Category Archives: Wales

Lib Dem John Dixon will not return to the Welsh Assembly

By Helen Duffett | Tue 5th July 2011 - 7:38 pm

John Dixon, the Liberal Democrat Welsh Assembly member who was disqualified in May, will not be reinstated after an investigation said he had not read the relevant rules for candidates.

He will be replaced by the next candidate on the party’s regional list: Eluned Parrott.

From the BBC:

Liberal Democrat John Dixon stood down after May’s election when it emerged he was a member of a public body to which AMs cannot belong.

On Wednesday AMs will decide whether to reinstate fellow Lib Dem Aled Roberts who fell victim to out-of-date advice.

Mr Dixon was elected for the South Wales Central region, but had to stand down because he was still a member of the Care Council for Wales, which regulates social care workers.

On Tuesday, a report by assembly standards commissioner Gerard Elias QC said Mr Dixon had not read the regulations on proscribed organisations for candidates.

“Perhaps because he was lulled into a false sense of security by his experiences in earlier elections, he honestly believed that he was eligible to be a member of the National Assembly,” the report says.

Mr Dixon, 46, a graphic and web designer, has been a Cardiff councillor for 12 years and had been an assembly candidate at two previous elections.

The report states:

Also posted in Election law and News | Tagged aled roberts, eluned parrott, gerard elias, john dixon, kirsty williams and welsh assembly | 3 Comments

Lib Dem Welsh AMs await their fate as report delayed

By Helen Duffett | Tue 5th July 2011 - 8:53 am

John Dixon and Aled Roberts (the ‘dangling’ Lib Dem Two) may have to wait until next week to find out whether they will be reinstated following their disqualification in May.

WalesOnline reports:

Members of all parties were due to receive a copy of an Assembly report yesterday afternoon into the case of Aled Roberts and John Dixon, who are accused of breaching rules by remaining affiliated to organisations whose members are barred from standing for office.

The report, by Gerard Elias QC, the Assembly’s Commissioner for Standards, was sent to party leaders over the weekend, and was due to go

…

Also posted in Election law and News | Tagged aled roberts, gerard elias, john dixon and welsh assembly | Leave a comment

Electoral Commission apologises for misleading Welsh candidate

By Mark Pack | Thu 30th June 2011 - 12:23 pm

WalesOnline reports:

THE Electoral Commission expressed its “regret” yesterday as it admitted providing the wrong information to one of the Liberal Democrat AMs disqualified from office …

Mr Roberts said he was given incorrect information by the Electoral Commission, whose official guidance for candidates said he could not stand if, at the time of the nomination, he held an office which was mentioned in the National Assembly for Wales (Disqualification) Order 2006.

The Order that the Electoral Commission referred to was not the most up-to-date, and did not include the Valuation Tribunal for Wales as one of the bodies. That was added

…

Also posted in Election law | Tagged aled roberts and electoral commission | 5 Comments

Police decide not to charge Liberal Democrat Assembly members

By Mark Pack | Sat 25th June 2011 - 7:54 am

The BBC reports:

Two Liberal Democrats who were disqualified from the Welsh assembly for being members of prohibited public bodies have been told they will not be charged.

Aled Roberts and John Dixon were told on Thursday that no action would be taken following a police inquiry.

The two were forced to give up their seats for being members of public bodies to which AMs cannot belong…

The party has blamed an “honest mistake”.

The Assembly’s Commissioner for Standards, Gerard Elias QC, will prepare a report on the two men’s cases so AMs can decide whether they should be allowed to be seated

…

Also posted in Election law | 2 Comments

Welsh Local Government Boundary Commissioners sacked

By Mark Pack | Fri 24th June 2011 - 7:18 pm

Welsh Local Government and Communities Minister, Carl Sargeant, this week told the Welsh Assembly that,

In December 2010 I announced a decision to establish an independent review of the timetabling and quality issues associated with the electoral review programme by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales and to identify actions required to ensure the delivery of the reviews in good time for the 2016 elections …

I fully accept the findings of the report which contains lessons for all of us, including the Welsh Government, concerned with the process of electoral reviews.

The most concerning finding, however, is the conclusion reached

…

Also posted in Election law | Tagged carl sargeant | 1 Comment

Kirsty Williams writes: Slow progress in Wales

By Kirsty Williams AM | Tue 21st June 2011 - 3:25 pm

We are six weeks from the elections and the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Government getting on with the job they were elected to do – governing and legislating. The Scottish Government is demanding more fiscal powers and they are rocking the constitutional boat. Whether you agree with the SNPs policies or not, they are doing something. The story in Wales is different.

