Incidentally what are the chances of the Tory Party adopting of the recommendations of the Richards Commission in full, this would benefit Wales as it would give us a thought out and considered constitution unlike the current one put together to appease the various factions of Welsh Labour.

I would also benefit the Welsh Conservatives by giving them a clear position and policy, one which they can defend with credibility (try explaining and defending the current system to voters); it would strengthen the Union by removing the friction and antagonisms built in the the current system and it would also mean that the Tories are rightly seen as proactive on the issue rather than standing on the sidelines waiting for Labour (and Plaid) to act.

http://www.freedomcentral.org.uk/2009/08/a-leadership-bid-by-any-other-name.html
http://glyndaviesam.blogspot.com/
http://jatwilliams.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/positive-discrimination-am-i-antediluvian-and-noachic/
http://achangeofpersonnel.blogspot.com/2009/08/jonathans-less-than-new-ideas.html
http://peterblack.blogspot.com/2009/08/uphill-battle-for-tory-female.html
http://merchmerthyr.blogspot.com/2009/08/equal-thats-laugh-when-it-comes-to.html
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/goldlist/2009/08/welsh-assembly-member-calls-for-positive-discrimination-to-favour-women-candidates.html

Thanks to everyone who has commented or written elsewhere.
One last quesiton – have I missed any?

Dont get me wrong, I would be happier if the tories do badly, but Wales needs a right wing voice within its politics, particularly at an Assembly level,

I also disagree that all-women shortlists (which is effectively what this would be) are progressive. They ARE a necessary evil to right a the problems of male-dominated groups but they do discriminate against men. I’m not saying that they are illegitimate but we have to bear in mind that it is possible to achieve both gender balance and progressivism without them.

But the Conservatives need to start somewhere. By adopting such a policy there is a real opportunity to bring in women in most of Wales’ regions in 2011. South Wales East is also a possibility, as it was in 2003.

It is good to see Jonathan supporting the same standpoint as Nick Bourne on this issue. Progressive forces in the Welsh Conservatives need to pull together.

If you really want to appear radical Jonathan, try and start a policy debate about something. That might give your leadership bid more oomph.

I fully agree that you need to have more women AMs, but the bigger issue you mention is that you need to have a Leader of the Welsh Consevative Party. Much of Nick Bourne’s “weakness” has been not that he doesn’t have some half decent ideas, but that he doesn’t speak with enough authority to be credible. I’m always left wondering, “Well, he’s probably sincere about that, but there’s no guarantee that it will ever become Tory policy … a third of your AMs disagree, all your MPs disagree, and the real leaders in Westminster will sit on the fence because they’re interested in more important things than Wales.”

Setting aside any personal differences with Nick Bourne, you would be in exactly the same position if you were to become “Leader in the Assembly”. The problem is the weakness of the position, not the person who holds it. And it won’t be solved by merely a change of title, nor even by him/her being seen as your “main spokesperson”, it has to involve the Welsh Conservative Party having enough autonomy to develop and decide its own policy positions. Clear blue water.