http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/ Welcome to ‘Gog in the Bay’, the occasional diary of a political journalist. My name is Tom Bodden, the Welsh Affairs Correspondent of The Daily Post, which is North Wales’ best selling newspaper. I am based full-time at the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff Bay. en Copyright 2008 Wed, 14 May 2008 10:36:20 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Huw Lewis, AM for Merthyr Tydfil, and Leighton Andrews, Rhondda, are among those unhappy at a lack of consultation over the guidelines, as is Plaid's Bethan Jenkins. Surprisingly, Lib Dem uber-blogger Peter Black, an Assembly Commissioner, disagrees. The aim of the Assembly Commission is to control the use of the costs allowance paid to AMs to run their offices. With presiding officer Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas promising a major overhaul of AMs' expenses - but not till after the next election - could this be the taste of what's to come? ]]> http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/free_speech_but_not_on_expense_1.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/free_speech_but_not_on_expense_1.html blog expenses Wed, 14 May 2008 10:36:20 +0000 here, here and here. ]]> http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/whose_fault_is_it_really.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/whose_fault_is_it_really.html election labour leadership Tue, 13 May 2008 17:31:27 +0000 here. But you had better be quick. ]]> http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/chatter_ye_not.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/chatter_ye_not.html convention devolution referendum Thu, 08 May 2008 09:39:03 +0000 Gog in the Bay has got round to drawing up a list of links for the blog. It took some time but, hey, sometimes life is like that. Any suggestions for additions are welcome. http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/now_with_added_links_effect.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/now_with_added_links_effect.html blog links Wed, 07 May 2008 11:41:09 +0000 Gordon Brown is facing an uncomfortable test of his leadership qualities. Some of the same leftist MPs who actively sought his redesign of new Labour to replace that of Tony Blair are now among those piling the pressure on his premiership. http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/gb_feels_your_hurt_1.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/gb_feels_your_hurt_1.html elections gordon brown labour Mon, 05 May 2008 09:55:41 +0000 When the one in three voters entitled to make a choice heads for the polling booths on Thursday it is difficult to gauge what might fully motivate the direction of travel for the pencil to place that X in the box. More often than ever before, it seems driven by some mythical feel-good/bad factor or a raging single issue than a tribal political allegiance or general concern for the standard of schooling locally or lack of kerbside recycling. Lib dem treasury spokesman Vince Cable reckons that the backlash from Labour’s 10p tax gaffe - doubling the income tax rate for 195,000 Welsh people - could cost them up to 100 seats in Wales on Thursday. He said Wrexham Labour councillors have written to residents urging them to ignore the national picture and vote only on local issues: "All too often local elections become about national politics-what do you think of the Labour Government? However our local problems deserve a true vote on their own merits. We urge those of you planning to vote on polling day not to vote for or against us just because of our central party. " http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/04/x_marks_the_spot.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/04/x_marks_the_spot.html councils elections Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:52:56 +0000 Tea and Welsh cakes marked the retirement of top Welsh civil servant Sir Jon Shortridge as he gave a rare audience with the media in Cardiff Bay. The permanent secretary to the Assembly Government for nine years, Sir Jon, 61, is one of the old school. "I took the view I am a public servant, it doesn't necessarily make me a public person," he said. But he did offer some glimpses inside the world of a real-life 'Sir Humphrey'. http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/04/tea_and_welsh_cakes.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/04/tea_and_welsh_cakes.html permanent secretary sir jon shortridge Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:03:49 +0000 UPDATE: This from the Assembly Commission today: "The National Assembly has carried out a full internal review of the circumstances of the filming of ‘Caerdydd’. "We can confirm that at no stage of the negotiations about the use of the building for filming, or during the filming itself, was the content of the scene disclosed by the programme makers. "Despite this setback, the Assembly is committed to being open and accessible to all, including programme makers and we sincerely hope that this does not prevent us from working with responsible companies in future." And this from S4C: "S4C has looked into the circumstances surrounding the filming of drama series Caerdydd at the Senedd and is satisfied that the production company followed the correct procedures. "We are confident that Senedd personnel who dealt with this issue were not misled.” Spot the difference? This is becoming a true mystery. ]]> http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/04/sex_in_the_senedd.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/04/sex_in_the_senedd.html caerdydd s4c senedd sex Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:23:14 +0000 Corpsing is defined as breaking into uncontrollable laughter at exactly the wrong moment in front of a camera or audience. http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/04/yer_aving_a_larf.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/04/yer_aving_a_larf.html alun davies corpsing giggles Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:15:50 +0000 Surely, all Wales - apart from parts of Swansea - is now backing the Bluebirds to complete the remarkable feat of taking the FA Cup out of England for the first time since 1927. But at the other end of the footy spectrum, the outlook is black. Can we contemplate Wrexham playing Conference football, leaving just two Welsh clubs in the Football League?]]> http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/04/were_all_happy_bluebirds_now.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/04/were_all_happy_bluebirds_now.html cardiff city fc fa cup football wrexham Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:07:04 +0000 to scrap the contentious A494 'superhighway' through Deeside? Protesters will be happy but what do those drivers on the clogged uproad network from North Wales to the north west and those unhappily evicted from homes on the proposed route? Plaid Cymru is flexing its political muscle at its spring conference in Newport, what are the near-future prospects for the coalition with Labour? And the mighty Blues face the old enemy at Anfield on Sunday - will they show the world's greatest derby match on TVs in Florence without mentioning the Uefa cup penalty shoot-out? How can I go away?]]> http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/03/goglite.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/03/goglite.html blog comment Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:20:52 +0000 the report of the independent panel set up to deliberate on the contentious issue of AMs’ pay. This issue of the inflation-busting 8.3% pay rise, which flared up just before the recess, may well be thought to have burnt itself out by now. But there were a few questions raised in this report that were worth pondering, especially as they were disregarded by the commission which settled the pay deal.]]> http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/03/more_pay.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/03/more_pay.html ams pay report Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:19:27 +0000 Hat tip: David Jones MP) But the internet is increasingly becoming a refuge for disgruntled public sector staff. ]]> http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/03/civil_serfing.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/03/civil_serfing.html blog civil servants internet Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:48:55 +0000 UPDATE 2: Aberconwy AM Gareth Jones has just issued a statement declaring that he will not be accepting the recommended pay award as Plaid AMs opposed the 8.3% rise in principle. "In the first and second years, I will donate the above-inflation element (i.e. above 2.5%) of the pay award to local hospices - St David's Hospice, where I was a Trustee, and to Ty Gobaith Children's Hospice, and also to Aberconwy Women's Aid and the North Wales Air Ambulance." But he added: "More generally, I am not pleased that AMs are being seen to have a public row over whether they should get 76% or 82% of a MPs pay. "My view is that there should be parity of pay - MPs and AMs have an equivalent workload and an equivalent level of responsibility. "That could just as well be achieved in my opinion by reducing MPs pay to match that of AMs, especially since their actual responsibilities within Wales have been drastically reduced over the last eight years." ]]> http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/03/faith_hope_and_charity.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/03/faith_hope_and_charity.html AMs charity pay Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:34:59 +0000 predicted it. Now the political row has erupted about the inflation-busting 8.3% pay rise for our AMs. ]]> http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/03/what_you_pay_your_am.html http://goginthebay.welshblogs.co.uk/2008/03/what_you_pay_your_am.html AMs pay Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:48:27 +0000