Clear red water written in code
Carwyn Jones - change or continuity?
AS WE remarked when Carwyn Jones first began making daily policy announcements, several are clearly designed to set him clearly apart from his competitors in the race. This is particularly true today as he campaigns on the slogan “Time to lead – power means responsibility”, when he argues that increased powers for the National Assembly must go hand-in-hand with an increased responsibility and commitment to improve public services in Wales.
In doing so he directly links constitutional reform to improvements in public service delivery, saying the people of Wales may want more devolution but they also want politicians to do better when it comes to improving their services. He is “the only candidate in the election” to make this link, says his team.
In the words of the man himself, “With power comes responsibility. I support increased powers for the National Assembly, but if we have stronger powers we also have a stronger responsibility to ensure effective delivery. With power comes accountability. We cannot allow bureaucratic processes or systemic boundaries to undermine delivery. Our current structures of governance in the public service – in local authorities and health services for example – must be platforms for delivery, not stand-alone empires. Otherwise the people will demand more radical change.”
The subtext? Devolution for the sake of devolution is not the answer to anything. And surely “stand-alone empires” for services like health is a carefully chosen phrase?
Carwyn goes on to remind people of his role as a prominent campaigner for a Yes vote in 1997. But this is only part of the context which he wishes to emphasise: “I have always been committed to further law-making powers for Wales. I am totally committed to what was agreed in One Wales but that should in no way preclude my responsibility, if elected leader, to consult within the wider Party on the findings and recommendations of the All Wales Convention. But consideration of the Convention’s report must not be a matter solely for AMs to decide – it must involve the entire Labour movement in Wales, AMs, MPs, grassroots members and trade unions. I will campaign for a Yes vote when the referendum is called, but we need a united Labour Party for a victory.”
Let’s decipher this one. Does it really mean that Carwyn is watering down the commitment to move to a referendum in this Assembly? Let’s not get carried away with that extreme interpretation. Rather he may just be looking to reassure Labour members that AMs will not have the upper hand over all other parts of Welsh Labour in considering this issue. It is perhaps a particular message to the party’s Welsh MPs, to reassure them that he will consult before embarking on future constitutional change. Bearing in mind such a change would need to be supported by a referendum trigger ballot in the Commons, maybe it is as much paving the ground as calling a halt to the process?
Carwyn also sets out a vision for public service delivery which needs to be read twice to be understood. He says “Five years after the Making the Connections report was published, people are impatient for change. Three years after the Beecham Report, it is time for the Local Service Boards to show they are delivering. Are they meaningful structures to advance public service collaboration or are they simply sticking-plaster? Are they driving real change in service delivery, or are they just talking shops? If elected Labour Leader in the Assembly, I will lead a review next year of progress against the Beecham targets.”
As Vaughan Roderick points out, this commitment is bigger than just reforming public services. It is also about challenging the policy originally implemented by Andrew Davies, Carwyn’s Cabinet colleague and also Edwina’s campaign manager. In doing this, it is another point of differentiation.
In the run up to the election campaign, there was some chatter that Carwyn Jones was some sort of “closet nationalist” who would drag his party down a road “to separatism”. That is not the message which we read in to today’s policy announcements.
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Which leads to Andrew Davies using Thatcher’s description of John Biffen to describe Carwyn as a ‘semi detached ‘ member of the cabinet. Many would not disagree with Carwyn’s assessment of the impact of the Beecham report. At the moment we have a great deal of talk regarding cooperation between public bodies but very little concrete delivery. In South East Wales the major cooperation project involving all 10 local authorities on back of office services hasn’t even got off the ground. There have been numerous meetings and a great deal of money has been spent on consultants. I would love to see how much all of this has cost in senior officer time on a project which has seen five of the authorities including the largest Cardiff deciding not to talke part. Even if it all worked and it will require some major initial investment it is not expected that any savings will not occur until at least the seventh year of joint operation. Whoever wins the leadership election will have to revisit the Making the Connections Agenda in the light of the new economic climate in my opinion.