A week is a long time in politics; twenty years more so. As UK residents are faced with a tsunami of elections in the coming weeks, it is instructive to consider the choices which we are facing. Here in Wales, we will vote for new Assembly members, a Police and Crime commissioner and of course, membership of the European Union. Votes, it seems are like buses; nothing for ages and then three in quick succession. So what of twenty years ago? Well, nineteen to be precise. Let me explain.
In 1997, Tony Blair famously ousted the Tory government which had remained impregnable since it's election in 1979 following the "Winter of discontent". "Now is the Winter of our discontent" is the opening line famously taken from Shakespeare's Richard III. He, of course, was the Yorkist king to be, recently found buried beneath a Leicester supermarket car park. More of retail later though.
That 1997 election was famous for the scale of the Labour (New) win. On this side of the border, the new parliamentary seat of Clwyd South had been created and Labour won the seat convincingly with nearly 23,000 votes and nearly 58% of the share of the votes. The second placed candidate in that election is perhaps better known today than he was then. Coming second in that contest with 23.1% of the vote was then then political correspondent of the Spectator magazine - Boris Johnson. Two years later, he became editor of the Spectator and by 2001 he had taken the safe Tory seat of Henley-upon-Thames - Henley being a more welcoming proposition for an Old Etonian than Corwen or Bala. During the tenure of Michael Howard, he served in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Arts Minister after having served as Deputy Chairman. For a man who was first educated in Brussels because his father worked there for the European Commission, it is perhaps surprising to see him spearheading the "Leave" campaign. It was Johnson who threw the weight of the Spectator behind the Europhilic Ken Clarke when William Hague resigned as Tory party leader. As it transpired, another prominent Eurosceptic, Ian Duncan, won the contest albeit only for a short tenure. It is fair to say that the relationship of Boris Johnson with Europe has seldom been straightforward. His position at the forefront of the "Leave" campaign is all the more baffling for that.
Last week saw the US President throwing his weight behind the "Stay" campaign and it did not take Boris long to start reacting. He did so in a manner which was controversial even by his lofty standards. Citing Obama's Kenyan background as grounds for supporting the UK staying in Europe, Boris had played that card which dare not speak it's name - the race card. Never a winner with politicians. By common consent Enoch Powell was the intellectual giant of the then Tory party but he never recovered from the "Rivers of blood" speech which so polarised the party - and which continues to. On June 19th 1964, the US Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. By coincidence, that was also the date of birth of Boris Johnson not in the UK but in Manhattan, New York. So the man who was born in the USA, educated in Brussels and rejected in Wales takes the lead in the UK leaving Europe while taking a swipe at President Obama at a time when the UK has seldom needed him and his allegiance more.
But if Boris Johnson is the most prominent chameleon in UK public life, he is by no means the only one. When Tony Blair achieved that momentous victory in 1997, he did what Neil Kinnock failed to do on two occasions. If ever there was a man for whom Europe has been profitable, it would be difficult to look beyond Neil Kinnock. On resigning the Labour leadership after the 1992 election, he became first a European Commissioner and then, for five years, Vice-President of the European Union. Indeed, his wife was also an MEP for 15 years but that is to say nothing of his son Stephen.
Whereas Boris Johnson began his education in Europe, Stephen Kinnock finished his there with an M.A. from the College of Europe in Bruges. Until recently, his wife was Prime Minister of Denmark and before becoming MP for Aberavon, Kinnock had held a succession of roles with the British Council of which his father had been the President. His father was famously the Labour leader at the time of miner's strike in 1984 and witnessed Thatcher's ideological overthrow of one of our great industries. His own South Wales suffered as much as most and the industry never recovered from a bitter, bloody battle. One generation later and Neil Kinnock's son is the incumbent MP with the unenviable task of witnessing the threat to steel production in Port Talbot in his own back yard. But unlike the experience of Neil with coal, Stephen appears to be experiencing a change in fortunes. The announcement that the Tories are prepared to part-nationalise the steel industry is a far cry from the days of Thatcher. Could it be that an election is around the corner? Well, yes. The Tories are desperate to hold on to their Assembly seats in a few weeks' time and such an announcement from Westminster will do them no harm in South Wales. When jobs and livelihoods are at stake, votes are up for grabs and the political classes are always on hand to capitalise.
