your politics ed 1

8/14/2019 Your Politics Ed 1

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FREE EVERY MONTH 1ST Edition October 2009


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WAG Advertise for 3 yearcontract with new Kids Ad-vocacy BoardThe Welsh Assembly Government(WAG) has recently advertised for anew position within the newly cre-ated National Independent Advo-cacy Board (NIAB). The job pays areasonable 249 per day plus travelallowances, and apparently high-lights the long-standing commit-ment to strengthen the voice ofchildren and young people in theprovision of public services. Really?This is difficult to accept, the job is

for the position of Chairperson, ar-

guably the most important for the

newly established board. So why,right at the top of the advert, do the

WAG state that the successful appli-

cant would only be required to at-

tend Around 7 days per an-

num (Daily Post 10/09/09 pg31)

How on earth can the national as-

sembly claim the board will pro-vide a unique, informed and fully

independent account of the quality

of advocacy services for children

and young people in Wales to a de-

gree that is unparalleled elsewhere

in the UK or Europe. That is a high

standard to achieve in a weeks

worth of meetings throughout theyear. This is going to have to be one

special successful candidate. Good

luck.

The top left hand corner of the ad-

vert has the familiar Investors in

People tag. It would be brilliant ifthe WAG decided to invest time into

childrens advocacy services, as well

as the money spent on the NIAB, the

money spent on advertising the

posts, and most importantly, the

children involved.

LETTER OF THE WEEKDaft to change pudding nameI must register my utter disgust at therenaming of Spotted Dick in FlintshireCounty Councils dining room.Why? Have the council officials nothing

better to do (with public money)? Whatnext, coq au vin, knickerbocker glory, meat

balls etc?

However, my real concern is that this ac-

tion was taken because of several imma-

ture comments from a few customers.

Why has a minority managed to cause an

action affecting the majority what hap-pened to democracy?

I am also alarmed that these immature

people are employed by the council. Per-

haps this might explain some of the odd

decisions made by the council.

Tony BlackwellFlintDaily Post 10th September 2009


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Gordon, 58, from Scot-

land believes the

troops are doing a

great job and should

be supported.

POLITICS

PAGE 3


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THE TICK OF THE TIME-BOMBThe Lehman Brothers BankruptcyThe context was the Historic American

Presidential election campaign. The con-

sequence was collapse of the British

banking system and the near capitula-tion of the Worlds financial economic

markets. The cause? A bank without risk.

The Lehman Brothers Investment Bankwas the fourth largest in American his-

tory, it was a constant source of growingprofits and seemingly unbreakablegrowth records and risk-free invest-

ments. In

corporate

b a n k i n g

speak they

had re-duced all

risk in mortgage markets by

spreading any debt they purchased.

They sold it, in lots of different pieces, all

around the global financial markets.

They were huge fans of the NINJA mort-

gages (No Income No Job or Assets) withlow interest rates, that apparently gave

huge numbers of families a chance to

own there own property. What they did-

nt plan for was the subsequent rise in

interest rates, and vast numbers of re-

possessions. Billions and billions of dol-

lars worth of debt then became toxic.Why should this affect Lehman if they

had spread the debt and eliminated risk?

Not only were they using the compli-cated securities market to rob people of

cash, they were also taking advantage of

some generous (lying) valuations of thebanks own assets. They were cheating

the books.

This accounting scam was only discov-

ered when two of the Worlds biggestbanks stepped in to consider takeover

During the last weeks of

trading, Lehman Broth-

ers were losing 8 mil-

lion a minute.


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bids. Bank of America and Barclays

Bank were both very interested in

acquiring the profitable ele-ments of Lehman Brothers. They

were both quickly put off the take-over when they got access to theaccounts.

This bank was a cheat. The chief ex-

ecutive was paid a 30 million salary.The bank dished out over 5 billion to

company employees in pay and bo-

nuses. The individuals involved inlooking over the accounts described

what they found as horrifying.

The insatiable appetite for huge

profits, the kill or be killed philoso-

phy, the ridiculous belief that risk

had been removed from the financial

markets and that the system was cured

all led to a banking collapse that has hadfar reaching consequences.

