Sunday 20 May 2018

A Plaid-Tory government would be disastrous for devolution.


 The idea that there could be Plaid-Tory government in the future is an intriguing one  and it's no surprise to see this.


Opposition politicians should work with Conservatives to form a future non-Labour Welsh Government, the Tory leader in Wales has said.

Andrew RT Davies issued the challenge at the Welsh Conservative conference in Ffos Las, Carmarthenshire.

He said the opposition's failure to cooperate so far stopped them "unlocking progress and prosperity".

Neither Party can be happy with Labour's hegemony in Wales and it seems that they are faced by being in permanent opposition.

On Friday, Mr Davies told the conference: "Beyond our own Conservative benches, there are immensely talented individuals with whom, looking ahead to the next assembly elections, I stand ready to work with to deliver the change in government Wales needs."
He said there were "only two roadblocks that I believe stop us unlocking this progress to prosperity that Wales needs".
"One is removing the Labour Party itself, and the other is those who acknowledge that Labour are the problem - but just can't bring themselves to work with the Tories to do anything about it."
Mr Davies added that it was 

"all well and good talking about what change in Wales you would want, but if you haven't got a route to get there, you're simply shouting from the sidelines".

With a third rate legislature (compared to Scotland) then I suppose it is possible a left leaning Independence Party and a Right leaning Unionist Party could work together running the NHS and Education  and making a better job of it.

But in reality to make real change we would need more powers in line with Scotland .

However with its limited powers the Tories seem to think we should simnply copy England.

As was made clear by Theressa May in her speech to the Welsh Conservative conference 

Theresa May told the Welsh Conservative conference Welsh ministers had "betrayed a generation of children".
She urged the Welsh Government to follow England's example by setting schools free of council control.
"We know about Labour's failures on the NHS, but their record on education is just as bad," she said.
She said Wales scored the lowest of the UK nation in the international PISA education tests, and was the only UK nation to score below the OECD average in reading.
"Let's not mince words," she said. "Labour have betrayed a generation of Welsh children."
Mrs May said the UK government had adopted some policies first introduced in Wales, such as a charge on the use of plastic bags and the presumed consent system for organ donations.
But she urged Mr Jones's successor to "take a look at what Conservatives have achieved in school reform".
"Look at the new curriculum which has driven up standards - with England now scoring higher in international studies," she said.
"Look at the free schools and academies that are bringing in diverse providers to create more excellent school places and getting some of the best results at GCSE.
"Look at the transformation in technical education that we are now leading - with high-quality T-levels and new Institutes for Technology - prestigious institutions that will offer technical education and training to young people and to those already in employment."

Well if if you accept her figures of course, but even if you did it would seem strange to have an assembly that simply rubber stamps Westminster's policy in England.

For some reason most of the media seemed to miss this part of May's speech

 
“We cannot let lines on a map stop us from acting in the best interests of our country” says



Apart from the sheer hypocrisy of Brexit in which Mes May wants to restablish lines  on a map, it is a chilling warning that Westminster Tories will seek to impse thier policies in Wales even where they are devolved.

Even if Plaid and the Tories did form an assembly government  and did make improvements , then they would lose heavily in the next election (especially Plaid) and Labour would increase thier stanglehold.

The lesson of Nick Clegg in taking his party into coalition with the Tories should not be lost .

Is it worth five years of sitting on the government for decades of obscurity?

A Plaid-Tory government  would result  in the National movement being put into reverse.

What Plaid should adopt is to support policies of benefit to Wales and its people and  a policy of demanding a commitment to parity with Scotland .

That could be achieved  from a minority Labour government.

I can't see what can be achieved  from going into a coalition with a right wing Unionist party which wants us to simply rubber stamp policies they have already imposed in England.




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