Griffiths Joins Calls To 'Make Poverty History'

Well, over the bank holiday weekend we received a nice press release that I've quoted verbatim below:

John Griffiths AM, Chair of the Assembly's All-Party Group on International Development, has called for a debate to be held by the Assembly to discuss what Wales can do to support the "Make Poverty History" campaign.

Speaking following the official Wales launch of the Commission for Africa Report, which took place at the Assembly earlier this week, John pressed Jane Hutt AM, Minister for Assembly Business, to devote time in the Assembly Chamber for a full debate on the issue.

"The Commission's Report details some of the progress that has taken place, but also the tremendous job of work that has yet to be done if we are to achieve fair trade, debt relief, adequate aid, peace and stability, and good governance, to deal with the problems of the developing world."

"It is good to see that the UK Government is leading the way in the response to many of these issues."

"With the G8 summit in Scotland this summer, and the UK about to assume the European Union presidency, it would be timely for the Assembly to debate the great "Make Poverty History" campaign, which has such a great groundswell of support in Wales and which is so worthwhile."

The Minister replied that it was key to continually look at Wales' relationship with the rest of the world and she hoped that the Assembly would be able to find the time to move its international development agenda forward.

Other than that it's been a slow news weekend I'm afraid. The only other news of note is that Newport's new Mayor is backing the Samaritans (Critchley is councillor for the Liswerry ward).

Politics: Showbusiness For Ugly People? I Think Not.

There has been much murmuring in certain circles about our MP's, uh-hum, physical appearance and after all, she's no Anne Widdecombe. Though it now seems The Guardian- along with several lobby journalists - agree that gentlemen prefer blondes, as they have included her as their latest political 'hotty'. Previous nominees include Adam Afriyie (Tory MP for Windsor), Jenny Willott (Cardiff's latest newest MP) and Labour candidate for Kensington and Chelsea, Catherine Atkinson.

Full Story Here

Car Parking Charges To Be Brought To Caldicot

The BBC website are reporting news from right out in the sticks, on the constituency's border with Monmouth.

Ghost town fears over car charges

We all tend to forget that Caldicot is part of the Newport East constituency. It is actually within the boundaries of the Tory run Monmouthshire County Council. Amazingly Caldicot, a place not known for its outspoken Welshness, has two Plaid Cymru councillors*, in addition to two Labour and one Independent. We've been told that whilst it was the Tories' idea to bring car-parking charges to the town, the two Plaid councillors voted for the charges despite speaking out against them at a previous council meeting.

If you wish to register your disapproval to your councillors, we have included a their email addresses below (I am sure they would just love to hear from you).

Cllr Ronald Stewart, Plaid Cymru (Caldicot Castle Ward);

Cllr David Ashwin, Plaid Cymru (Green Lane Ward);

Cllr Jim Higginson, Labour (Severn Ward);

Cllr Bill Edwards, Labour (Dewstow Ward);

Cllr James Harris, Independent (West End Ward).

If you would prefer to phone them then their full phone numbers can be found on here:

A Full List of Monmouthshire Councillors Can Be Found Here

*I always thought of Caldicot as being a very Anglicised part of Wales and a kind of run-down version of Chepstow, if you like, so if anyone would like to shed some light on how Plaid managed to gain two councillors at the last election please email me!

John Griffiths Launches Website

Your constituency Assembly Member, John Griffiths, has launched his very own website. Apparently designed to "let local people know about the latest news from across the constituency and to give them an idea of what goes on in the Assembly in Cardiff Bay", it's not looking too bad at the moment, on the basic side but still not bad at all. It's a start John, now how about a blog?

The website can be found at http://www.johngriffithsam.org.uk/

Underwood Leisure Centre

A sub-issue in Newport before the election was the closure of Underwood Leisure Centre. Was Labour's total lack of campaigning within the Llanmartin/Underwood area a convenient coincidence? Anyway, I daresay the Labour run council lost Ms Morden a few votes on May 5 from what used to be described as a rock-solid Labour area.

But what's this? Underwood Leisure Centre To Be Saved?

Call This Democracy?

Last night at the Angel Hotel, Cardiff your correspondent attended a public meeting organised by the Electoral Reform Society entitled "Call This Democracy?". The point of such a meeting was, apparently, not to state the case for electoral reform (i.e. a change for Westminster elections to a PR based system) but to have a forum to discuss how to achieve electoral reform; ultimately it was a hybrid of the two.

