A DEATH IN THE FAMILY
Welsh politics was recently rocked by the tragic death of Carl Sargeant, the Assembly Member for Alyn and Deeside, who took his own life after being suspended by the party following allegations that he had behaved improperly towards women.
The whole case was bizarre and the spotlight soon turned on certain creatures lurking in the office of First Minister Carwyn Jones, who were accused of back-stabbing and bullying, with Carl Sargeant being presented as a victim of this behaviour rather than the perpetrator of any offences himself.
Understandably, with a man taking his own life over vague allegations that seem not to have been properly investigated, or even explained to him, the spotlight also fell on Carwyn Jones, the man who employed the alleged bullies and back-stabbers.
Feelings in Sargeant’s constituency party ran high, and it was no surprise when Carwyn Jones, First Minister of the ‘Welsh’ Government and leader of the Labour Party in Wales, was told by the family not to attend the funeral of a Labour Party Assembly Member.
But what’s done is done, now we move on.
◊
THE SON ALSO RISES
Last night the local branch of the party selected Carl Sargeant’s son Jack to stand in the by-election on Tuesday the sixth of February. This was obviously a show of solidarity with the family, and a pitch for the sympathy vote, but whether it makes sense on any other level is open to question.
I don’t know Jack Sargeant – I doubt if many do – but that doesn’t seem to matter; what does seem to matter is ‘honouring’ his dead father and sticking it to Carwyn Jones. Though how that is to be achieved without damaging the party Carl Sargeant loved is also open to question
Those reservations aside, the selection seems to have been largely welcomed among the bruvvers. Here’s a tweet from Peter Hughes who represents the trade union Unite in the South West Region (of England). For those unfamiliar with Unite, it seems to be a union popular with Labour politicians.
In the thank you speech he made last night young Jack made such play of being a local candidate for local people that I thought for a minute we were in Royston Vasey (League of Gentlemen). Which again, raises a question – for is Jack standing for the ‘Welsh’ Labour Party led by the hated Carwyn Jones or is he the candidate for some new and local incarnation of Labour? Perhaps even an Independent?
If elected, will Jack trot down to Cardiff and take the Labour whip, and orders from Carwyn Jones? If he does, then what was all the fuss about? And if he doesn’t, then the voters of Alyn and Deeside will have been duped into voting for what they believed was a Labour candidate.
Quite frankly, the selection of Jack Sargeant was pure theatre. A decision made on emotional grounds. Emotion, like anger and alcohol often results in decisions that are soon regretted.
Apart from being Carl Sargeant’s son in what other way is Jack Sargeant qualified to be the candidate and, most likely, the Assembly Member, for Alyn and Deeside?
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ALTERNATIVES
The Royston Vasey theme continued with attacks from the Labour/Sargeant camp on other parties’ candidates for not being local. The Plaid Cymru candidate, Councillor Carrie Harper, was singled out for being from faraway Wrecsam.
Clearly, there is anger in the constituency over the way Carl Sargeant was treated by the Labour Party, so the obvious outlet for that anger would be to vote for any party other than Labour.
So is Labour being its traditional devious self by asking people to vote Labour . . . or rather, to vote for Jack Sargeant and forget that he’s the Labour candidate. For I guarantee that it will be the Sargeant name rather than ‘Labour Party’ that we’ll hear in the campaign.
We can but hope that what passes for the ‘Welsh media’ does it’s job between now and February 6th.
- ‘Tell us, Jack; if elected, will you shake hands with Carwyn Jones?’
- ‘Come to that – will you even be a member of the Labour group in the Assembly?’
- ‘You say that if elected you want to investigate the events leading up to your father’s death, but you must appreciate that the more waves you make the more damage you’ll do to the party your father loved.’
- ‘Apart from being your father’s son what qualifies you to be the candidate for Alyn and Deeside?’
- ‘Isn’t there a risk that your selection might be seen as a succession rather than as part of the democratic process?’
- ‘If elected, and after the anger has subsided, what will you have to offer the people of Alyn and Deeside?’
I expect Jack Sargeant to be elected. He will arrive in the snake-pit that is Cardiff Bay full of purpose . . . until emissaries for Carwyn Jones get to work on him. Avuncular arms will be felt on his young shoulders and messages intoned: ‘Terrible mistake . . . culprits will be punished . . . Carwyn didn’t know . . . lovely man, your dad, we all loved him . . . think of the party . . . Brexit . . . Tory bastards . . . ‘.
