PROFESSOR DYLAN JONES-EVANS

As I am off travelling to the Far East for a few days, I thought I would establish an open thread for the first time until I am back on the blogosphere. As probably the only 'tory in the lecture-room', I have always been intrigued by the political allegiances of others within the university world in Wales (or even those from Wales working in other parts of the academic world). I am particularly interested in those who have actually stood for political office. So, if you have any names, please put them forward. As a good academic, I will moderate this blog entry and check for veracity and accuracy! Let me start you off with one from each of the four parties: Professor Dylan Jones-Evans - Conservative and University of Wales Dr Hywel Francis MP - Labour and formerly chair in continuing education Professor Phil Cooke , Plaid Cymru and Cardiff University Dr Alan Butt Philip , Liberal Democrats and Reader in European Integration at Bath University Over to you!

Given Sunday's blog on Dafydd Wigley's comments regarding the role of the civil service in Wales, it would seem that at least individuals working for WAG agrees with his observations. According to Western Mail , the ' whistleblower ' alleges: Recent Ministerial refusal to meaningfully engage with the UK Government on stimulating bank lending to Wales’s businesses in favour of WAG lending of public money direct to business; hundreds of millions of pounds of European aid being diverted from the private sector into the continuation of longstanding, re-branded public sector schemes with poor track records; the much-trumpeted Single Investment Fund and WAG’s SME (small and medium enterprises) relationship manager support is only reaching a minuscule number of Welsh businesses; millions of pounds of funding intended for SMEs not being used and handed back; an expensive IT project to develop a customer relationship management system not delivering; major problems with the

Dafydd Wigley and I have agreed and disagreed in equal measure during the last few years. However, his article in last week's Daily Post is one that I cannot but endorse wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, I only have access to the Welsh language version on the Daily Post website . I have therefore translated the relevant bits in the hope that they capture the spirit of his argument. "If the Government is to maintain the current numbers of doctors, nurses and policemen, then the only possibility of creating any savings will be through a stunning change in the way that government operates and a new mindset within the Civil Service I remember one very senior civil servant in Wales stating that he would rather make no decision whatsoever than making the wrong decision. Doesn’t that say it all! We have to step back form the mindset which says that we cannot make a decision because of a lack of analysis - a mindset which leads to every subject being analysed a hundred times before any s

During my first job as a research fellow at Durham University Business School in the early 1990s, we had a contract with one of the banks to develop a commentary on the Budget and its effect on the small business sector. In pre-internet days, this was done by a team of 20 of us sitting through the afternoon going through hundreds of pages faxed to us from the Treasury. We would put our analysis together on the different sections up until 8pm and the report would be edited, sent to the printers and flown to London to be released formally at 9am to a business audience. Most importantly, we would have had the opportunity to cover everything of interest in the report and there would be no sudden nasty shocks revealed in the small print later. Today, with pre-Budget reports and leaked press releases, it is often wise not to comment in detail on anything in the Budget during the first couple of days apart from the main headlines. Like many, my instant reaction to these headlines on Wednesday

It seems that a row has broken out in Cardiff University over its Centre for Lifelong Learning. According to a report in the BBC , there are plans to cut all teaching in arts and humanities at the Cardiff University Centre For Lifelong Learning with alleged implications for jobs at a time when there is a growing demand for adult education during a recession. Should it be surprising that Cardiff University is abandoning its role in lifelong learning in Wales? Not according to last week’s Times Higher , which leaked a memo from a meeting between David Grant, vice-chancellor of Cardiff, and the heads of school. This memo stated that staff recruitment would be driven by the demands of the research excellence framework in the future, "not teaching" and that the "V-C left us with this message: a) we may be over-teaching in some areas; b) we may be teaching in areas that we shouldn't be". The University states that it is consulting on this issue, but I hope that it doe

....so says an article in the Economist today which reveals the results of a paper presented at the Ropyal Economic Society annual conference. According to the 'comments piece' (a posh blog), "The authors explore the incentives that motivate people to blog and read others' blogs. They find evidence that bloggers trade off content and attention—"attention to one's blog is won by paying attention to other bloggers". There also seems to be a norm of reciprocity that you are penalised for violating. Those who do not adhere "are sanctioned with a lower number of readers". These findings will come as no surprise to dedicated bloggers. A common joke is that the only people who actually read blogs are other bloggers. Difficult to disagree with such logic!