The meeting was chaired by Ken Ritchie, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society. The panel consisted of Janet Davies AM (Plaid Cymru), Michael German AM (Lib Dems), Glyn Davies AM and Jonathan Evans MEP (both Conservatives). German and Evans, of course, represent this area (not exclusively), in their roles of AM and MEP respectively. The panel took it in turn to say their bit but most impressive were the two Tory representatives. Glyn Davies spoke in favour of the current system but had severe reservations in the wake of the last election. Evans spoke of his desire for change, mainly based on the fact that a Tory vote in the Valleys should be worth the same as a Tory vote in the most marginal of seats.

Both Janet Davies and German spoke heavily in favour of STV (Single Transferable Vote) and against closed party list systems such as that operated for European Elections.

German and Evans quelled doubts regarding coalition governments. Upon taking questions from the floor a young man describing himself as "a centre-left progressive, who on the face of it has the most to gain from electoral reform" was interested as to whether coalitions were a price to pay for a just and fair electoral system citing the example of Leeds City Council where the Greens, Tories and Lib Dems are working in coalition to keep the Labour group out of power. German seemed to feel that if Green voters felt dismayed by this then at subsequent elections their voters could 'punish' them at the ballot box for any unpopular choice of coalition partners.

All in all, it is very difficult to ignore the panel's call for electoral reform. May 5th was the least fair result we've had to an election in living memory. The Conservatives won the popular vote in England yet Labour have more seats there. And they call that democracy? I'm not so sure.

Interested?

How First Past The Post Works
How The Single Transferable Vote System Works
Electoral Reform Society
Michael German Talks About Electoral Reform

I know this is not really news but we thought a Sunday night retrospective posting would be nice. So here we see our fave Blair-backing MP with Blair's true babe:



Currently being sported on the Labour Party's website and was taken, I believe, on the campaign trail during Mrs Blair's whirlwind visit to Newport towards the end of April.

Alan Howarth To Get Peerage

The following article appears in today's Argus (apology for the lack of a link but there's nothing on their website as yet).

Ex-MP is hoping to be Lord Newport

Former MP Alan Howarth hopes to be known as Lord Newport when he takes his place in the House of Lords after being made a baron.

He was named in a list of new peers announced yesterday and told the Argus he was delighted to accept the honour.

"I had a communication from the prime minister asking me if I was prepared to accept and I said yes.

"I do feel very privileged. This is a recommendation that the PM has made to the Queen and it is very generous of him to do so, not least because I have been a thorn in his side on one or two occasions over the years over issues like the Euro and mega casinos.

"On the other hand I have supported him on other policies that were quite contentious, like Iraq and tuition fees.

"What will be so nice about this is that it gives me a continuing platform in politics to work with Jess Morden and Paul Flynn in the interests of my former constituents, the interests of the city and the interests of Wales."

Mr Howarth has to consult the "great king of arms" about his new title but he is hoping it will be Lord Hwarth of Newport. He has left Newport and will have a base in London when he attends the Lords but his home will now be in Norwich with his partner Patricia Hollis.

An Interesting Mix-Up

The following letter (and subsequent editorial apology) appears in today's Western Mail from Ms Morden's father no less:

SIR - We were pleased and proud when our daughter Jessica was elected MP for Newport East, but these emotions were somewhat tempered by your revelation that she is, in fact, the daughter of "Brian, Chief Executive of the WDA".

Since it comes from such an impeccable source, my wife Margaret is finding it difficult to refute this evidence of a boardroom affair in the Swinging Sixties. Our otherwise cloudless marriage of 45 years seems set for a stormy period - unless you feel that an apology and retraction are required.

MICK MORDEN

Cwmbran

Sincerely sorry about the error, Mr Morden. We are happy to correct it. Jenny Willott, the daughter of Brian Willott, the chief executive of the WDA, was elected Lib-Dem MP for Cardiff Central.

"It's Like Freshers' Week At University"

Ms Morden continues her high profile start to life in Westminster:

Which lucky fellow at the Argus has had a freebie in London this week?

The Views Of A Fellow Constituent

The following letter appeared in the Argus today:

Congratulations Jessica Morden MP and how superbly you fit into your party's mould. A broken promise even before your votes were counted. On selection, you cried 'I shall be knocking on every door'. Five days before May 5 I reminded you via readers' letters that I was waiting for your knock. Surely your compliiance with Labour's policy will accelerate your career in the House.

