Monday, April 04, 2005
Rollercoaster ride
Even by the standards of Welsh politics today has been a bit of a rollercoaster. This morning the Western Mail devoted the best part of three pages to the news that Blaenau Gwent Labour AM, Peter Law, was to stand for Parliament as an independent. This action would cause Peter Law to be expelled from the Labour Party and leave Rhodri Morgan without a majority, the paper said. They speculated that it would allow the opposition parties to step in with a grand coalition to oust Labour from the fifth floor of Assembly House.
By this evening all that had changed. Peter Law had been diagnosed with a brain tumour and had been forced to withdraw. As a consequence Labour has pulled back on their threat to expel him and as far as they are concerned he can retain the Labour whip. They remain as a group of 30 and maintain their hold on the Welsh Assembly Government.
It is all very sad. Naturally, in these times our thoughts are with Peter Law and his family. Peter is a much respected politician in Cardiff Bay. He is principled and hard-working. We all look forward to the time when he is fully recovered from his illness and back debating in the chamber, a wicked gleam in his eye as he baits the Tories one more time.
However, it is also worth commenting as to how lucky Rhodri Morgan is as a politician. Once more he has come out of a tricky situation seemingly unscathed. That is not to say that things will not get difficult for him in the months to come, especially if Peter Law has to take a lengthy absence from the chamber, but for the time being at least he can rest easy and concentrate on fighting the General Election.
By this evening all that had changed. Peter Law had been diagnosed with a brain tumour and had been forced to withdraw. As a consequence Labour has pulled back on their threat to expel him and as far as they are concerned he can retain the Labour whip. They remain as a group of 30 and maintain their hold on the Welsh Assembly Government.
It is all very sad. Naturally, in these times our thoughts are with Peter Law and his family. Peter is a much respected politician in Cardiff Bay. He is principled and hard-working. We all look forward to the time when he is fully recovered from his illness and back debating in the chamber, a wicked gleam in his eye as he baits the Tories one more time.
However, it is also worth commenting as to how lucky Rhodri Morgan is as a politician. Once more he has come out of a tricky situation seemingly unscathed. That is not to say that things will not get difficult for him in the months to come, especially if Peter Law has to take a lengthy absence from the chamber, but for the time being at least he can rest easy and concentrate on fighting the General Election.
