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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The things they say

On BBC Radio Wales this morning a ten year child from Swansea was being interviewed. He has been invited to a party at the Senedd today to mark the Assembly's own tenth anniversary celebrations as he was born on 12 May 1999, the day of our first meeting.

When asked what he was hoping to get for his birthday he said an ipod. Ouch!

In this morning's Western Mail, David Williamson reports on Rhodri Morgan's speech last night at his own party to commemorate the tenth anniversary of our inaugural meeting. He told the assembled audience that a Tory Government at Westminster might well lead to a majority Labour Government in Cardiff Bay. He also hinted at the possibility of a coalition with the Welsh Liberal Democrats after the next Assembly elections.

David Williamson reports it thus: And in a series of comments guaranteed to send tremors through the Assembly, he raised the possibility of a Liberal Democrat return to government and warned that future partners could not be taken for granted.

Charming!
Comments:
You will need a substantial political cleansing process following your period in bed with the tories before that happens and if by then you are propping up a tory govt. In london you will be politically untouchable in wales.
 
What world are you living in. I do not recall any of this happening. Can I suggest you rejoin us in reality?
 
I doubt that you'll have to wait so long Peter. Plaid will want to dump Labour in Cardiff as soon as Labour lose in Westminster, and I doubt that the Labour AMs who don't much like the Nats at the best of times will lose the opportunity to get in first as soon as Rhodri's retired.
 
Peter,

Nowt like Lib Dem amnesia. Did you never negotiate a coalition deal with the Tories in Wales and vote for it in your special conference in 2007? I will also lay odds with you that if Parliament is hung in 2010 Clegg will jump inoy bed with Cameron.
 
It seems like your Labour amnesia is worse. The negotiation was with Tories and Plaid (you present partners) and it didn't happen because Plaid decided to go with Labour instead. I doubt if your speculation can count as hard facts.
 
The point Peter is that your party were prepared to go into government with the Tories and Labour was not. Voting Welsh Labour guarantees you don't get Tories and voters can be confident of what they are getting. After 2007 voters know a Liberal vote may well give them Tory Ministers in Wales. Thats the facts. We will see how the Welsh electorate react to them.
 
You are grasping at straws again. This sort of negative campaigning has run its course. People are interested in what we can do for them not who we do it with. In any case there is little difference between Labour and the Tories on policy whilst at present your party is about as popular as black death, whilst the Tories are on 40%. How is this tactic an effective one?
 
Because Peter who you do it with will have a profund effect on the people of Wales and you need to be honest with them. You know quite well that the vast majority of Welsh people do not want the Tories in office here. If your party is prepared to join a government with the Tories that is a very material fact for voters. Labour rule out working with Tories in government and you don't. That says alot about your party, and its principles and voters need to be fully aware of it. They can then make their minds up fully aware of the potential consequences of voting liberal democrat. Why are you worried about voters knowing you would join the conservatives in office? If you take the view it is an acceptable political expedient make that argument and let the voters decide.
 
You make a lot of assumptions here but you are saying a lot more about your mindset than mine or my parties. My concern is that we deliver the best deal for the people of Wales and if that involves working with conservative parties such as New Labour then so be it.

I am not concerned or worried because we will be going to the polls in 2011 with a clear raft of costed policies and an understanding that we may need to work with other parties to deliver them. People understand that. They prefer to see politicians working together than retreating to their bunkers as you are.

What matters is not who we work with but what we plan to deliver and you can rest assure that we will want to get as many of our policies into such a deal as possible and make such a government as liberal as we can.
 
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