And we shall hear little more of young Jack Sargeant.
The alternative scenario is that the boy goes down to Cardiff with vengeance in his heart and causes chaos. The Labour Party in Wales splits along its Welsh/British fault line and politics in Wales suddenly becomes interesting.
♦ end ♦
I’ve never bought into the virtual sanctification of Carl Sargeant because for one reason I’ve never met anyone who can resist all temptation. As he had climbed the incestuous, greasy pole of Labour politics and ascended almost to the top, he would have encountered many such temptations. It’s a pity the Labour Party has abandoned further investigation into the complaints against him because it appears that now the public will be denied any chance of finding out just how serious these accusations were. However, I have always maintained that guilty or not, he was entitled to proper process from the First Minister. I’d even have said the same for Brady and Hindley but then would have pulled the lever of the trapdoor on the gallows myself if there’d still been capital punishment.
Spot on Stan. Summed up nicely. I still think that getting SGT.jnr ( aka Jacthe lad) into Y Cynulliad is the best way to maximize the potential turbulence from this case and expose some if not all the vicious dames ( and boys) that infest the Bay. If he just falls in and toes the line then he’ll be just another donkey wearing a Labour rosette and will present a nice target for 2021.
Christina Rees still portrays a picture of her and Carwyn cosying up together as her Twitter profile image. She was also quick out of the blocks to congratulate Jack the Lad with this message on his successful selection:
“Congratulations Jack from #Neath. You will be a fantastic @WelshLabour candidate for Alyn & Deeside. Look forward to campaigning for you. #workingtogether”
Rees and Carwyn are very, very close (no, I don’t mean in that way). Ken Skates and Alun Davies have already hit the campaign trail in Alyn and Deeside with “The Lad”. They’ll all be looking to present a united front to the electorate. If I was an opposition candidate I’d make use of this papering over of deep cracks, but if Plaid up north are the same as those local to me, they’ll totally ignore an obvious weakness in the enemy.
Worth 18 mins of your time, Nick Stradling who runs the Wales in the Movies video channel on the rise of British Nationalism related films in cinemas since the Brexit vote, there’s some interesting info in a Welsh Government funded movie about WW2 which should be reported at the very least by our media. He does spend a few mins at the beginning talking Brexit to set the context, but stay with it as it an excellent video that should have been see by as many people as possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_hwdQvacos&feature=youtu.be
He’s on Twitter https://twitter.com/MoviesWales and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/walesinthemovies/ if you want to follow and share his still, there’s some interesting content on Wales and welshness or the lack if it on film
I could also tell you loads about Carl Seargent but i doubt you’d believe half of it, Carl and Carwyn Jones are two deeply flawed men who’d never rise about Cllr level in normal countries, but in Wales they get to be First Minister and a Cabinet member. And In death Carl Seagent gets to be a hero rather than the philandering, misogynistic, money laundering bully he was.
You’re the second one to come here saying that Sargeant was not the cuddly and lovely guy some want to portray. ‘Money laundering’ sounds very interesting.
Please send me an e-mail.
Your tweet draws attention to the article in recent Irish Times by Richard Wynn Jones, professor of politics at Cardiff University in which he said : “Talented local youngsters depart to be replaced by English retirees who are attracted to the scenery but who are unable to contribute much to the future of the island and represent a significant drain on public services.”
Indeed the entire article draws an accurate and depressing picture of the island. Most of the commenters, probably Irish, focus of course on the potential for huge disruption of the key artery from Ireland to Europe ( EU). From their point of view it is fair that they do so as they are likely to be presented with a big logistical problem.
From my point of view the interesting aspect is what Prof Jones says about Anglesey, whether it’s bottom of any league table is immaterial, the plain fact is that the island is already on its arse, in a pretty bad state anyway and the demographic shift does not help one bit, nor will the prospect of Brexit. However being in the EU for decades hasn’t done much for Ynys Mon either other than grant it some passing trade from the international freight activity and modest upgrade in infrastructure to enable that trade. Big deal.
Perhaps Prof Jones can get a copy over to LlaisySais so that its readership can read something of substance instead of the daily dose of drivel that normally gets churned out by Trinity presses.
mention of the fire service here.
