tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post1284301789686803656..comments2024-03-26T09:38:39.888+00:00Comments on Borthlas: Changing the language of politicsJohn Dixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-40560091236448600832010-05-13T09:30:18.550+01:002010-05-13T09:30:18.550+01:00Anon,
Stating that the One Wales agreement is a &...Anon,<br /><br />Stating that the One Wales agreement is a <i>"coalition of agreed policy backed up by core principles"</i> whereas the Con-Lib Dem coalition in London is <i>"hatched from constitutional crisis because of the voting system and has required some fundamental flips in policy and principle of both parties involved"</i> looks to me like a projection of your own subjective view that one of them is 'good' and the other 'bad'. I'm not sure that it's as simple as that, not least because the smaller range of policy issues covered by the limited devolution settlement in Wales makes it look easier to come to an agreement.<br /><br /><i>"To transplant this positive onto the coalition that has recently developed in Westminster is rather tenuous"</i><br /><br />I don't think that I did. What I was arguing was rather that, if coalitions are likely to be normal, it is not credible for any party in advance of an election to demonise a party with which they are willing to deal post-election. And I certainly did not suggest that we should be the apologists for the deal in Westminster - merely that any critique of the Lib Dems needs to be made on the basis of what they have conceded and what they will achieve, not on the basis that they are 'Conservative poodles'.<br /><br />Considering it to be valid to criticise them for the very act of being willing to deal with the Tories is the sort of playground politics that Labour have been guilty of throughout the campaign - and ends up with us having to defend the idea that Labour is so significantly more progressive than the Tories that we can talk to one of them but not the other. That means we're following Labour's agenda, not our own.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-10859370739355499432010-05-12T19:57:26.665+01:002010-05-12T19:57:26.665+01:00I suspect that the 'OneWales' coalition be...I suspect that the 'OneWales' coalition between Labour and Plaid in the Senedd has considerable political synergy, and the way in which the policies have been implemented have to some extent put Plaid policy to the fore, and actually amplified the political differences between Labour in Wales and Labour in the UK context. It is a coalition of agreed policy backed up by core principles. Disagreements are peripheral, when not interfered with by London. To transplant this positive onto the coalition that has recently developed in Westminster is rather tenuous. The ConDem coalition is hatched from constitutional crisis because of the voting system and has required some fundamental flips in policy and principle of both parties involved. This is not style or language. It's a potch from necessity in a crisis. This may not such a good basis of stable government which some have us believe. Whilst I agree that Plaid should talk with the Westminster coalition to try secure the best interests of Wales, it's important to know who you are talking to, and how reliable is the conversation. It is also important to point out that Plaid is not just about getting the best deal for Wales, but that argument comes from the firm belief that greater autonomy leading to independence is one of our core values. The discussion with the previous administration in Westminster was them saying one thing one day and something else the following day. If the new administration in Westminster is now talking with two voices, these problems of direction and reliability are amplified. We have a LibDem MP speaking as viceroy for Scotland and an English Tory speaking as viceroy for Wales. We should tread carefully. I also think that if the response from the communities of Wales is a rejection of this potch in London, especially in the face of 'savage cuts', then Plaid should champion this politic on behalf of the communities of Wales. We should not be the apologists for a Westminster fudge because it's a constitutional requirement. I also don't see the position of the Labour Party on a whole series of issues as being so radically different from that of the Tories, but it is true that many people in Wales, rather naively, still expect this to be the case.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com