The job losses at Lehman Brothers.

The job losses throughout the Financial

Markets, all over the World.

The collapse of RBS, Lloyds and NorthernRock, all now part-owned by the British

Taxpayer, at a cost which sees Britain bur-

dened with a huge budget deficit.

The cuts to British public services

(Hospitals and Schools) because of re-

duced budgets for councils and devolvedpowers.

The Lehman Brothers collapse was the

tick of an economic recession. This bank

was the tick of the financial bomb that

exploded all over the world in the weekafter its bankruptcy. This broken bank is

merely a tick in a clock that will come full

circle, will make gross profits, pay grossamounts and announce the end of risk

before collapsing in a heap for the aver-

age worker to suffer the consequence.

Thanks. What a bankersorry it was

another word I was after.


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Some examples of the ridiculousrhetoric and images used by a vari-ety of sources during the health-care reform debate currently grip-ping the American news agendaand causing huge concern withinthe Obama camp.A lot of this is made-up nonsense. A

smaller percentage is genuine con-

cern for greater government inter-

ference, however, the most worry-

ing examples are those created and

peddled by the huge health insur-

ance firms lobbying the media andpopulation with pure unadulter-

ated propaganda. A new and im-

proved form of advertising, or to be

more accurate, fake protest that

intends to show people power and

passion, through the belief in insur-

ance premiums.

I can understand a citizens concern

at change when it relates to health,

its natural. But I refuse to accept

that a vast number of Americans

have a fundamental and some-

times religious belief in paying

health insurance premiums. They

belief in quality healthcare. This

can be provided by the state, andthere are plenty of examples to

prove it.

The profit motive should never

have anything to do with health-

care. Medical research maybe and

who supplies the TVs in the pa-

tients room of course, but when itcomes to genuine care, and every-

body will encounter it at some

point in life, it should involve NO

financial transactions or concerns.

No mention of money or whether

its affordable. It should just hap-

pen, it should feel free, and should

only be about improving the pa-

tients health.


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The jobcentre is not a place filledwith happiness and optimism. Thejobcentre-members, the unem-ployed, are not filled with happi-ness and optimism. Why wouldthey be? They are unemployed.They are probably going througha dark time in life. Life has beenbetter. Debt problems mountingup. Bank balance going down. Joblosses rising at speed. Benefitsare claimed in record numbers.Job seekers allowance, employ-ment and support allowance, in-capacity benefit, income support,housing benefit, council-tax al-lowance and even free prescrip-tions. What is the world comingto!I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the job-centre. It was fascinating. The decor isneutral. The job seeking machines arehigh-tec. I walked down the newly car-

peted three stairs. There is no waitingarea, perhaps by design; you do not wantjob seekers waiting when they could beseeking. You do not want to pay thou-sands for hi-tech machines if the seekersare waiting and not seeking. However,the seekers have cheated the system andare sat down on window sills, leaningagainst walls, chatting on the mobiles, or

just stood up, waiting for personal em-ployment advisers.

The initial introduction caught me bysurprise the first time. There is a woodenpulpit in the middle of the room. Behindit stood two men. One man was well oversix foot, both ways. The other could have

stood directly behind the pulpit and beencompletely invisible. The twins. I hadnamed them in my head before I had thepleasure of hearing the security speech.

You got an appointment? blasted thesecurity guard (I have no idea what thesecurity guards are protecting, the jobs?Maybe?)

No...I.... I spluttered, taken aback by thefact everyone in the building also heardmy introduction.

Well, What you here for?

I was told to come by the benefit peopleon the phone. A simple explanation,easily understandable, I thought.

Have you got any identification?

Excuse me? I was unaware I had tried tobuy alcohol or indeed claim any moneyor, not yet, applied for any job.

Just need to see some ID.

Fine. I prove that I am not trying toapply for jobs under a false name.Heaven forbid.

Fine. (He gestured towards the everdecreasing gaps in the mythologicalwaiting room.)

Fine. I waited.

And waited...