Have been away in London for the last 24 hours and actually missed the budget live for the first time in a decade. As I am doing a live panel tomorrow for businesses in Cardiff, I will probably blog in more detail later once I have read the full report. However, my instant reaction is that of many others. Shock and horror at the £175 billion of public sector borrowing this year. Incredulity that the 50 per cent increase in the higher rate of tax is perceived as a vote winner (well, until the Conservative Party said that they would not commit to reversing the policy) Enormous disappointment that nothing real was done to boost the business sector, such as a freeze in business rates or a cut in corporation tax. Clearly, there is political capital to be made out of this budget but that can wait for another day. What is really worrying though is the news that the pound fell against both the dollar and the euro, which shows that investors are keeping out of the UK. More frightening is the pr

Whilst the whole of the UK economy has been damaged by the recession, it is generally accepted that the sector that has been hit hardest is retailing, which employs 11 per cent of the UK workforce and generates £278 billion per annum. During the last few months, we have seen the demise of household names such as Woolworth's, MFI, and Adams and other shops have only survived through a process of heavy discounting which, in turn, has hit their bottom line and made survival more difficult. There is also growing concern that some towns are being affected more than others during this retail slump. For example, a recent study showed that Holyhead is the worst hit street in the UK, with 39 per cent of all shops in the high street being empty. Llangefni, the second major town on the island, is also in the top ten of so-called ‘ghost towns’ with just under a quarter of its shops empty. So what should be done to alleviate this blight on our communities? Some local authorities have already ta

As I was walking home through Bute Park today, I saw this strange sign that seemed to be in a strange foreign language That was until I looked across the road and saw the English equivalent: Is it really that difficult to get this right? If whoever is responsible can't be bothered to translate five words properly, then why bother when the translation probably makes more sense in Bulgarian. The question is who owns these signs - the Royal Horticultural Society, which held its show in the park over the weekend) or the Lib-Dem/Plaid controlled Cardiff council which is responsible for safety in the park?

Last month, I wrote about the problems facing the Irish economy which, because of its over-reliance on property and construction, has seen a spectacular fall in its prosperity levels. It would seem that the fate of our Celtic cousins has resulted in a recent spat between Labour and Plaid politicians over claims by nationalists that Ireland was the perfect model for an independent Wales. As a result, statistics have been used selectively to make the case for and against such a proposition. So what is the reality of the situation? Certainly, Ireland has been hard hit by the economic recession, more so than many other economies in the European Union. Earlier this month, the Central Bank and Irish Financial Services Authority quarterly forecast was pessimistic in the extreme. It suggested that GDP will fall by close to 7% in 2009 and is set to contract by a further 3% in 2010 when the rest of the world is set to recover. Overall, a historically unprecedented cumulative decline in GDP of ov

It would seem that the Labour-Plaid Government are determined to press ahead with their controversial £42 million refurbishment of the Assembly's Cathays Park offices, despite accusations of insensitivity over the use of public funds at a time of recession, According to the sell2wales website , "the Welsh Assembly Government, on behalf of The Welsh Ministers (The Client), requires a provider of Architectural Services to inform its development of change proposals and Outline Business Case for the modernisation of its core asset in Cathays Park, Cardiff" The estimated cost of this 'exercise' is, according to the tender document, "in the region of £60K - £80K". Do you believe that tens of thousands of pounds will be spent on an exercise that will not result in what Ministers and civil servants want? No, nor do I. Civil servants may argue that it is the correct business decision and could create some efficiencies gains, but the disproportionate cost will not

