I have followed with initial amusement and increasing surprise the twists and turns of the row surrounding the Liberal Democrat AMs John Dixon and Aled Roberts who stand disqualified from the National Assembly and accused of breaking electoral law. Though I have to confess a soft spot for Eleanor Bunrham, I do think the time for the kind of amused chit chat in the pub about the return of one of the last Assembly's genuine characters is over.
I say that as someone who has spent most of the past decade dealing with various aspects of electoral law. The key point to note about electoral law is that when applied it very rarely deals in absolute terms with offences. Electoral courts, electoral lawyers and the Senior Compliance officers within political parties understand that there are a whole range of technical offences that would never make it to the courts - the most obvious and regular one being leaflets without the precise and correct form of imprint.
Two factors emerge as important in such legal matters - intent and impact. What marked the Phil Woolas case out was the fact the he deliberately and knowingly made a false statement about his opponent AND such statements given the closeness of the result were likely to have had an impact on the result.
Lets consider these two points. What is the electoral impact of holding these offices - one could reasonably conclude that Aled Roberts' membership of the Valuation Tribunal for Wales has no impact on the Liberal Democrat party vote in the North Wales region. And even if Roberts is disqualified the impact would be for another Liberal Democrat to assume the seat. Secondly no one has suggested that Roberts and Dixon intended to hide their positions, not even their political enemies - so neither can we conclude that there is any intent to deceive here.
All of which leaves us with an offence, a technical one, a fairly minor one, but an offence none the less. So what is to be done. The Government of Wales Act does specify in Section 17 a remedy where AMs can lift a disqualification. Others have argued that it is not within the powers of the Assembly so to do - but given the explicit mechanism placed within the Act to lift a disqualification I must believe that the framers of the legislation intended the Assembly to be able to use this provision.
The Assembly must satisfy itself of two criteria.
i) that the grounds for disqualification have been removed
ii) that it is 'proper' to lift the disqualification.
The first is straightforward. The second seems less so - i.e. what is 'proper' but my view here is that electoral law provides a guide - in impact and intent. On both these grounds it seems to me that the Assembly should indeed seat these duly elected members and bring this unedifying spectacle to an end (and leave the proper authority, in my view the Assembly standards committee - to appropriately punish the new AMs).
One last point is that some have argued channelling some Perry Mason-esque desire to star in the court room that it would be a poor start to a legislative Assembly to allow these AMs to take up their seats. Good legislators in my view require wisdom, common sense and the ability to understand the application of the law. Lets see how our Assembly reacts to this first challenge and lets hope that while some may have genuine sympathy for Eleanor Burnham following her recent demotion at the hands of her own party, and others may see this through the prism of brutal electoral battles with the Lib Dems on a local level; the time has now come for some wisdom and common sense.
Friday, 20 May 2011
Monday, 9 May 2011
Plaid needs space to think
With the dust settling on the election results, I'm posting a piece I largely wrote before the polls closed. I've tried to maintain the key point without being distracted by results:
My view is that Plaid space to think anew about policy and party organisation.
I think it’s fair to say that the policy process for the current manifesto was challenging. I’m not talking about the detail of worthy programmes to be delivered in government – our experience over the past four years has been crucial in allowing us to put forward a very clear and deliverable programme worthy of any Western European Social Democratic Party. But, either through an unintentional nervousness or by design, we have downplayed the grand vision of transformative policies to reshape Wales. Incidentally, during this campaign, even when we had ideas which were innovative and radical, such as the Build for Wales company, we seemed to be almost apologetic for thinking ‘outside the box’.
It is wrong to suggest for a second that the Party doesn’t know what its purpose is in this post referendum period. Plaid has and always will exist to move Wales forward towards becoming an independent country, and I am confident that as we build and strengthen our economy we will take the people of Wales with us on that path. We must however learn how to inspire them towards wanting to achieve that aim and dislodge the quiet contentment in Wales with the under-achieving and unambitious status quo. Plaid must exude the confidence which is necessary in order to fully articulate what the our vision means in practice, in terms of the economy, our environment and our public services.
One recent document which has demonstrated some of that long-term thinking is the Greenprint for the Valleys, authored by Leanne Wood. The Greenprint is infused with the values of a century and more of decentralist socialism but placed firmly in the context of the challenges of the here and now. In years gone by, Greenprint-style documents would have been regularly produced, but I’m hard pressed to think of many similar longer-term policy papers produced by the Party over the past 12 years. Leanne took it upon herself to do some serious thinking about the future of our Valleys, but I’m convinced the broader Party needs avenues to discuss and debate the building anew of the Welsh nation. Whether that’s through formal party structures or more informal avenues, such as Plaid-leaning think-tanks, there is much work to be done. Plaid needs that space to think policy seriously in my view.
