Wednesday, April 25, 2007
2007 WELSH ASSEMBLY ELECTION MANIFESTO SPECIAL: LABOUR
>I’m not sure that I have downloaded the correct document, but this seems to be the only whole of Wales document that I can find, while labour are seemingly operating a divide and conquer strategy by launching different manifestos for each region in Wales. Making it very hard for opposition parties to round criticisms as there will be very few appropriate opportunities for assaults on individual regional manifestos. It also means that labour has stopped trying to foster a greater sense of national identity, and just concentrating on regional identity.
>Moreover, as I mentioned with the conservatives the title seems interesting. “building a better Wales” now since they have been in government for the past 8 years you would have hoped that a better Wales had been built. But this suggests that they have failed to address the problems. At this juncture I am reminded of a letter that was sent to the Western Mail just after Peter Law had won Blaenau Gwent. It read (am I am remember that this so apologies if it is not word perfect) but the gist was that Blaenau Gwent was a deprived area and therefore the constituents were short sighted in rejected the labour party as only a large political party could attract the inward investment that could induce prosperity in the constituency. Now my problem with this was history, how could someone say that only a national party (implying labour) could benefit Blaenau Gwent, when it was said in the letter that Blaenau Gwent is a deprived area recognising that the last 80 years of labour dominance was unsuccessful in improving that. How can people be so blindly loyal to a political party is beyond me – anyway enough of the rant on to the manifesto.
Page 3
Labour is working with the people of Wales to build a country that is successful, confident, and ambitious.
>Although Peter Hain (MP for Neath and Secretary of State for Wales) thinks Wales is too small to be significant.
The Welsh economy now has strong foundations in place for future success.
>Although Wales has become the poorest region in the UK over the last 8 years.
Since 1999, Wales has seen the biggest drop in unemployment of any part of the United Kingdom and a rise of 130,000 in the total number of new jobs.
>I’m a graduate that can’t find graduate employment in Wales, there may be new jobs but they are not high skilled jobs, mainly call centres and service sector jobs.
Our children are our future. Our investment in education has resulted in the highest ever level
of achievement in schools – we will ensure that we have the skills for success in the future.
>Did you know that I applied for a job with south Wales police, for the position of crime management analyst (actually I haven’t heard whether I have got it or not yet) but all they wanted by way of qualification is 5 GCSEs (a-c) two of them to be at grade A. now I have a highly analytical degree which no one appears to want very annoying.
In Wales, people are living longer and are healthier than ever before. We will take action to ensure even better standards of health and health care, and drive forward policies to make sure that our children have the healthiest possible start to life.
>The policies being what exactly? And as for children’s’ health medicine and the health service is not the first place to start they need safe and secure play areas, more exercise in school and greater funding for a wider arrange of sports at grass roots level.
Page 4
Seven new hospitals built
>Which will consolidate the services from several hospitals taking them out of the local communities. Closing several more than they are opening.
Ensure all children have an opportunity to use a sports or leisure facility or swimming pool free of
charge at weekends
>Good, but what about weekday, could you provide free coaching too to maximise the benefit.
Improve the quality of food in schools, hospitals and other public premises, and provide increased
investment in our school kitchens
>Good, but are there going to be more helpers in hospitals to aid those who can’t feed themselves.
Ensure that all people who want one can have access to an NHS Dentist
>Why haven’t you don’t this already? You’ve been in power for 8 years.
Provide free parking at NHS hospitals for patients requiring treatment for Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy and Renal Dialysis; and season ticket arrangements for those who want one
>Such limited free parking I have a chronic lung condition and I would still have to pay parking! In my opinion only visitors (rather than patients) should have to pay parking. If you think about the logic of it, they have free prescriptions to ensure that people take medicines, but they don’t have free parking to ensure people attend hospital appointments.
Page 5
A strong economy is the foundation for Wales’ future success.
>According to Peter Hain, Wales by itself doesn’t have an independent future.
investing in skills, helping even more people to return to work and giving our young people the tools for success.
>Good.
Ensure that young people aged between 16 and 19 are supported to stay in education or work-place learning
Develop new National Business Research Centres in Welsh Universities
>It would probably be better to try and stop the closure of departments at universities, so welsh students don’t have to go outside of Wales to continue their education in their chosen field.
Ensure that the opportunity to study for the Welsh Baccalaureate exists in all parts of Wales
Page 6
We will involve local people in environmental clean-up and increase fines for litter and graffiti
>How exactly are you going to apply fines for litter and graffiti, its all well and good having larger fines, but if you haven’t got the police presence to witness this activity what hope is there that they will be handed down to offenders.
£24 million over the full Assembly term for the Safer Communities Fund, reducing youth crime
>How exactly will that reduce youth crime? Your disenfranchising youth because you pander to the grey vote, and therefore you don’t see it as a priority to provide facilities for them causing them to entertain themselves in what has been termed anti-social ways.
