However tonight I can’t pass the moment without commenting on the blatant stupidity of those involved in the planning process in Newport.

Poor Terry Mathews, who has built global businesses with names like Newbridge, and Newport in them and has of course invested around £40 million of his own money in securing the bid for the Ryder Cup in Wales at the palatial hotel and leisure complex he has built in Newport,  has been apparently defeated by planning idiots in Newport who want to protect a derelict building next to the home of the World’s greatest golf tournament later this year.

If you’ve not seen the news report on the BBC then take a look here.

Newport stupidity at its absolute finest.

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Image by Defence Images via Flickr

The Government is undertaking a Strategic Defence Review that will inevitably change the role, shape and capability of our Armed Forces in a way that has not been done for several decades. It promised to be a root and branch review, driven in part by a need to cut costs and a need to reduce the endemic waste that has permeated the Ministry of Defence for many years.

Illogically though the Secretary of State for Defence has announced that Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirupp, the Chief of the Defence Staff, will leave his post in the Autumn, after the review has been made. Whilst this may seem a “nice” way of removing the head man, it is a weak option at a time of such critical change. Plans need to be implemented by those who make them, it is extremely challenging – unnecessarily so – for someone to adopt somebody else’s plans and deliver them successfully.

Whilst Liam Fox is right to remove Sir Jock, his delay in doing so is a sign of misunderstanding of the need to plan, deliver and be accountable. An opportunity has been missed.

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The Telegraph would no doubt claim that it was acting in the public interest to break their allegations about David Laws’ expenses.

That they had to wait until after the election and the formation of a coalition government shows that they are either slack in their investigation or, and more likely, are sticking to their right wing agenda and trying to destroy the coalition that does offer so much.

This is despicable journalism and it is definitely not in the public interest nor in the best interest of this country. I truly hope that Laws returns to the Treasury as soon as his name is cleared by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

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Just as you can’t make an omlette without breaking eggs, so you can’t form a new team without a few pre-ordained steps. So the current noise around the LibDem-Conserative coalition is entirely to be expected and is to some degree a very good sign.

Whenever there is some change in and amongst a group of people there is always a degree of resistance, and of course that degree can be small, large or huge. The formation of the coalition government is no exception and we are seeing and hearing much about the dissatisfaction from members of each party concerned and even from others not directly involved.

This is all following a pattern: a pattern that goes under the rather quaint American label of Formin’, Stormin’, Normin’ and Performin’.

All new teams will need to follow this route to success and whilst the motives of any change may be questionable, the Stormin’ is essential. It’s only at this stage that those in the lead can take real control and find out where the real supporters and doubters sit. More importantly it will also help to deselect some from the challenges ahead. And those party members who are “leaving in droves” to join other parties are helping the cause. Because once they’ve gone the important step of Normin’ can take place, after which the results will come as the team is built, with committed members and clarity of purpose. Then and only then can it start Performin’.

So if those people who are complaining and arguing think that they are going to have any influence on the outcome, they are both wrong and right. They are wrong because their voices do not matter but they are right because Stormin’ this early allows for earlier progress to be achieved. It really is a case of the Storm before the calm.

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I’ve made no pretence of my dislike of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, but I must admit to having a lump in my throat during his farewell speech. He may not have impressed me, and without doubt he did not care for our Armed Forces in the way that I would have welcomed, but like many I do respect him for having the views he had. It just proves you don’t have to like someone to respect them.

The New Politics, a Liberal Conservative coalition, is going to have a great impact. I’m convinced that Cameron has played an absolute blinder in cutting this deal and I sincerely hope he can hold his party together on it. As for Nick Clegg: I also hope he can hold it together. But there will be challenges for all.

The structure of the Cabinet looks truly strong, with wisdom, experience and people willing to take decisions. Many will comment on the shortage of Women, but dear Anne Widdecombe was on the money when she said that being a woman made it easier to get into Cabinet as there was less good female competition. She advocated appointments on ability rather than gender and I think she was right to say that.

One decision to ponder though is Wales and Cheryl Gillan, but comment on that can wait for a day or two: there’s plenty of noise already.

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This morning, there is a nervousness to my excitement as the citizens of the United Kingdom go to the polls. Butterflies are flying laps around my stomach, my throat has already had a lump or 2 in it when I saw or heard those opening words on news bulletins. What is so different this time?

Is it because my loyalties are mixed? After all this is an election where I am really impacted by a UK Government and also a mature Government in Wales with legislative experience, and whilst at the UK level I want to see a shift to the right, local I want Wales to continue to be grow in stature and want to see a stronger position for Plaid.

Could it be that the campaigns have left me worried that votes will be bought, rather than visions created to win over voters?

Has our TV based campaign – not the internet campaign so expected by many – really turned the tide, or is the Lib Dem surge already a busted flush. Only time will tell.

