26 January 2010
Shameful Child Poverty Figures Highlight the Need for Power Over Leavers
Early on in my political life as a committed socialist I quickly came to the conclusion that the constitutional advancement and social justice agendas were intrinsically linked. In the face of a right wing political consensus in Westminster which is in the pockets of the economic establishment – those who hope of an equal, just and prosperous Wales will find little support from the Westminster elite who are far more concerned with preserving the status of their city paymasters.
Today’s figures by Save the Children indicating that 96,000 children in Wales are now living in severe poverty provides a sobering statistic on the same day that the UK economic recession ‘officially’ came to an end. We know from previous recessions that the human cost continues to accelerate after the return to economic growth. As the ever astute Sean O Neil, Policy Director at Children in Wales points out in the Western Mail today – this recession has affected a new group of people who area finding themselves out of work for the first time and finding it difficult to get back to work. The child poverty figures are likely to worsen considerably in the short to medium term. The Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan is right to highlight that the fact that these figures have been released at the same time that some city bankers are already raking in £1m+ bonuses shows how skewed in favour of the super rich UK Government policy has become.
We are not looking at a V or U shaped recession and the likely direction of UK Government policy after the Westminster Election with all parties signed up to public sector cuts is likely to lead to a double dip downturn as the floorboards beneath the economy are removed. In public sector economies such as ours the effects of UK Government policy are likely to be particularly acute with the associated social consequences.
Which leads me to Labour Unionist MPs. Their position is inherently incoherent. In the face of a Tory Government at Westminster you would think that anybody interested in social justice would not only want the Welsh Government to be able to pass laws without a Westminster veto, but to assume power over the key poverty leavers which enable redistribution of wealth. Namely fiscal autonomy and responsibility over the benefits system.
The reality of the matter is that the opposition of Labour Unionists to the growth and development of Welsh democracy and sovereignty has little to do with some great ambition to create a British state of the proletariat, but more to do with their own narrow self interest. After all more powers for Wales in terms of policy fields will mean the need for less MPs. As for me, if elected, I’ll be going to Westminster on a political kamikaze mission to make sure that the Welsh Government has the tools at its disposal to get on with the job.
Blog
- 14 July 2010
Speech Westminster Hall Debate Magistrates Courts - 13 July 2010
Speech Finance Bill Committee Stage – VAT increase - 6 July 2010
Regional Pay Back on the Agenda - 3 July 2010
Wales Home Article – The Next Road Lies Before Us - 24 June 2010
Emergency Budget Response Speech - 23 June 2010
Western Mail Article on the Budget - 17 June 2010
Western Mail Essay – Emergency Budget - 9 June 2010
My Maiden Speech - 1 June 2010
International Community Must Act to open Gaza Strip for Humanitarian Aid - 23 May 2010
Institute of Welsh Affairs blog ‘ Reflections of a Rookie MP’ - 22 May 2010
Araith Rali Cymdeithas yr Iaith 22/5/2010 - 15 May 2010
It’s The Real Economy Stupid! - 8 May 2010
What Happens Next? - 7 May 2010
Araith Buddigoliaeth/Acceptance Speech - 5 May 2010
Towards Financial Stringency – blog for Institute of Welsh Affairs - Blog Archive -> ->
Discussion Area - Submit a comment
Your reply will be moderated and not appear immediately. You can prepare your text in a word processor before pasting it into the box, but formatting such as bold and colour will not appear.
Man Trafod - Rhowch sylwad yma
Bydd eich ateb yn cael ei gymedroli, ac ni fydd yn ymaddangos yn syth. Medrwch baratoi eich testun mewn prosesydd geiriau cyn ei roi yn y bocs, ond ni fydd elfennau megis trwmder tecst a lliw yn ymddangos.