Provide sprinklers in all new school buildings and extend that provision in existing buildings
>Sadly this is now needed, with the real threat of arson to school buildings.
Page 7
We will continue to guarantee funding for the poorest communities and build towards a brighter future for all of our citizens.
>I have to say, that continuing a policy that hasn’t been very successful doesn’t seem very logical, so I think that Plaid has the better policy of targeted reductions of corporations taxes in order to prompt economic activity.
Provide £450 million investment in new social housing over the next Assembly term, making land available for affordable housing
Increase investment in door-to-door community transport, so that everyone, including the elderly and the disabled, can enjoy greater freedom.
>Door-to-door, flagrant attempt to get the votes of the elderly, I think most people want reliable, frequent and clean buses, which go outside the city centre.
Encourage saving amongst young people by ensuring access to a Credit Union for every secondary school
>So how are you going to encourage saving, when there is so much reliance on the level of ones savings in access to state benefits, pension credits, etc…
New funding for the University of the Third Age
>The University of the what? Why can’t we have more funding for conventional universities?
Improve the take-up of Council Tax Benefit amongst older people
>That’s good, but why only council tax benefits and why only amongst older people, why not promise to improve take-up of all benefits.
Page 8
Labour will meet head on the challenge of climate change, by building a sustainable Wales that is cleaner and greener by minimising Wales’ carbon footprint, supporting environmental technology and developing an integrated public transport network.
>This is the same labour who’s leader (Rhodri Morgan) said that global warming would be good for Wales as the good weather would be good for Welsh tourism – forgetting the fact that most of south Wales and the welsh coastline would be underwater.
Ensure higher standards of energy efficiency in all new buildings in Wales
>Good
Ensure that all our government buildings in Wales are carbon neutral by 2012
Work towards 30,000 solar power and other micro-generation units on buildings across Wales by 2012
>Work towards – how about writing it into the planning laws that all new buildings and building alterations would have to include micro-generation units.
Create a new All-Wales Trans Cambria transport network, bringing communities and services together
>Good, but could mean new roads, I prefer to have a better rail infrastructure.
Provide a £100 million fund over the full Assembly term for safer local roads; safe for cycling and walking and including safe routes to school and 20 mph zones
Provide an All-Wales Coastal Path
Plant a Tree for all babies and adopted children to give our youngest citizens a stake in the future of their planet
>It’s a novel idea, but I can’t help thinking “will you cut it down if they die?”
¶ 6:50 PM >Moreover, as I mentioned with the conservatives the title seems interesting. “building a better Wales” now since they have been in government for the past 8 years you would have hoped that a better Wales had been built. But this suggests that they have failed to address the problems. At this juncture I am reminded of a letter that was sent to the Western Mail just after Peter Law had won Blaenau Gwent. It read (am I am remember that this so apologies if it is not word perfect) but the gist was that Blaenau Gwent was a deprived area and therefore the constituents were short sighted in rejected the labour party as only a large political party could attract the inward investment that could induce prosperity in the constituency. Now my problem with this was history, how could someone say that only a national party (implying labour) could benefit Blaenau Gwent, when it was said in the letter that Blaenau Gwent is a deprived area recognising that the last 80 years of labour dominance was unsuccessful in improving that. How can people be so blindly loyal to a political party is beyond me – anyway enough of the rant on to the manifesto.
Page 3
Labour is working with the people of Wales to build a country that is successful, confident, and ambitious.
>Although Peter Hain (MP for Neath and Secretary of State for Wales) thinks Wales is too small to be significant.
The Welsh economy now has strong foundations in place for future success.
>Although Wales has become the poorest region in the UK over the last 8 years.
Since 1999, Wales has seen the biggest drop in unemployment of any part of the United Kingdom and a rise of 130,000 in the total number of new jobs.
>I’m a graduate that can’t find graduate employment in Wales, there may be new jobs but they are not high skilled jobs, mainly call centres and service sector jobs.
Our children are our future. Our investment in education has resulted in the highest ever level
of achievement in schools – we will ensure that we have the skills for success in the future.
>Did you know that I applied for a job with south Wales police, for the position of crime management analyst (actually I haven’t heard whether I have got it or not yet) but all they wanted by way of qualification is 5 GCSEs (a-c) two of them to be at grade A. now I have a highly analytical degree which no one appears to want very annoying.
In Wales, people are living longer and are healthier than ever before. We will take action to ensure even better standards of health and health care, and drive forward policies to make sure that our children have the healthiest possible start to life.
>The policies being what exactly? And as for children’s’ health medicine and the health service is not the first place to start they need safe and secure play areas, more exercise in school and greater funding for a wider arrange of sports at grass roots level.
Page 4
Seven new hospitals built
>Which will consolidate the services from several hospitals taking them out of the local communities. Closing several more than they are opening.
Ensure all children have an opportunity to use a sports or leisure facility or swimming pool free of
charge at weekends
>Good, but what about weekday, could you provide free coaching too to maximise the benefit.