The first major government announcement in Wales came on Tuesday when the First Minister rose to his feet to outline his Welsh equivalent of the Queen Speech. This should have been a momentous occasion since the people …

Also posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged aled roberts, john dixon and rhodri morgan | 3 Comments

Opinion: A guide to fighting list seats

By Peter Black | Sat 11th June 2011 - 8:54 am

In writing this article I do not claim any great wisdom in how to fight list elections. In fact the fact I survived the latest Welsh Assembly poll has more to do with the decline in the Plaid Cymru vote than anything I did, though the amount of effort and targeted work we put in must have had some significance in securing a 54 vote majority.

This is what I did. It may not be appropriate in other areas and it may be fairly obvious to any experienced campaigner. Inevitably there were things I could have done better or did not …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured | 4 Comments

Two Lib Dem Welsh Assembly Members step down on technicality

By Helen Duffett | Wed 18th May 2011 - 1:41 pm

The BBC reports:

Liberal Democrats John Dixon and Aled Roberts have had to step down as it emerged they were members of organisations the law does not allow AMs to be part of.

They have resigned respectively from the Care Council for Wales and the Valuation Tribunal for Wales.

The pair expect to be readmitted to the assembly following a vote on Wednesday.

Under the National Assembly Disqualification Order 2011, AMs are not permitted to be members of certain organisations to avoid conflicts of interest.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Liberal Democrats said:

“Two assembly members had positions with outside bodies which technically disqualified them

…

Also posted in News | Tagged aled roberts, john dixon and welsh assembly | 7 Comments

Ouch! Lib Dems suffer first anti-government backlash in 80 years

By Stephen Tall | Fri 6th May 2011 - 8:50 am

The words ‘Good morning’ may seem overly ironic if you’re a Lib dem waking up this morning to the news of the party’s pretty awful 2011 election results. Here’s a quick round-up for those who’ve avoided the media so far today…

Scotland: a huge night for the SNP, with the Lib Dems and Labour both suffering a rout at the hands of the nationalists. With 59 of 73 results declared, the Lib Dems have just four seats, a loss of seven. It sounds like the party will end up with six MSPs, down from 16.

Wales: a good night for Labour, who …

Also posted in Local government and Scotland | 80 Comments

The LDV election results open thread

By The Voice | Thu 5th May 2011 - 10:20 pm

Here are the starting positions (as Stephen’s already described):

Scotland: the party is defending 16 seats (11 constituency MSPs, and five regional list MSPs), which was a drop of one compared to 2003. There are 129 contested seats for the Scottish Parliament.

Wales: the party is defending six seats (3 constituency AMs, and three regional list AMs), which was the same as in 2003. There are 60 contested seats for the Welsh assembly.

In the English local elections:

1,876 of the 3,948 Liberal Democrat councillors (48%) have been defending their seats today in –

Also posted in Local government and Scotland | Tagged av referendum and leicester south by-election | 29 Comments

What will happen in today’s elections? Your thoughts, please…

By Stephen Tall | Thu 5th May 2011 - 7:15 pm

Today, in case you hadn’t noticed, is election day. There are national elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and local elections for 279 councils across England. And of course there’s the referendum to determine the voting system used for elections to Westminster.

Four years ago, in 2007, the Liberal Democrats were a party of opposition. Today, we’re in a Coalition government. Let’s recap the starting positions…

Scotland: the party is defending 16 seats (11 constituency MSPs, and five regional list MSPs), which was a drop of one compared to 2003. There are 129 contested seats for the Scottish parliament.

Wales: the party …

Also posted in Local government and Scotland | 12 Comments

Opinion: Why Elizabeth Evans is the best choice for Ceredigion

By Mark Cole | Thu 7th April 2011 - 8:23 pm

Campaigning in Ceredigion is rather unique. The big beasts of 20^th century British politics, the Conservative and Labour parties, hold no sway here. It’s a battle instead between liberals and nationalists and the Welsh Liberal Democrat candidate Elizabeth Evans is proving to be a formidable opponent to Plaid’s Elin Jones.

The ‘poster’ war, which is always a central feature to this unique constituency’s electoral battleground, was in full swing early on. Over the years, it’s always been opportune to show that momentum is on your side by getting those road-side …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged caron lindsay, elizabeth evans and guest editor | 5 Comments

Pollwatch – State of the Parties: Lib Dems 11%, Labour 40%, Tories 36% (April 2011)

By Stephen Tall | Mon 4th April 2011 - 8:00 am

Well, it’s been a while since last the Voice rounded-up the polls — but with Scottish/Welsh/local elections just weeks away, it’s time to dust down our spreadsheets and take a look at the current states of the parties.