Back to the theme of trying out something in wales – the planned reorganisation of councils into smaller regions – supposedly on the back burner after Leighton Andrews lost – the plan I believe is/was to have one [of six?] where there will be one authority responsible for health, fire service and council in that region [with police reorganisation separate but with same regional boundary]. There is still a push – now called collaboration.
Look at how the fire service is now organised and various health boards. Remember John Prescott [or rather civil servants] was planning a regional sub government in England but voted down in NE England – if not ready for it in England, try it out in Wales?
For what it’s worth I would have cast a vote for Sargant Junior. Revenge may be a really good motivator for avoiding the blandishments of Carwyn’s emissaries.
Aside from that Jac, I am surprised that you have not seen that Deryn and the Vile Sisterhood is the commonality between driving a former minister to suicide and the unjust treatment of Neil McEvoy by Leanne.
If you check back through earlier articles and comment threads you will find that there were several references to Deryn and other assorted “favoured clusters” both in connection with the “framing” of CS and the rigging of “evidence” and orchestrated howling in connection with Mr McEvoy. Mr McEvoy is a canny lad made of strong stuff and doesn’t let howling get to him because after all it’s just noise from an erratic and irritating source. In due course the howling will be silenced as their “evidence” will work against them. Sadly the howlers will probably move on and set about destroying someone else’s good name. In a better world they would be professionally destroyed, but this is the Bay we speak of where this kind of behaviour is common currency.
The “vile sisterhood” is still
just took a few minutes to read some of the tripe posted on that Petition site. Pure nasty poison. Plaid is already losing credibility with people who have given it benefit of the doubt for a long time. Now the silly season has extended into a 12 month dumbfest the signs for a terminal decline are evident especially as key people in the Party seem content to go along with this utter nonsense.
FFS, these (mainly?) (manly?) women need to remember Carl Sargeant hanged himself only days after less harassment and character assassination than Neil has received on that petition. Everyone has a breaking point, even Neil McEvoy, and a social media petition where his reputation is traduced by many who will neither have met him nor have read about the issues complained of, is totally unacceptable. An hysterical, largely faceless example of armchair bullying at its very worst. Facebook has a facility whereby people may complain about posts that contravene their guidelines. Does this Petition website have similar because if so I for one would write to its organisers expressing my disgust? Free speech and the right to an opinion is fine by me. Trial by media via Les Tricoteuses of Cymru is not.
‘Manly’ is a good word in this context, Stan. For those involved in the vilification of Neil McEvoy cover the spectrum from feminist to lesbian and beyond. You may recall that not so long ago we were directed to the tweets of a former Plaid AM with a keen interest in transgender issues, even to the point where she appeared to support life-changing surgery being offered to confused teenagers.
We are dealing with dangerous and vindictive wimmin, some of them unhinged.
Just been on change.org website and there is no visible contact “channel” on there other than loading support for assorted petitions and attaching comments, or starting your own petition which seems to be a straightforward and largely un-vetted procedure. I suspect that change.org is based offshore despite the “social enterprise” tag as some of the comments are actionable to say the least, and being tucked away in Cyprus or the Gulf may be sufficient protection from those on receiving end of abuse.
Thanks, Dafis. You’ve saved me a job there.
Wasn’t aware of this petition until sometime during last 24 hrs or so when Jac flagged it and the tweet column referred to it a few times. Quickly checked out some of the more recent “boosters” of this sick campaign and Llinos Price turns up – looks like a classic Bay muppet chick running her own fuckin’ PR “policy advisory”, “influencing” consultancy Datganoli. Yet another hot air machine spewing garbage into the media and into any earhole willing to listen to her claptrap. More integrity in the porn trade than what this shower do for a living. Is this the “new economy” that politicians detached from reality keep chirping on about?
Stan – you should invite Jac to the Neath Food Festival to play the Wheel of Fortune at the annual champagne and prosecco bar. Last years bar was sponsored by Neath Town Council.
https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.XG5hP1Ht-OcfNTWUhCZznAHaJN&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300
1 = Piano lesson from Frances Novacoda in Llandaf.
2 = Cocktails with Cathy Owens at VIP Lounge in Mermaid Quay.
3 = Business breakfast at Côte Brasserie with Nerys Evans.
4 = Murder mystery express on the Gerallt Gymro with Jo Kiernan.
