:: I can't make up my mind about the free prescriptions policy. A friend of mine was prescribed free Strepsils and free paracetamol when he saw the doctor about a sore throat last week. By his own admission, he could easily afford to buy these himself.
Furthermore, the definition of a prescription seems vague. If doctors can prescribe Vaseline, then what can't they prescribe? I asked two recently-qualified doctors this question and they did not know the answer. Were I to spend too long in the Assembly's dining facilities, would my GP be able to prescribe me a free gym membership?

:: You may know that the Assembly has abandoned paper towels as a lavatorial eco-experiment.
A notice by the hand dryers (which run on "green electricity") from AM Lorraine Barrett, the "Assembly Commissioner for the Sustainable Assembly", says the convenience of a paper towel must be foregone if the Assembly is to be an "exemplar in sustainability". Although using a hand dryer may take longer, "what's 30 seconds when time is running out for our planet?", she asks.
Fair enough. But this all means that when I spilt my coffee yesterday I had to try and mop it up with a highly unsatisfactory fistful of toilet paper. And what is one to do when the hand dryer stops working in the fourth-floor gents, as it did for a short time this week? Perhaps pop down to the Senedd, where paper towels are still dispensed in the toilets opposite the debating chamber. The impeccably green Senedd building apparently has no hand dryers.

Why the tie?

Conservative AMs Alun Cairns, Jonathan Morgan, Darren Millar, Brynle Williams and David Melding are all wearing matching red ties in the Senedd today. Why, I ask?
"Well, it appears that Brown has gone blue in his fashion colours. There was a red space!" replied Mr Cairns by email.
I thought modern Tories weren't supposed to wear ties.

Dim byd

A source says Presiding Officer Lord Elis-Thomas "takes a dim view" of the fact that there will be no Cabinet statement in the Senedd on council funding. Local Government Minister Brian Gibbons can expect a thorough grilling when he appears before AMs this afternoon.

What's the matter?

During a debate on fuel poverty, Conservative AM Darren Millar just told the Assembly that his party does not waste time on the floor of the Senedd on "matters that have nothing to do with this institution". Evidently the EU treaty is not one of those matters that has nothing to do with the Assembly because the Conservatives sponsored a Senedd debate on it in September.

Isn't it obvious?

I'm always unsettled by the word "obviously". People too often use it in relation to things which are not at all obvious.

For example, Finance Minister Andrew Davies said this in the Senedd chamber today while answering questions about the Assembly's budget:

"Our complaint with the Treasury was that obviously they were using the baseline reduction in terms of calculating the percentage increase into the spending review consequentials that would arise from that."

Of course. It's obvious.

Nothing about the Assembly's budget is obvious, as others have commented. My favourite aspect of it is the fact that responsibility for match funding has gone from the Economy Minister - Mr Davies's old job - to the Finance Minister. So Mr Davies used to be in charge of this big spending responsibility in his old job, and now he's in charge of it in his new job.

This decision - enabling him to be associated with favourable press coverage in local papers every time match funding is used to build a new bridge - was taken by the Labour-only administration before the election. Obviously.

This man is not a minister

Caption comp time ...

And can someone please explain why Carwyn 'Dr Dolittle' Jones has this poor kangaroo in a Burberry sack?

Dismember for Preseli Pembrokeshire

Tory MP Stephen Crabb here says the United Kingdom is being "slowly dismembered and hollowed-out" by devolution. He also has a subtle dig at his own party's manifesto for May's election.
It is interesting, however, that his answer is not to roll back devolution - "Abolition of the devolved institutions is not currently saleable" - but more devolution. He advocates a law-making body for England, perhaps with its own First Minister.
Even if they don't all agree on the way forward, it seems all Conservatives can at least agree that some form of devolution is here to stay.

Quote of the day

Rhodri Morgan, on greeting a delegation from Timbuktu to the Senedd:

"We may not have won the Rugby World Cup, but this is a great honour."

Charity caption competition

A message from David Melding's office:

We are running a caption competition to raise funds for Children in Need on 16th November.

You are invited to print the photo, think of a suitable caption, write it on the back and return it to me (Sarah Sharpe, at DM's office), together with £1 donation for each entry.

There will be a prize for the winner!

Good luck and many thanks in anticipation of your support.

Just seen Plaid Cymru's "lines to take" for this afternoon's plenary business. They were accidentally sent to the Lib Dems. Always interesting to get a behind-the-scenes look at how political parties operate.

Saw rugby legend Ieuan Evans on his way into the Assembly this morning. Anyone know why he was here?

Two Bay, or not two Bay?

I just phoned the Assembly operator to ask to be transferred to an AM's office. She told me I needed "Colwyn Bay".
"But AMs' offices are in Cardiff Bay," I said.
"Yes, but the switchboard is in Colwyn Bay."
Having been transferred to Colwyn Bay, a lady with a north Walian accent said: "This is the information line and booking line."
It's all a bit frightening.

PS. The person I actually wanted wasn't in.

Just had a look at the House of Lords' expenses for 2005/06.
Assembly Presiding Officer Lord Elis-Thomas attended 21 times and claimed £10,861.

Deal or No Deal?

Writing about the comprehensive spending review yesterday was a bit of a nightmare. You spend ages preparing for it, doing all the maths, thinking about an intro to the story - then it all goes out the window when you try to reconcile the competing claims about what it means for Wales.
Government spending, you see, is a relative concept.
First out of the starting blocks is the Wales Office proclaiming that Wales is getting a 2.4% spending increase, which means an extra £4.3 billion from the Treasury, which means we have never had it so good.
Then comes the opposition with its claims that this is the worst settlement since devolution, that actual growth is much slower than the Treasury claims and that Wales is going to be worse off because the Government is massaging the figures.
Last but not least comes the Assembly Government with a "don't panic" message. It's "very challenging", says Finance Minister Andrew Davies. But he knew it would be and remains confident he will be able to pay for all the One Wales promises.
His budget will grow from £14 billion this year to £16 billion by the time of the next election. To put that into perspective, in its first eight years the Assembly's annual budget doubled from £7 billion. Good deal? Bad deal? The Treasury pays your money and you takes your choice.

