New powers for Welsh Assembly

[Russ B]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5211918.stm

At long last I say - for 9 years we've had a toothless 'government' and now devolution finally means something. Tax-raising powers would be next I believe although the way things go I'm sure we're looking at gaining those in about 20 years...

I can see this leading to an "English-only" Westminster which I'm sure will keep the majority happy.

[Stuart C]

Well, that *is* the logical outcome of devolution. After all, if Wales and Scotland don't want England interfering in their affairs, they shouldn't interfere in ours..

[foreverwar]

Does that mean the end of the "United" Kingdom, or do you think we will move to some sort of Federal state, like USA and Germany?

[eddie00001]

I'd rather see the whole assembly scrapped. Its just a waste of money. Even now, there's only a certain amount of laws (or measures as they are to be called), and then, approval has to be obtained from the Welsh Secretary & Parliment, before the Assembly can implement the 'laws'.

Well seen as:

Four fifths of the land in Wales is designated as "Less Favoured Areas" by the European Commission


More than one in four people of working age are deemed economically inactive - the highest at 35% in Merthyr Tydfil; 34% in Blaenau Gwent


The GDP of workers in Wales is on average 18% lower than the EU average


In the Central Valleys workers earn 64% of the EU average


Around 16% of the Welsh population are suffering from long term illness or disability. In Merthyr the figure is 22%


50% of 11 year olds in Wales fail to reach expected figures in core subjects. 62% in Blaenau Gwent.


In 1997, 22% of people of working age in Wales had no qualifications. 37% in Merthyr; 33% in Blaenau Gwent. (compared with 18% in England)


46% of working age people had received no training in the year to August 1998


More than 50% of all households in Wales have an annual income of less than £10,000 (hence lack of demand)


More than half the households in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea have no savings


Across Wales, 39.6% of people have never saved (hence lack of mobility)


20% of Welsh people now claim housing benefit.

During the 1990s, the GDPs of Wales and the North East region have grown more slowly than that of any other UK economic regions


Wales GDP per head has fallen steadily since 1976 and is likely to fall further from today's level of 82% of the UK average


There are only 40,000 more jobs in Wales than there were in 1971 and the number of fulltime jobs available for men has fallen by 30%


The number of jobs in manufacturing in Wales fell to an all-time low of 200,000 in 1999


Over the past ten years there has been a 5.5% increase in the number of jobs in the UK but only a 2% increase in Wales


Wales generates a smaller percentage of GDP from the private sector service industries than the UK as a whole and lacks jobs in knowledge-based services


Expenditure per head on research and development is one of the lowest of any region in the UK


The proportion of manufacturing output contributed by small and medium sized firms is the lowest in the UK


Wales stock of VAT registered businesses has fallen by 5% since 1994 and, in 1998, Wales was the only part of the UK where the number of de-registrations exceeded registrations for VAT

We should grant the Welsh full independance cut it away from the mainland and set it out adrift into the Irish sea.

[eddie00001]

A lot of what England has now can be argued as down to Wales, and the mining industry, and the high quality of the coal found in Wales, which was favoured for the Royal Navy (as they changed over to steam ships), which helped keep the British Empire.

[TheBlueRaja]

Englands run by Scotland anyway.

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by Pierre

Well seen as:

Four fifths of the land in Wales is designated as "Less Favoured Areas" by the European Commission


More than one in four people of working age are deemed economically inactive - the highest at 35% in Merthyr Tydfil; 34% in Blaenau Gwent


The GDP of workers in Wales is on average 18% lower than the EU average


In the Central Valleys workers earn 64% of the EU average


Around 16% of the Welsh population are suffering from long term illness or disability. In Merthyr the figure is 22%


50% of 11 year olds in Wales fail to reach expected figures in core subjects. 62% in Blaenau Gwent.


In 1997, 22% of people of working age in Wales had no qualifications. 37% in Merthyr; 33% in Blaenau Gwent. (compared with 18% in England)


46% of working age people had received no training in the year to August 1998


More than 50% of all households in Wales have an annual income of less than £10,000 (hence lack of demand)


More than half the households in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea have no savings


Across Wales, 39.6% of people have never saved (hence lack of mobility)


20% of Welsh people now claim housing benefit.