6 = Shopping at Armani for a new suit with Elin Llŷr.
The real issue is that if you’re from a council estate in Ely and wise to these vamps they really do get the hump when you tell them to fuck off. They subsequently launch a vendetta. Maybe the fat man from Deeside was more at home on the terraces of the Nomads and didn’t take a no from a Mata Hari when he ought to have done.
Just about sums it up.
that Owens was the one spouting all sorts of vague crap on TV just after Carl was removed from office. Since his death she’s been very quiet ….. I don’t think she went under a bus, there again she may be getting ready to go under a bus when the chimney gives off a puff and sacrifices are made to the god of half truths and outright fabrications.
Have just discovered the bonus prize –
7 = Team building and glamping weekend for lawyers at Cwm Crafnant with Llinos Price.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41k3A5tZW4I
Laff!!
The serious point is that devolution under Labour has stripped ‘access to expertise’ for government ministers away from people qualified in various scientific expertise which previously existed in organisations CCW and EAW, bundled it up into NRW and handed ‘influence’ into greasy pole lawyers and PR consultants. The whole set-up is dysfunctional.
The annual champagne bar is well stocked with punters allegedly – chiefly NPT Labour councillors and wives, Labour Party Neath Town Councillors, local MP plus her staff – who in any case double up as NPT councillors, ex-Police Superintendents, Freemasons etc – you can imagine the clientele and conversations. I’d invite Jac but he’d have to go in disguise because that hat is a dead giveaway. A better night is to be had in the David Protheroe (the local Wetherspoons), or these days the nicely refurbished former Conservative Club, now renamed the Allan Leonard Lewis VC after a former Neath area resident who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War. They may even get some decent Malbec in for a man of his reputation.
It would have to be Malbec, or if I had to drink beer then it would be Worthington White Shield.
JFK was actually quoting from the words of Robert Owen (1771-1858), the Welsh social reformer of New Lanark fame. Neither JFK, nor Tony Blair who also used the quote, had the decency to acknowledge the author.
Can I get a link to a source for that? Not that I don’t believe you but I think I may need to feel a level of shame for not knowing that.
All I know is that when we visited the New Lanark industrial museum some years ago, that quote from Robert Owen’s work was written in large letters on the wall. Perhaps someone from the museum could help you?
You have probably heard this news Jac, but it looks like the carbon footprint at the “One Planet” LLamas Eco Village has gone up dramatically. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-42535594
It is horrible for any one to loose their home, especially after putting so much work into building it, but safety regulations are there for a reason, why are one set of people given exception over another, which then leads to lives being threatened?
22 Fire crew from Haverfordwest, taking six hours to bring the fire under control, who is paying for that?
I’ve been told that there was no one home, and it is suggested that a number of these ‘smallholdings’ are little more than holiday homes.
We can be reasonably certain that the building was not insured, and council tax is not paid on them, so the burden for the expense of fighting the fire will fall upon the council tax payers of the region.
It would be interesting to analyse the demographic background of those who apply for the “One Planet” planning. It would most likely reveal that the majority are from educated, middle class backgrounds from England, whose parents would and could offer them financial support if they needed it. To buy a piece of land and build a basic Eco house would require at least 60 to 100 thousand pounds, then there is the issue of supporting yourself and your family while you build the house and after construction, this immediately makes this an impossibility for most young people from poorer backgrounds. The accumulation of property ends up being given to the families of those from outside Wales, who are already well provided for, rather than supporting existing communities with in Wales. How many smallholdings can say Dyfed support (as that is where most of them are headed) before self sufficiency is an impossibility (ie being able to sell products) and why should some get the opportunity over others? If the “One Planet” planning policy also operated in England, then at least Wales would not become the main focus of this kind of colonisation.
A sustainable Eco housing policy, which offered affordable housing. built to the proper safety requirements, for all those working in Wales, should be the sustainable approach, instead of creating an exclusive opportunity for middle class hippies. The annoying thing for so many people is the handouts that have already been dished out, such as the 350 thousand pounds award given to Lamas village by the Government. It doesn’t stop there as the websites of the Eco villagers, invariably ask for donations via Paypal, how is any of this self sufficient or sustainable? Why are they exempt from paying council tax etc, when we will all need the help of the local hospitals, police or Fire fighters etc at some point, which they are effectively taking for granted.
http://www.greenbuildingpress.co.uk/article.php?article_id=444
That’s the irony; this is called ‘sustainable living’ and yet it’s unsustainable in that there’s no way these people could survive without public funding, family support and other help. They like to pretend they’re living the lifestyle of medieval peasants when in reality they’re closer to Marie-Antoinette playing the shepherdess at Versailles because it’s all imagery and deception.