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after standing about with thehigh-tech machine-dodgers for agood three minutes, I decided totake the plunge.I avoided the waiting crowd and took myplace behind one of the many available job-seeking machines.

I press the button marked This weeks jobs. Iwas delighted to find 1,397 vacant positions.

Wow. This is going to be easy. I then noticeseven cleaning vacancies, one as an energysalesmen with required driving licence (I dontdrive), and the other working in recruitment.Ah the irony. The rest of the jobs are over onehundred miles away. I can sympathise slightlywith the view held by Tory Norman Tebbitwhen he claimed you just have to get on yerbike and find a job, but this would be takingit to the extreme. The high-tech machine fillsyou with confidence, and then in a split sec-ond outlines the dire reality you find yourself

in. Thousands of jobs, just not where you live!I am awoken from my barrel of self-pity by theraised voices coming from the pulpit. Thesecurity guard is now stood across from ayoung lad, late teens early twenties maybe,socks tucked into tracksuit bottoms, and a hatthat would surely fall from his head were thesecurity guard to breathe any harder.

Your appointment was 2 hours ago. It hasbeen explained to you before that if you dont

make the appointment you do not receiveyour benefit.

But I need my cash man shouts the youngwhipper-snapper.

You have to admire his determination toretrieve what he believes his rightly his. Hismoney. His cash. His wages for being unem-ployed. He seems to have forgotten that

when you are unemployed, the governmentonly gives you the benefits if you agree to job

seek. Hence the name. You must turn up forthe fortnightly interviews. To explain how youare looking for a job.

You have to arrange another appointment

today, turn up, on time, with proof of whatjobs you have searched for, and only then canwe clear your payment.

As if man, all that work . . . OK.

The young man agrees, seemingly lost for anargument to the security guards efficient andauthoritative response.

At least now I can appreciate why The Centrefor Job Seekers has security guards. Thingscan get pretty emotional in this place. You canimagine that the security guards are fluent inJobcentre speak. They must have said it athousand times. Maybe that is why they alllost all enthusiasm for customer service. Be-cause surely thats what we are? Job-seeker =Customer. Or are we? It seems to me that thesecurity is in place to protect the staff workingAT the jobcentre. Presumably because all

jobseekers are raging maniacs, fuelled with adrive and desire to beat the rest of the unem-ployed to the scraps of available jobs. Thatsthe rat race. Unemployment is popular thesedays.

Because being jobless is the IN thing, whatwith the credit crunch and the economicdownturn. This has got to be an advantage. Itmeans more characters in the club. Singlemums. Students. Men in suits. Men in scruffs.

Hockey mums. Rugby dads. Then I hear myname. I walk over to the awaiting staff mem-ber. I mentally prepare for the upcominginterview.

Could you just wait on that chair, and youradvisor will call you into her office in a min-ute. Thank You.

I nod. Shaking my inner head in disbelief at

the fact that I have to wait. And wait....

JOBCENTRE DISTRACTIONS


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Politics in Wales forms a dis-tinctive polity in the widerpolitics of the United King-dom, with Wales as one of thefour constituent countries ofthe United Kingdom.Constitutionally, the United Kingdom

is de jurea unitary state with one sov-ereign parliament and government.

However, under a system ofdevolu-

tion (or home rule) adopted in the

late 1990s three of the four constitu-

ent countries within the United King-

dom, Wales, Scotland and Northern

Ireland, voted for limited self-government, subject to the ability of

the UK Parliament in Westminster,nominally at will, to amend, change,

broaden or abolish the national gov-

ernmental systems. As such the Na-tional Assembly of Wales (Cynulliad

Cenedlaethol Cymru) is not de jure

sovereign.

During the latter part of the 19th cen-

tury and early part of the 20th cen-tury the notion of a distinctive Welshpolity gained credence. In 1881 theWelsh Sunday Closing Act waspassed, the first such legislation ex-clusively concerned with Wales. De-

spite the failure of popular politicalmovements such as Cymru Fydd, anumber of institutions, such as theNational Eisteddfod (1861), the Uni-versity of Wales (Prifysgol Cymru)(1893), the National Library of Wales(Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru) (1911)and the Welsh Guards (GwarchodluCymreig) (1915) were created. Thecampaign for disestablishment of theAnglican Church in Wales, achievedby the passage of the Welsh ChurchAct 1914, was also significant in thedevelopment of Welsh political con-sciousness.

