Redwood's rottweiler bites again
Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Nick Bourne's been having quite an easy time of it as late. Admittedly, Labour piped up last week and accused him of being scared to leave his air-conditioned office, but that's about as heated as it's got.

Enter Rod Richards, his predecessor as Tory leader.

"I regret the fact that these days all politicians from all parties are basically cardboard cut-outs," said Richards, obviously taking this photo (left) a little too seriously.

"As for the Conservative group leader Nick Bourne I have no regard for him whatsoever.

"I will not be voting in the assembly elections because nobody standing represents me or my views and I have taken a positive decision to abstain which shows my disdain for the way the assembly is operating. I certainly won't be voting Conservative because they don't deserve it and have no credibility in my view".

So the Tories are one vote down already. But it's no surprise that Richards, one of John Redwood's former enforcers, isn't a big fan of Nick Bourne. After all, he blames him for no less than his political downfall.

There was a time, you see, when Rod Richards was leader of the Welsh Conservatives. He was influential, respected and had first dibs on all the buffet lunches. But then he became embroiled in strange nocturnal activities and had to step down. Nick Bourne was the beneficiary and even when Richards was cleared, refused to give him back the whip. And so, an enemy was Bourne, with Richards branding him a "complete prat".

The relationship now seems much as it was then, except these days the Tories are in much better shape. It's hard to believe that just six years ago people were writing articles wondering if they'd ever win a Westminster seat in Wales again. It's also hard to believe that the man who was once the face of Conservatism in Wales is still so bitter about his political demise.

So, do Richards' views reflect those of other disillusioned Tories, or are they just the sole bitter fruit of an ancient feud? I suspect their impact will be minimal. For Bourne, this may simply be a case of vote lost, battle won.

A full version of Rod Richard's interview appears in the latest version of Parliamentary Motion magazine.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 12:12 am, ,


The facts about the Tories and devolution
Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Conservative Mid & West Wales candidate Glyn Davies has had an epiphany. You can be a Tory and pro-devolution. Moreover, you can be a Tory and an advocate of even more devolution.

Glyn wants full law-making powers for the national assembly. But while considered something of a maverick, he is still standing on a Conservative Party ticket in the forthcoming elections. So where does the Tory party stand on devolution?

Well, they led the No campaign in 1997 and their 1999 assembly election manifesto was laced with bitterness and pessimism. Smack bang at the top of the document, then leader Rod Richards wrote this: "The transfer of further powers from Westminster to the Assembly would lead to the fragmentation of Britain making European federalism easier for the government to achieve."

Eight years on, the Tories still aren't sure. And it's difficult to find the hype surrounding the big Welsh strides they might make this time around reflected in the manifesto. True, the Tories call for more powers, but they call for more powers in order to:

• seek to establish St. David’s Day as a national holiday;
• introduce a Welsh symbol on car number plates;
• ensure that a separate Welsh option appears on census forms together with a question on the use of Welsh;
• petition the Queen to establish a Welsh order of chivalry.

Not quite a nationalist's wet dream:)

This debate must surely have come up during the manifesto negotiations. I can only presume that the other Tory AMs don't share Glyn's enthusiasm while there are still ultra-Unionists in the ranks.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 12:36 am, ,