As we have been informed by Welsh Government that all future new-build eco dwellings in Wales will need to comply with building regulations [including the requirement for sprinkler systems] I think we need to monitor all new eco developments very carefully to ensure that they comply with the regulations.
I can’t see that happening. And who’s going to check?
The process for you or I would be to receive a “completion certificate” confirming compliance with Building Regulations 2010. If no certificate is issued It may only become an issue when a property is sold and picked up in a legal search. Without a certificate I assume there could also be issues regarding property insurance. We know that the eco dwelling destroyed in the fire did not have a “completion certificate” under Building Regulations and was not insured. And this is Welsh Government’s vision for the future: eco dwellings outside established settlement boundaries where there is no adequate provision of infrastructure [highways, drainage, water supply etc.] . A clear example of dual standards: one set of rules for eco dwellers and another set of rules for the rest of us.
A hut made of dry wood frame and roof rafters, surrounded by straw bale walls, and with a wood burner is evidently a fire hazard. When it does catch fire, have ‘skylight’ to act as a draft flue for the flames and a plastic sheet under the turf roof to ensure the fire spreads. This is one of the ‘problems’ of One Planet design. If this were a dwelling of Welsh working class children then I’m sure social services would get involved, but in Wales, if you’re a posh and English settler, you get a grant.
http://www.simondale.net/images/20051120.jpg
Co-builder and father in-law of Simon Dale the proprietor, stopping for a quick ‘sustainable’ fag break.
It should be noted that 350 years ago many homes were of this type of construction which resulted in the Great Fire of London. It was this event that prompted the first passing of laws, which we now call the ‘Building Regulations’. It would be essential for Welsh Government ministers to ensure that the ‘One Planet’ loophole building standards in Wales is closed and launch an enquiry into how it happened. Before any deaths occur.
A good summation. In order to appear ‘welcoming’, ‘forward-thinking’, ‘environmentally conscious’ and a load of other right-on bollocks the ‘Welsh’ Government allows the building of brand new fire hazards.
Internal memo from Carwyn to his Environmental Safety Health etc Czars – ” As long as only English colonialist tossers get burnt I can cope with this loophole. Legislation should prevent Welsh folk from such self harm” .
I can’t believe he ever sent that note !!!
Nor me. If I didn’t know better, Dafis, I’d say you made it up.
Found it with a bundle of documents including another which said that Phil Parry is “a reliable authoritative journalist”. Source must be impeccable.
“The fire was caused by a freak electrical fault. I was in the house just a few moments before the fire broke out, and there is a junction box downstairs with many electrical wires.” – Jasmine Dale.
Really?
Will they be giving refunds to the “Off Grid Living Systems Courses” they have been running there on micro-hydro, solar PV and wind household energy systems? Sounds to me as if they are running a scam.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/grand-designs-cheapest-ever-house-burns-ground/
“But we know the feeling, our first home burnt down so we have been here before I suppose. Apparently there have been three similar incidents in Pembrokeshire in the last year” – Jasmine Dale.
What !!!
The local authority should immediately impose a Section 76 order (Building Act 1984) on all such structures in Wales as they are clearly “Defective Premises” which put occupants at risk.
According to Jasmine Dale from the same article:
“We don’t think we will be able to rebuild the house, it would cost £500,000 to do instantly and that just isn’t possible”, said Ms Dale.
So the cost of building the house has suddenly gone up from £27,000 to a staggering £500,000. I wonder if they will be given another grant or will they manage to Crowd fund the amount? Amazing how she mentions their previous fire, as if that’s a normal state of affairs, you really wouldn’t want to put your children at that kind of risk, would you!
To lose one eco-house may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.
I get the feeling that this lot reckon they can tackle everything without recourse to the experts. That reference to a junction box with loads of wires in it is too much of a giveaway. Was it connected up by a qualified sparks and even if it was it would not surprise me if they added to it as they further developed the place? It looks like this was an accident waiting to happen and next time someone could be killed.
