BBC Blog Network

User Profile

expolgareththomas

Listed below are comments made by expolgareththomas between Tuesday, 23rd September 2008 and Thursday, 29th January 2009.

«Newer
Older»

Bucket loads 10:05pm on 29 Jan 2009 A referendum would only be held if WAG was confident of a yes vote. Given the divided nature of public opinion I cannot envisage the Commission being able to conclude that a referendum is likely to be won. In that sense a referendum would be a serious political gamble.
Red letter day 2 6:51pm on 07 Dec 2008 Peter Hain has made and hopefully will continue to make an invaluable contribution to Welsh Politics. It is worth recording again his crucial role in securing a yes vote during the 97 referendum campaign.
The fact that this inquiry has taken so long and has frankly been heavy handed is deplorable. The rules need to be made clearer and the Electoral Commisssion needs to have a clearer sense of what its about.
Leading Ladies 8:22pm on 20 Nov 2008 I don't think either of them have a particularly "Welsh" appeal which as your colleague Vaughan has said on his blog is a weakness for their party. Its difficult to know what they stand for. They both seem rather careerist and metropolitan and I can't see how they can improve the fortunes of their party in Wales. The Tories have a more authentic Welsh image. I think JR is a rather more cedible and less bumptious figure. However it will be good to have a woman as a political leader in Wales. Aled Roberts is a rather more interesting politician and much more in tune with the Welsh Radical tradition which as we know has been and remains a surpringly durable cross party phenomenon. It's a shame he can't find a seat-isn't it time to ditch Elinor Burnham as the Lib Dem's No 1 list candidate in N Wales.
Itches and speeches 11:44am on 23 Sep 2008 I think its unrealistic for the polls ever to shift much from these figures. They certainly won't shift sufficiently to give the Yes Camp a margin of comfort and reasonable confidence of victory. To that extent a decision to call a referendum will be both a leap in the dark and an act of faith unless of course either Labour or the Conservatives decouple themselves from the committment to hold a referendum. That scenario is possible once the present system has been in place for a good few years

«Newer
Older»

^ Back to top

BBC MMVI

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

BBC.co.uk

BBC Blog Network

Find and talk to the BBC's bloggers.

User Profile

expolgareththomas