But what of the Welsh Assembly elections? It is now 19 years since it's inception at the insistence of Tony Blair who argued that it would be more accountable than a solitary Welsh Secretary. But the referendum which led to it's formation was far from convincing with Denbighshire (59.5%), Flintshire (62.8%), Conwy (59.1%), Wrexham (55.7%), Cardiff (55.6%), Monmouthshire (67.9%), Newport (62.5%), Pembrokeshire (57.2%), Powys (57.3%) and Vale of Glamorgan (64.5%) all against the Assembly. In the end, a winning margin of just 50.3% to 49.7% said it all. Here was a country divided in it's desire for autonomy with the North, Cardiff and Newport being dead against.
But the people will decide and will do so in spite of the pronouncements of Obama, Johnson et al. Labour have governed the Welsh Assembly since 1999 and will doubtless do so once more given their power base in the South Wales valleys. But I would candidly request that they change their stance at the level of Local Government. By refusing to take seats at Cabinet in counties like Denbighshire (where they are the biggest party), they are giving carte blanche to Tories, Plaid Cymru and the Independents. It is time they were true to the wishes of their electorate and represented them even if that means sharing power. When our children are little, we encourage them to share with other children because we know it is the right thing to do. I only hope that the Labour Party in Wales is paying attention and does the right thing by their electorate. Anything less is a deception and the public deserves better than that because as we all know, an elected politician is answerable to nobody for five years once elected. So if the opening lines of Richard III are to be kept at bay this winter, we need more than ever for our elected representatives to work together for the common good rather than their own.
If the fate of steel in South Wales follows the fate of that industry in South Yorkshire, who knows what will ensue. The site of the former steel works in Sheffield was purchased by a South Yorkshire businessman by the name of Paul Sykes. He had made his money scrapping buses in the 1960s and has made his fortune with the building of the Meadowhall shopping centre on the outskirts of Sheffield. He has also remained one of the biggest benefactors of UKIP. He had previously funded the Tory Party until he grew tired of their promises to hold an EU referendum. Well, now the rich man has his wish granted. Careful what you wish for Paul!
In 1997, Tony Blair famously ousted the Tory government which had remained impregnable since it's election in 1979 following the "Winter of discontent". "Now is the Winter of our discontent" is the opening line famously taken from Shakespeare's Richard III. He, of course, was the Yorkist king to be, recently found buried beneath a Leicester supermarket car park. More of retail later though.
That 1997 election was famous for the scale of the Labour (New) win. On this side of the border, the new parliamentary seat of Clwyd South had been created and Labour won the seat convincingly with nearly 23,000 votes and nearly 58% of the share of the votes. The second placed candidate in that election is perhaps better known today than he was then. Coming second in that contest with 23.1% of the vote was then then political correspondent of the Spectator magazine - Boris Johnson. Two years later, he became editor of the Spectator and by 2001 he had taken the safe Tory seat of Henley-upon-Thames - Henley being a more welcoming proposition for an Old Etonian than Corwen or Bala. During the tenure of Michael Howard, he served in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Arts Minister after having served as Deputy Chairman. For a man who was first educated in Brussels because his father worked there for the European Commission, it is perhaps surprising to see him spearheading the "Leave" campaign. It was Johnson who threw the weight of the Spectator behind the Europhilic Ken Clarke when William Hague resigned as Tory party leader. As it transpired, another prominent Eurosceptic, Ian Duncan, won the contest albeit only for a short tenure. It is fair to say that the relationship of Boris Johnson with Europe has seldom been straightforward. His position at the forefront of the "Leave" campaign is all the more baffling for that.
