Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Aphorism of the week
There are times in political life when a little bit of homespun philosophy can go a long way. In the Liberal Democrat minority party debate yesterday on the environment, Mick Bates was determined to drive home his point and reverted to a bit of Montgomery wisdom to do so:
Mick Bates: As we know, vision without action is a daydream and, yes, there are daydreamers on the Government frontbench. Dream on, for example, if you think that the delivery of health in Wales is improving or that the incidence of child poverty has been reduced. Mind you, action without vision is a nightmare and there are those on the Government frontbenches who have suffered nightmares. Who would have thought that such a simple issue as school breakfasts would turn out to be a nightmare?
North Wales Liberal Democrat colleague, Eleanor Burnham trumped even that:
Eleanor Burnham: The Welsh Liberal Democrats, as you heard from our main speaker, sincerely believe that promoting energy efficiency is vital as part of achieving a sustainable Wales, and it helps to not only reduce carbon dioxide emissions—today’s buzzwords—but secure a viable energy and global future, which, given all the natural disasters around the world, is crucial.
I think back to my own childhood, which was unbelievable in sustainable development terms. I was brought up on a farm in Cynwyd, where my father would milk the cows with a tractor and we had lamps. Yes, I am that old, unfortunately. We did not have that much rubbish, and whatever rubbish we had, we disposed of ourselves. We also had our own water from a well, which was delicious. Thinking seriously about the issue, we were completely self-sustainable, and that is what we should aim for.
There is no doubt, if you want green policies then the Liberal Democrats are the party for you.
Mick Bates: As we know, vision without action is a daydream and, yes, there are daydreamers on the Government frontbench. Dream on, for example, if you think that the delivery of health in Wales is improving or that the incidence of child poverty has been reduced. Mind you, action without vision is a nightmare and there are those on the Government frontbenches who have suffered nightmares. Who would have thought that such a simple issue as school breakfasts would turn out to be a nightmare?
North Wales Liberal Democrat colleague, Eleanor Burnham trumped even that:
Eleanor Burnham: The Welsh Liberal Democrats, as you heard from our main speaker, sincerely believe that promoting energy efficiency is vital as part of achieving a sustainable Wales, and it helps to not only reduce carbon dioxide emissions—today’s buzzwords—but secure a viable energy and global future, which, given all the natural disasters around the world, is crucial.
I think back to my own childhood, which was unbelievable in sustainable development terms. I was brought up on a farm in Cynwyd, where my father would milk the cows with a tractor and we had lamps. Yes, I am that old, unfortunately. We did not have that much rubbish, and whatever rubbish we had, we disposed of ourselves. We also had our own water from a well, which was delicious. Thinking seriously about the issue, we were completely self-sustainable, and that is what we should aim for.
There is no doubt, if you want green policies then the Liberal Democrats are the party for you.