Without a popular base, the issue ofhome rule did not feature as an issuein subsequent General Elections andwas quickly eclipsed by the depres-sion. By August 1925 unemploymentin Wales rose to 28.5%, in contrast tothe economic boom in the early1920s, rendering constitutional de-bate an exotic subject.[1]In the sameyear Plaid Cymru was formed withthe goal of securing a Welsh-speaking Wales.[2]

Following the Second World War theConservative Government ofWinstonChurchill established the Council ofWales, an unelected assembly of 27with the brief of advising the UK gov-ernment on matters of Welsh interest[3].

The Labour Party had also partly re-appraised its view to devolution, es-tablishing in 1947 the Welsh Regional
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Council of Labour from the constituentparts of the party in Wales and as partof a move to plan the economy on an all-Wales basis. However, resistance fromother elements of the party meant thatthe machinery of government was not

similarly reformed until much later.

These reforms, in the guise of a WelshOffice and Secretary of State for Waleswere catalysed partly as a result of thecontroversy surrounding the flooding ofCapel Celyn in 1956. Despite almostunanimous Welsh political oppositionthe scheme had been approved, a fact

that seemed to underline Plaid Cymru'sargument that the Welsh national com-munity was powerless[4].

Further incremental changes had al-ready taken place, however, includingthe establishment of a Minister ofWelsh Affairs, together with a Digest ofWelsh Statistics in 1954, and the desig-

nation ofCardiff(Caerdydd) as Walesscapital city in 1955. Welsh nationalismalso experienced a modest increase insupport, with Plaid Cymrus share of thevote increasing from 0.3% in 1951 to5.2% by 1959 throughout Wales.

In 1964 the incoming Labour Govern-ment ofHarold Wilson created theWelsh office, with its powers aug-mented to include health, agricultureand education in 1968, 1969 and 1970respectively. The creation of administra-tion devolution effectively defined theterritorial governance of modern Wales.[5]

Labour's incremental embrace of a dis-tinctive Welsh polity was arguably cata-lysed in 1966 when Plaid Cymru presi-dent Gwynfor Evans won the Car-marthen by-election (although in fact

Labour had endorsed plans for anelected council for Wales weeks beforethe by-election). However, by 1967 La-bour retreated from endorsing homerule mainly because of the open hostil-ity expressed by other Welsh Labour

MPs to anything "which could be inter-preted as a concession to nationalism"and because of opposition by the Secre-tary of State for Scotland, who was re-sponding to a growth ofScottish na-tionalism.[6]

In response to the emergence of PlaidCymru and the Scottish National Party

(SNP) the Government set up in 1969the Royal Commission on the Constitu-tion (the Kilbrandon Commission) byHarold Wilson's Labour Government toinvestigate the UKs constitutional ar-rangements.[7]Its eventual recommen-dations formed the basis of the 1974White Paper Democracy and Devolution:proposals for Scotland and Wales.[7],which proposed the creation of a WelshAssembly. However, voters rejected theproposals by a majority of four to one ina referendum held in 1979.[7][8]

The election of a Labour Government in

1997 brought devolution back to the

political agenda and in September 1997

an elected Assembly with competence

over the Welsh Offices powers was nar-rowly approved in a referendum. TheNational Assembly for Wales (Cynulliad

Cenedlaethol Cymru) was created in

1999, with further authority devolved in2007, with the creation of a Welsh legal

system to adjudicate on specific cases

of Welsh law.
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The population of Wales in the UnitedKingdom Census 2001 was 2,903,085,which has risen to 2,958,876 accord-ing to 2005 estimates. This would

make Wales the 136th largest countryby population if it were a sovereignstate.