Another Sunday, another set of damaging revelations. After a week when the Labour Party tried its best to contain the problems emanating from the 'resignation' of Damian McBride, it would seem that the whole edifice of this once great party is falling apart. Ed Balls, the schools secretary, used Damian McBride, the disgraced spin doctor, to smear ministerial rivals and advance his own ambitions, a Downing Street whistleblower has claimed . A former Labour MP has quit the party , saying Gordon Brown has betrayed the principles that inspired her to join. Left-wing Alice Mahon , 71, MP for Halifax from 1987-2005, was "absolutely scandalised" by the Damian McBride affair. The General Secretary of the Labour Party has denied claims he knew of the plot to smear senior Tories when he held meetings to set up a new website A ballot box containing votes for a key parliamentary selection contest was broken into at Labour's national headquarters in London. A week is certai

Yesterday, the SNP Conference heard a proposal for a special Scottish loyalty points scheme to reward the purchase of Scottish produce in corner shops and supermarkets . The proposal by SNP MSP Aileen Campbell for a "Saltire" label is similar to that in Ireland and is suggested that it can encourage shoppers to purchase Scottish produce, to support our farmers and food producers and to cut food miles. I think this is a very worthwhile idea and hopefully the Scottish Parliament will adopt such a radical step to help local businesses. However, I would say that wouldn't I, especially as I managed to get the Welsh Conservatives to adopt a similar scheme for Wales as official party policy in 2007, following earlier research I had undertaken in 2005. As I said in January 2007, "The Welsh Conservatives proposed introducing a new “Guaranteed Welsh” logo to promote Welsh produce and services. The scheme - similar to a system already operating in Ireland - would make it easier

Is it just me or did yesterday's 'apology' from the Prime Minister seems slightly insincere and more of an attempt to shut down this whole storyline once and for all six days after the whole event broke? This is just isn't good enough from the leader of this great country, especially as his supporters have now come to accept, as second nature, his unspoken approval to target any enemies, including those within their own party. Clearly, the press seems to largely agree with this analysis, as some of the quotes below suggest: "Gordon Brown finds his high ideals sucked down into the swamp. In seeking to dis-associate himself from his aide, Damian McBride, the prime minister has been tormented by a persistent problem - not of his making, but not of his rejecting either. That is that the conduct of politics today now appears to demand the kind of skills in character assassination displayed by Mr McBride in his series of e-mails to the former Labour aides, Derek Draper a

With the Welsh Assembly Government abandoning the Wales GB Rally and giving up one of its boxes at the Millennium Stadium , it would seem that our politicians have conveniently forgotten the economic benefits that sports can bring to a nation. Thanks, therefore to Aled Blake of the Western Mail for an incisive article on what the promotion of Cardiff City to the premiership could do for the Cardiff-city region . I was particularly taken by a comment in the article from an old mate of mine, Professor Tom Cannon, who said "Frankly, the sky's the limit for Cardiff if the club gets promoted. Cardiff is a national capital, the potential is massive, particularly if the Welsh Assembly Government got behind Cardiff in terms of profile and in terms of image." Tom, as normal, is spot on, but given the way that the Wales GB Rally has been treated and promises seemingly broken, I wouldn't hold my breath if I was a director of Cardiff City FC .

Two stories have emerged over the last couple of days which demonstrate the fragility of support for the rural economy in Wales, especially in Powys. First of all is the news that Powys County Council is closing tourist information centres , thus undermining the attempts to attract more visitors to the area. Secondly is the seemingly shambolic handling by WAG of business support services within the county. Powys can ill afford such shenanigans. Since Labour came to power in 1997, the average prosperity per head has fallen from 77 per cent of the UK average to 70 per cent of the UK average. Contrast this Swansea which has grown from 76 per cent of the UK average to 81 per cent. Yet Swansea is in receipt of billions of European Aid whilst Powys does not qualify for any support at all. Powys, under Labour, has become the forgotten county of Wales and on the recent evidence, those in power are in no hurry to refresh their memories.