The ‘OnePlanet’ homes have to adhere to a ‘low carbon’ energy consumption rating to obtain exemption from planning laws in Wales, and this means they must be ‘off grid”, in other words, not connected to the mains electric. It is only the mains electric which has a regulated and testable ‘earth’, which means that in the event of a ‘short circuit’ the current is drawn down the earth wire (green and yellow). This causes any fuse in the live part of the circuit (red or brown) to blow. Thus preventing circuit overheating and a fire. I suspect the ‘OnePlanet’ mob to now seek to have eco-villages to be connected to the mains, ‘for safety reasons’, rather than them have to install their own copper earthing rods in the ground and comply with IET wiring regulations.
When the Dale family moved from England to the Lammas eco-village the Hywel Dda University Health Board immediately enroled them into a local GP practice even though the Dales make no contribution to the NHS Wales.
At the same time when the Morgan family moves from Cardiff to Llanelli they get a letter from Hywel Dda University Health Board telling them that all their GP surgeries are ‘full’ and cannot enrol in NHS Wales. If the kids get sick, take them to A&E.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/family-young-children-finally-access-14111246
Thankfully, after months of campaigning by Cllr Sean Rees (the man that Plaid Cymru thought was ‘unsuitable’ to be a Plaid Cymru candidate in the last election) has managed to get the Morgans enrolled at a local GP surgery.
The Welsh Assembly’s guidance note on One Planet Development, (Technical Advice Note 6) , Planning for Sustainable Rural Communities dated October 2012 advises:
“Although sites should be broadly energy self-sufficient, if a grid connection is available this allows surplus energy to be exported to the grid, and conversely
for backup energy to be drawn from the grid in an emergency, although energy should not routinely be drawn from the grid and will be add to the Ecological
Footprint of the development.”
I assumed, perhaps wrongly, that some of the Lammas developments had solar panels installed. They would then doubtless make a few bob back by making use of the feed-in tariffs, provided they had a grid connection.
I think Jac’s analogy of the “One Planet” mob being akin to “Marie-Antoinette playing the shepherdess at Versailles” is spot on, you can almost imagine them saying “why do the Welshies have a problem with our aspirations, can’t they eat cake!”.
At a time when homelessness across Britain has risen to 300,000, it seems perverse that the Welsh Government indulges the property aspirations of a select few, middle class, aspiring, private home owners. Jasmine Dales’s exclamation that they would need £500,000 to rebuild their house, reveals that instead of them being genuine Hippies, opting out of the Capitalist system, they have instead put a value on their private property, which keeps up with the Jones’ in the rest of Society. They literally want to have their cake and eat it!!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homeless-stats-uk-latest-figures-new-study-shelter-housing-a8042841.html
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/08/one-in-every-200-people-in-uk-are-homeless-according-to-shelter
http://gov.wales/statistics-and-research/homelessness/?lang=en
Politics is all about perception. On one hand we have Labour putting Jack Sargeant into play, the other Leanne Wood putting out a call for more minority candidates. All that Jack needs to qualify to be a member of the Labour Party is that he does not think for himself and he does what he is told. Political parties are not interested in people who think for themselves nor rock their cushty boat (see how McEvoy gets treated).
I sense hes worth more to them for the political capital that comes with who his father was more than anything hes got to say or any original thoughts he may have. The narrative he brings will be exploited by some one… as Dafis mentions above – Conspicuous Ken, or you point out – Leighton Andrews. Labour infighting is just a sign of their decadence and weakness. I suppose we shouldn’t hold out any hope Plaid is capable of exploiting it until after the dust is settled and there’s nothing to gain.
Not that I particular care. The line in the sand is Labour, Tories and the rest of them are the enemy. Nothing more than the evolution of the Marcher Lords – and the WAG is currently nothing more than the Council of Wales and the March – filled with people who are more concerned what Wales can do for them rather than the other way.
A direct throwback there to the famous inaugural address by J. F. Kennedy in 1961 CambroUiDunlainge.
A heck of a good slogan for our new party, trouble is, it’s not old enough, and too many people remember it – thereby leaving us open to accusations of plagiarism. Pity.
Its a good line and holds very true for us considering the greedy nature of Welsh Labour and I guess politicians as a whole. But yeah its a bit too recent!
