Miles is more likely to stick up for Wales
YOU don’t have to be an historian of the eminence of Kenneth O Morgan, John Davies or Gwyn Alf Williams to see that historically Wales has been continually ripped off.
This rip-off continues right up to the present today – HS2, rail electrification, power generation etc, etc not to mention the disgraceful situation of the Crown Estate revenues. Revenues which accrue to the Scottish Government but not the Welsh. The current Welsh Government may have run out of steam but it is genuinely hamstrung financially by an increasingly reduced real-terms handout from Westminster. Any source of revenue derived from Wales is therefore crucial and should remain in Wales.
As Labour is likely to be the largest party in the Senedd, at least in the near future, the leadership of the Labour Party in Wales is of critical importance for our country. Despite having been a lifelong Labour supporter
I am distinctly unenthused by the current candidates, neither of whom is exactly a Glyndwr, a Nye Bevan or indeed a Rhodri Morgan. However, the prospect of having Vaughan Gething as First Minister fills me with dismay. I first saw Mr Gething speaking at a Yes For Wales conference in Llandrindod prior to the 1997 referendum. He seemed to be a pretty vacuous young party apparatchik then who spoke with little real conviction and on carefully prepared lines. He doesn’t seem to have changed much over the years. His performance at the Covid Inquiry was an embarrassment both to himself and to Wales.
Miles, by contrast, seems to be a far more serious politician, with the reputation of being extremely diligent, and as someone “who reads everything” is well prepared. Not everyone agrees with his policy suggestions or direction but he does seem to have a few original ideas. Crucially, I think he would be someone more likely to stick up for Wales and Welsh interests against a government of any stripe at Westminster. The Labour leadership in London clearly prefer Mr Gething because he is what might be termed a “Blairite”, a next-generation New Labour man who won’t rock the boat and will do as he’s told by Starmer and co.
The Labour Party has often frowned on people with “dissident” views who won’t follow the prescribed party line. Like the old WRU it likes to keep a tight control. Mr Miles was probably “stitched up”
by the union Unite, likely on party instructions, because it was thought he might be too independent as First Minister. It is a matter of regret that Labour in Wales has not set itself up as an independent Welsh Labour Party. Such a development would be likely to give it more rather than less leverage on a Labour Party hoping to form an administration at Westminster.
In the case of Rhodri’s initial bid to become First Minister, the party tried to outmanoeuvre the membership by frustrating his candidacy and so we ended up with the brief but rather disastrous appointment of Alun Michael at the behest of Tony Blair. I hope history does not repeat itself. A new direction and a more vigorous promotion of Welsh interests is needed, no matter who the English electorate decides will form the next government at Westminster.
Ian Seaton Mumbles