The Ceredigion Herald
'Payroll vote' attacked
Jon Coles
23 on the roll: Carwyn Jones
THE EVER-INCREASING size of the Welsh Government 'pay-roll vote' is damaging the effectiveness of democracy in Wales according to the Welsh Conservatives.
Following Carwyn Jones' last reshuffle, twenty one Labour Assembly Members now hold remunerated positions – be it ministerial, commission or committee chair posts – which currently represents a staggering 75 per cent of the governing party in Wales. In Scotland, the percentage of SNP members in similar paid-up positions is closer to 50 per cent.
The pay-roll vote and democratic deficit intensifies in Wales with the inclusion of Independent AM, Dafydd Elis-Thomas, and Lib Dem AM, Kirsty Williams, as Welsh government ministers.
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, has said the 'bloated' government pay-roll vote is damaging the heart of democracy in Wales.
He said: "The ever-increasing and bloated size of the Welsh Government 'pay-roll vote' is damaging the effectiveness and heart of democracy in Wales.
"As an opposition party, we work around the clock to hold Carwyn Jones and his chaotic government to account, but the Welsh Parliament is unquestionably being harmed by the ever-shrinking voice of genuine backbenchers.
"By bringing three quarters of his Labour members into the 'paid-up tent', the First Minister is effectively closing down scrutiny of his actions and those of his government.
"A tired government of 18 years standing and devoid of new ideas is seeking to cover-up its numerous failures by increasing the democratic deficit in Wales – people and communities deserve better and for that we need to start with a fully functioning democracy and smaller government pay-roll."
'Welsh Government pay-roll vote'
Labour Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers (12):
Carwyn Jones – First Minister
Ken Skates – Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport
Vaughan Gething – Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services
Huw Irranca-Davies – Minister for Children and Social Care
Mark Drakeford – Cabinet Secretary for Finance
Alun Davies – Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services
Rebecca Evans – Minister for Housing and Regeneration
Lesley Griffiths – Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs
Hannah Blythyn – Minister for Environment
Eluned Morgan – Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning
Julie James – Leader of the House and Chief Whip, with responsibility for digital infrastructure and equalities
Jeremy Miles – Counsel General
Other Welsh Government Ministers (2):
Dafydd Elis Thomas – Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport
Kirsty Williams – Cabinet Secretary for Education
DPO and Committee Chairs (7):
Ann Jones – Deputy Presiding Officer and Chair of Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister
Lynne Neagle – Children, Young People and Education Committee
Mike Hedges – Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee
Mick Antoniw – Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee
John Griffiths – Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee
David Rees – External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee
Jane Bryant – Standards of Conduct Committee
Other roles (2):
Joyce Watson – Commissioner – Equalities and the Commission as the employer of Assembly staff
Julie Morgan – Chair of the All-Wales Programme Monitoring Committee (EU funding oversight)
During the last Assembly term, the scope of the payroll vote was demonstrated when a Labour AM, Jenny Rathbone, was sacked by Carwyn Jones as Chair of the All-Wales PMC for breaching 'collective responsibility' by speaking out against a policy decision made by the Welsh Government – despite fulfilling a number of supposedly 'backbench' roles such as sitting on Assembly Committees as a Labour representative.
While Mr Davies' point has merit, in the Westminster parliament the total number of ministers in government posts in June 2017, following the general election and reshuffle of Theresa May's Government, was 118.
This was the same number as under the Cameron administration in May 2015, but more than all other post-1979 general elections bar 2010.
As a point of comparison, there were sixty government ministers in 1990 and India, with a population of over 1.3bn, has under eighty.
There are nine unpaid ministers in Theresa May's June 2017 Government.
The Prime Minister is able to invite Ministers to attend Cabinet without making them Cabinet Ministers. There are five people in Theresa May's June 2017 Government who attend Cabinet without being full Cabinet Ministers.
There is no formal definition of the payroll vote. It is generally considered to refer to all those who hold a role in the administration, whether paid or unpaid. This includes senior roles, as well as more junior roles including Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPSs).
The proportion of Members of the House of Commons who have been part of the payroll vote has varied from 19-22% between 1979 and 2017. More recently, the Conservative Government rigged the Select Committee system, which is supposed to scrutinise the government, by appointing nine members of its payroll vote to select committees.
