There has already been a considerable amount written about Welsh Labour MPs and their failure to be elected to Labour's Shadow Cabinet. Peter Hain has been keen to blame his inconsiderate colleagues for standing in the election, while the less said about Alun Michael's grand total of 11 votes the better!
The result exposes two aspects of the current position of the Labour MPs from Wales. One is that in stark contrast to the 80s and 90s where MPs like Ron Davies could top the shadow cabinet poll, the level of respect towards MPs from Wales from their colleagues in Scotland and England is at an all time low. But more broadly, and this may also be linked for the first point - their political skill leaves much to be desired. Elections are won and lost at the margins, and participants normally have a fair idea of the possible outcomes i.e. there is no way that most of the Welsh MPs could have come close to being elected even if they had run the most terrific campaigns. The clear suggestion is that they aren't particularly skilled politically, and have certainly failed to work as a Welsh team of MPs.
The longer term reaction to the result will be interesting. We may see further recriminations or potentially we may see in due course the appearance of a stronger Welsh Labour Parliamentary Party. Don't hold your breath on that one, but following Ed Miliband's strong choices for Junior Ministerial positions, including potentially at least one very effective Welsh MP there may be a chance for Welsh Labour MPs to redeem themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment