A Year In Review, Part Two
Wales sometimes comes across as a nation full of people squabbling. A lot of political sniping goes on, not unusually between people in the same party, or at least on the same side of the debate. Wales spent the Eighties and early Nineties effected negatively by the Conservative government in Westminster. A socialist country by a large margin, yet governed by a party elected by people elsewhere, it stands as an example of why decentralisation is important. Even if we remove cultural and traditional considerations from the debate, growing up where I did has strengthened my view that power should be devolved as far as possible to the people whom it effects.
As a philosophy, I believe strongly in proportional representation, in local control, in self-determination and in giving everyone a voice: even those whom I don’t share political beliefs with. As I said yesterday, it was unfortunate that Welsh Conservatives did not have a voice in Parliament due to the first-past-the-post voting system, and a tragedy that Welsh national policy in previous decades was controlled by a party that a significant proportion of the nation did not vote for.
The advent of the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff Bay has been both lauded and criticised, sometimes appropriately and sometimes not. For my own part, I’m proud that we have it, proud to work for it, and proud of what it’s been able to achieve so far. But not as proud as I was earlier this year.
The Welsh Assembly elections were somewhat dramatic. Labour did not gain enough Assembly seats to form a majority government, and would have to form a coalition to govern. The same happened in the first election, after which a coalition was formed between them and the Liberals. But this time was a little different. The other three parties, usually at each other’s throats, considered forming a rainbow coalition, one that would have put Ieuan Wyn Jones, the Plaid Cymru leader, into the First Minister’s chair. As events transpired over a tense few weeks, the rainbow talks broke down over the reluctance of the Liberals to take part.
I was a little torn about the outcome. On one hand, the idea of a nationalist-led Assembly government was a historic one. But it would mean forming an alliance with the Conservatives. It made sense to many; as previously mentioned, there is a conservative streak in the Plaid camp. In cynical political terms, some were opposed on the grounds that a move would alienate voters in the Valleys (traditionally very socialist), a group Plaid has worked hard to appeal to over the past couple of decades. Ultimately, though, I thought that the politicians should listen to the voice of the people. The majority had voted for either Plaid or Labour. It was these two that should form a coalition.
I admit to being a little disappointed when the rainbow talks failed, not only because I wanted a Plaid-led government but also because I thought it would mean that Labour would continue as a minority government. There was a real chance that had Labour tried to limp along on their own, the Assembly would fast become a lame joke, unable to utilise effectively any of their new powers under the Government of Wales Act 2006.
And that’s a suitable cliffhanger to end on today.
