seren

The UK media's news blackout about the historic Labour-Plaid agreement prompts this posting.

Firstly, some background:

On May 3, Labour achieved its worst percentage result in Wales since 1918 (33%) but managed to hang on to 26 seats out of the 60 Assembly seats.
Plaid gained three AMs to go to 15, Tories 12 (+1), Lib Dems were static on 6 and Trish Law retained her seat as an independent People's Voice representative. Forward Wales AM John Marek lost his seat in Wrexham to Labour.
Prior to the election Labour had made much of the threat of "vote Plaid, get Tory" - i.e. that Plaid would do a deal with the Tories and Lib Dems in the event of a hung Senedd.
This appeared to be happening when the leaders of the three parties agreed a so-called Rainbow alliance. The agreement was essentially Plaid's policies with some Lib Dem add ons with the Tories content just to be back in some kind of power at a national level for the first time in 10 years. Four left-wing Plaid AMs - all women - stood up against this deal, saying Plaid's left philosophy was at odds with Tory philosophy.
At the same time, the Lib Dems national executive managed to tie on a vote to approve the deal and, on that basis, they rejected the Rainbow deal.
Labour moved quickly and formed a minority government. The Rainbow momentum was lost.
Then a curious thing happened. Adam Price, Plaid's leading strategist and MP for Carmarthen East, posted a message on his blog advocating an alliance between the two left-wing parties in the Assembly. Plaid and Labour.
Before people start choking at the idea of Labour as a left-wing party, it's as well to recall that Welsh Labour has remained essentially Old Labour - rejecting private finance initiatives in health and education, maintaining comprehensive education and keeping business at bay and introducing modest reforms such as free prescriptions for all (something taken up by the SSP) and free bus passes for all Welsh pensioners.
Plaid had run the campaign on a social democratic platform of reforms (what it could deliver within the Assembly's limitations) coupled with demands for greater powers for the Assembly.
So the idea made sense but seemed to have missed the boat. Then Edwina Hart, a Labour minister, came out publicly and supported the idea of a red-green coalition.
Suddenly momentum grew and One Wales, an agreement that combined most of Plaid's policies with firm commitments to halt all privatisation and PFI in the NHS and keeping council housing in the control of local authorities, was born. The agreement also commits Labour to a referendum on a Scottish-style Parliament and to campaign for a 'yes' vote.
Only a red-green alliance can deliver on the constitutional issue because a 2/3rds majority is needed in the Assembly to trigger a referendum. Plaid and Labour between them have 41 members out of 60. The Rainbow couldn't meet that criteria.
Plaid was - and remains - split between those wanting red-green and those who see the chance to ditch Labour, which has ruled Wales ruthlessly for 80 years, and impose a Plaid-led coalition with Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid's leader) as First Minister.
But the four left-wing women AMs were joined by others and voted through the red-green deal.
Labour meanwhile has started to tear itself apart, with a clear split emerging between the AMs (generally in favour) and the MPs (generally against) - of course, a Parliament in Wales would mean reducing MPs in London.

What next?
On Friday, a special Labour conference will vote on the agreement. On Saturday, Plaid's National Council - a democratic body made up of party delegates - will vote on the same agreement. If it goes through both meetings, as expected, then a Labour-Plaid government will be in power.

Adam Price's blog makes it clear that this is not only a historic agreement but that it is intended to drive a wedge into Labour - to divide the pro-devolutionists from the unionists in the party. From the tone of various MPs and AMs today, it looks like it's working.

For comrades outside Wales, I'd urge you to take a look at the One Wales agreement - take a look on Ted Jones's blog for the full version. You may be surprised.

One of Labour's key pledges at the last Assembly election was free school breakfasts for all primary school children. It had the feel of the back of a fag packet - the Labour Party's press officer estimating it would cost £16m a year.

So how has it gone down in the schools?

Like a bowl of cold lumpy porridge.

New figures released by the Welsh Assembly Government show that just 11,000 kids in Wales - out of 285,000 primary school children - are using the breakfast clubs. That's a pathetic 4% after four years.

Even in the schools with breakfast clubs the take-up rate is just 26% across Wales. Not surprising when the estimated spend per pupil on the food provided is just 25p a day.

By contrast, the Scottish Labour Party is being bounced into providing free school meals for a growing number of children under pressure from the SSP and now the SNP. Labour controlled Hull City Council also introduced this progressive measure, although the new Lib Dem-led council has now suspended the service.

Plaid Cymru has also adopted this measure, which has the support of nutritionists, child experts, doctors and parents. It will cost more than breakfasts but it will deliver significant improvements to children's wellbeing and parents' pockets rather than being a meaningless election pledge.

Will the May 2007 elections to the Assembly and Scottish Parliaments be an historic breakthrough?

Certainly in Scotland, Alex Salmond is being talked of as a realistic and credible leader of a pro-independence coalition that includes the Greens and SSP. As well as breaking Labour's reactionary stranglehold on Scotland and introducing a more centre-left politics, it would provide a massive boost for the cause of Welsh liberation.

Plaid Cymru has not had the same publicity as the SNP - in fact the London media have all but ignored Wales apart from the Blaenau Gwent by-elections. But Plaid has quietly been building a formidable electoral machine - it has now won five of the last five council elections it's contested including three impressive gains outside its Welsh-speaking heartlands.


New Labour is in terminal decline, the Tories under Cameron are faltering now the honeymoon period is over, the Lib Dems may yet again change leadership as they zig-zag from left populism to right populism. In Wales, Plaid is the only party with a national profile and the credibility to challenge Labour and it is doing so unambiguously from the left.