Last week saw the US President throwing his weight behind the "Stay" campaign and it did not take Boris long to start reacting. He did so in a manner which was controversial even by his lofty standards. Citing Obama's Kenyan background as grounds for supporting the UK staying in Europe, Boris had played that card which dare not speak it's name - the race card. Never a winner with politicians. By common consent Enoch Powell was the intellectual giant of the then Tory party but he never recovered from the "Rivers of blood" speech which so polarised the party - and which continues to. On June 19th 1964, the US Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. By coincidence, that was also the date of birth of Boris Johnson not in the UK but in Manhattan, New York. So the man who was born in the USA, educated in Brussels and rejected in Wales takes the lead in the UK leaving Europe while taking a swipe at President Obama at a time when the UK has seldom needed him and his allegiance more.
But if Boris Johnson is the most prominent chameleon in UK public life, he is by no means the only one. When Tony Blair achieved that momentous victory in 1997, he did what Neil Kinnock failed to do on two occasions. If ever there was a man for whom Europe has been profitable, it would be difficult to look beyond Neil Kinnock. On resigning the Labour leadership after the 1992 election, he became first a European Commissioner and then, for five years, Vice-President of the European Union. Indeed, his wife was also an MEP for 15 years but that is to say nothing of his son Stephen.
Whereas Boris Johnson began his education in Europe, Stephen Kinnock finished his there with an M.A. from the College of Europe in Bruges. Until recently, his wife was Prime Minister of Denmark and before becoming MP for Aberavon, Kinnock had held a succession of roles with the British Council of which his father had been the President. His father was famously the Labour leader at the time of miner's strike in 1984 and witnessed Thatcher's ideological overthrow of one of our great industries. His own South Wales suffered as much as most and the industry never recovered from a bitter, bloody battle. One generation later and Neil Kinnock's son is the incumbent MP with the unenviable task of witnessing the threat to steel production in Port Talbot in his own back yard. But unlike the experience of Neil with coal, Stephen appears to be experiencing a change in fortunes. The announcement that the Tories are prepared to part-nationalise the steel industry is a far cry from the days of Thatcher. Could it be that an election is around the corner? Well, yes. The Tories are desperate to hold on to their Assembly seats in a few weeks' time and such an announcement from Westminster will do them no harm in South Wales. When jobs and livelihoods are at stake, votes are up for grabs and the political classes are always on hand to capitalise.
But what of the Welsh Assembly elections? It is now 19 years since it's inception at the insistence of Tony Blair who argued that it would be more accountable than a solitary Welsh Secretary. But the referendum which led to it's formation was far from convincing with Denbighshire (59.5%), Flintshire (62.8%), Conwy (59.1%), Wrexham (55.7%), Cardiff (55.6%), Monmouthshire (67.9%), Newport (62.5%), Pembrokeshire (57.2%), Powys (57.3%) and Vale of Glamorgan (64.5%) all against the Assembly. In the end, a winning margin of just 50.3% to 49.7% said it all. Here was a country divided in it's desire for autonomy with the North, Cardiff and Newport being dead against.
But the people will decide and will do so in spite of the pronouncements of Obama, Johnson et al. Labour have governed the Welsh Assembly since 1999 and will doubtless do so once more given their power base in the South Wales valleys. But I would candidly request that they change their stance at the level of Local Government. By refusing to take seats at Cabinet in counties like Denbighshire (where they are the biggest party), they are giving carte blanche to Tories, Plaid Cymru and the Independents. It is time they were true to the wishes of their electorate and represented them even if that means sharing power. When our children are little, we encourage them to share with other children because we know it is the right thing to do. I only hope that the Labour Party in Wales is paying attention and does the right thing by their electorate. Anything less is a deception and the public deserves better than that because as we all know, an elected politician is answerable to nobody for five years once elected. So if the opening lines of Richard III are to be kept at bay this winter, we need more than ever for our elected representatives to work together for the common good rather than their own.
If the fate of steel in South Wales follows the fate of that industry in South Yorkshire, who knows what will ensue. The site of the former steel works in Sheffield was purchased by a South Yorkshire businessman by the name of Paul Sykes. He had made his money scrapping buses in the 1960s and has made his fortune with the building of the Meadowhall shopping centre on the outskirts of Sheffield. He has also remained one of the biggest benefactors of UKIP. He had previously funded the Tory Party until he grew tired of their promises to hold an EU referendum. Well, now the rich man has his wish granted. Careful what you wish for Paul!
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