C BINNING
Lliswerry Road,
Newport

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Morden Backs Blair

Although it is great step for the feminist movement in Wales to have acheive the historic feat of gaining eight MPs, we should not be under any illusions that Jessica Morden will be anything other than an ultra-loyal Blairite. In her defence we must add that she has at no point suggested otherwise, even going so far including a picture of Tony Blair on her election literature; how many other Labour PPCs did that?

Which is why the following statement made by Jessica Morden comes as no surprise to us at the Newport East blog:

[on the subject of when Blair should stand down]

"I don't think he should go. He said he will stand down at some stage but I think this talk is premature. Tony Blair has just won an historic third term. The electorate have backed him so I think the back benchers should back him too."

The whole article can be found on the South Wales Argus website:

Gwent MPs back Blair

First Press For Gwent's First Female MP

A positive article for our new MP in the local rag

No doubt this wasn't written by their esteemed columnist Mike Buckingham, but it's a positive article for Ms Morden. I doubt she can rely on many such articles in the South Wales Argus over her period in the Commons, however long that may be.

Oh and there was a nice picture of her too:

All-Women Shortlists

The Western Mail have published an article today regarding all-women shortlists and our sitting MP was, of course, selected via an all-woman shortlist.

WALES has a record number of women MPs because of all-women shortlists, the Equal Opportunities Commission said yesterday.

Kate Bennett, the commission's Wales director, said, "The number of women MPs elected from Wales has doubled - largely thanks to women-only shortlists. This is a powerful example of the need for positive action and clear evidence of the impact it can have.

"It's astonishing that even though 36 of Wales' 40 MPs in the last Parliament were men, some people were reluctant to address this by measures such as women-only shortlists."

A row over all-women shortlists cost Labour its safest Welsh seat, Blaenau Gwent, and its majority in the National Assembly, when AM Peter Law quit the party and won the parliamentary seat as an independent.
Of Wales' eight women MPs:

one was selected on an open shortlist prior to 1997 - Ann Clwyd, Labour;

two were selected on all-women shortlists in 1997 - Julie Morgan and Betty Williams, both Labour;

three were selected on all-women shortlists in 2004/05 - Nia Griffith, Sian James and Jessica Morden, all Labour;

and two were selected on open shortlists in 2004/05 - Madeline Moon, Labour, and Jenny Willott, Liberal Democrat.

All-Women Shortlists Work
Equal Opportunities Commission
Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics

Final Result

Jessica Morden (Labour) 14,389 (45.2%)
Ed Townsend (Liberal Democrats) 7,551 (23.7%)
Matthew Collings (Conservatives) 7,459 (23.4%)
Mohammad Asghar (Plaid Cymru) 1,221 (3.8%)
Roger Thomas (UKIP) 945 (3.0%)
Liz Screen (Socialist Labour) 260 (0.8%)

Jessica Morden has therefore been elected as the Member of Parliament for Newport East. On a turnout of 57.9% she enjoys a majority of 6,838. This is down from the 9,874 majority outgoing MP Alan Howarth gained at the last General Election in June 2001. Interesting there was a swing of 9.6% from Labour to the Lib Dems, who have now pushed the Tories back into third. Presumably the Lib Dems must have polled strongly in St. Julian's and Beechwood were they already have significant Newport City Council representation.

The Candidates

When the 65,000 electors walk into the polling booths of Newport East today the following names will be on the ballot paper:

Asghar, Mohammad (Plaid Cymru);
Collings, Matthew (Conservative Party);
Morden, Jessica (Welsh Labour Party);
Screen, Liz (Socialist Labour Party);
Thomas, Roger (United Kingdom Independence Party);
Townsend, Ed (Liberal Democrats).

The result is expected to be declared at 2:00am tomorrow morning (Friday, 6 May).

Election Day!

Today the people of Newport East, along with the electorate of 644 other constituencies, go to the polls in order to elect one of their peers to represent them for the next five years in the Palace of Westiminster. This weblog is intended to be a running commentary of the political goings on in Newport East.

If you would like to get in contact then email us:

newporteast@hotmail.com

All contributions considered from people of all political leanings. As long as they're clean, non-libellous, relevant and local they will be posted and the author acknowledged.