nations, what did the Secretary of State have in mind when he boasted last week that
“Wales is still a wealthy country”?
Complacent or what?
Mr. Hain: Does the hon. Gentleman not agree that, compared with Rwanda and most countries in the rest of the world—this is the point that I was making, if he had not chosen to take that quotation out of context—Wales is indeed still a wealthy country? Yes, we have suffered setbacks in the past few years, but we suffered terrible setbacks in the ’80s and ’90s. One of the reasons why we are in a strong position is that we have moved forward with investment to support businesses and the economy. That is one of the reasons why the number on incapacity benefit in Wales has come down by more than a fifth, when under the Conservatives it rose year on year.
Well, yes, I’m sure Wales is doing very nicely compared with Rwanda, which, according to the CIA World Factbook (excellent reference source, despite its spooky title) is:
a poor rural country with about 85% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture and some mineral and agro-processing… The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda’s fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and temporarily stalled the country’s ability to attract private and external investment… a majority still live below the poverty line of 250 Rwandan francs per day (about US$0.43)… Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and obtained IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in 2005-06.
On the other hand, I’m not entirely certain that the people of Wales would be wholly comfortable in the knowledge that their Secretary of State regards the landlocked African country as an appropriate benchmark for gauging their economic progress.
Some 24 hours after the Hoon-Hewitt putsch, there is still, so far as I know, no word from Welsh Secretary Peter Hain as to whether he is still supporting Gordon Brown.
Peter is not usually so shy and retiring, so can any significance be read into his failure to make his position clear?
This morning’s Telegraph report that a rift has developed between the Prime Minister and Peter Mandelson comes as little surprise. It has been very obvious for some weeks that Mandelson deeply disapproves of the strategy of entrenchment that the Prime Minister, together with the likes of Ed Balls, Alan Johnson and Peter Hain have decided to pursue, and is showing his displeasure through his absence.
Indeed, little has been seen of Mandelson – who was virtually omnipresent in the media in the first half of this year – since the Labour party conference in September. It was then that he urged delegates that the only way for the party to stand a chance of winning the general election was by welcoming and embracing change:
This will be a “change” election. Either we offer it, or the British public will turn to others who say that they do.
Of course, we must celebrate our record and be proud of defending it. We did fix the roof while the sun was shining…
But let us remember that you win elections on the future, not the past.
No doubt to Mandelson’s dismay, however, Brown has apparently decided that the future is the past. The PM and his allies have pursued an extraordinarily crude, class-based campaign that appears rooted in the mid-1970s. Peter Hain’s speech to the Welsh Grand Committee last week was a prime example of this unsubtle approach, which must be utter anathema to the urbane, calculating Mandelson.
The Telegraph tells us that Mandelson is now rarely seen in the No. 10 war room, having seemingly become “disengaged”.
If that is indeed the case, it can only be to the Prime Minister’s detriment. He should remember that it was Mandelson’s recall to the colours that saved his bacon after his dreadful summer of 2008, when it was only David Miliband’s cold feet that prevented his being ousted.
This close to a general election, Brown needs Mandelson badly. He should make his peace with the First Secretary without delay.
Posted in Alan Johnson, David Miliband, Gordon Brown, Labour Party, Peter Hain, Peter Mandelson
Tagged Politics
In the wake of yesterday’s statement by Jim Murphy on Scotland, Peter Hain, determined not to be outdone, today announced, with considerable fanfare and flourish, that he had secured from the Treasury a commitment that Wales would receive a “fairer funding agreement” than that provided by the Barnett formula:
The new arrangements are as follows:
Now call me a troublesome old nit-picker, but the “new arrangements” are nothing of the sort. All that Peter has announced in reality is that at the time of the next spending review the Government will think about whether or not Wales is disadvantaged and then may, just may, take some unspecified action.
Or not.
Peter Hain is clearly a man who knows how to drive a hard bargain.
