Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Personal statement
Big anti-climax in Plenary yesterday as an expected confrontation failed to come off. Rumours had been rife all day that Peter Law was to make an appearance to deliver a personal statement on why he left Labour. Sure enough, there he was, as large as life, sitting in his new seat on the opposition benches.
However, when he stood to speak the fireworks did not happen. Instead we had a restrained and very much truncated statement that was, nevertheless, watched in silence by stoney-faced Labour AMs.
I now sit here representing the people of Blaenau Gwent as an independent Member and a socialist, because the Labour Party has expelled me after 40 years of membership. Since I am now making a personal statement, it would not be appropriate for me to mention the reasons that I have already put on record publicly, neither will I here, in this Plenary, seek to attach blame to other Assembly Members, or members of another place, because I respect the protocols. I will have other opportunities to do that, hopefully when I have left this session this afternoon. That is probably the unabridged version.
In the end it was just an opportunity to get on the television once more.
However, when he stood to speak the fireworks did not happen. Instead we had a restrained and very much truncated statement that was, nevertheless, watched in silence by stoney-faced Labour AMs.
I now sit here representing the people of Blaenau Gwent as an independent Member and a socialist, because the Labour Party has expelled me after 40 years of membership. Since I am now making a personal statement, it would not be appropriate for me to mention the reasons that I have already put on record publicly, neither will I here, in this Plenary, seek to attach blame to other Assembly Members, or members of another place, because I respect the protocols. I will have other opportunities to do that, hopefully when I have left this session this afternoon. That is probably the unabridged version.
In the end it was just an opportunity to get on the television once more.