While it’s at County Councillor level, Labour did the same thing in Hengoed, Llanelli – must be other cases elsewhere
https://www.westwaleschronicle.co.uk/blog/2015/01/19/labour-choose-hengoed-candidates/
I would dearly like to know what, if anything, will be done regarding the allegations of inappropriate behaviour. What about those women? What happens to their duty of care?
Wouldn’t it be nice (damn that tune will become an ear worm now until the morning), anyway, wouldn’t it be nice to get some evidence and names collected, before we run ahead of ourselves and start a ‘wimmin against abuse campaign’ going for the assumed abused females?
Perhaps it would be a good idea to establish if there were any first. If there is proper and solid evidence then fair enough, they deserve a duty of care like all other humans, including men, teenagers and children. They seem to be left out of the picture these days.
If he is in any way his father’s son, then he is on the British wing and will be a nasty, anti Welsh presence in the assembly.
Unfortunately, he won’t be alone. Was that Ken Skates I saw in a few photos chaperoning the boy?
Smarmy Ken ‘s bound to show up being a neighbour, but more pertinently having Leadership ambitions of his own. 2018 will be a big year for our Ken. What a dreadful prospect.
Really pleased to see Jac put into print something I’ve been banging on about locally since Jack Sargeant announced he would put his name forward. From that point on, the new AM for Alyn and Deeside was effectively decided, in my opinion, notwithstanding he had yet to be selected by the local constituency party and has yet to undergo the process of the ballot box.
There is no way that the boy’s decision to run could have been made without being clouded by grief, and with that comes anger (revenge?) as part of it. Wiser heads, less emotionally involved, should have persuaded him now was not the time for such life-changing decisions. Stripping the tragic suicide of his father out of the equation if we can, what does it reveal? The classic Labour nepotism yet again. No way would this boy ever be selected if he wasn’t the son of the man. He and Welsh Labour will have to live with that accusation for the rest of his time in politics. Nothing new there though.
Jack Sargeant is quoted as saying, “I think I can bring real-world experience into the Welsh assembly.” Oh, yeah! That’s an alternative “real-world” to me then. His old man was on over £102K a year until sacked by Carwyn, and even post-demotion would have been well over £60K. I doubt young Jack had to worry about finding money for his university days and will be untroubled by a student debt still running well into his 30’s like my son has. FFS, he wouldn’t know what the real word is like at 23 and his father an AM since he was 9 years of age.
Without the tragedy of his father’s death we would never have heard of the boy. He should remember that and not delude himself that he was selected on merit, or that he has anything to offer.
That said, Labour has been clever in selecting him, and virtually guaranteeing that the seat is retained.
Though it would be wonderful if he lost.
As I said earlier Labour could hold it with a donkey or a long term party loyalist so this youngster is probably the best of a bad bunch of options, not just for Labour, but from the other parties as well. Plaid will probably run with a grey person conforming strictly to the party’s woolly orthodoxy, while Tories and Libs will be … Tories and Libs. So Jack the lad is the only chance for a bit of post election niggle and upset down the Bay. I trust his election will lead to someone, or more, getting exposed and thrown to the hounds ( I hope! ). I don’t expect him to be any kind of messianic influence and once he’s done his bit he can melt back into obscurity. 2021 will be a good time to check his contribution and at that time he will be ripe for beating if he hasn’t got something visible ( like a scalp or 3 ) to show for his time.
Jack Sargeant knows little or nothing about how the Assembly operates, so he’ll be relying on people like Leighton Andrews with axes to grind to guide him. This does not bode well for Labour, especially if he becomes a focal point for Brit-focused Labourites who think that Carwyn and others are a bit too Welsh.
If Labour has any sense then those responsible for the bullying and the leaking of information have now been dealt with, and quietly thrown to the wolves, for they are Carwyn’s weak spot, and a refusal to deal with them harshly could mean curtains. If we had a media in Wales we’d not only have names but we’d also know their fates.
As for the other Labour candidates for selection, I don’t know who they are, or how good they are, but one is a town councillor and both have more experience of life than young Sargeant. But of course their names aren’t Sargeant, so they didn’t have a hope in hell of being selected.
The Plaid candidate is Carrie Harper of Wrecsam. I know Carrie, she’s the wife of Pol Wong and does not belong to the wishy-washy leftist wimmin section of the party. Some might even go so far as to describe her as a nationalist. But of course, she comes from a long way from
Royston VaseyAlyn and Deeside.There is a Green candidate, so I shall go and canvass for him. Obviously.