(Very) early this morning, I was trawling some of the main Welsh blogs and found that the " Welsh Ramblings " website, which has been accused by Labour bloggers of being run by Plaid Cymru staffers , was down and inaccessible. Is this merely a technical hitch or is it the first victim of the tightening of rules over 'Smeargate'? Certainly, we have heard nothing for weeks from " Pippa Wagstaff " which was allegedly run by Conservative staffers. As someone who has always blogged openly under his own name, I have always been uncomfortable with anonymous blogging, especially when it is carried out by those employed by political parties in Wales. There is a temptation to focus on unsubstantiated gossip and innuendo which, as we saw over the weekend, can lead to trouble. It also smacks too much of the 'doing their Master's bidding' as in the McBride affair. If politicians don't have the balls to blog themselves, then their paid employees shouldn

No doubt the focus tomorrow by the majority of political commentators will be on the broadsheet reaction to Gordon Brown's statement. However, let us not forget the reaction of what is probably the most influential paper amongst swing voters across the UK, namely the Sun. In their leader article for Tuesday , the paper states: "Damian McBride couldn’t just hang his head and admit he had heaped shame on Downing Street, the Labour Party and his publicly-funded position. No. Because spin is so ingrained in Labour’s psyche that admitting a damaging truth is never an option. McBride, caught making up sordid lies about senior Tories and their wives, quit merely because “when a backroom adviser becomes the story, their position becomes untenable.” Cabinet Office minister Liam Byrne circles the wagons, downplaying the smears and praising McBride’s forced resignation as “honourable”. Downing Street, incredibly, gives McBride credit for deciding not to make his own lies public, while

Over the weekend, we saw the beginning of what could be the dirtiest election campaign of modern times. Unless you are living on Mars, you will probably be aware that Damian McBride, one of Gordon Brown's senior officials (below with the PM) sent emails which discussed the smearing of Conservative politicians through obscene innuendo. He was forced to resign although it remains unclear how many others within the heart of Government knew about this plan. Those not involved in politics will wonder why individuals would resort to personal insults when it should be the policies that matter. Having been at the receiving end of such behaviour as a political candidate, I can tell you that it is not pleasant although what I experienced was nothing compared to what was planned for David Cameron, George Osborne and their families. During the last election campaign, I had to instigate legal action against a prominent local academic (and previously a candidate for another political party) who

With 'smeargate' threatening to blow up into something far more serious than an exchange of emails amongst mates, politicians should go into their attics to dig out the old videotapes of Yes Prime Minister, although Guido does recommend something more modern . The one I would recommend more than any other is the last episode in which Jim Hacker is told a few home truths by Sir Humphrey. Just a shame that there seem to be more special advisers than civil servants in No 10 these days (although there is now thankfully one less after yesterday's debacle).

After yesterday's events of high drama, today sees the News of the World finally publishing the full details of the emails which were set to smear top Conservative politicians. Whilst Damian McBride has fallen on his sword, his departure has only intensified speculation regarding the degree to which others in No 10 Downing St knew about this smear campaign. There is an increasing stink of desperation around this government and its supporters, in which 'attack' seems to be the only strategy available to the Labour Party. You only have to look at the new Aneurin Glyndwr website to see this trend growing in Wales - devoid of any ideas or policies and focusing solely on attacking other parties through gossip and character assassination. It shows how far a once great political movement has fallen. More on this tomorrow.

Last week, Ieuan Wyn Jones, the Minister for Economy and Transport, stated his party, Plaid Cymru, was “calling for a fiscal stimulus during this recession – a stimulus targeted at real jobs in the real economy, not at banks, bankers, insurance companies and the City”. With bankers such as Sir Fred Goodwin being vilified for their role in creating the credit crunch, it is easy to play the role of the populist politician and apply the same broad-brush criticism to the rest of the financial services industry. However, given his own department has identified this as a key sector to nurture and support, many would be surprised and disappointed at this sudden case of selective amnesia regarding the importance of banks, insurance companies and other financial services companies to the Welsh economy. According to the Welsh Assembly Government , there are more than 1,800 financial services companies located in Wales, employing nearly 30,000 people and contributing more than 5% to the prosperit

Another day and another example of how Plaid Cymru in Government is not listening to their grassroots members. This time, it is the Plaid Cymru fortress of Gwynedd County Council who have broken with their colleagues in the Assembly. On Wednesday, the leader of Gwynedd, Dyfed Edwards, stated in the Daily Post that he has " already raised the possibility of reducing business rates as a significant practical means of easing the cash flow and credit problems facing local businesses with the Assembly Government’s Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport Ieuan Wyn Jones, and I have now formally written to him to request that the One Wales Assembly Government considers introducing this measure as a strategic priority.” And the response from Ieuan to this call from his flagship local authority - nothing. However, we do get t he usual response from the 'Assembly spokesperson' : “ Across the board business rates reductions would mean that we could not targe