Peter Hain appeared before the Welsh Assembly today on his annual visit to present the Queen’s Speech.
In fact, the Queen’s Speech featured little in the proceedings, which were devoted primarily to Tory-bashing; so far, so predictable.
However, Peter did spring a huge surprise when he announced that he, like Sir Emyr Jones-Parry, was a Swansea City fan.
The surely cannot be the same Peter Hain whose website informs us, in effusive terms:
Other than his family, Peter’s real passion is football and his beloved Chelsea FC which he first started supporting in 1965. As anyone who’s managed his diary knows, Chelsea matches come out of the diary at great risk to career and office calm (and on the rare occasions they lose a match is never the best time to ask for a day off).
“I have been a Chelsea fanatic since 1965 and have watched all the stars, like Peter Osgood the most brilliant striker in British football and worldwide, especially in his heyday before he broke his leg”.
Alas for Chelsea, Peter’s affections have now apparently been transferred from Stamford Bridge to the Liberty Stadium.
Nothing worse than a glory-chaser.
Peter Hain has given an interview in today’s Times, much of which – though by no means all – I agree with. It focuses on Afghanistan and the issues of governance and democracy that bedevil that country and will sadly continue to do so, notwithstanding the confirmation of Hamid Karzai as president.
In particular, I agree strongly with the following analysis:
For too long Afghanistan was misunderstood by the West, he says. “Mistakes were made in the past. In Iraq they had a state run by an evil dictator but Afghanistan has always been feudal. They don’t have a state, they have never had a state. We have to build a system of government that is more organic. We can’t just have a besieged government in Kabul — not just in terms of terrorist and security threats, but contempt from the people.”
Earlier this week, I spent a fascinating hour in the company of an Afghan tribal chief, elected to that position earlier this year, He and a number of other tribal leaders have combined to create an overarching local authority, with a view to improving security in their home areas and liaising with the US and British military commanders. I found him an inspirational man, and a brave one, too; he has survived a number of attempts to take his life.
The tribes, it seems to me, offer one avenue of real hope for the Western powers to find a way through the Byzantine complexity of Afghan social and political structures and engage with the local population. How the Karzai government can be accommodated in that process is a matter that remains to be worked out.
The news that Wylfa has been identified by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband as the site of one of the new-generation nuclear power stations will be very well received on Anglesey; the only pity is that the Government effectively wasted ten years by refusing to endorse nuclear in its first energy white paper.
Still, there is more joy in heaven and all that…
Even the former CND member and civil nuclear power opponent, Peter Hain, has given the Wylfa announcement a fairly enthusiastic welcome:
“It is important for the energy security of our country that we get a new nuclear round of building started as soon as possible.
“A new nuclear power station at Wylfa will provide us with a stable energy mix which includes renewable generation such as wind and tidal, as well as our investment in clean coal technology.”
Problem is that the only one of those technologies that may be described as in any developed is wind power, which makes it the low hanging fruit of renewables; it is, however, less than 30 per cent efficient. Tidal power is pitifully underdeveloped and clean coal is at little more than the experimental stage.
So nuclear is really the only means of reliable baseload generation that does not produce carbon emissions. Ed Miliband’s announcement is therefore, I repeat, most welcome.
Despite being ten years late.
Ignore my last post.
The Western Mail website is reporting that Peter Hain will make a speech this evening in which he will say that a Conservative government will “take Britain back to the days of patients dying on trolleys stuck in hospital corridors”.
Quite apart from being untrue, scaremongering baloney (the Conservatives have made a point of promising to protect the NHS budget), this is very puerile stuff that will probably dismay even Peter’s own supporters. The “stuck on a trolley” image is one that has haunted the NHS under Labour, as voters are only too aware, and I can’t think that Labour strategists would want voters to be reminded of it.
So it would appear that Peter’s temporary absence hasn’t taught him any lessons at all.
Leopard. Spots.