There have been calls for the size of the payroll vote to be limited.
Most recently, in a 2011 report, the Public Administration Select Committee noted that the proportion of those holding government posts would be exacerbated by the proposed reduction in the size of the House of Commons from 650 to 600 following the forthcoming Boundary Review. Their recommendations included cutting the number of PPSs to one per Government Department and that the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975 should be seen as imposing a strict limit on paid and unpaid ministers.
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Labour leadership election: they're off!
IN THE days when being leader of the Labour Party meant having the ability to command the confidence of the majority of your parliamentary colleagues, its election process would likely be almost over.
Five candidates made the next round of contest: Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips, Sir Keir Starmer, and Emily Thornberry. They respectively have the support of 33, 31, 23, 88, and 23 of their parliamentary colleagues.
Before 1980, Keir Starmer would be home and hosed.
A PLURAL APPROACH
Clive Lewis, who withdrew from the leadership contest, forcefully made the case for Labour to stop behaving like the Exclusive Brethren: "The litmus test of survival for Labour is pluralism – the recognition that we as one party don't and can't have all the answers to the complex challenges we face. We are going to have to collaborate.
"It's not that we can't win alone, it's that we can't change society alone. Since 1918, there have been 28 elections and Labour has only won eight of them, often with small majorities and a short government.
"Labour can no longer impose a future on the country, instead it must negotiate one."
Ms Long-Bailey, whose media performances during the campaign were only 'good' relative to the comic relief offered by current deputy leadership contender Richard Burgon, is favoured by those most closely associated with Jeremy Corbyn's argument-winning tenure.
She has already drawn the support of party-within-a-party Momentum. Or at least its executive, as members were not allowed a vote. Momentum members have been subsequently presented with a ballot paper for the Labour leadership with only Ms Long-Bailey's name on it. Democracy in action.
As someone who said she would give the departing Labour leader 10/10 and accepted responsibility for Labour's last manifesto, she will also attract the votes of those who are intent on campaigning in purity instead of governing (all governments do) through compromise.
In her candidate statement, Rebecca Long-Bailey acknowledges the defeat and calls upon the Party to look inward to establish the reasons why, saying: "We had a chance to help turn back the tide, but we failed. The starting point in the leadership election is to be honest and self-critical about why and then look forward and forge our path to power.
"We have another round of elections in May [not in Wales] and the escalating crises we face mean that building a winning vision of a socialist future has never been so urgent.
Lisa Nandy received only two fewer nominations, despite – unlike Ms Long-Bailey – having had virtually no public profile in the 2019 election campaign. That low level of exposure for an effective media performer followed her walking out of Labour's Shadow Cabinet over Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in 2016 and declining to return.
She also backed the UK Government's Withdrawal Agreement in a key vote in October 2019 and cannot, therefore, be charged with facing two ways on the Brexit issue.
At the hustings held for candidates before the Parliamentary party, Lisa Nandy reportedly made the best impression, giving a clear indication of what Labour needed to do to recapture lost votes, look outward and not navel-gaze looking for utopia.
Making her pitch as an outsider, at her campaign launch Ms Nandy said: "The stark truth is, the path back to power for Labour will never be to build along the 'red wall'."
"If we do not change course we will die and we will deserve to. This is the moment when we up our game and recover our ambition."
Emily Thornberry, who regularly humiliated Boris Johnson when she shadowed him as Foreign Secretary and took regular delight in butchering Theresa May's stand-ins at PMQs until she was replaced by Rebecca Long-Bailey to dismal effect, is a strong and experienced parliamentarian.
She is also the MP who had to resign from Ed Milliband's frontbench team after a hopelessly misjudged and snobbish tweet during a by-election campaign in Rochester.
Ms Thornberry has the inestimable advantage among remain-backing CLPs to have stuck to her guns on the membership's wish to unequivocally support remaining in the EU. In the changed political landscape, however, that strength could prove an electoral millstone with the voting public.
Unless Brexit turns out to be a political and economic catastrophe, it is difficult to see how Emily Thornberry will break through to the voters Labour lost in the last election. Although, of course, that presupposes that the unions and membership want to win an election on something other than a sectarian basis.