According to the 2001 census, 96% ofthe population was White British, and2.1% non-white (mainly ofAsian ori-gin).[60]Most non-white groups wereconcentrated in the southern port

cities ofCardiff,Newport and Swan-sea. Welsh Asian communities devel-oped mainly through immigrationsince World War II. More recently,parts of Wales have seen an increasednumber of immigrants settle fromrecent EU accession countries such asPoland - although some Poles alsosettled in Wales in the immediateaftermath of World War II.

In the 2001 Labour Force Survey, 72%of adults in Wales considered theirnational identity as wholly Welsh andanother 7% considered themselves tobe partly Welsh (Welsh and Britishwere the most common combina-tion). A recent study estimated that35% of the Welsh population have

surnames of Welsh origin (5.4% ofthe English population and 1.6% ofthe Scottish also bore 'Welsh' names).

[61]However, some names identifiedas English (such as 'Greenaway') maybe corruptions of Welsh ('Goronwy').Other names common in Wales, suchas 'Richards', may have originatedsimultaneously in other parts of Brit-

ain.

In 2002, the BBC used the headline"English and Welsh are races apart" toreport a genetic survey of test sub-

jects from market towns in Englandand Wales.[62]However, other recentresearchers, such as Bryan Sykes andStephen Oppenheimer, have argued

that the majority of modern-day Eng-lish and Welsh people trace a com-mon ancestry to migrants who ar-rived in the British Isles during theMesolithic and the Neolithic periods.

In 2001 a quarter of the Welsh popu-lation were born outside Wales,mainly in England; about 3% were

born outside the UK. The proportionof people who were born in Walesdiffers across the country, with thehighest percentages in the SouthWales Valleys, and the lowest in MidWales and parts of the north-east. Inboth Blaenau Gwent and MerthyrTydfil 92% were Welsh-born, com-pared to only 51% in Flintshire and56% in Powys.[63]One of the reasons

for this is that the locations of themost convenient hospitals in whichto give birth are over the border inEngland[citation needed].

Around 1.75 million Americans reportthemselves to have Welsh ancestry,[64]as did 467,000 Canadians in Can-

ada's 2006 census
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Census_2001http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Census_2001http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_populationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_populationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White%28people%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Asianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-59http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-59http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swanseahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swanseahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlargement_of_the_European_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Force_Surveyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-60http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-60http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-61http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-61http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Sykeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Oppenheimerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_history_of_the_British_Isleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_history_of_the_British_Isleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolithichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Wales_Valleyshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Wales_Valleyshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaenau_Gwenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merthyr_Tydfilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merthyr_Tydfilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintshirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powyshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-62http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-62http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Americanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-63http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-63http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-63http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Americanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-62http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powyshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintshirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merthyr_Tydfilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merthyr_Tydfilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaenau_Gwenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Wales_Valleyshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Wales_Valleyshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolithichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_history_of_the_British_Isleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_history_of_the_British_Isleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Oppenheimerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Sykeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-61http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-60http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Force_Surveyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlargement_of_the_European_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swanseahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swanseahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-59http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Asianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White%28people%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_populationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_populationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Census_2001http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Census_2001http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population


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Nationalist revival

In the 20th century, Wales saw arevival in its national status. PlaidCymru was formed in 1925, seeking

greater autonomy or independencefrom the rest of the UK.

In 1955, the term England and Wales be-came common for describing the area towhich English law applied, and Cardiffwasproclaimed as capital city of Wales. Cym-deithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (English:TheWelsh Language Society) was formed in1962, in response to fears that the lan-

guage may soon die out. Nationalismgrew, particularly following the flooding ofthe Tryweryn valley in 1965 to create areservoir supplying water to the Englishcity ofLiverpool. Despite 35 of the 36Welsh Members of Parliament (MPs) vot-ing against the bill, with the other abstain-ing, Parliament still passed the bill and thevillage ofCapel Celyn was drowned, high-lighting Wales's powerlessness in her own

affairs in the face of the numerical superi-ority of English MPs in the London Parlia-ment.[40]In 1966 the Carmarthen Parlia-mentary seat was won by Gwynfor Evansat a by-election, Plaid Cymru's first Parlia-mentary seat.[41]

Both the Free Wales Army and MudiadAmddiffyn Cymru (MAC) (English:WelshDefence Movement) were formed as a di-

rect result of the Tryweryn destruction,[42]

conducting campaigns from 1963. In theyears leading up to the investiture ofPrince Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969,these groups were responsible for a num-ber of bomb blastsdestroying waterpipes, tax and other offices, and part of adam being built for a new English backedproject in Clywedog,Montgomeryshire.[42]In 1967, the Wales and Berwick Act 1746was repealed for Wales, and a legal defini-tion of Wales, and of the boundary withEngland was stated.

