Plaid are meeting at the moment in one of the old Committee Rooms. There is a huge number of journalists lurking around the corner. Betsan Powys reports that the meeting was expected to be over by 10am, but 25 minutes later they are still there. I know this because there is a camera on in the room (though no sound) and the meeting can be monitored over the Assembly's internal television system.
Update 10.44am: They have now sussed that they were being watched and have covered the camera with a black cloth.
Update 11.20am: The Plaid Cymru group have voted to recommend to their National Council that the party enter a coalition with Labour. No other option will be available to Plaid members to vote on.
Welsh Liberal Democrats Councillor for Cwmbwrla Ward, City and County of Swansea - Please buy my novels at Author Page
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
18 comments:
I am happy to address most contributions, even the drunken ones if they are coherent, but I am not going to engage with negative sniping from those who do not have the guts to add their names or a consistent on-line identity to their comments. Such postings will not be published.
Anonymous comments with a constructive contribution to make to the discussion, even if it is critical will continue to be posted. Libellous comments or remarks I think may be libellous will not be published.
I will also not tolerate personation so please do not add comments in the name of real people unless you are that person. If you do not like these rules then start your own blog.
Oh, and if you persist in repeating yourself despite the fact I have addressed your point I may get bored and reject your comment.
The views expressed in comments are those of the poster, not me.
> No other option will be available
ReplyDelete>to Plaid members to vote on
Could this be a tactical mistake? Knowing how cussed Plaid members can be, I guess that the National Council will take umbrage at not having an alternative on the table.
- Frank Little
Marvellous. Bloody marvellous.
ReplyDeleteNational Council could vote it down which would bounce it back to the group.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the more snide comments that appear from the Lib Dems over the coming days, the less likely that will happen.
Time for you to have your catfight?
Why would we want to make snide comments or have a catfight? You are in the process of making a democratic decision, I am not going to condemn you for that even if you did not respect our internal processes.
ReplyDeleteThe fat lady isn't singing yet. Warming up, but not yet singing. If this deal does go ahead then I am sure there will be a large sigh of relief. Most people just want an end to the uncertainty. Mike's comment about Plaid that "they are condemning Wales to Labour hegemony for decades" is particularly unwelcome. We must accept our role as effective opposition and learn how to re-engage with the electorate. Time to refocus and move forward.
ReplyDeletei bet the Labour party are pleased, they have smashed the only opposition to them in Wales
ReplyDeletethey control the, National Assembly, Civil Service, Local Authorities, Business, Voluntary Sector, Education, Health Service, the Media and Trade Unions
R.I.P. Welsh Democracy
It is, I'm afraid, very much in the bag - for the reasons I've outlined in my latest post. A carve up of the highest possible proportions.
ReplyDeleteAt least your Lib Dem colleagues had a fair chance to say 'no', Peter. Which I personallt think is a good thing indeed.
I xon't blame Plaid, they had to take this, think the lib dems wil suffer, what amistke to snub the initial rainbow option!!! a disasterous decision of historic proportions.
ReplyDeleteWe should really have seen it coming. Even pre polling day Plaid asked us to kick Labour into touch.
ReplyDeleteWhat we all forgot was that if it was Plaid kicking the ball into touch their Labour opponents would be the ones throwing it back into play.
Still looking forward now to seeing Elin squirm when reconfiguration comes back onto the agenda
This is great news for the Welsh left, and Wales. The Red-Green coalition will be a new start in Welsh politics and will lead to great things in Welsh devolution and delivering to the worst off in Wales.
ReplyDeleteIt also means the end of Mike German as leader of the Lib Dems in the Assembly, I would imagine.
Or is there another twist in the tail. Let's face it, with a week to go before the conferences anything could happen.
ReplyDeletewww.seneddwr.com
After this surely the Lib/Dems are a dead duck in Wales. When we cannot trust elected representatives then they should not be there in the first place.
ReplyDeleteCan't really blame Plaid Cymru (PC) - they might have viewed the Lib-Dem Paryt as a bit flakey with a certain dynamic (as in variable) propensity to flake off from the rainbow coalition had it been formed beween PC, Tories and LibDems.
ReplyDeleteAnon 11.56pm: There is no reason why anybody should not trust the Welsh Liberal Democrats. These are purely partisan sentiments. You should also write us off at your peril. Wishful thinking does not make good politics.
ReplyDeleteThere has been serious concern over how much we might rely on the Liberal Democrats.
ReplyDeleteThe decision by your executive not to support the All Wales Accord lent many of us to the view that, in reality, the Liberals' preferred option was coalition with Labour (just as it is Labour's preferred option), and that we would just be counting the days until the Liberal Democrats jumped ship and went off to Labour.
Peter Black said:
ReplyDelete"There is no reason why anybody should not trust the Welsh Liberal Democrats. These are purely partisan sentiments. "
Partisan sentiments count these days. Hugely. Can you trust yourself Peter? Could you make a promise personally that you would not in six months ditch another party you promised to work with in a coalition?
The Welsh Lib/Dems have proven by action to be the most fickle and unreliable party on record?
" You should also write us off at your peril."
ReplyDeletethe people of Swansea have already closed the door on them. they wrote themselves off.
Anon 12.10pm: Yes I could give that undertaking. There has been a vote and I am a democrat. Your last statement is not just unsubstantiated but untrue. Plaid have been pretty fickle and unreliable of late
ReplyDeleteAnon 12.12pm: I dont think so somehow as we will see on July 19th in Llansamlet.