But one things is certain in my mind: it is high time we are rid of the Labour Government who have failed so miserably to deliver over 13 years in office. And not only is it time for change, but change for the better. Then maybe the butterflies will go back to bed.

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Image by Francis Bourgouin via Flickr

Recent reports of vote “stealing”, through false registrations and postal vote grabbing are worrying, but possibly of greater concern are semi-institutionalised attempts at vote influencing.

In recent months it appears that the National Union of Students have encouraged Universities to release records of students living in halls, to local authorities to allow for bulk registration. In some universities it has even lead to individuals from overseas being registered to vote, yet with no right to be so.

Equally concerning is the influence such an exercise can have on local democracy. For example: in west Wales there are allegations that this has happened in a constituency where only the Lib-Dems and Plaid Cymru have a chance of winning, (Lib-Dem majority last time was 219). To register voters with no affiliations to Wales will have an unfair impact on Plaid Cymru and with (broad brush statement) the current appeal of a “young” Nick Clegg to students, an unfair benefit to the Lib Dem vote.

Of course, with many of these students graduating shortly, they will of course be influencing decisions about local representation, in a constituency that will not be their residence in a few weeks time.

It is high time that the Electoral Commission took elections and voter registrations more seriously.

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When another politician made a serious comment today, not at all in jest, but deriding a specific individual as a bigot, all he had to do was pop back for anther cuppa, make a probably false apology and exercise his smile when you lie gene on leaving the house of the offended. The last bit was of course for the benefit of the assembled media.

Funny old world!

8 days to go then he should be gone.

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That’s it, the election’s over for me, my vote has been cast.

Marvellous things these postal votes and so easy to arrange.

All I had to do was go online, fill in a form which included an option to send the postal vote forms to any address I wanted to and a few days later, the forms arrived. So easy!

And of course it is so easy to defraud. Any address can be used as the mailing address for the forms, there was no check that I was who I said I was when I registered and there is obviously no limit to the number of times I could have done this, if I’d wanted to secure (or s iit steal?) another person’s votes.

Maybe this is taking the concept of Open Government a bit too far.

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1. Destroy Speed Cameras. Our highways are awash with speed cameras, average speed cameras and other money making ideas. They serve no purpose but to raise money whilst disrupting the traffic flow of perfectly safe vehicles, designed and tested to drive much faster than the limit allows.

2. Remove Waste from the Public Sector. I’m not talking about billions that are bandied about by the big parties. but we need to remove small levels of waste: 5 meter cycle lanes, central heating systems left on at weekends, street lights on in daylight. there’s no doubt that if we can encourage small savings, then bigger savings will also become possible.

3. Create some sustainable development. We should stop throwing money at business development in the way we currently do and try to create a more sustainable form of wealth creation. For example: I’d love to see an amalgam of training, regeneration, business development and work creation from a series of projects that utilise public money in  a joined up fashion and cross a variety of boundaries.

4. Create a Future for Wales. The debate about more powers is boring; let’s focus on creating a vision of what will be for Wales. How will we attain self determination, how will we manage UK Instittions based in Wales, how will we pay for it all? Let’s create clarity, develop a sense of purpose and then lets us focus, argue ad fight for that vision to be delivered.

5. Take some Front Line cuts. There’s no reason for making any front line sacrosanct, no reason why some elements of the front line could not be pared back. So let’s cut out the institutionalized defence of front line cuts and accept that maybe, just maybe, some of the front line actually aren’t necessary after all.

6. Free Dental Care. I don’t know how it happened, but where did dental care go to? Surely that could be a valualbe add on to our NHS.

7. Make Education Relevant. It’s hugely frustrating as an employer to meet young people looking for work who do not have the basic IT skills needed in the work place. Our education system focuses on creating lots of A Stars and A’s, but does not deliver well trained individuals who can pick up the tools of work easily.

8. Essential Skills lessons. As part of ur national curriculum we should ensure that all school leavers have the essential skills of life: that they can swim, can drive, know how to wire a plug and of course can understand the value of compound interest. These life skills are essential and this list is not exhaustive.

9. Legalise Drugs. We’ve legalised tobacco and alcohol, and as a result anyone wishing to poison themselves with these drugs can get quality controlled products, at a price which delivers revenue to the Government. Crime associated with tobacco is minimal. Illegal drugs remain available, are generally of uncontrolled quality and come at a price that drives more crime. We need proper drug outlets to as a way to address the crime fuelled by drugs.

10. Ban Immigration. Well not exactly ban immigration, just control the number of foreign players playing in Welsh Rugby. It is unacceptable, for example, that the Ospreys can have a back-row line up of overseas players,  that stops our national captain from getting into the team. This is not conducive to building a successful national team and should be better by controlled by the WRU.

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