A total of 35 polls were published during March. Now, as our readers know, LDV doesn’t cover them with the same breathless excitements as other parts of the media. Most poll movements are within the margin of error, so it is only looked at over a period of time that you can detect whether there has really been any significant movements between the …

Also posted in Local government, Polls and Scotland | Tagged pollwatch | 18 Comments

Nick Clegg: we’re making the rich pay their fair share of tax

By Mark Pack | Sat 5th March 2011 - 11:55 am

Nick Clegg’s speech to the party’s Welsh conference contained much in the way of summarising the party’s current official position on politics and government priorities – and also a reference to Lembit Opik. His departure from the Commons was made the subject of a joke rather than a cause of regret – just the sort of reference that Lembit’s own actions do nothing to dissuade people from.

Central to the speech was Clegg’s description of the Liberal Democrat approach to a fair tax system:

Not all the decisions we’ve made have been easy and we must be honest about the many obstacles

…

Also posted in News | Tagged lembit opik and nick clegg | 40 Comments

Continuing the Welsh Yes Campaign

By Mark Cole | Tue 1st March 2011 - 11:26 am

I explained in my previous LDV post a few weeks ago, why the Welsh Liberal Democrats are campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote in the up-and-coming referendum on March 3rd.

Well, how it’s all going? Well, not too badly as it happens.

Whilst in the 1997 devolution referendum, support came from the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Labour and Plaid Cymru (the Conservatives opposed it), now, all four are officially supportive of a ‘Yes’ vote. Across Wales, we have been helping with street stalls and delivering leaflets for the ‘Yes’ campaign.

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged kirsty williams and welsh referendum | 1 Comment

The Welsh Referendum (Part 1) – What’s it all about?

By Mark Cole | Mon 14th February 2011 - 12:43 pm

There’s much talk about the House of Lords on-going ‘go-slow’ with the legislation for the AV referendum. The latest obstacle thrown up being the 40% voting turnout threshold. Meanwhile, the ‘Yes 2 AV’ campaign continues with its ground campaign in readiness for the expected d-day of May 5th.

But here in Wales of course, we have another referendum on our mind – the referendum on further powers to the Welsh Assemby in Cardiff Bay.

Referendum Day – March 3rd!

The referendum was promised by the ‘One Wales’ Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition government within the 4 year life-scale of the current government. With only two …

Tagged kirsty williams, welsh assembly and welsh referendum | 6 Comments

What the Welsh referendum is about: the official version

By Mark Pack | Thu 3rd February 2011 - 10:25 am

Here’s the official booklet from the Electoral Commission explaining what next month’s Welsh referendum is about and which is being sent to every household in Wales:

Also posted in News | Tagged electoral commission and kirsty williams | 9 Comments

Kirsty Williams writes… Education is a cause that unites us all

By Kirsty Williams AM | Tue 1st February 2011 - 11:35 am

Education has always been particularly important to Liberals. Wales has always prioritised education but this great tradition has been left to slide.

Alarm bells rang when last summer, our GCSE and A level results fell behind England for the first time.

Now, two recent reports have exposed just how badly Labour and Plaid Cymru have mismanaged the Welsh education system.

Firstly, an international assessment of performance (PISA, run by the OECD) has shown that Wales is the lowest achieving nation of the UK and falling behind many European countries. Welsh students have fallen behind in reading, mathematics and science. …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged education and Wales | 11 Comments

‘No’ campaign vetoes public funding for Welsh referendum campaign

By Mark Pack | Sun 23rd January 2011 - 11:25 am

The No campaign for the March 3rd referendum on increasing the powers of the Welsh Assembly, True Wales, has decided not to seek official designation, thereby depriving both the Yes and No sides of public funding.

Referendum legislation makes funding available to both sides in a referendum if there is an officially designated campaign on both sides. As a result of the No campaign declining to seek official designation, this funding – £70,000 in cash, a free mailshot and TV broadcasts – along with higher spending limits, will not be available to either side.

The No campaign has explained its decision …

Also posted in Election law | 7 Comments

Welsh local government boundaries to remain the same until after 2012 elections

By Mark Pack | Wed 19th January 2011 - 12:25 pm

A press release from the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales explains,

The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government has announced that he will not be making any changes to the present electoral arrangements for any local authorities in Wales until after the 2012 local government elections.