A referendum on the creation of an assem-

bly for Wales in 1979 (see Wales referen-

dum, 1979) led to a large majority for the

"no" vote. However, in 1997 a referendum

on the same issue secured a "yes", al-

though by a very narrow majority. The

National Assembly for Wales (CynulliadCenedlaethol Cymru) was set up in 1999 (as

a consequence of the Government of

Wales Act 1998) and possesses the power

to determine how the central government

budget for Wales is spent and adminis-

tered (although the UK parliament re-

serves the right to set limits on the powers

of the Welsh Assembly). The 1998 Act was

amended by the Government of Wales Act2006 which enhanced the Assembly's

powers, giving it legislative powers akin to

the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ire-

land Assembly. Following the 2007 Assem-

bly election, the One Wales Government

was formed under a coalition agreement

between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh La-

bour Party, under that agreement, a con-

vention is due to be established to discussfurther enhancing Wales's legislative and

financial autonomy. A referendum on giv-

ing the Welsh assembly full law-making

powers is promised "as soon as practica-

ble, at or before the end of the assembly

term (in 2011)" and both parties have

agreed "in good faith to campaign for a

successful out-

come to such areferendum".[44]

Sculpture ofOwain

Glyndr(c. 1354 or

1359 c. 1416), the

last native Welsh

person to hold the

title Prince of

Wales
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaid_Cymruhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaid_Cymruhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_and_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymdeithas_yr_Iaith_Gymraeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymdeithas_yr_Iaith_Gymraeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryweryn_valleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservoirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Members_of_Parliamenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capel_Celynhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-BBC_Tryweryn-39http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-BBC_Tryweryn-39http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmarthenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynfor_Evanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-Gwynfor-40http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-Gwynfor-40http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Wales_Armyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudiad_Amddiffyn_Cymruhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudiad_Amddiffyn_Cymruhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-MAC_.26_FWA-41http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-MAC_.26_FWA-41http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles,_Prince_of_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clywedoghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomeryshirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-MAC_.26_FWA-41http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-MAC_.26_FWA-41http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales_and_Berwick_Act_1746http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales_referendum,_1979http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales_referendum,_1979http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Assembly_for_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_1998http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_1998http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_2006http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_2006http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Parliamenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaid_Cymruhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Labour_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Labour_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-43http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-43http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owain_Glynd%C5%B5rhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owain_Glynd%C5%B5rhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owain_Glynd%C5%B5rhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owain_Glynd%C5%B5rhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owain_Glynd%C5%B5rhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-43http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Labour_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Labour_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaid_Cymruhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Parliamenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_2006http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_2006http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_1998http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_1998http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Assembly_for_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales_referendum,_1979http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales_referendum,_1979http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales_and_Berwick_Act_1746http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-MAC_.26_FWA-41http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomeryshirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clywedoghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles,_Prince_of_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-MAC_.26_FWA-41http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudiad_Amddiffyn_Cymruhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudiad_Amddiffyn_Cymruhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Wales_Armyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-Gwynfor-40http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynfor_Evanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmarthenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales#cite_note-BBC_Tryweryn-39http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capel_Celynhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Members_of_Parliamenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservoirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryweryn_valleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymdeithas_yr_Iaith_Gymraeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymdeithas_yr_Iaith_Gymraeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_and_Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaid_Cymruhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaid_Cymru


16/20

Gwynedd Council sayssorry after investing4 million of publicfunds in Icelandic Bank.The bank was subsequentlyplaced in administration onlya month after the initial de-posit, and in the councils veryown financial audit released inApril 2009, liquidators haveadvised a return of 80p inevery pound, to be recoveredover the next five years. Thisrepresents a loss of over 1.2million according to the coun-cils own accounts.The council has defended its own

investment record claiming to have

profited from previous years to the

tune of 8 million for Gwynedd

Council and its rate-payers.

