I’ve not always been a big fan of Kirsty Williams, but she is the only Opposition leader who used to rattle former First Minister Rhodri Morgan at FMQ’s and got him to apologise (for the first time ever) over misleading answers he gave over the International Business Wales expenses affairs late last year.
Now it seems she could have the Health Secretary Edwina Hart bang to writes over a critical health report about the way the Welsh HNS was managed that Edwina told AM’s a few month ago didn’t exist, she also managed Carwyn Jones's first real wobble since becoming First Minister.
Kirsty produced the report during First Minister Questions yesterday and by Cawryn’s terse short answers in reply to her questions he was obviously irritated and annoyed, lucky for him Presiding Officer Dafydd Elis Thomas stepped in to save his blushes with some guff about Ministerial Code Rules etc, but not before Kirsty had asked if he has full confidence in his Health Minister, to which of course the answer was Yes.
WAG’s press team have gone into overdrive tonight trying to shut the story down and denying there was anything underhand in what Edwina has done, and as BBC Wales Welsh Affairs Editor Vaughan Roderick said it was a direct hit and whether it’s a document or report Carwyn looked decidedly uncomfortable.
But apart from the obvious questions of why the report’s existence was denied and not published so that it could be scrutinised by Assembly Members in Committee, it also puts into sharp focus the role and priorities of the other Opposition Leader in Cardiff Bay Nick Bourne.
Kirsty and her team should be congratulated for uncovering another little gem that WAG would rather have stayed buried and on the first day back after the Summer Recess, but what must the Tories be thinking that yet again it is the Welsh Lib Dem leader, not the supposed real Leader of the Opposition Tory Nick Bourne’s who is making headlines at WAG’s expense.
It’s worth asking yourself when was the last time Nick Bourne made any impact in FMQ’s or at any other time recently and what does it say about his political judgement and the poor quality of his advisors, that this information along with the International Business Wales expenses scandal was unearthed by a Lib Dem team less than half their size and with fewer resources.
The full story is HERE
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5 comments:
Yes good on Kirsty and her team
Nick Bourne needs to step up to the mark,where is his team?
The core of this though is not those two its Edwina Hart,surely she has to answer to this one herself and to my mind a lot more too
Invisible ministers just aint on
of course the story is about Edwina hiding bad news VM, but as usual she, like all WAG Ministers involved in similar balls ups will live to fight another day and this will be forgotten about in a few days despite the press, bloggers and Oppositions best efforts.
On the point of invisible Ministers, I agree with you, but as the old saying goes you get the democracy you deserve and WAG know all to well they can ride out this and any other storm easily and with little impact or damage.
On the Nick Bourne point, i wanted to point out that it was the leader of the Lib Dems, not the Tories who are supposed to be the real opposition that brought this to light because others bloggers would cover the inns and outs of the story.
I've often wondered if this Nick Bourne chap is a fictional entity
Theirs alot more to this than meets the eye....or the Western mail
i thought the same about Edwina Hart, Pondlife :)
anon, i agree this is one to keep an eye on
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