From top: Statue of Aneurin Bevan in Cardiff, Wales: Dan Boyle
The author, in Wales working with the Green Party, sees much in common with Ireland.
Dan Boyle writes:
My Busman’s holiday from Irish politics now sees me among our Celtic cousins immersing myself in Welsh politics.
It’s not without its compensations. Some of the scenery here is astounding. The lure of the novel is keeping me occupied as well as entertained. And to be honest, other than willing a successful election for The Greens there, there is little I will miss in the farce I expect the upcoming Irish election to be.
Not there is lot of difference in the politics of either place. The Welsh Assembly, The Senedd, is frustrating in its limitations. It has no taxation raising powers, and limited access to the welfare budget. The Welsh government seems to face every way on energy, with decisions on nuclear power kept clearly from its table.
But it is the major political chamber for its three million people. Being there at least gives the opportunity to help influence, for the better, the lives of Welsh people and their future well being.
It’s the last major political chamber on these islands not to have an elected Green presence. My job, working with others, is to try to bring that about. It is a difficult but not impossible task.
The most recent opinion polls have the Wales Green Party receiving 4% national support, the same level as the Liberal Democrats. Seats could be won at this level although we would need to be seeking another percentage point or more to be sure.
The party configuration is obviously different to Ireland. Also the parties here are far more distinct from each other. In Wales we have the added participation of Plaid Cymru, a party that thankfully is nothing like Sinn Féin.
One area where the Welsh should be given great credit on is the care and attention that has allowed the Welsh language be a living language. Their approach and its effect has been far better than we have managed in Ireland.
Another institution in which the Welsh take pride is the NHS. It was brought into being by Nye Bevan, whose statue stands proudly in the centre of Cardiff. The NHS is not without problems, many it seems caused by private enterprise tinkering with it. Despite these difficulties I believe the NHS is a model we in Ireland should aspire to.
The electoral contest here is between the jaded traditional parties (Labour has been in government here since 1999) and lowest common denominator ‘new’ parties like UKIP. Finding space in these tired arguments is proving difficult. I particularly despise the Little Englander attitudes of UKIP.
In contrast to the Irish media which tends to be embedded, the Welsh media seems merely apathetic. For us this is a challenge to try and increase our visibility in ever creative ways.
We are not without electoral assets. Our leader is young and a Welsh speaker. We have a variety of committed and energetic candidates. Our issues are closely associated with us, with other parties not seen as being in any way sincere.
This is a dragon I fully intend to enjoy chasing.
Dan Boyle is a former Green Party TD. His column appears here every Thursday. Follow Dan on Twitter: @sendboyle
I wish Dan a long, successful and peaceful life in Wales. Please dont ever think of hurrying back….
Has anyone done a costing for an Irish NHS? I don’t mean hysterical shrieking, but a genuine costing of how much it would cost in tax terms, and what the difference would be against what people now pay for private health insurance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l91ISfcuzDw
Damn… that shoulda been a billion :)
Why NHS for the model, Dan? And not, say the French system?
Just feel a fully public system is the way to go. We already pay more per capita than they do for a half a horse system, While the US pays twice as much as the UK for a grossly inequitable system.
Cardiff is a great city, the Welsh are a very warm people. I wish you success – Wales has strong environmentalist credentials and the Green Party will find a support base, I’m certain.
‘Wales has strong environmentalist credentials’
Tell me more
They’re very good at closing coal mines and steel mills…
One only thing that exacerbates the farce of our upcoming election as you call it, is the very notion that any Green Party person would have the gall run in it, let alone get, elected.
And I would pity any welsh assembly that makes the same mistake as this island, where the GP sees it’s mission as taxing people into nonsensical and baseless policies.
As for nuclear, the UK is right to be building them, just as France relies on it for 80%+ of it’s electricity, and in the process limits its reliance on external fuel cost pressures, as well as the non-existence of GWP.
I have family in Caerphilly – I trust they will see through this GP nonsense………must drop them a note to enlighten them.
It’s actually the French state, through EDF building them. Financed by the Chinese.
The UK will just be a consumer, subsidising, owing to the Tories opposition to state-ownership of assets unless it’s a foreign state.
They’ve got Home Rule!
Abolish the Senedd.
It was one thing building Nuclear Power Stations, but it costs a fortune to
demolish and decommission them, and if the costs have to be met by the
electricity consumer rather than the taxpayer, thats when the fun starts.
One wonders was the foray into Nuclear Power by the British more about
producing weapons grade ploutonium than the production of electricity and
quite a few plants never achieved full output, and we have been caught up
in it with discharges into the Irish Sea, and are we at times getting nuclear
genertated electricity from the Irish Sea 200+/-Kv interconnector.
Did not some guy once say on radio that he could diffiencate between nuclear
and a no nuclear electron……was it Dick Roche.
…riddance da(n)
Sorry to disappoint I’m not gone. Only absent. But virtual enough to annoy the naysayers.
…saw a private poll a few weeks ago predicting that Eamo Ryan would win the last seat in Dublin Bay South…is keeping you off-side part of the election strategy…good move!
Yes as you can I see I’m keeping my head down.
Helping the UK Green Party in a fairly inconsequential election to a neutered devolved assembly instead of mucking in at home for the GE? Is there bad blood Dan?
We are simple people in The Greens we do cock ups not conspiracies. It nothing more than my wanting a different challenge.
The grass is always greener on the other side
I always viewed Plaid Cymru as the natural ‘green’ party of Wales. They have always promoted environmental causes and their MEP is the vice president of The Greens-European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament (& I understand that Plaid’s membership of same is primarily due to being a stateless nation in Europe).
When I lived in Wales (Ceredigion constituency) I always voted Plaid and this was due to their excellent stance on environmental issues and their ability as a campaigning party. Voting Green just split the environmental-left vote. Not sure if the space is there for you Dan but best of luck nonetheless.
PS…don’t split the vote
Quite correct. The green party in wales is just a region of the green party of england and wales. Young leader in the gp just 1 year – opportunist. Paid Deputy leader of gp of eng + Wales parasites into wales opportunist 2 more often seen with Vivienne Westwood tax avoider. Sad Boyle sinks to supporting a unionist party who have no activists and claim plaid Cymru policies. Plaid Cymru IS the green party of wales.
I think you can see that Anne doesn’t like The Wales Green Party. They didn’t like her either. There are those who impede progress by forever looking inwards. Any group is better off without such people.
Fair play, Dan
Statue with birdpoo all over it looks a bit like Dan Boyle too…
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/vaginal-discharge-normal-healthy-part-woman-why-are-we-still-disgusted-1540093