Sunday, May 07, 2006
A job for life?
Today's Wales on Sunday carries most of the background story to Tory AM, Glyn Davies' resignation from his party's front bench. This includes the bitterness that has grown up around the hamfisted attempt to install fellow Mid and West Wales AM, Lisa Francis, above him on the list (it failed) and the tensions that exist between Glyn and his Group Leader, Nick Bourne.
Glyn has never made any secret of his ambition to lead the Assembly Tory Group, but whether there will be an opportunity to do so or not is another matter. In the Welsh Liberal Democrat constitution it is stipulated that our leader must submit himself to re-election within a year of an Assembly election. There is no such provision for the Tories.
If Nick Bourne manages to retain the support of his group and his party and avoids any banana skins he could effectively retain his job as leader for as long as he wants it. Although such a provision might offer some prospect of stability, in reality it just increases the potential for unresolved tension and behind-the-scenes plotting as ambitious members try to manouevre the leader into resigning. Perhaps we should watch this space.
Meanwhile, Glyn Davies tells me that he is considering starting his own blog so as to give him an outlet for his 'independent thoughts'. For those with an interest in Welsh politics, that will definitely be one worth reading.
Glyn has never made any secret of his ambition to lead the Assembly Tory Group, but whether there will be an opportunity to do so or not is another matter. In the Welsh Liberal Democrat constitution it is stipulated that our leader must submit himself to re-election within a year of an Assembly election. There is no such provision for the Tories.
If Nick Bourne manages to retain the support of his group and his party and avoids any banana skins he could effectively retain his job as leader for as long as he wants it. Although such a provision might offer some prospect of stability, in reality it just increases the potential for unresolved tension and behind-the-scenes plotting as ambitious members try to manouevre the leader into resigning. Perhaps we should watch this space.
Meanwhile, Glyn Davies tells me that he is considering starting his own blog so as to give him an outlet for his 'independent thoughts'. For those with an interest in Welsh politics, that will definitely be one worth reading.
