Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A Liberal Democrat cock-up?
As has already been discerned on a number of blogs the rather Welsh Liberal Democrats' chaotic response to Vince Cable's Reform pamphlet setting out proposals for tackling the fiscal crisis was not planned. It has been described as a cock-up and actually that is not far from the truth.
Contrary to some claims the Welsh Party was consulted on the contents of the pamphlet, however when it was sent to us it did not contain the suggestion that the St Athan project should be scrapped. It seems that this was added later and at a time when our staff member was on holiday. That though, does not excuse the fact that those responsible for the pamphlet did not check the changes with us.
There are a number of points that need to be taken into account. Firstly, although the Welsh Assembly Government has been active in building up cross-party support for this project and lobbying for it, the final decision rests with Westminster. This is a matter Welsh Liberal Democrats might be consulted on as regards policy but it will be the Federal Conference that makes the final decision. There is no snub here. At the end of the day all parties (including Plaid Cymru) are subject to the whims of the UK Government on this issue.
Secondly, Vince Cable may well be the Liberal Democrat's Shadow Chancellor and our economics guru but in our party he has one vote in the policy process just like everybody else. That is not the end of the story of course because being in the position he is, Vince has a lot of influence and will be listened too. Nevertheless, he is not guaranteed to win every fight and that is why the status of his pamphlet is so important.
It should be noted that the pamphlet is not published by the Liberal Democrats nor is it official policy. For that to happen it must go before Conference and be passed in a vote, very much like the motion that was passed by Plaid Cymru on St. Athan last weekend. Whether we go into the General Election with this proposal is dependent on our manifesto process. That is in the hands of the democratically elected Federal Policy Committee. I am not seeking to dodge the issue just to bring some perspective to the subject.
Thirdly, the reaction of the other parties has been predictable and who can blame them. They have been presented with an open goal. However, all of these politicians are going to have to start setting out their own plans for public expenditure in due course and that is going to involve decisions that are equally as difficult and possibly more unpopular than anything contained in Vince's paper.
Finally, we have to acknowledge that things change. Back in January 2007 the case for St. Athan was overwhelming. It still is but the question that needs to be asked is 'can we afford it?' Vince Cable has offered a personal view and it is our duty to consider whether he is right or not. I happen to think that he is wrong and that this project is worthwhile pursuing. It would have been nice to have been asked before he passed judgement.
Labour, Conservatives and Plaid Cymru may well have different priorities to Vince and to the Liberal Democrats but the debate is underway. Twelve years of irresponsible economic management has left the country facing huge levels of debt and the need to rebalance the budget and pay-back most of the money we have borrowed. How we are going to do that is a discussion that needs to be had and the final decision will rest with the electorate.
Contrary to some claims the Welsh Party was consulted on the contents of the pamphlet, however when it was sent to us it did not contain the suggestion that the St Athan project should be scrapped. It seems that this was added later and at a time when our staff member was on holiday. That though, does not excuse the fact that those responsible for the pamphlet did not check the changes with us.
There are a number of points that need to be taken into account. Firstly, although the Welsh Assembly Government has been active in building up cross-party support for this project and lobbying for it, the final decision rests with Westminster. This is a matter Welsh Liberal Democrats might be consulted on as regards policy but it will be the Federal Conference that makes the final decision. There is no snub here. At the end of the day all parties (including Plaid Cymru) are subject to the whims of the UK Government on this issue.
Secondly, Vince Cable may well be the Liberal Democrat's Shadow Chancellor and our economics guru but in our party he has one vote in the policy process just like everybody else. That is not the end of the story of course because being in the position he is, Vince has a lot of influence and will be listened too. Nevertheless, he is not guaranteed to win every fight and that is why the status of his pamphlet is so important.
It should be noted that the pamphlet is not published by the Liberal Democrats nor is it official policy. For that to happen it must go before Conference and be passed in a vote, very much like the motion that was passed by Plaid Cymru on St. Athan last weekend. Whether we go into the General Election with this proposal is dependent on our manifesto process. That is in the hands of the democratically elected Federal Policy Committee. I am not seeking to dodge the issue just to bring some perspective to the subject.
Thirdly, the reaction of the other parties has been predictable and who can blame them. They have been presented with an open goal. However, all of these politicians are going to have to start setting out their own plans for public expenditure in due course and that is going to involve decisions that are equally as difficult and possibly more unpopular than anything contained in Vince's paper.
Finally, we have to acknowledge that things change. Back in January 2007 the case for St. Athan was overwhelming. It still is but the question that needs to be asked is 'can we afford it?' Vince Cable has offered a personal view and it is our duty to consider whether he is right or not. I happen to think that he is wrong and that this project is worthwhile pursuing. It would have been nice to have been asked before he passed judgement.
Labour, Conservatives and Plaid Cymru may well have different priorities to Vince and to the Liberal Democrats but the debate is underway. Twelve years of irresponsible economic management has left the country facing huge levels of debt and the need to rebalance the budget and pay-back most of the money we have borrowed. How we are going to do that is a discussion that needs to be had and the final decision will rest with the electorate.
Comments:
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I did notice that the St Athan story was on the front page of the BBC Welsh News website (BBC standing for the Brown Broadcasting Company).
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't a number of prominant Plaid Cymru politicians oppose this?
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't a number of prominant Plaid Cymru politicians oppose this?
# posted by 
: 10:07 AM
: 10:07 AM<< Home