Improve the quality of food in schools, hospitals and other public premises, and provide increased
investment in our school kitchens
>Good, but are there going to be more helpers in hospitals to aid those who can’t feed themselves.
Ensure that all people who want one can have access to an NHS Dentist
>Why haven’t you don’t this already? You’ve been in power for 8 years.
Provide free parking at NHS hospitals for patients requiring treatment for Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy and Renal Dialysis; and season ticket arrangements for those who want one
>Such limited free parking I have a chronic lung condition and I would still have to pay parking! In my opinion only visitors (rather than patients) should have to pay parking. If you think about the logic of it, they have free prescriptions to ensure that people take medicines, but they don’t have free parking to ensure people attend hospital appointments.
Page 5
A strong economy is the foundation for Wales’ future success.
>According to Peter Hain, Wales by itself doesn’t have an independent future.
investing in skills, helping even more people to return to work and giving our young people the tools for success.
>Good.
Ensure that young people aged between 16 and 19 are supported to stay in education or work-place learning
Develop new National Business Research Centres in Welsh Universities
>It would probably be better to try and stop the closure of departments at universities, so welsh students don’t have to go outside of Wales to continue their education in their chosen field.
Ensure that the opportunity to study for the Welsh Baccalaureate exists in all parts of Wales
Page 6
We will involve local people in environmental clean-up and increase fines for litter and graffiti
>How exactly are you going to apply fines for litter and graffiti, its all well and good having larger fines, but if you haven’t got the police presence to witness this activity what hope is there that they will be handed down to offenders.
£24 million over the full Assembly term for the Safer Communities Fund, reducing youth crime
>How exactly will that reduce youth crime? Your disenfranchising youth because you pander to the grey vote, and therefore you don’t see it as a priority to provide facilities for them causing them to entertain themselves in what has been termed anti-social ways.
Provide sprinklers in all new school buildings and extend that provision in existing buildings
>Sadly this is now needed, with the real threat of arson to school buildings.
Page 7
We will continue to guarantee funding for the poorest communities and build towards a brighter future for all of our citizens.
>I have to say, that continuing a policy that hasn’t been very successful doesn’t seem very logical, so I think that Plaid has the better policy of targeted reductions of corporations taxes in order to prompt economic activity.
Provide £450 million investment in new social housing over the next Assembly term, making land available for affordable housing
Increase investment in door-to-door community transport, so that everyone, including the elderly and the disabled, can enjoy greater freedom.
>Door-to-door, flagrant attempt to get the votes of the elderly, I think most people want reliable, frequent and clean buses, which go outside the city centre.
Encourage saving amongst young people by ensuring access to a Credit Union for every secondary school
>So how are you going to encourage saving, when there is so much reliance on the level of ones savings in access to state benefits, pension credits, etc…
New funding for the University of the Third Age
>The University of the what? Why can’t we have more funding for conventional universities?
Improve the take-up of Council Tax Benefit amongst older people
>That’s good, but why only council tax benefits and why only amongst older people, why not promise to improve take-up of all benefits.
Page 8
Labour will meet head on the challenge of climate change, by building a sustainable Wales that is cleaner and greener by minimising Wales’ carbon footprint, supporting environmental technology and developing an integrated public transport network.
>This is the same labour who’s leader (Rhodri Morgan) said that global warming would be good for Wales as the good weather would be good for Welsh tourism – forgetting the fact that most of south Wales and the welsh coastline would be underwater.
Ensure higher standards of energy efficiency in all new buildings in Wales
>Good
Ensure that all our government buildings in Wales are carbon neutral by 2012
Work towards 30,000 solar power and other micro-generation units on buildings across Wales by 2012
>Work towards – how about writing it into the planning laws that all new buildings and building alterations would have to include micro-generation units.
Create a new All-Wales Trans Cambria transport network, bringing communities and services together
>Good, but could mean new roads, I prefer to have a better rail infrastructure.
Provide a £100 million fund over the full Assembly term for safer local roads; safe for cycling and walking and including safe routes to school and 20 mph zones
Provide an All-Wales Coastal Path
Plant a Tree for all babies and adopted children to give our youngest citizens a stake in the future of their planet
>It’s a novel idea, but I can’t help thinking “will you cut it down if they die?”
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DAILY CARTOON
- 2007 WELSH ASSEMBLY ELECTION MANIFESTO SPECIAL: LI...
- 2007 WELSH ASSEMBLY ELECTION MANIFESTO SPECIAL: CO...
- 2007 WELSH ASSEMBLY ELECTION MANIFESTO SPECIAL: PL...
- 07/03/07 – THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF LABOUR
- 02/03/07 – CLEAR RED WATER
- 28/02/07 – POLICING
- 28/02/07 – DINAS A’R SIR ABERTAWE
- 28/02/07 – LABOUR FAILING THE NATIONS HEALTH.
- 23/02 – DELIBERATLY MISLEADING WELSH VOTERS?
- 20/02 – MONEY FOR NOTHING
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