Bonding

Oh to be a fly on the wall......Labour MPs and AMs are being invited to a party "bonding weekend" in Mid Wales.

The politicians are being offered the chance to brainstorm policy ideas over two days at the Elephant and Castle Hotel in Newtown.

The "awayday" takes place on October 17 and October 18 and will give Welsh MPs and AMs the chance to prepare for the next UK general election or discuss the minutiae of devolution policy over an orange juice or two.

Labour prefer not to use the word "bonding" lest anyone conclude that their AMs and MPs are not best buddies united on every issue under the sun.

Political party awaydays have had mixed results. The Conservatives tried the idea a few years ago but received more publicity for the casual dress sense of MPs such as John Redwood.

Welsh Labour say there's no dress code for their gathering. It's not yet known how many of those invited will show up although you might imagine that pretenders to Rhodri Morgan's crown might grasp the opportunity.

Labour have used the hotel for training sessions before. My spy in Transport House tells me that on previous visits they bumped into Lib Dems Eleanor Burnham and Lembit Opik (separately) in the bar.

Now there's a leadership dream ticket.....