Gordon Brown- no 'Wales only fixes to devolution', but a different story for Scotland.

So Gordon Brown says at the Welsh Labour Conference that there are no 'Wales only fixes' to devolution, yet the day after he announces that he wants to take a fresh look at new powers for the Scottish Parliament, including that of tax raising powers. Now, if this isn't double standards I do not know what is. But this isn't surprising of course. This is merely following the same old pattern that the Labour party have adopted towards devolution- one solution for Scotland, and another minor, watered down version for Wales.

The situation is a little different now however, in that both Nationalist parties are in Government in one form or another. The SNP are in Government alone in Scotland, and are way ahead in the polls. This has led Labour to scurry around in a frenzy, thinking of a way to win back the ground that they have so clearly lost to the SNP. Trying to appear to appease the Nationalists may well be one way of taking ownership over the National question, and of seeking to dispel the excitement over a referendum on Independence. It could work to their advantage, or it could indeed backfire, and make the SNP gloat even more so! The majority of Labour MP's from Scotland are still fighting the devolution agenda, but that is only to be expected, as much like their colleagues in Wales, they realise that they are losing their power base, and their capacity to be recognised on a UK level.

In Wales however, coalition Government and the Labour Unionist wing's determination to fight against further devolution for Wales means that Labour in London are much more cautious in their attitudes towards further powers for Wales than in Scotland( Gordon Brown also does not hail from this neck of the wood, which is another reason for his lack of enthusiasm for Wales)
Paul Murphy's words over the weekend regarding the Convention are case in point, so too are Peter Hain's former remarks, although they are unimportant now. Our devolution settlement was a hotch potch of ideas rammed together, and so it has progressed as such unfortunately. It is only until we have a Parliament for Wales that we can hope for clarity, and continue to strengthen Wales and its Government.

There is another establishing committee of the All Wales Convention tomorrow in London. I doubt whether Gordon Brown will make any shock announcements regarding Welsh devolution to coincide with this meeting. All that I hope for is that we can ensure that the Convention is a success and that it is not undermined by regressives in the Labour party in Wales who are intent upon its downfall. Yet again, we must look to Scotland for inspiration, and find the confidence to push on with the progression of the debate surrounding more powers for Wales, and a referendum to follow.

Scottish Parliament Petitions Committee

I'm going to Scotland today as we have a full day at the Scottish Parliament tomorrow looking at how their petitions committee works. Ours is a very new committee therefore we want to get some idea of their best practise, and how we can potentially mirror this in Wales. Of course, we have ideas of our own as a committee, but I'm sure it will be interesting to see how another such committee works- how they communicate the system, how they get people involved, and how their process works in practise.

Rwy'n mynd i'r Alban heddiw gan fod gen i ddydd llawn yn Senedd yr Alban yfory yn edrych ar sut mae ei pwyllgor deisebau yn gweithio. Mae ein pwyllgor ni yn weddol newydd, felly da ni am weld sut mae'r pwyllgor yn yr Alban yn gweithio yn effeithiol. Wrth gwrs, mae gennym ni syniadau unigryw ein hun ar sut dylai'r pwyllgor gweithio, ond mae'n sicr y bydd gweld sut mae'r pwyllgor yn yr Alban yn cyfathrebu'r system, yn ennyn ymrwymiad i waith y pwyllgor deisebau yn fuddiol i ni fel Aelodau Cynulliad.

Labour meltdown in Scotland

I think that this SNP billboard ad is very effective and simple. It defines the difference between their priorities for Government, and Labour who wish to invest billions in renewing the trident nuclear programme.

It seems that Labour are in meltdown in Scotland, what with Labour considering to move operations to develop Trident from it's Scottish base to Devon due to mounting opposition in the country to new nuclear arms, and following the latest revelation that Labour in Scotland have used high ranking party officials posing as members of the public in their party political broadcast!

I've been watching some of the BBC Scotland election coverage when I find the time, and I must say it's quite exciting, especially given that the SNP are doing so well in all the polls. Independence is obviously a hot election topic. We will know soon after May the 3rd whether the SNP's hopes of initiating a referendum on the issue will become a reality.