Hello. Welcome back. I return refreshed from a half-term break to discover that more tensions have emerged between Liberal Democrats at either end of the M4.
During the past year, Welsh Lib Dems have seen senior party figures at Westminster call for the scrapping of a massive defence investment and try to reduce the number of Welsh MPs by 30 per cent.
Now several senior Lib Dem MPs have signed up to a move to block further devolution to Wales, this time in the area of home education.
A Tory MP, Graham Stuart, tabled an amendment to a new law going through Parliament, an amendment that would have deleted a clause in the Bill that would give the Assembly the power to pass laws on home education in Wales.
Six Lib Dem MPs, including the party's education spokesman, David Laws, signed Mr Stuart's amendment, despite the Lib Dems claiming to be in favour of greater powers for Wales.
Cock-up or conspiracy? Jenny Randerson, the party's education spokeswoman in the Welsh Assembly, says: "My colleagues in Westminster subscribed to this amendment in error and will be removing their names from this Tory amendment. David Laws, the Lib Dem education spokesperson will, during the debate, argue in favour of devolving these powers to Wales.
“The Liberal Democrats remain committed to furthering Welsh devolution and they will vote against this amendment if it is called.”
An easy mistake. Perhaps ordinary voters simply don't understand just how easy it is for politicians to say one thing and then sign up to the opposite. The more charitable explanation is that there was some confusion over whether, having removed English powers from the Bill, you could still include powers for Wales.
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