What I learned from Martin Shipton's book...

Having just finished Martin Shipton's "Poor Man's Parliament" I wanted to share a 'Five things I have learned...' in a few blog posts;

The LCO System's creators need to repent

During the election campaign you could not find a politician or the political elite who wouldn't happily rubbish the LCO system. But I am yet to see anyone's metaphorical head on a stick for it's creation, support and failure. Having such a big call in the hands of a part of one party is simply not acceptable for matters of such importance.

We have to immediately have a cross party report on what does and does need another referendum and take a far more consensual approach. We need this agreed by all parties, at least in terms of what needs a referendum if they were in power. I am willing to take the ConDems at their word about devolving further powers, we cannot have a repeat of the LCO system.

Party's need to federalise or devolution will always be rubbish

I was angry at times at all our politicians during reading Shipton's book. I was angry because it gave the distinct impression (and at times reality) that the Assembly was a kangaroo court of jokers. The humiliation the AMs had to endure, often from within their own party's MPs just added to that.

Labour, Lib Dems and the Tories would be better as parties and as potential government's if they federalised. This would allow for differences to be seen as the democratic will of the federalised part, not as a binary opposition. I was struck that on Ed Milliband's visit to Wales last week he offered Carwyn Jones as an alternative to higher tuition fees, prescription charges and what not. But does he then mean an alternative to English Labour, who introduced and still have those policies for England?

Click here to see Alex Salmond skewer Peter Hain on this matter. 24mins in.

And for the record, I don't take the view that if a Westminster Government comes forward with a different policy that it's automatically bad compared to a WG policy. Too many in Welsh politics equate criticising Welsh Government policy with criticising devolution.

All parties, including Plaid, would begin to accept policy differences within parties, much like we have to accept policy differences between devolved Governments.

However, Martin Shipton's book does highlight how the Assembly was demeaned for far too long in it's attempt to forge a different path.

Credit must go to the Lib Dems, even if it took a crisis to get some honesty. Of course the Lib Dems a praying they can make this a 'Welsh election about Welsh issues' in 2011, but at least they have been saying what all parties should be saying - this election is about electing a Welsh Government to rule over devolved areas.



Plaid must be far more self confident

Honestly, in my time campaigning for Plaid in one of our weakest seats, I feel we have an offering that attracts people. Of course, I have seen people recoil at Plaid, the Welsh language and the Welsh Assembly (which tellingly they see as one and the same) on the doorstep, however we are never going to win them all. However, we do have the ideas to win in new areas. Going through Shipton's book, I sense a nervousness in Plaid, particularly when the proverbial hits the fan.

My peers in Plaid, the ones under 40, need to be strong in the face of storms and dare I say but we have to campaign beyond elections and for radical things that will involve being the sole party campaigning for it. This might be facing down some of our policies that cannot be sacred cows, it might be far more anti-establishment on things like the BBC and it might be not panicking when we get siren voices accusing us of things.

A confident party is one of that can allow criticism from others to bounce of it.