The election has thrown up some of the strengths and weaknesses of a party organisational structure that would be instantly recognisable to the likes of Lewis Valentine and Saunders Lewis! When the results are announced, I’m sure those candidates and areas where the Party has been rejuvenated and developed anew, such as Carmarthen West and South Pembs and Clwyd South, will see comparative progress. I’m not making election predictions here. I’m saying that some areas will clearly and dramatically out-perform the average national swing. [This was written pre-results and it seems vindicated by history] And it is no fluke that those are areas where candidates have taken to reshaping the party structure into campaigning structures. There is, I have no doubt, a need to think long and hard about developing a party structure that is suitable for the 21st century.
So if you’re with me on the need for serious thinking about party policy and organisation, the worse thing possible to do is to do nothing. I am not suggesting an exercise of contemplating our navels but an opportunity to plan for the future with the assurance that we have already changed Wales during the past four years. A law-making Assembly, official status for the Welsh language, an examination of the way Wales is funded, an overhaul of our NHS structures would not have happened had Plaid not decided to be a party of Government. The Party however has to decide how it can best respond to the bigger, long-term challenges facing our country and how it can be in a position to lead Wales rather than compete with the Tories for the runner-up position.
More than anything I’m convinced the Party needs space to think – about policy and organisation. As the new generation of Plaid politicians who have come to the fore during this election campaign assume greater prominence in the years ahead, we all owe it to them to react in a calm, measured and strategic fashion to the election results of 2011 – and not rush into any decisions.
My view is that Plaid space to think anew about policy and party organisation.
I think it’s fair to say that the policy process for the current manifesto was challenging. I’m not talking about the detail of worthy programmes to be delivered in government – our experience over the past four years has been crucial in allowing us to put forward a very clear and deliverable programme worthy of any Western European Social Democratic Party. But, either through an unintentional nervousness or by design, we have downplayed the grand vision of transformative policies to reshape Wales. Incidentally, during this campaign, even when we had ideas which were innovative and radical, such as the Build for Wales company, we seemed to be almost apologetic for thinking ‘outside the box’.
It is wrong to suggest for a second that the Party doesn’t know what its purpose is in this post referendum period. Plaid has and always will exist to move Wales forward towards becoming an independent country, and I am confident that as we build and strengthen our economy we will take the people of Wales with us on that path. We must however learn how to inspire them towards wanting to achieve that aim and dislodge the quiet contentment in Wales with the under-achieving and unambitious status quo. Plaid must exude the confidence which is necessary in order to fully articulate what the our vision means in practice, in terms of the economy, our environment and our public services.
One recent document which has demonstrated some of that long-term thinking is the Greenprint for the Valleys, authored by Leanne Wood. The Greenprint is infused with the values of a century and more of decentralist socialism but placed firmly in the context of the challenges of the here and now. In years gone by, Greenprint-style documents would have been regularly produced, but I’m hard pressed to think of many similar longer-term policy papers produced by the Party over the past 12 years. Leanne took it upon herself to do some serious thinking about the future of our Valleys, but I’m convinced the broader Party needs avenues to discuss and debate the building anew of the Welsh nation. Whether that’s through formal party structures or more informal avenues, such as Plaid-leaning think-tanks, there is much work to be done. Plaid needs that space to think policy seriously in my view.
The election has thrown up some of the strengths and weaknesses of a party organisational structure that would be instantly recognisable to the likes of Lewis Valentine and Saunders Lewis! When the results are announced, I’m sure those candidates and areas where the Party has been rejuvenated and developed anew, such as Carmarthen West and South Pembs and Clwyd South, will see comparative progress. I’m not making election predictions here. I’m saying that some areas will clearly and dramatically out-perform the average national swing. [This was written pre-results and it seems vindicated by history] And it is no fluke that those are areas where candidates have taken to reshaping the party structure into campaigning structures. There is, I have no doubt, a need to think long and hard about developing a party structure that is suitable for the 21st century.
So if you’re with me on the need for serious thinking about party policy and organisation, the worse thing possible to do is to do nothing. I am not suggesting an exercise of contemplating our navels but an opportunity to plan for the future with the assurance that we have already changed Wales during the past four years. A law-making Assembly, official status for the Welsh language, an examination of the way Wales is funded, an overhaul of our NHS structures would not have happened had Plaid not decided to be a party of Government. The Party however has to decide how it can best respond to the bigger, long-term challenges facing our country and how it can be in a position to lead Wales rather than compete with the Tories for the runner-up position.
More than anything I’m convinced the Party needs space to think – about policy and organisation. As the new generation of Plaid politicians who have come to the fore during this election campaign assume greater prominence in the years ahead, we all owe it to them to react in a calm, measured and strategic fashion to the election results of 2011 – and not rush into any decisions.
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