Europe the way forward?

As we ponder the way forward in Europe perhaps the devolution position in the UK is a model to consider.

In Scotland the settled will suggested full law making from day one would fly while in Wales the settled will would have voted no out of hand so we have a partial solution and a roadmap to something better.

The EU problem is that, to continue the analogy, they have imposed the Scottish Model on Wales then wondered why its unpopular.

So what is the way forward?

Not as the analogy may suggest a two speed approach but a realisation that the peoples of Europe are what matter.

Stereotypically we are all to a greater or lesser extent xenophobes with a mistrust of authority.

When Marillion sung of "pleading answers from the nameless faceless watchers who stalk the carpeted halls of Whitehall" they capture that concern and when established politicians subconsciously associate humour in the use of Wop to characterise Italians it demonstrates how deeply ingrained this is in the national psyche.

To be faced with foreign president and overcentralised powers was therefore too much too soon.

Our leaders must go back to the treaty drawing board and look at what it contains. Grandiose schemes like Presidents must go on the back burner whereas processes that open up the commission and give powers from bureaucrat to parliamentarian and open up the processes to the public must come to the fore.

Europe must earn the trust of its peoples with a simple treaty designed for the population not those stalking the corridors in Brussels and Strasbourg.

In short we need a Welsh treaty not the Scottish one on offer

The sound of breaking glass

"I love the sound of breaking glass, Especially when I'm lonely"

Right now the Nick Lowe classic would be a good candidate for top of Peter Hains ilike listings if his facebook profile had one.

Not content with putting the boot in to George Osbourne it now appears that 80 Tory MPs have been reported to the Electoral Commission for using unincoprorated associatiosn to channel their own campaign funds.Increasingly the moderate approach of Nick Clegg and Lembit Opik seems to be the best approach to this whole sad afair that is doing our political system no end of damage.

However perhaps the major casualty of this round of the funding arms race is the PPERA environment itself. Far from resolving political party funding all it seems to have done is create an avoidance system that a tax lawyer would have dreams over, and a watchdog who has no punishment options between a slap on the wrist and a costly referral to PC Plod and the CPS.

Hopefully once all the point scoring is over an sense prevails there might be a realisation that there can be no sacred cows for Labour or conservative parties and we will see some genuine reform of this corrupt system

So to finish where I started with Nick Lowe

"Oh, change of mind, sound of breaking glass
All around, sound of breaking glass
Nothing new, sound of breaking glass
Breaking glass, sound of breaking glass"

That glass house that is party funding seems once again to have alot of people throwing stones around hopefully there will still be a couple of panes of glass left.

And for those that don't know what I am taking about on the lyrics

The education challenge

While the big education news here in mid Wales has been the threat to our smaller village schools very little has been said about the problems facing the larger urban schools.

Take my sons school three weeks ago we were told he would be in a shared year 3/4 class with rumour had it 32 pupils. Why was this you may ask well two teachers were leaving and the falling roll meant there wasn't enough cash to replace them.

Some serious letter writing and what do we find three days before the end of term but the cash has been found for a one year post with no guarantee beyond that date.

Call me cynical but that is the same timeframe as the review of the two nearby village schools the authority wants to close would complete.

So there we have it the stark choice Powys seem to be putting to us is keep the rural school open and push class sizes up in the towns or close a rural school and keep a teacher in the town.

Opening up

Opening up a blog seems to be the in thing but what to write is an interesting challenge. Those that know me in the real world are like to tag this as a Lib Dem blog but as it is likely to veer into hill walking, trigpointing, geocaching and GIS I have opted to split that side of life off into another site.