A Family Tale

There once was a very large and influential family, but over the years many of the family members drifted away and they found themselves scattered in all four corners of the world. However, despite going their separate ways, they still remained friendly (or most of them anyway) and even met up occasionally at family get togethers.

The family gradually reduced in size until there were just three children and Mother remaining.

One of the children, Andrew, had always been very troublesome and outspoken, and wanted a home of his own. So eventually Mother let him have his own house, but kept on sharing the chores and helping out with the bills, and he stayed close to Mother.

At the same time, Mother also let one of the other children, Norman, have his own house. Norman had a troubled history, and a few years earlier had been involved in a messy divorce with his partner, Pat, which left him with some unresolved issues.

The other child, David, also wanted a house of his own, although wasn't as outspoken as Andrew. Mother was not at all keen on this but she let David have a small flat, but with very little furniture, and which was clearly inadequate.

David felt cheated, and after 10 years Mother gave him some more furniture but she simply refused to give him a house like the other two children.

"Why" said David? "Its just not fair!"

" I am bigger than Norman, and am actually older than Andrew"

But Mother said "That is the point - I cant let you go because you were my first - if you go then I will be left with nothing!"

David replied "But I am not going anywhere - I will just be next door - I am not leaving the family!! But cant you see that the longer you keep me in this tiny flat while my brothers have their own houses, the more likely it is that one day I will want to leave for good!!"

But sometimes, it was pointless trying to reason with Mother.............................

Carwyn's Tool Box

How does Carwyn Jones sell the referendum?

“Well, I could talk about the constitutional situation in Wales, but can I explain it in this way? You hire three workers. With two of them, you give them a full set of tools. Call them Scotland and Northern Ireland. The other worker, you give that person an empty box and you say, ‘Each time you need a new tool, come to me, explain why you want that tool and then I’ll decide whether I’ll give you that tool.’ That’s Wales. What we want is a full set of tools in the same way as Scotland and Northern Ireland, so we can do the job properly.”

Da Iawn Carwyn!!!

Five Reasons to Vote YES

The starting gun has now been fired, but the campaign proper will not begin until after the General Election in May. But that does not mean we should sit back and let True-Monmouthshire dominate the headlines with their lies and distortions.

So to get things started, I suggest promoting some simple positive messages - these are my suggestions - give me yours:

Locality
Wales is not part of England, and we have different priorities, structures and traditions. The Westminster ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach has proven disastrous for the Welsh economy over the last 50 years, and we need to be able to develop local solutions to our particular circumstances.
Government of Wales - For the people of Wales - By the people of Wales

Equality
Scotland and Northern Ireland have had law making parliaments for over 10 years, while Wales has been grudgingly granted only limited powers. Even following a Yes vote we would still not have the same powers as Edinburgh or Belfast, but at least it would close the gap.
Ensuring a Union of Equals

Efficiency
The Assembly already has limited law-making powers but in order to get them it has to follow an extremely tortuous, expensive and time-consuming procedure (the infamous LCO process). A Yes vote would eliminate this cotly process and give the Assembly the ability to act quickly and decisively.

Better Government

Less Politicians
The number of AMs will remain unchanged when they receive their additional powers, so they will actually have to work that little bit harder for their money. But it does mean that the number of Welsh MPs can be reduced in line with their English & Scottish colleagues, probably from 40 to 32.
Less Government

More Jobs
The transfer of powers should also mean the transfer of some civil servants jobs from Whitehall to Cardiff, as well as the creation of some new positions in the media, and lobbying groups etc. Not exactly a replacement for our lost manufacturing base, but at least bringing some well paid jobs back into our economy.

Welsh Jobs