Tuesday, March 8, 2011

More Devolved Dysfunctionality and this time not at Stormont!

There was something puzzling me about this comment...
Plaid Cymru has criticised Labour's handling of education policy...
... oh yeah, I know what it was:
within the Welsh Assembly Government run by the two parties.
Plaid education spokeswoman Nerys Evans said:
"How did Labour allow standards to slip so far? They have been in government for more than a decade - what have they been doing?”
Again you get the impression Ms Evans is missing something rather relevant here...

Leighton Andrews AM, Education Minister:
"This is a spectacular own goal by Plaid Cymru.

"For the past four years Nerys Evans and Plaid ministers have voted in favour of each successive education budget, presented by the One Wales government in the assembly."

"On the issue of the grading of schools, Nerys is either unaware or has forgotten this was an announcement made on behalf of the One Wales Labour / Plaid Cymru government," he said.

"Nerys likes to claim credit on behalf of Plaid Cymru, for every announcement made by Labour education ministers that she approves of. She can't have it both ways."
Brilliant.
*Whistle* "There are very real concerns about whether AMs and Ministers are up to the job" *Whistle*

4 comments:

Cai Larsen said...

The education funding gap between Wales & England developed in the 2003 - 2007 period - when Labour were in power on their own.

O'Neill said...

Neatly side-stepping the main point, what exactly have Plaid been doing about the matter since 2007?

What was the point of them being in "government" if big bad Labour continued the (apparently) failed education policy?

Shouldn't Ms Evans have made more of a public point about her concerns about now, or is it just an issue at election time?

Cai Larsen said...

The coalition was built on the One Wales Agreement was it not?

Most of what was agreed has been delivered. It's just that spending per head on education wasn't part of the agreement.

O'Neill said...

Re spending per head:

"For the past four years Nerys Evans and Plaid ministers have voted in favour of each successive education budget, presented by the One Wales government in the assembly"

You'd have thought if she had a problem before now, she'd have flagged it up?