Thursday, April 27, 2006
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
I have just found the facility provided for delegates here, that enables us to have unlimited internet access without having to pay an extortionate sum of money to the hotel. As a result I have spent the last few hours catching up on news and other blogs.
Honestly, you go away for a few days and all hell breaks loose. The Home Secretary allows 1,000 plus foreign prisioners to roam free when they should have been deported, Prescott admits to an affair with his secretary, Patricia Hewitt is shouted down by nurses, Neil Kinnock is banned from driving and of course Labour face a double test in Blaenau Gwent, having already alienated local people by seeking to call the election before Peter Law's funeral.
On top of all that the Western Mail reports a row within Plaid Cymru over the selection of list candidates for my region of South Wales West and Peter Hain is proved to be wrong once again in his accusations about the conduct of Regional Assembly Members. The Assembly Government has confirmed that it holds no evidence that regional list AMs were abusing their positions and Hain has not responded to requests to back up his claims.
Just for the record Peter Hain even gets it wrong in his comments in the Western Mail article. He alleges that 15 of the 20 regional list members have offices in constituencies where they were previously defeated. Actually, it is 14 but what is one constituency office between friends?
Oh yes, and the latest poll shows plummeting support for both Labour and the Conservatives, with the net beneficiaries being the Liberal Democrats. A Mori poll puts Labour on 30% (down 9) the Tories on 30% (down 4) and the Liberal Democrats on 25% (up 5). A Guardian/ICM poll on Monday had the Tories on 34% (no change), Labour on 32% (down 5) and the Liberal Democrats on 24% (up 3). There is a definite pattern emerging here.
Honestly, you go away for a few days and all hell breaks loose. The Home Secretary allows 1,000 plus foreign prisioners to roam free when they should have been deported, Prescott admits to an affair with his secretary, Patricia Hewitt is shouted down by nurses, Neil Kinnock is banned from driving and of course Labour face a double test in Blaenau Gwent, having already alienated local people by seeking to call the election before Peter Law's funeral.
On top of all that the Western Mail reports a row within Plaid Cymru over the selection of list candidates for my region of South Wales West and Peter Hain is proved to be wrong once again in his accusations about the conduct of Regional Assembly Members. The Assembly Government has confirmed that it holds no evidence that regional list AMs were abusing their positions and Hain has not responded to requests to back up his claims.
Just for the record Peter Hain even gets it wrong in his comments in the Western Mail article. He alleges that 15 of the 20 regional list members have offices in constituencies where they were previously defeated. Actually, it is 14 but what is one constituency office between friends?
Oh yes, and the latest poll shows plummeting support for both Labour and the Conservatives, with the net beneficiaries being the Liberal Democrats. A Mori poll puts Labour on 30% (down 9) the Tories on 30% (down 4) and the Liberal Democrats on 25% (up 5). A Guardian/ICM poll on Monday had the Tories on 34% (no change), Labour on 32% (down 5) and the Liberal Democrats on 24% (up 3). There is a definite pattern emerging here.