Quite right to say – ” If Labour has any sense then those responsible for the bullying and the leaking of information have now been dealt with, and quietly thrown to the wolves, for they are Carwyn’s weak spot, and a refusal to deal with them harshly could mean curtains. If we had a media in Wales we’d not only have names but we’d also know their fates.”
Not likely though, and by now, given the capacity for leaks in that community, we’d have had at least a sniff of someone being chucked out of the window, or more likely losing a juicy advisory contract !
“There is a Green candidate, so I shall go and canvass for him. Obviously.”
If you hadn’t provided a link I would have assumed that was sarcasm. Now I’m not so sure.
Why did UKIP state that they would not field a candidate if Jack Sargeant was chosen as the Labour candidate?
Rest assured, I shall not be canvassing for the Green man.
I think Ukip is trying to look ‘principled’, always a mistake with the likes of the Hamiltons involved.
“Principled” and “Hamiltons” go together like …. carpets and dog shit !
Technically we have a Welsh media, like we have a devolved government. While we do not control them neither work for us. But its not just about taking control its about maintaining control. Problem is with social media promoting of stuff… things like Trump come to the forefront. We have “what we are told to care about” on steroids. But never having control of either and building from there is far better than having control and losing it. Hence why the media specifically is a double edged sword. SNP took some shit for losing a few seats in the elections too. It’d be far worse if they lost majority in Holyrood.
Sorry just read this back. What I’m saying is not so much focus should be put on the media because I don’t think its a battle we can currently win… but finding ways around the current system and being able to draw attention to issues by rocking the boat (exploiting the current system) is probably more of a way forward.
Yes, Jack the Lad (I like that, Dafis) has shown himself to be quite friendly towards Corbyn in a number of speeches. He’ll be a useful asset to the Labour Messiah as a pair of eyes, ears and possibly even a mouth in Y Cynulliad. Might even be useful with a dagger.
How is the death of an anti Welsh bully a “tragedy”?
Why do you say he was an “anti-Welsh bully”?
Echoes of the Peter & Trish Law scenario in the Blaenau Gwent elections of 2006?
I think you’re right, there is a certain ‘dead man’s shoes’ parallel but without the tragedy of suicide. As I recall, she wasn’t up to the job.
I’m sure I read somewhere that Paul Starling – of ‘Welsh Mirror’ notoriety – was involved with them.
Paul Starling was also big mates with fat Carl.
Not seen or heard anything yet that changes my mind on the earlier comment. All these things carry a risk, but you can be assured that any of the other Labour candidates would have toed the party line without a murmur of dissent. And that seat would have gone Labour even if the proverbial Donkey had gained the nomination. So just as well that we get something that has the potential to develop into a period of acute schism and discomfort.
Now Sargeant jnr may go the way of the compliant conformist, but his arrival at the Bay can present Carwyn with several bouts of discomfort that he ( Carwyn) richly deserves. Of course those to whom you refer as “Carwyn’s emissaries” may seek to deflect by directing Jack’s attentions towards the little shits whose accusations set in motion this whole fiasco. That too would be a nice development as it would shed more light on the schemers and bullshitters that inhabit that dark zone around the Cynulliad.
Irrespective of how it pans out, without his father’s tragic death we would never have heard of Jack Sargeant. On a wave of sentiment and anger the people of Alyn and Deeside will vote for somebody who might prove to be totally inadequate. And yet, he is Labour’s guarantee to hold the seat. The ironies abound and the contradictions are neon-lit.
“So just as well that we get something that has the potential to develop into a period of acute schism and discomfort.”
Yes indeed, Dafis. I see in the boy’s victory speech he included his determination to get to the bottom of the events that led his father’s dismissal. It’s going to make life very uncomfortable for Carwyn and won’t it be interesting to see which serving AMs visit the constituency to lend a hand in the campaign? Plus, if the boy is returned with a significantly greater majority than his father, another nail in Carwyn’s coffin I reckon.
So when he gets to the bottom of it, and what a ##### ###### ##### his dad was, do you think he will tell us? He could do worse than start with asking his mum what the world cruise was all about.
I have obscured a few words in your reply because I don’t want to attract lawyers. Though I feel you may know things, so run a few more tit-bits by me. And maybe you can explain the world cruise.