What a difference a week makes

The old adage of a week being a long time politics is certainly true, this time last week Labour was on the brink of securing its best election results for 16 years, today the Welsh Labour Government must be glad the weekend is in sight.

First the report on Labour backbencher Keith Davies uncovering some pretty ugly behaviour more associated with drunken yobs on a Friday night than that of an elected representative, making the slap on the wrist given out as punishment by the Assembly Committee even more farcical, it’s now left to the Labour Group to hand out any meaningful punishment, but i wouldn’t hold your breath. If Keith Davies had any decency he would stand down, in no other job would behaviour like that be acceptable.

Aside from the obvious angles of inappropriate behaviour and taking the tax payer for a rider, the episode shines a light on other areas of welsh political life that are rarely under scrutiny, the cosy relationships between political lobbyists, the media and Welsh politicians – ask yourself what would the reaction in Westminster be if a UK Government backbencher went to a well known lobbyists birthday party, got drunk, took a stranger back to their hotel room, carried on drinking and created a fracas in a 5 star London hotel in the early hours of the morning and you’ll see what I mean about the cosy arrangements.

Moving on, First Minister Carwyn Jones has been found to a best mislead and at worse knowingly lie to the press and public over 600 jobs from the Indian call centre company Firstsource coming to Cardiff, it turns out the jobs are already in Wales and actually being moved from another call centre in Cardiff. What’s worse it’s the second time Carwyn Jones and the Welsh Government has been contradicted over job announcements it made by an India company, because TATA’s bosses were unhappy that the press statement had laid out a timetable for investment when none had been agreed, it not only Cameron and Osbourne who need to get a grip on economic matters.

And finally today’s public sector strikes have meant business at the Welsh Assembly was cancelled because Labour and Plaid Cymru wouldn’t cross the picket line. I fully support people’s right to strike and there are legitimate grievances, but how come the Scottish, Northern Irish and UK Government’s don’t grind to a halt when the Trade Union call strikes; this is the second time its happened in Cardiff Bay this year. Because there’s more than a whiff of sticking it to the UK Government about today’s action by Labour and Plaid Cymru AM’s, added with last week’s local elections billed as referendum on the UK Government, our Assembly Members want to watch they don’t do themselves out of a job buy making themselves increasingly irrelevant by solely focusing on UK politics.Any source