Peter Hain: assembly election candidate
Friday, March 02, 2007

Well, not quite. I've seen the list of Labour candidates and his name isn't on it. But if he were to stand, and if he won the Labour leadership in the assembly, he'd be entitled to 'rule out' a coalition with Plaid Cymru.

That's what he did yesterday in the House of Commons in his position as member of parliament for Neath and Secretary of State for Wales. Eh?

Has he consulted with Rhodri Morgan? Is this the official Labour party line in Wales? "I don't think there is going to be much of an appetite for it," is all the First Minister's spokeswoman would say, leaving the coalition door ajar.

But hang on. If it's been 'ruled out' then the First Minister's hands are tied: a 'can't do politician' if ever there was one.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 7:16 am,

4 Comments:

At 2:47 pm, Blogger Ted Jones said...

He was basically caught out by Adam Price during the debate in response to Hain's 'Tory led coalition' war song. Obviously it wasn't a planned remark.

The key question now is what happoens if the Labour meltdown is so bad that there's not enough members for a lib-lab pact. In that circumstances having ruled out Plaid, Labour would have to come to agreement with the Tories.

 
At 5:01 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let's face it we are heading for political chaos after May 3rd. We must have the worst set of politicians in Western Europe at the moment.

 
At 6:28 pm, Blogger Glyn Davies said...

There is not the slightest chance that Labour and the Conservatives could form a coalition. Ted had better open his mind to the possibility of a coalition that doesn't include Labour. That is when the people of Wales have a genuine choice at the ballot box. Labour or a Labour-led coalition is no choice at all and simply perpetuates the One Party State position that has blighted Welsh politics for so long.

 
At 12:43 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The priority in May is to create a meaningful alternative to the Stalinist stranglehold Labour has exerted on Wales for the best part of a century. The Valleys are a testament to the party's failure to represent workers.

The only realistic coalition on the cards at the moment is Lib-Lab, mainly out of desperation on Labour's part.

However, I agree with Ted Jones that there may be a shortfall, especially if Labour wants a credible working majority.

I suspect all this "ruling out" of coalitions will melt away on May 4th when the horse trading begins, although I still don't see how you can reconcile a Tory Party committed to privatisation and the vagaries of the free market with Plaid committed to social justice and public ownership.

As for having the worst set of politicians... I think we deserve better and hopefully standards will improve somewhat after May 3.

 

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