Jess Phillips is, perhaps, the most outside of outsiders. She was a constant thorn in the last Government's side only slightly more often than she was a thorn in Jeremy Corbyn's. She has never held a frontbench position.
Boris Johnson's public school debating style does not impress her and clashes between the pair are always 'direct'.
Her pitch is based upon her ability to connect with voters on a personal level and on emphasising her 'speaking truth to power'.
In her candidate statement, Ms Phillips says: "I've never shied away from speaking out when I thought we were doing the wrong thing – whether that was the handling of antisemitism, waving through Tory tax cuts for the well-off or equivocating over Brexit.
"Boris Johnson fears what he can't understand. And that includes people like me.
I can win back trust because I am actually honest. And I can beat Boris Johnson because he can't handle people like me."
Sir Keir Starmer had a good term as Shadow Brexit Secretary. He tormented the hapless David Davis, made a complete laughing stock out of Davis' Minister of State Steve Baker, dissected Dominic Raab with equal forensic skill, and – faced with Stephen Barclay – often seemed to speak more in sorrow than in anger at his out-of-depth opposite number. All of which might lead a critical observer to say Sir Keir's best parliamentary performances have not been against the most testing opposition.
In many ways, in spite of his plummy voice and manner, Keir Starmer is a real Labour success story: his mother was a nurse, his father a toolmaker and he rose through the opportunities given to him to head to University and become a QC on merit.
Perceived as a 'moderate', Keir Starmer has quickly moved to push forward his 'left' credentials.
His leadership pitch says: "We are an anti-austerity party. We believe in common ownership. We want to build a more peaceful world through a human-rights based foreign policy. We must hardwire the Green New Deal into our every part of our politics.
"Inequalities of every type – power, education, health and wealth – are so ingrained that only a fundamental shift can address them."
THE KEY PROBLEM
Of all five candidates, only two – Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips – talk of a need to reconnect with voters Labour has lost. The other three make their pitch on a solely internal basis, as though the answers to Labour's electoral woes lies within not without.
That will, no doubt, work well in a leadership election for a political party in which only members can vote. Beyond the membership, though, Labour's new leader must communicate more than a shopping list of policies and blue-sky thought.
The failure to enunciate a clear path to reach voters outside the faithful should give the membership and unions considerable cause for, as Jeremy Corbyn put it, 'a period of reflection'.
Tackling hidden homelessness
Homelessness: Not only sleeping rough
A MAJOR new campaign to tackle hidden homelessness by raising awareness that "homelessness doesn't always live on the streets" has been launched by the Welsh Government.
The campaign aims to bring to light the problem of hidden homelessness and is targeted at young people who may be at risk of or already experiencing homelessness. The campaign also advises the public on what to do if they're concerned about someone they know.
Research suggests people overwhelmingly connect homelessness with rough sleeping only – which is not the case for most young people experiencing homelessness.
Even if someone has a roof over their head, they can still be homeless. They could be sofa surfing at a friends' place or staying somewhere temporarily like a hostel, night shelter or bed & breakfast. It might be they are living in very poor conditions or somewhere that's not suitable for them or their family.
To help identify people who could be homeless, there are several signs that people can look out for:
• They may be having difficulties with their relationships with their parents and close family members;
• They may be reluctant to go home – spending lots of their time outside; in public places that offer shelter and connection to wifi – for example, train stations and cafes; staying late at their education setting or jobs;
• They may be keeping belongings with them and have problems with keeping clothes clean;
• They might be asking for help with money and using food banks;
• They may have lost their job;
• They may be experiencing physical or mental health problems.
Those experiencing hidden homelessness are more likely to be at risk of exploitation, particularly young people. For example, they might be targeted by people who want to pressurise them into sex or unwaged labour in exchange for a roof over their head.
The campaign is designed to ensure that young people get the help and support they need as soon as possible, preventing homelessness from happening in the first place.
Launching the initiative Housing Minister Julie James, said: "Many people think homelessness is only about rough sleeping – it is not. Many young people experiencing, or at risk of homelessness don't recognise themselves as homeless.
