Plaid do surely have some questions to ask themselves about their candidate selection proceedures. They appear to have been so keen to secure an ‘ethnic’ AM (presumably to conter allegations that Welshness equals whiteness) that they chose to ignore the real question marks surrounding Oscar’s committment to their basic aims and values. Most other parties have some kind of pre-vetting before a putative candidate is able to proceed to selection. Clearly Plaid do not. It is fair to ask just how many people were involved in the selection of Oscar and what influence Ty Gwynfor exercised in the process? Surely Oscar’s previous political promiscuity should have given whoever made the decision some pause for thought? Was he really the best candidate available? What does that say about their third placed candidate in the highly unlikely event that Oscar were to step aside before May 2011?

I’m no great fan of the Assembly electoral system, but given that it is what it is, parties have a responsibility to ensure that they pick people who they – and those who vote for them – can genuinely count upon. Failure to do so is grossly irresponsible and positively invites events like yesterday’s.

If this was a constituency seat then there is an element of personal mandate, however as the list selection takes place within party and his election due to the votes given to that party then he must surely resign and allow Cllr Colin Mann to take his rightful place in the Bay.

What completely undermines Ashgar is that not only is he effectly absconding with a seat that is rightfully Plaid but the he then states his complete opposition to the fundementals of the very people whi put him there.

Effectively Ashgar has stolen the democratic will of the people, screwed it up and thrown it back into the face of every democrat in Wales. He has also set back the case of PR by decades as his very presence in the Chamber will be considered that of a Cuckoo and not a parrot!

simple as that.

I could call it a flaw in the GoWA 2006, but the Act has so many flaws that this one hardly seems to matter in comparison with the others.

The problem is that we have a hybrid system where some AMs are elected as people, and other AMs are elected by party. We have a long tradition of elected representatives changing their allegiances and I would want to do nothing to stop that happening in future. I’m saddened by Mohammad’s decision, but I can live with it.

In my opinion the only good way of resolving the problem is not to tinker with the list rules, but to bring in STV in multi-member constituencies. That way we preserve the basic principle of people electing who they choose rather than who the parties choose, but keep a good element of proportionality. Yes, that works against Plaid in this instance, but the principle is more important than any party, including mine.

Jeff – door is always open.

“If Plaid bloggers are to be believed” (thanks for the shout out), I think you’ll find that any actions on behalf of that “small groups of activists” (by which I presume you include elected members) would have been based on any misgivings about his performance as an AM rather than whether he’d fallen out of favour. That is not going above the electorate, that is taking care to ensure they are properly served. However, this is pure speculation, as no one at Plaid or anywhere else has gone on the record about Asghar’s performance as an AM.

I hope his staff are members of a trade union because they urgently need some professional legal advice, independent of the head of the Fees Office!

I take it Oscar’s staff are legally employed directly by him, not by the Plaid group. I also take it that they are committed Plaid partisan’s who would not in good conscience wish to carry on working for a Tory for any significant period.

If an irretrivable breakdown of confidence has been created not by any fault of the employee, but because of the unilateral actions of their employer without any consultation then I would have thought they have a position to negotiate from. Certainly if they are represented by a trade union and therefore have the resources to pursue it, then this would have the makings for a fascinating industrial tribunal case!

Everything could hinge on the wording of their contracts and job descriptions. I would have thought the Tories would find it unacceptable to have Plaid activists working in the heart of their Assembly group, reading the emails and representing the AM and by extension the Tory Party. It would certainly be an uncomfortable relationship on all sides, but might not be entirely impossible, at least in the short-term, depending on the degree of sensitivity of the role(s).

Finally, I take it that the reduction in the Plaid group is sufficiently marginal to have no impact on the Leaders staffing allowance?