During the 1990s, the GDPs of Wales and the North East region have grown more slowly than that of any other UK economic regions


Wales GDP per head has fallen steadily since 1976 and is likely to fall further from today's level of 82% of the UK average


There are only 40,000 more jobs in Wales than there were in 1971 and the number of fulltime jobs available for men has fallen by 30%


The number of jobs in manufacturing in Wales fell to an all-time low of 200,000 in 1999


Over the past ten years there has been a 5.5% increase in the number of jobs in the UK but only a 2% increase in Wales


Wales generates a smaller percentage of GDP from the private sector service industries than the UK as a whole and lacks jobs in knowledge-based services


Expenditure per head on research and development is one of the lowest of any region in the UK


The proportion of manufacturing output contributed by small and medium sized firms is the lowest in the UK


Wales stock of VAT registered businesses has fallen by 5% since 1994 and, in 1998, Wales was the only part of the UK where the number of de-registrations exceeded registrations for VAT

We should grant the Welsh full independance cut it away from the mainland and set it out adrift into the Irish sea.

I would rep but haven't been slapping it about too much recently.

[Russ B]

Originally Posted by Pierre

In 1997, 22% of people of working age in Wales had no qualifications. 37% in Merthyr; 33% in Blaenau Gwent. (compared with 18% in England)

I could take that post apart in so many ways I don't know where to begin but I'll start with the above - so you're taking the percentage of a large Welsh town (Merthyr) and comparing it to the whole of England? I know you've always been rather biased against Wales but you could use a more accurate representation?

[Taf]

The worst bit of all this, is that more power is going into the incompetant hands of Rhodri Morgan...

[Russ B]

Originally Posted by Taf

The worst bit of all this, is that more power is going into the incompetant hands of Rhodri Morgan...

Yep, that's the only worrying part - never underestimate the sheer incompetance of Rhondri "Tinky Winky" Morgan

[Escapee]

The Welsh assembly has done nothing more than create a lot of £50K a year jobs for little girls with degrees. We have a family friend who's daughter landed one of these jobs a few years ago, she is involved with education standards and to be honest admits herself she's out of her depth like many other youngsters working there.

I also know a chartered accountant who is a now a chamber director for a group of barristors, she had a very nice £80K 12 month contract to go in and sort out all the problems these little girls had created with the accounts.

The Welsh assembly is like a typical large american company, only they use our money to put right their incompetence.

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Originally Posted by Russ D

I could take that post apart in so many ways I don't know where to begin but I'll start with the above - so you're taking the percentage of a large Welsh town (Merthyr) and comparing it to the whole of England? I know you've always been rather biased against Wales but you could use a more accurate representation?

The 22% was for the whole of Wales and 18% for the whole of England (or is that 22% + 1 now)

Originally Posted by Russ D

I know you've always been rather biased against Wales but you could use a more accurate representation?

I must admit I do like a bit of Welsh baiting every now and then.

Seriously the only thing I have against "some" Welsh, is the same thing I have against "some" Scottish.

It's the people who keep on banging on about independance, Its pathetic.

Cornwall has just as valid a claim to being a separate state as Wales

Cornwall wasn't really unified into England until the time of William the Conquerer some time after 1066 and Wales was annexed in 1278.

Wales is only viewed as a nation really for sporting convenience. Why they were given an assembly is beyond me. A complete waste of money they don't warrant one. It is not a country, it is a region. It is a collection of counties to the west of English midlands.

I have some sympathy for the Scots argument as they were a separate nation until fairly recently and had their own monarchy and parliament in recent history.

But Wales????????

[Taf]

Stop Welsh people in the street and ask them if they wanted a Welsh Assembly and I am sure the majority will say no. Ask how many want one now and I'm sure that even more will say no. Ask them what the Assembly is, and many will describe it as a waste or time and money, and some will describe it as an embarresment.

Labour will hang on to it so long as it gives them power in Wales...