As memories of the G20 fades into the distance, there is growing consensus among commentators that the issue of MPs' expenses will probably be one of the defining factors of the next general election. Even those at the top of the greasy pole cannot escape the fact that, despite "keeping within the rules", they have broken the spirit of claiming those expenses that are needed to do their job properly. According to one paper , "Gordon Brown and chancellor Alistair Darling are the latest political heavyweights to be caught up in the swirling expenses row. Mr Brown has claimed more than £17,000 in second-home expenses since becoming prime minister. Since 2001, Mr Brown has claimed more than £116,000 in expenses. Mr Darling, meanwhile, is claiming thousands of pounds in second home allowances for his constituency house in Edinburgh, despite living in a taxpayer-funded Downing Street apartment and renting out his London flat. It also emerged housing minister Margaret Beck

Last week, it was announced that the workforce in the National Health Service had increased to 1,368,200 by September 2008, a rise of more than 27 per cent in a decade. This should be of little surprise to anyone, given the fact that we are all living longer and that there is increased pressure on the health service to provide more staff to cope with the higher demand from patients. The critical question, of course, is whether the additional resources for staff is going on front line services or on supporting the bureaucracy that has become the byword for the health service up and down the land. For example, the census by the NHS Information Centre showed that whilst the number of nurses employed went up by 2.1 per cent, the proportion of managers increased by 9.4 per cent. Indeed, there are now 5,000 more managers employed to care for the organisation than there are actual consultants to care for the sick. A small fortune is being spent on senior management. Executives within the

At a time of recession caused by the greed of bankers and incompetence of politicians across the world, it is easy to forget the importance and wonder of human endeavour in the field of science and discovery. Nowhere is that greater than in the case of Charles Darwin, the English naturalist born 200 years ago who completely changed the way the human race perceived the origins of life itself. But what of the links between one of the greatest scientists who ever lived and Wales? As the excellent exhibition, “ Darwin: A Revolutionary Scientist ”, at the National Museum in Cardiff demonstrates, this visionary man spent periods of his life within Wales. In particular, it has been argued that the geological work that Darwin undertook in Wales in 1831 just before embarking on the Beagle was critical to his discoveries and later, his theory of evolution. As a result, it is not surprising that various Welsh projects have been established which use the great man’s name to celebrate scientific di

Hat tip to the irrepressible Mr Fawkes for this link but the Carry On-esque comments by Playboy TV on the Jacqui Smith expenses scandal is a classic piece of shameless opportunism...and great marketing. According to the channel, "Home Secretary Jacqui Smith’s future seems to be in doubt after she tried to claim the cost of two adult films her husband watched on expenses. Why should the taxpayer cover the cost of his adult package the newspapers cry? Well we at Playboy don’t mind what he does with his package and we’d like to offer all MPs and their husbands a special VIP subscription to Playboy known as the ‘Jacq off special.’ After a hard days voting on legislation, lunching and talking to Gordon Brown what better way is there to relax than a quality adult film on the Playboy channel? The Cabinet isn’t the only thing that benefits from a shuffle every now and then. There is also valuable family research the Smith’s can conduct on Playboy, including what their second cousin Anna N

Just when I dared to hope for something different from the Welsh Assembly Government, they have, predictably, copied the Chancellor's announcement on business rates. Read the statement below from Brian Gibbons and weep. "I am pleased to announce that the Welsh Assembly Government intends to implement measures to help Welsh businesses with their rates bills. The action I propose is in line with that announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect of England, yesterday. Under the current arrangements non-domestic rate bills for 2009-10 are set to increase by 5%. This is in accordance with the statutory provision in the Local Government Finance Act 1988 that the business rates “multiplier” – which determines the level of annual increase - should not rise by more than the retail price index ( RPI ) for the September preceding the rating year. Since last September there has been a very rapid reduction in the RPI and I propose to bring forward regulations under the 1988 Act