Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Claims and counter-claims
Everything really kicked off yesterday as Plaid Cymru and Labour traded blows over things said and unsaid. As I spent most of the day in hustings or en-route to and from Machynlleth I missed most of the controversy. I am not sure that I missed much.
According to the Western Mail, Plaid Cymru made the claim that district general hospitals including one in Llandudno would be at risk under a Labour majority Assembly Government simply because the Labour manifesto did not contain an explicit promise to keep them open.
On that basis Labour must be planning to demolish Cardiff and Swansea. After all they have not said any different in their manifesto.
For their part, Labour claimed that Plaid Cymru plans to devolve justice to Wales will cost the Welsh budget £500 million, as if any party would agree to such a transfer without all the cost of the service coming across as well.
Oh wait, wasn't there a story not so long ago that Wales had been robbed of millions of pounds because Westminster has failed to pass on sufficient money when responsibility for funding a variety of public services has been transferred to the Assembly Government? Should Labour judge other parties by their own failures?
All in all yesterday was not a good day for democracy. There are clearly genuine issues here but this sort of baseless mud-slinging does nobody any favours.
According to the Western Mail, Plaid Cymru made the claim that district general hospitals including one in Llandudno would be at risk under a Labour majority Assembly Government simply because the Labour manifesto did not contain an explicit promise to keep them open.
On that basis Labour must be planning to demolish Cardiff and Swansea. After all they have not said any different in their manifesto.
For their part, Labour claimed that Plaid Cymru plans to devolve justice to Wales will cost the Welsh budget £500 million, as if any party would agree to such a transfer without all the cost of the service coming across as well.
Oh wait, wasn't there a story not so long ago that Wales had been robbed of millions of pounds because Westminster has failed to pass on sufficient money when responsibility for funding a variety of public services has been transferred to the Assembly Government? Should Labour judge other parties by their own failures?
All in all yesterday was not a good day for democracy. There are clearly genuine issues here but this sort of baseless mud-slinging does nobody any favours.