"If you don't have a place to call home it is likely that you are experiencing 'hidden homelessness'.
"We know young people often don't know where to seek advice and support – so that's why we're launching this new campaign.
"So if you think you're experiencing hidden homelessness or you're at risk of it then get help now. It's never too late or too early to get help."
The Welsh Government funds Shelter Cymru to provide independent housing advice and support. The service also links people to partner organisations who can provide support services based on the needs of individuals.
Shelter Cymru Director Jon Puzey said: "We know the earlier and more often someone experiences homelessness, the more likely they are to develop complex issues that might mean they become homeless repeatedly throughout their adult life. That's why it's so important that we make it a priority to prevent youth homelessness.
"It's fantastic that the Welsh Government is taking this so seriously and helping us to reach more young people. With this joint campaign, we are making sure that young people know that Shelter Cymru is here to help them."
WG launches first international trade strategy
Eluned Morgan AC: Wales needs 'strong international presence'
Eluned Morgan AC: Wales needs 'strong international presence'
INTERNATIONAL Relations Minister Eluned Morgan launched Wales' first International Strategy on Tuesday, January 14.
The strategy aims to promote the country as an outward-looking nation ready to work and trade with the rest of the world.
It is being launched as the UK prepares to leave the EU and negotiate a new relationship with the European Union and trade deals with international partners around the world.
Eluned Morgan said: "A strong international presence has never been more relevant for Wales.
"Following the EU referendum in 2016 and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the UK's future relationship with Europe, Wales will pursue its place on the international stage with renewed vigour."
The International Strategy has 3 core ambitions over the next 5 years:
• Raise Wales' profile on the international stage
• Grow the economy by increasing exports and attracting inward investment
• Establish Wales as a globally responsible nation
It is the start of a new approach to how the Welsh Government promotes Wales internationally, identifies Wales' key global markets in a post-Brexit landscape and highlights 3 sectors where Wales is recognised as a world leader – cybersecurity, compound-semiconductors and the creative industries.
The Welsh Government hopes the approach will project a new dynamic and vibrant image of Wales as a modern, confident, high-tech, creative and sustainable nation.
Speaking ahead of the launch the minister said: "As Wales' first Minister for International Relations, it was important to bring the achievements of the last 20 years together and use these as a foundation to set out Wales' future approach to its international work.
"For a small, smart nation, Wales enjoys a reputation, which stretches far beyond its borders. The strategy will build on this reputation and showcase Wales as a nation that will be known for its creativity, its expertise in technology and its commitment to sustainability."
Responding in the Senedd for the Conservatives, Darren Millar said: "I think it's absolutely right that there's a deliberate attempt by the Welsh Government to strengthen the presence of the Welsh Government overseas post Brexit. I think it's absolutely right that some very key and core ambitions flow through the whole of the document. And I think it's right that we are attempting to get the Government focused on delivering centres of excellence around those three particular sectors that you referred cybersecurity, compound semiconductors and the creative industries."
Delyth Jewell, for Plaid Cymru, responded: "I'm glad that you have finally published details about how you intend to engage with the Welsh diaspora all over the world. This is fertile ground that Plaid Cymru has been calling for Government investment in for years. We are way behind countries such as Ireland and Scotland, so setting up this diaspora database is a positive first step that will allow the Welsh Government to take a more proactive approach. That will help us culturally and economically, and will benefit Wales."
Welcoming the Minister's statement, Mandy Jones of the Brexit Party said: "I do hope that the Government considers the possibility of actually hosting a new trade summit here in Wales for Commonwealth countries. This could promote trade and also celebrate cultures, history and future relationships. I see this not as a replacement for the EU relationship, but as an additional relationship with countries who also share our goals and our values."
Eluned Morgan concluded the debate by emphasising the Welsh Government did not want to limit its ambition on international trade to the three sectors the policy focuses on.
"Let me make it clear," the Minister said, "we are not just focusing on three sectors.
"Those three sectors are to just get the attention of people when we walk into the room. We did that when we went to Germany last year. We invited people to a tech meeting, we told them that we were going to talk about cyber and compound semiconductors; we finished up talking about insurance tech.
"It's about getting people through the door and how you pique their interest."
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