Coming face to face with the consequences of their actions isn’t something that Mark Drakeford and his ministers have to do often. The last couple of weeks must have been a genuine shock to the system.
Drakeford’s record gives British voters a preview of life under a Starmer government. But while it is our duty to call out Labour’s failures, criticism alone is not enough.
Also: the Welsh Government’s ‘Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales’ has reported and you’ll never guess, but they think Cardiff Bay needs even more powers.
The government in Cardiff is the living proof of what Labour in power looks like. Don’t just take my word for it – it was Starmer who said that.
There’s thus far little evidence that the upcoming leadership contest will feature any sort of reckoning with the party’s woeful performance in government at Cardiff Bay.
Day to day, it is much more congenial to be a “steady hand on the tiller”, even if this is a terrible quality in the captain of a ship going in the wrong direction.
Also: Another woeful week for the SNP as its health minister refuses to resign over £11k roaming fee and Yousaf defies calls for an ethics inquiry into allegations he misled the Scottish Parliament.
One of the cardinal rules in designing an electoral system is it needs to fit the place and political culture. The political culture in Wales, as throughout the wider UK, is grounded in the link between members and constituents.
Also: Both Drakeford and Yousaf accused of misleading their legislatures over their WhatsApps as the Covid Inquiry seeks records from the devolved governments.
Also: new polls suggest Labour has reached parity with the SNP in Scotland, and the projections indicate that the next election could be absolutely brutal for the Nationalists.
Also: Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland grapple with RAAC in schools and health buildings; ex-SNP MP receives trivial fine for embezzlement as short-term lets sector revolts against Scottish Government’s new licencing regime.
Also: Welsh Government winds down flagship life sciences investment fund after writing off more than half it’s value.
It is not a coincidence that the only bits of England he omits from his coalition of “progressive values” are those that are net contributors to the Exchequer.
In Scotland, the National Crime Agency have been called in to support Police Scotland’s investigation into the SNP’s finances.
Events in Cardiff are a pertinent reminder of what Labour do in power, no matter who leads. The prospect of them replicating that on a UK-wide level is deeply worrying.