Carwyn launches manifesto with education pledge
Carwyn Jones launches his manifesto today under the slogan 'It's time to lead'
CARWYN Jones this morning launched his manifesto in Cardiff. After a week of “It’s time to get real” pledges framed around policy themes, the full document is now presented as a single document which has been described by his campaign team as “the boldest and most progressive policy platform produced in this contest to date”. The document is glossy and substantial, with a range of policy ideas to compliment the slick photography.
And this week’s campaign theme echoes but develops last week’s – “It’s time to lead.”
Speaking at the recently refurbished Chapter arts centre in Cardiff, Carwyn said: “We are proud in Wales of our community socialist values – core values that have stood our people well in times of hardship. I want to see the public pound go further in creating stronger communities across Wales, whether it is providing good housing, promoting shared neighbourhoods, reducing crime and violence or rewarding creativity. In tough times, we will be judged as socialists by how we treat the most vulnerable. Social justice is our defining principle.”
The policy launch includes a commitment which is once more clearly designed to mark out his campaign from that of his rivals. He said specifically that under his leadership spending on education will increased by at least one per cent above the block grant allocation. This pledge is done with the clear intention on his part to ‘raise the bar’ in the debate on tackling poverty in Wales, by using education spending a major ‘weapon’ in eradicating poverty in Wales.
He will say: “Education is the route out of poverty. My government would look to increase education spending by at least 1% above the block grant we receive from the UK Government to ensure the best outcomes for Welsh children, with a sharp focus on inequalities in education.”
This is certainly one of the clearest and most memorable policy pledges made by any of the candidates during this contest.
Responding to a question from me at the manifesto launch, he made clear that the 2010-11 WAG budget was currently being progressed through the Assembly but that he hoped as First Minister to able to “re-examine education spending” in order to lever more funds through before 2011 as well as prioritising education spending in the next Assembly.
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“How can you tell when a politician is lying? When they open their mouth”. That is a old joke that you hear in the US (as I have heard in Wales) goes together with one about Moses, promises and camels! That unfortnately is how Joe Public perceives politicians and their promises. even here in the US the most dedicated Obamaite is getting disalusioned with their idol! “No more Second term”, simply because of the problems over healthcare reform. Thats not to say I believe that Carwyn, Huw, or Edwina are liars (anymore than I believe them to be “nazis”). When someone says that “education is the way out of poverty” that’s a obvious truth. the asks Jo Public why is education been ignored generally. the UK still has the lowest number that go on to Universty in the Western world. And we still educate our kids in schools that were built in the 19th Century.
How can you re-examine education spending for 2010/11 with a budget that has already been announced for consultation? Surely as a member of the cabinet, Carwyn Jones agreed to the budget that he is now arguing should be looked at again. To actually suggest that if he became First Minister in December he would reopen the budget discussions must worry every Finance Director in the public sector. If Education is going to get more in next year’s budget under a Carwyn Jones government he has also got to set out which other services will be cut to find this extra money.
As for the period after 2011 then how any Assembly government is going to deliver extra money to education in the cuts scenario outlined in the 2009 budget will really be interesting. As the IFS pointed out in its detailed analysis of the 2009 budget the only department that escapes cuts up to 2014 is International Development. To quote the power point presentation “If pain is shared equally: Health,education and law and order would all experience real cuts.”
To promise to increase one service at 1% above the RSG without spelling out the consequences for other services just doesn’t make sense. Unfortunately this is what happens when you start to make promises in order to win the support of everyone. The danger with this pork barrel approach to politics is that if you win power the promises you made on the way to the top could come back to haunt you.