We are WalesHome.org

A BIT of history may go well here. It was my brother who came up with the idea. If, he wondered, journalism was over there and blogging over here, what lay in between? With that in mind, he and I began WalesHome.org, looking to offer a column every day of the week (except Sunday, until recently).

There were certain standards that I wanted adhered to. I wanted impartiality, for starters. I’d seen the blogosphere’s partisan politics and had concluded that it put off more people than it attracted. And I didn’t want yah-boo or personality politics. I thought that the Assembly had ushered in an era of coalition, where those of differing political colours had come from behind their little barricades and had instead opted for negotiating tables, and for compromise. I wanted WalesHome.org to be an extension of the new culture.

I also wanted issues and policies and not individuals discussed. What one politician may or may not have said about another has less impact on people’s lives than policy. I didn’t believe that issues were boring. Fortunately, Adam – and later Daran – agreed with me.

And we seem to have hit a nerve. Wherever any of the three editors go, we are asked and complimented about WalesHome.org. It’s an enormous honour and an enormous relief that people seem to have embraced what we are doing. Of course, there have been dissenting voices, and why not? Everyone is quite within their rights to dislike what we do. A few have taken the easy route and strayed quite easily and quickly into the realm of fantasy. WalesHome.org is nothing more than a Labour front, they said most commonly – Adam’s background as party staffer and member, Daran’s past involvement, and my relationship to Adam, makes it so.

Next Monday, I begin working for Bethan Jenkins, the Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for South Wales West, as her political and press officer. She and the party are happy for me to remain involved in WalesHome.org, and I will continue to do so, albeit with a slightly changed brief. The sharper-eyed ones among you will have spotted that my title has been changed. That reflects my non-involvement in any political commissioning. That job will remain with Daran. Any writing I am involved in will almost certain be along the lines of Sunday’s feature. I continue to enjoy excellent relationships with politicos across the spectrum, and very much expect that to continue, as my attitude towards political discourse remains the same outside of this website.

WalesHome.org has never been anything other than a forum for ideas. We prize original thought above celebrity or standing and, having just passed 40 contributors in under six months, we fully expect (and hope) to attract more writers to what we are doing, as we believe there is a place in Wales for what we are doing. And everyone is welcome to join us.