This figure is unlikely to satisfy an-gry residents who will point to the

advice given by credit rating

agency Fitch that all Iceland banks

had a "negative" investment rating

in April. The council disputes this

saying the advice was only updated

at the end of September, after the

deposit had been made.

A spokesman said: "Gwynedd Coun-

cil made a deposit with the Heritable

Bank on September 8, at which point

the bank was still rated A (long term)

and F1 (short term). Although the

ratings outlook had been flagged asnegative prior to the investment

date, the ratings did not change until

the end of September.

However, since the collapse of the

previously British-owned bank,

Gwynedd Council has revised its

treasury management strategy,and promised to be less reliant on

credit rating agency ratings in the

future.

Oh, how kind. Surely this is the op-

posite of what they should do? Had

they listened, or indeed looked atthe updated ratings, they would

have never invested 4 million of

public funds into a negative rated

institution. The new policy should

advise a more through understand-

ing of any future investments, with

greater public consultation on such

large sums being risked in such away.


17/20

WHICH WAY TOTHE CARAVAN

NOW? I TOLD YOU

TOKEEP AN EYE

ON THE MAP! ITS

NOT MY FAULT!


18/20

Granny told me not tomarry a Catholic, TonyBlair tells paperArticle from The Guard-ian Monday 14th Sep-tember 2009.BLAIR QUOTES:Starting with his childhood, he recalledhow "in one of her rare moments oflucidity, during an illness, my great-grandmother who was in many

ways fantastic told me, 'Do what-ever you want but don't marry aCatholic.' Which is exactly what I did."

"If you are Catholic you can go any-where in the world and take part inmass in any country."The last people to understand this, hecomplained, are British journalists,

who are still unprepared for religious,let alone Catholic, politicians.

"It's a shame but that is how it is.However, I can say that for normalpeople, as opposed to those whospeak on TV or write in newspapers, itwas never a problem."

Faith, he added, would help himtackle "the Christian responsibility" offighting climate change, creating dia-logue with China ("They are talking alot about Confucianism, Taoism andBuddhism"), understanding whatmakes a family strong, and even howto fight poverty.

Really glad that Tony Blair has nowaligned his religion with particular so-cial problems. I was unaware that cli-

mate change or creating a dialoguewith China were specific Christian Prob-lems. However the most amusing andsurprising element of these quotes camein the first paragraph and was pickedup by one of many users of The Guard-ian website. Ill let you decide.


19/20

Tony Blair has revealed that afterignoring a stern warning from hisgreat-grandmother about marrying aCatholic, he now finds his new-foundfaith has become the driving force inhis life as he seeks to clear up theworld's religious conflicts.thetowncrier15 Sep 09, 9:50am

Sitting here at 09:46 in the morningon a Tuesday, mildly hungover, Icame across the first sentence of thisarticle and laughed out aloud. Ilaughed so loudly, in fact, that mygirlfriend, who's sitting next to me

reading Spanish news on her laptop,jumped out of her seat, and asked mewhat the hell was wrong. To which Ireplied: 'read this hon, and you'll see':Tony Blair has revealed that after ig-noring a stern warning from his great-grandmother about marrying a Catho-lic, he now finds his new-found faithhas become the driving force in his life

as he seeks to clear up the world's reli-gious conflicts.

How on earth anyone can stomachthis is beyond me. This man, this ape,helped invade Iraq. He is the solecause, in this country at least, of thegreatest religious conflict of our age -

the West versus Islam, or the Middle

East - and deserves nothing short ofprison for what he's done. The factthat he is now seemingly hiding be-

hind his 'religion' to justify what he'sdone says it all - either he's feelingguilty, or he thinks we're gullibleenough to believe that what he didwas somehow based on Christianfaith. I'm. Not. Buying. It.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblairhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair


20/20

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