... this particular political journey.
For those who do not follow Wales political events, a recent event highlights the need for politicians to be cleaner than clean. It is a rule that to stand for election the the Welsh Assembly, certain occupations debar a person, the list is quite clear, the political party's are very aware so there should be no excuse. The first was a member of the Care Council for Wales, which regulates social care workers, the second was a member of the Valuation Tribunal for Wales, which deals with appeals about business rates and council tax. You can understand immediately the reason for debarment, a conflict of interest.
Unfortunately two Liberal Democrat candidates employed by these two separate organisations failed to resign from post prior to the election, was this to allow the persons to return to post if they failed in their election bid, who knows other than the candidates. As it stands both are in breach of the constitution so are unable to take their place at the Assembly, there is no problem, using the list system there are two other candidates waiting in the wings.
Liberal Democrat Assembly member Peter Black has said ...
Such a statement brings into doubt the thought process of Peter, I have found him to be a good AM in the past, his outpourings certainly bring his thought process into doubt, is he as good as I thought?
So Peter thinks contrition and distraction are appropriate expressions, sorry Peter you are way off the mark on this one, the Liberal Democrats need to tighten the selection procedure and the only words appropriate are "expulsion" and "replacement".
We need good scrutiny at the Assembly, and for that we need good people to do the work ......
For those who do not follow Wales political events, a recent event highlights the need for politicians to be cleaner than clean. It is a rule that to stand for election the the Welsh Assembly, certain occupations debar a person, the list is quite clear, the political party's are very aware so there should be no excuse. The first was a member of the Care Council for Wales, which regulates social care workers, the second was a member of the Valuation Tribunal for Wales, which deals with appeals about business rates and council tax. You can understand immediately the reason for debarment, a conflict of interest.
Unfortunately two Liberal Democrat candidates employed by these two separate organisations failed to resign from post prior to the election, was this to allow the persons to return to post if they failed in their election bid, who knows other than the candidates. As it stands both are in breach of the constitution so are unable to take their place at the Assembly, there is no problem, using the list system there are two other candidates waiting in the wings.
Liberal Democrat Assembly member Peter Black has said ...
Lib Dem AM Peter Black told BBC Wales AM/PM programme: "I think it's appropriate that there is a period of contrition because clearly this has put everyone through a difficult period and the members concerned obviously have responsibility to ensure that they are eligible to stand when they stand and so I think we need to sort those issues out first.
"It is a bit embarrassing and it is a bit of a distraction. It's very important that we sort this out.
"We have two very high calibre assembly members who need to be able to take their seats - I need to work with the other parties to persuade them to support that."
Such a statement brings into doubt the thought process of Peter, I have found him to be a good AM in the past, his outpourings certainly bring his thought process into doubt, is he as good as I thought?
So Peter thinks contrition and distraction are appropriate expressions, sorry Peter you are way off the mark on this one, the Liberal Democrats need to tighten the selection procedure and the only words appropriate are "expulsion" and "replacement".
We need good scrutiny at the Assembly, and for that we need good people to do the work ......
I am still not clear why this is such a big deal.They had jobs or were they volunteer posts- do all prospective AMs have to resign their jobs before they stand. They havent committed serious crimes have they. Shouldnt the party managers have advised them?
ReplyDeleteI find it bizzare
Absolutely right VM, it's a storm in a teacup, I wrote over at Betsan's ...
ReplyDelete... Lyn, you really take the biscuit at times, there has been a breach of the rules relating to Assembly elections, the rules are enshrined in the law, two people broke the rules, they should be set aside and two others put in their place, very simple. To do otherwise is to hold the electorate in contempt.
If the rules are burdensome or oppressive, and may cause hardship, there is a case for change, but not retrospective, that makes an ass of the law. In this case, when regarding the positions held, I find it hard to believe both persons were not aware of the rules, it would be difficult to convince the electorate the Liberal Democrats do not enquire of eligibility prior to or during selection..