However, despite this the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales is pressing ahead with some of its boundary reviews, with draft proposals for County Borough of Caerphilly published on Monday and feedback requested by 22 March. The reviews for Wrexham are also continuing, but those for Swansea are on hold after their proposals …

Also posted in Election law and News | Tagged carl sargeant, delme greening and local government boundary commission for wales | 1 Comment

Welsh Lib Dem councillor defects to Labour

By The Voice | Wed 5th January 2011 - 3:25 pm

Some sad news for Welsh Lib Dems today, with Lib Dem county councillor John Warman defecting to Labour. The BBC’s Betsan Powys reports:

John Warman, a Neath County councillor has “come home to Labour” after 30 years as a Lib Dem. It’s clear he always very much felt and sounded like a Labour politician anyway and his is hardly the high profile defection Labour might have hoped for.

But if politicians who defect tend to be seen as opportunists, it has to be said Mr Warman didn’t much look like one this morning. He just looked fed up and too unhappy

…

Also posted in News | Tagged defections and john warman | 37 Comments

Mick Bates AM convicted of public order offences

By Helen Duffett | Sat 11th December 2010 - 1:18 pm

Welsh Assembly Member Mick Bates was yesterday convicted of three counts of assault and three public order breaches following an incident earlier this year.

BBC News reports:

The AM for Montgomeryshire, Mick Bates, has apologised to NHS staff after being found guilty of public order offences and common assault.

Cardiff Magistrates Court heard he was abusive to paramedics and hospital staff, after injuring his head during a night out in the city.

Bates was ordered to pay a total of £5,490 pounds in fines, costs and compensation.

He says he will remain an independent AM for Montgomeryshire until he retires.

Welsh Liberal …

Tagged mick bates | 10 Comments

Elizabeth Evans selected for Ceredigion

By Mark Pack | Sun 28th November 2010 - 4:29 pm

Mark Cole reports:

Ceredigion Liberal Democrats our new candidate for the Welsh Assembly election next May.

I’m absolutely delighted to report that that candidate will be Cllr Elizabeth Evans from Aberaeron, Or as she is more commonly known, Liz.

I’ve known Liz for 7 or so years and have found her to be one of the friendliest, most genuine and hard-working people I know – and she’s a liberal to the core…

She is a popular, well liked and hard-working local campaigner and community activist. She’s a former recipient of the prestigious Welsh European of the year award for her long service

…

Also posted in News | Tagged ceredigion and elizabeth evans | 4 Comments

LibLink: Kirsty Williams on what the Comprehensive Spending Review means for Wales

By Helen Duffett | Sun 24th October 2010 - 10:13 am

Kirsty Williams AM has written a piece for WalesHome on the implications of the spending review for Wales:

THE CSR settlement means that for the Welsh Government, revenue expenditure will be down by less than 2 per cent in real terms each year, less than the three per cent they were planning for. Overall, the budget will be reduced by 12% over 4 years; the Government were planning for 16.5% over 3 years. Despite the obvious glee with which ministers have been playing the victim card, Wales has a better settlement than the UK overall.

This week, we have seen crocodile

…

Tagged kirsty williams | 14 Comments

Rhondda Lib Dem parliamentary candidate quits to stand as independent for council

By The Voice | Tue 13th July 2010 - 7:50 pm

So Wales Online reports:

A WELSH Liberal Democrat candidate in the recent General Election has quit the party and is now standing as an Independent for his local council.

Paul Wasley, 60, polled 3,309 votes in the Rhondda constituency, coming third with 10.7% of the turnout. The seat was retained by Labour’s Chris Bryant.

Next week, however, Mr Wasley is seeking election as an Independent to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council in a by-election. The ward – Cymmer – has no Liberal Democrat candidate.

A spokesman for the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: “Our membership services department say he is no longer a member but

…

Tagged paul wasley and rhondda | 1 Comment

Opinion: Thinking Too Hard About Plaid

By Huw Dawson | Wed 5th May 2010 - 2:45 pm

This election has shaken up many people’s conception of politics. For the time being, we as Lib Dems have succeeded in what we’ve always attempted to create – a political triangle of us, Labour and the Conservatives.

As my first election – and indeed my first opportunity to experience politics as an adult – it’s been an interesting campaign. But I’m not in my home territory of Accrington. I’m in western Wales, on the fringes of our island. I’m not fighting Red or Blue, because I’m fighting Green, or to put it another way, I’m fighting the Welsh Nationalists. And …

Also posted in Op-eds | 20 Comments

Mick Bates to face assault charge

By The Voice | Sun 18th April 2010 - 8:30 am

WalesOnline reports:

LIBERAL Democrat AM Mick Bates has been suspended by the party after it was confirmed he will face prosecution for assault following a late night incident in Cardiff city centre.