Morgan vs Morgan

Interesting comments by Eluned Morgan about the need for Welsh Labour to move to the political centreground. Marginal seats cannot be defended from the Tories by bathing them in Rhodri Morgan's clear red water, so her argument goes.
For some reason Health Minister Edwina Hart declined to respond at the Assembly Government's weekly press briefing today.
So it's worth recalling what the First Minister said before the election to put all this in context. Back in March he said he was not out to convince Tory voters to switch to Labour.
"That's one in 1,000 at the very most," he said. "Our job is to get the Labour vote out and overcome apathy, and that's the reason for my appeal to the foot-sloggers."
It will be interesting to see whether the next Welsh Labour leader will hold quite the same view of floating voters when he or she is desperately trying to regain seats like Cardiff North.

Taking the piece/piste

You may have heard Matthew Parris's superb dissection of political jargon on Radio 4, 'Not my words, Mr Speaker'. It concluded last night with an examination of the apparently meaningless phrase "Across the piece". I have misheard it a number of times in the Assembly as "Across the piste" which I had assumed to be a skiing phrase. Turns out I am not the only one to make that mistake. Anyway, I have decided to include it - whatever it is and whatever it may mean - in my five least favourite phrases which one hears flogged to death on a seemingly daily basis in Cardiff Bay.

1. Across the piste/piece.
2. In terms of.
3. Issues around.
4. Practitioner.
5. Service delivery.

No room for "clinician" (doctor) or "patient pathway" (seeing the doctor).

Being in government demands responsibility, Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones will tell his troops at their annual conference today. The luxury of opposition has gone. How fitting then that the first item on the agenda this morning, about education, has an amendment from Glannau Gwili branch which calls on the party to “oppose proposed changes by the Welsh Assembly Government which will significantly disadvantage small rural schools”. Is this the same Welsh Assembly Government of which Plaid Cymru is now a part?

I don't know where to watch Wales play Australia on Saturday. I'll be in Llandudno for the Plaid Cymru conference this weekend. Plaid are showing the match on a big screen in the conference hall. Not sure I want to watch it there, not least because I'll miss the first hour. The conference programme has the game down for 3pm - kick off is at 2pm.

This is the same conference programme that arrived in my office in an un-stamped envelope, leaving me in debt to the Royal Mail by £1.60. Thanks Plaid.

Thnatched

I hear Maggie's back after Alun coughed up the £25 ransom.

Thnatched

:: Alun Cairns used to have a poster of Margaret Thatcher on his wall in the Assembly. I say "used to" because it has been pinched. I'm informed that the culprit will return the Baroness if Mr Cairns gives the NSPCC £50. Tory AMs have form on this sort of thing. Anyone remember this?

Before the election Rhodri Morgan made clear he was not interested in wooing Tories. Guided by a belief that Wales is natural Labour soil, he tried to stoke enough sympathy to overwhelm the opposition. Nothing could be less New Labour. The strategy failed, perhaps because Welsh Labour was tarnished by the unpopularity of New Labour. The One Wales pact is a consequence of that failure.

But could the "progressive consensus" in Wales further entrench New Labour? More power for Wales's Assembly and Scotland's Parliament will mean both nations send fewer MPs to Westminster. If the One Wales pact results in a lawmaking referendum - a pretty big 'if' according to Welsh Labour MPs - then it could further diminish safe Labour parliamentary seats, making middle England even more valuable at General Elections.

Stuffed crust

Marc has an AM living on his street. There is a Domino's Pizza outlet around the block, about 200 yards away.
"What are the One Wales environment policies?" Marc asks. "Because them next door had a pizza delivered the other night. Emissions."

Wyneblyfr

:: I haven't blogged since the election because I've been spending too much time on facebook. So addictive. It's like crack, only it's not bad for you, which makes it worse, if you see what I mean. Rhun ap Iorwerth has just become my 100th friend.

:: Put Pontrhydfendigaid into Google maps for a laugh. This is where Plaid Cymru is having its national council tomorrow. It looks like Ieuan has closed his eyes and stuck a pin in a map. It's in a "shed", a party press officer just told me.

:: Here's an email exchange I had with a Labour AM during Plenary recently. I'm black, he's red.

13.04 sut oedd grwp bore 'ma?

13.05 Da iawn diolch. Ces i Earl Grey am change.

13.30 how "palatable"

14.51 Mae Earl Grey yn hynod o palatable. Yn arbennig gyda cacen siocled.

15.09 darn o hwn sy' isie arno ti

Sun in the sky, you know what I mean

Sun in the sky. Birds in the trees. Lib Dems stuffing leaflets through doors.
"There's going to be a whopping turnout," I thought.
Then the lady at St Mary's Church Hall on Talbot Street told me they'd only had 35 voters in the first hour and I had to explain to the gentleman in the booth next to me why they had given him two pieces of paper.
"Perhaps not," I thought, on the way home.

East side story

Last day. Nearly there. Everyone's tired. Especially the Lib Dems. Their leader Mike German is today going back to his party's mid-Wales heartlands, campaigning with Mick Bates and Kirsty Williams. He's also knocking on doors in Wrexham. "Welsh Liberal Democrat campaign East Coast sweep," declares the press release. I'll let you spot the deliberate mistake there.