Oi, ref!

• Posted by Tom Bodden at 10:16 AM | add or read comments (0)

There is something faintly bizarre about the notion that a parent from Wales could legally chastise their child with a slap on the knuckles on a day trip to Chester while facing the full force of the law for the same ‘offence’ back home on Deeside.
Equally how would Welsh justice pursue the dad from Dudley who chooses to physically rebuke his toddler for defiantly running into a busy road in Aberystwyth?

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• Tags:
• devolution
• peter hain
• referendum

Halford Memoirs

• Posted by Tom Bodden at 8:13 AM | add or read comments (0)

The former Delyn Labour AM and Merseyside assistant chief constable Alison Halford is preparing to spill some beans in her Assembly memoirs.
The book, 'Leeks from the Back Benches', chronicles her time in Cardiff Bay from 1999 to 2003 when she stood down from the Assembly.
The dramatic resignation of first secretary Alun Michael; final annointment of Rhodri Morgan; fall-out from the coalition with the Lib Dems; Rod Richards and upheavel among the Tories; suspension from the Labour Group; being cleared of assault in her own court case; and the merits of Tory AM David Davies' bottom. It's all in there.
Heady days, indeed.
The frank insider’s view could make compulsive reading.
UPDATE: The main grouse from politicians attending the launch of the book at the Senedd was that there was no index - so that they couldn't look up their names to quickly check if the got a mention before laying out £14.99 for a copy.

• Tags:
• alison halford
• leeks
• memoirs

What's my line?

• Posted by Tom Bodden at 9:48 AM | add or read comments (1)

E-mail can be such a tricky medium.
An internal and normally secret Plaid Cymru briefing prepared for AMs to counter Lib Dems in a debate found its way - you guessed it - to Lib Dem support staff.
Well, Plaid special adviser Simon Thomas did tell his own party staff 'feel free to distribute!'.
The Lib Dems are keen to contrast Plaid's aspirations in opposition with delivery in government.
As an insight into the inner workings of government, the full briefing follows...

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• Tags:
• lib dems
• plaid
• Simon Thomas

Art for art's sake...

• Posted by Tom Bodden at 11:49 AM | add or read comments (0)

The £13.5m debt run up by the Wales Millennium Centre raises some fundamental questions over the public funding of the arts in Wales.
The prestige £106m theatre and opera house in Cardiff Bay is a fitting venue for any European capital city.
Just how much should taxpayers play the role of patron of the arts to ensure the widest access to the the performances there?

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• Tags:
• arts
• debt
• WMC

Suits you, sir!

• Posted by Tom Bodden at 3:30 PM | add or read comments (0)

Cheeky Tory AM Alun Cairns has revealed what some AMs really get up to during those long debates in the Senedd, thanks to the new technlogy installed in the chamber.
Apparently, one minister of the crown went shopping on-line for a new suit before checking out Radio 4's website for 'The Archers'.
The minister is furious that this should feature on the AM's blog and may have suggested that 'blogging' from the chamber falls into the same category.

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• Tags:
• alun cairns
• minister
• shopping

Making your mind up

• Posted by Tom Bodden at 3:11 PM | add or read comments (0)

Damned if he did, and damned if he didn’t.
Gordon Brown charted a course between the rock and the harder place and in the end that famous Scottish prudence curbed the younger apparatchiks’ lust for battle at the polls.
He's not the only leader with elections on his mind.

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• Tags:
• bucks fizz
• elections
• gordon brown
• mike german