When the Liberal Democrats decided to axe the St Tathan bombing school without reference to their Welsh colleagues there was much merriment amongst Plaid bloggers. London LD axing 5,000 Welsh jobs without consulting with their Welsh counterparts! Shocking!
Of course it was all faux outrage. The Liberal Democrats do not, and never will have, the power to make a decision on whether or not the St Tathan bombing school is built or not.
The decision to abandon the building of a gaol in Caernarfon is different and much more serious. This is a decision that is going to lead to the loss of 700 potential jobs in a deprived area which were promised by the Labour Government and which the Labour Government has decided to axe without any discussion with party colleagues in the Welsh Assembly Government.
The argument made by the Minister on Welsh news programmes that prisons are not a devolved issue is weak and pathetic. This is an issue that is much bigger than a simple issue of Law & Order, it is an issue of jobs and an issue of the rights of Welsh Prisoners to be incarcerated in their own communities. Enforced exile is seen by the United Nations as a cruel and unusual punishment, a cruel and unusual punishment that many incarcerated men from north and mid Wales and all incarcerate Welsh women are forced to endure.
I agree entirely with Plaid Cymru councillor, Dyfrig Jones, (Google Translate) that if the Welsh Labour part of One Wales is so weak and ineffectual that it can't influence these sorts of decisions that One Wales isn't worth the paper that it is written on.
The idea of giving up government in order to coalesce with the Labour Party was that Plaid could have more clout on important issues. Caernarfon Gaol is of utmost importance to Plaid's heartlands, if it can't use its influence on this issue it should pull out of the agreement with Labour.
What has changed since the first announcement is the status of the Arfon constituency.
ReplyDeleteIt was considered by the boffins to be a narrowly held Labour seat. You bloggers and other commentators rubbished this idea, and Assembly, Council and Euro results confirmed your opinions. There is nothing for Labour in Arfon any more so the jail will go to more fruitful territory.
If only you and your like had shut your bloody big gobs when Labour thought that the had areason for investing in Arffon