"Politicians want more power" must be up there with "Tour cyclist fails drugs test" as among the more predictable headlines of the summer.
Perhaps it's testimony to the accuracy of the Ipsos MORI survey that the results were as expected - 80 per cent of Welsh Assembly Members want Scottish Parliament-style powers.
The results of the "most impressive AM" were less predictable, perhaps because most of the 36 AMs interviewed refused to give a preference. The "don't knows" totalled 58 per cent - only 15 named AMs.
Of those who did, 17 per cent opted for Health Minister Edwina Hart, 13 per cent for Plaid Housing Minister Jocelyn Davies and 12 per cent for Tory Jonathan Morgan.
Before Mrs Hart starts ordering telephone lines for her leadership campaign, she might care to glance at the raw figures (the percentages are weighted to make the sample more representative).
She was the choice of 6 AMs; 5 AMs mentioned Jocelyn Davies, 4 Jonathan Morgan, and 2 Ieuan Wyn Jones, Nick Bourne and David Melding.
Among UK politicians, Alex Salmond and Adam Price fared well, helped by a disproportionately high number of "don't knows" among Labour AMs curiously reluctant to endorse Gordon Brown.
The representative sample of 36 AMs were interviewed face-to-face last September and October although the results have only just been published.
Showing posts with label David Melding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Melding. Show all posts
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Monday, 6 August 2007
A defective defection?
My inbox has been pinging with claim and counter-claim today as Labour and the Tories do battle over the lastest "defector" between the two parties.
David Anstee, a 26-year-old teacher and former Tory council candidate in Rhondda Cynon Taff, has defected to Labour.
Not exactly the biggest fish in the sea, but this is August and the political parties appear to have noticed a gap in the media coverage between the foot and mouth outbreak and the National Eisteddfod.
Labour claim Anstee (left) was "one of the Tories' brightest young politicians in Wales" and
"a member of a powerful Welsh Conservative Policy Group which wrote the party's 2007 Assembly election manifesto".
Prime Minister Gordon Brown was swift to welcome the conversion. The Conservatives were less impressed: "David Anstee was in no way involved in putting together the 2007 election manifesto."
Ah.
The Conservatives are now threatening to report Labour AM Leighton Andrews to the commissioner for standards unless he apologises for allegedly exaggerating Anstee's role.
The former Tory's conversion does appear to have been a rapid one. This is what he thought of David Cameron (who decided to send his child to a state school) just six months ago:
"A Politician who does what he says, says what he believes and isn't afraid to stand out in the crowd. Could this be a PM in waiting. Cameron should be applauded for taking the education of his child so seriously. He has made an intelligent decision which could have landed him in hot water with certain quarters of the electorate.
"He had nevertheless run rough shod over the insiduous rantings of the anti-faith school faction and has made a good decision for the future of his child. Surely now we can trust the future of our children with someone who puts his own children's futures first!"
Labour's response to the Tory rebuttal?
'The Tories are wrong to say David Anstee played no role in helping draw up Tory policies for the 2007 Assembly election. He even attended a meeting of the Welsh Conservative Policy Forum, run by Tory Policy Co-ordinator David Melding AM, to discuss policies for the 2007 election."
David Melding says he doesn't know Anstee, but that hasn't stopped Gordon Brown interrupting his busy day fighting foot and mouth to say:
"I am pleased that David listened to my call for moderate Conservatives to join the Labour party and help build a better Britain.
"I welcome him to the party and look forward to hearing of his positive contribution in the future."
David Anstee, a 26-year-old teacher and former Tory council candidate in Rhondda Cynon Taff, has defected to Labour.
Not exactly the biggest fish in the sea, but this is August and the political parties appear to have noticed a gap in the media coverage between the foot and mouth outbreak and the National Eisteddfod.
Labour claim Anstee (left) was "one of the Tories' brightest young politicians in Wales" and
"a member of a powerful Welsh Conservative Policy Group which wrote the party's 2007 Assembly election manifesto".
Prime Minister Gordon Brown was swift to welcome the conversion. The Conservatives were less impressed: "David Anstee was in no way involved in putting together the 2007 election manifesto."
Ah.
The Conservatives are now threatening to report Labour AM Leighton Andrews to the commissioner for standards unless he apologises for allegedly exaggerating Anstee's role.
The former Tory's conversion does appear to have been a rapid one. This is what he thought of David Cameron (who decided to send his child to a state school) just six months ago:
"A Politician who does what he says, says what he believes and isn't afraid to stand out in the crowd. Could this be a PM in waiting. Cameron should be applauded for taking the education of his child so seriously. He has made an intelligent decision which could have landed him in hot water with certain quarters of the electorate.
"He had nevertheless run rough shod over the insiduous rantings of the anti-faith school faction and has made a good decision for the future of his child. Surely now we can trust the future of our children with someone who puts his own children's futures first!"
Labour's response to the Tory rebuttal?
'The Tories are wrong to say David Anstee played no role in helping draw up Tory policies for the 2007 Assembly election. He even attended a meeting of the Welsh Conservative Policy Forum, run by Tory Policy Co-ordinator David Melding AM, to discuss policies for the 2007 election."
David Melding says he doesn't know Anstee, but that hasn't stopped Gordon Brown interrupting his busy day fighting foot and mouth to say:
"I am pleased that David listened to my call for moderate Conservatives to join the Labour party and help build a better Britain.
"I welcome him to the party and look forward to hearing of his positive contribution in the future."
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