Friday, January 21, 2011

In the devolved UK, who are the new "Political Elite"?

The Political "Elite" in N.Ireland, Scotland and Wales are confirmed Devo-crats.

They, their political machine and the printed and electronic media which indulges them, are "The Establishment".

Now, that word “Elite” doesn’t mean, as the Miserable Old Fart implies here, they are all living in 12 bedroom country mansions, supping champers for breakfast and whipping the lesser orders as a leisure pursuit. A large proportion of Plaid Cymru maintains a strident red tinge, Sinn Fein (theoretically at least) only pay themselves an average wage and as MOF points out , even the Conservatives in Wales are not the crusty aristocrats of old.

No, the Political Elite in Scotland, Ulster and Wales are now those who crave the more abstract baubles that the Devolution Experiment has delivered for them; they absolutely adore being extremely prominent fish in very limited ponds. They have the illusionary sense of being real “MPs” without any of the disadvantages- they now have “assistants” to pop out for their groceries, they get their paper-clips on a stationery allowance, they even get to attach an officialish looking title after their name. As an added bonus, they can invoke the demon of the *English Conservative Government at Westminster* when they, inevitably, cock things up.

Devolution has most certainly delivered for this Elite and of course they want more; whether it has delivered for the wider populace is a question which will be answered in Wales by the mass wave of "Couldn't give a toss" apathy come March.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ever heard of Llew Heycock?

O'Neill said...

Just checked him via Wiki, relevance?

Anonymous said...

I thought I'd take you back to the glory days of old Welsh Labour's one-party dominance of South Wales. Now that's what you could call a proper political elite - job for boys, almost always boys naturally, and absolute power.

I think one or two memebers of True Wales are feeling a little 'hiraeth' for those days.

O'Neill said...

So, you were harking back to bygone times... Llew Heycock is still with us is he?

The question I was addressing is who now are the Political Elite in the devolved areas of the UK- an Elite, irrespective of party allegiance, who now all sing from the same hymn-sheet, an Elite who need devolution more than their respective part of the UK needs it.

Anonymous said...

" an Elite, irrespective of party allegiance who now all sing from the same hymn-sheet ..."

Some people call that consensus.

O'Neill said...

And "consensus" on a topic automatically means that the majority have got it right?

Or tha we should stop examining their motives for coming to that "consensus"?

Hen Ferchetan said...

You see, you'r argument is massively undermind by the quote that they are playacting as MP's in a small pond.

Many of the AM's were MP's and switched to the Assembly because, as far as most Welsh people are concerned (in all polls) the Assembly is massivley more important to their daily lives than Westminster.

AM's make the choices on Health, Education, Local Authorities and Transport - probably the four things that affect our daily lives most. Since there's so few of them they also do a hell of a lot more than an MP does and their personal decisions that much more influencial (1 vote out of 60 way more than 1 out of 600)

The idea that they are some "mini-MP's is insane.In terms of how their decisions actually affect people they are in a much bogger pond than MP's.

O'Neill said...

Many of the AM's were MP's and switched to the Assembly because, as far as most Welsh people are concerned (in all polls) the Assembly is massivley more important to their daily lives than Westminster

So...taking into account how much more important the Assembly is to "most" Welsh people what do you think the turnout will be then?

40% if you're lucky.

Wildgoose said...

At the risk of accusations of over-simplification, there are 2 kinds of MPs. "Territorial Advocates" and "National MPs", (viz Akash Paun's "Lost Souls in the Lobbies? Backbenchers from Scotland and Wales in Post-Devolution Westminster").

These two types have always existed, but whereas English "territorial advocates" have tended to be more parochial (e.g. concerned about "the South Yorkshire coalfields") those from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have tended to focus on their respective nations.

National Devolution that deliberately ignored and left England out has emphasised and magnified these aspects. The real change will come about as England quite naturally develops its own territorial advocates, a process that has already started.

Interesting Times.

Hen Ferchetan said...

"So...taking into account how much more important the Assembly is to "most" Welsh people what do you think the turnout will be then?

40% if you're lucky."

Referendum wise it will be lower than 40% because the issue at hand never needed a referendum. It's not a big constitutional change and the only reason we're having a referendum is because Labour AM's and MP's couldn't agree on things.

The general feeling in Wales is that more powers is fine, nothing to get exited about and for many nothing worth voting for or against. It's not a big issue.

As for your quotation marks on "most" I'm simply quoting the polls, which for years has put the Assembly at the top of the importance list. And why wouldn't it, it deals with Education, Health and Transport - probably the three things that people encounter most often in their daily lives.