Joanne Foster, chief executive of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, issued a statement which said: “This afternoon, Mick Bates was told by South Wales Police that he will be summonsed at a future date for various offences following an incident in Cardiff on January 20. The Welsh Liberal Democrats regard this matter with the utmost seriousness. Therefore, Mr Bates’ membership of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has been suspended, pending the

…

Tagged mick bates | 7 Comments

Y Barcud Oren #14

By Gareth Aubrey | Thu 8th April 2010 - 3:20 pm

Well the lawyers have released me (the academic ones, things haven’t got that bad!) to fill you in on how things are developing in Wales. After all, there’s only an election on…

I Want You To Pull My Trigger

Whatever the result at Westminster, the first item in the new Secretary of State for Wales’s in-tray will be the referendum on extending the powers of the Welsh Assembly. With the final potential roadblock to a referendum removed when David Cameron announced that a Tory government in London wouldn’t block it, all should have been set fair for the …

Tagged One Wales, Wales and welsh referendum | 1 Comment

Y Barcud Oren #13

By Gareth Aubrey | Tue 22nd December 2009 - 3:00 pm

No, you’re not dreaming, Y Barcud Oren service is resumed (now that my lecturers have, however briefly, stopped making me write essays on trust law!). And, with 2009 drawing to a close, it’s a good time to check in on how the answers to the year’s great political questions have developed.

Take Me To Your Cliché

2009’s first great saga was Rhodri Morgan’s retirement and, eventually, the race to succeed him. But to say that nothing happened in the Welsh Labour leadership contest would be an insult to quantum mechanics. The three people we expected to run ran, the process …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged Y Barcud Oren | Leave a comment

Kirsty on Lembit: “His approach to politics is different to mine.”

By Stephen Tall | Mon 19th October 2009 - 6:35 pm

Getting on for a year ago, Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik began writing a regular political column in the Daily Sport. Thanks to Lib Dem blogger James Graham – who set up the Prawn Free Lembit blog, so that those of us who don’t touch the Sport’s casually misogynistic pages can follow his writings – I’ve become a regular reader.

It’s a weird, dire mixture of straight news and forced comedy-innuendo. Commentary on Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace prize and the plight of British troops in Afghanistan jostle for space alongside groaning references to “Sport stunna Marlena …

Also posted in News | Tagged james graham, kirsty williams, lembit opik and newspapers | 10 Comments

Alison Suttie writes: Thank you to our volunteers

What’s going on with party strategy?

A strange but welcome feeling

Observations of an Expat: The Elephant Returns

Category Archives: Wales

Lib Dem John Dixon will not return to the Welsh Assembly

Lib Dem Welsh AMs await their fate as report delayed

Electoral Commission apologises for misleading Welsh candidate

Police decide not to charge Liberal Democrat Assembly members

Welsh Local Government Boundary Commissioners sacked

Kirsty Williams writes: Slow progress in Wales

Opinion: A guide to fighting list seats

Two Lib Dem Welsh Assembly Members step down on technicality

Ouch! Lib Dems suffer first anti-government backlash in 80 years

The LDV election results open thread

What will happen in today’s elections? Your thoughts, please…

Opinion: Why Elizabeth Evans is the best choice for Ceredigion

Pollwatch – State of the Parties: Lib Dems 11%, Labour 40%, Tories 36% (April 2011)

Nick Clegg: we’re making the rich pay their fair share of tax

Continuing the Welsh Yes Campaign

The Welsh Referendum (Part 1) – What’s it all about?

What the Welsh referendum is about: the official version

Kirsty Williams writes… Education is a cause that unites us all

‘No’ campaign vetoes public funding for Welsh referendum campaign

Welsh local government boundaries to remain the same until after 2012 elections

Welsh Lib Dem councillor defects to Labour

Mick Bates AM convicted of public order offences

Elizabeth Evans selected for Ceredigion

LibLink: Kirsty Williams on what the Comprehensive Spending Review means for Wales

Rhondda Lib Dem parliamentary candidate quits to stand as independent for council

Opinion: Thinking Too Hard About Plaid

Mick Bates to face assault charge

Y Barcud Oren #14

Y Barcud Oren #13

Take Me To Your Cliché

Kirsty on Lembit: “His approach to politics is different to mine.”

Most Read

Op-eds

Recent Comments

Alison Suttie writes: Thank you to our volunteers

What’s going on with party strategy?

A strange but welcome feeling

Observations of an Expat: The Elephant Returns

Category Archives: Wales

Take Me To Your Cliché

Subscribe

Most Read

Search

Op-eds

Recent Comments