Wednesday 27 June 2007

Comrades up in arms

Only one story in town for some Welsh MPs today - and it wasn't the one I've been broadcasting about all day.

Welsh Secretary Peter Hain briefed Labour backbenchers on the coalition deal between Labour and Plaid Cymru to run the Welsh Assembly Government.

The MPs are not happy, to put it mildly. An "overwhelming majority" of them criticised the coalition deal expressing what Caerphilly MP Wayne David says were "serious concerns" during a "forthright meeting".

Another source told the BBC that former party leader Neil Kinnock had been "absolutely devastating" in attacking the agreement.

The MPs are unhappy about the promise to campaign for the Assembly to have full law-making powers, the agreement to examine the way Wales is funded and a suggestion that the criminal justice system could be reviewed.

The backbenchers are now likely to voice their criticisms at Labour's special conference next week.

If Gordon Brown is contemplating life without a Welsh Secretary he may want to reconsider - there's a busy job to be done just pacifying his backbenchers west of Offa's Dyke.

1 comment:

Glyn Davies said...

Great to see you back in the blogosphere.