Wales@Westminster newslog

It's Wales@Westminster Newslog, BBC Wales' Parliamentary correspondent David Cornock's diary on political life. It's a two-way process though, so add your comments too.

Sunday 21 September

Sadly missed
posted by David | 1341 BST | Add comment
Everyone at Westminster will miss Lord Williams of Mostyn, the leader of the Lords who died on Saturday.

His acerbic wit enlivened debates in the Lords and must have been a treat to juries during his time as a barrister.

One of his jobs in Government was to take through the bill that set up the devolution referendum in 1997. His comments then give a flavour of the approach he brought to his job and a reminder of his Welsh roots.

"It is nostalgia time at the OK Corral tonight and I think it is now my turn. I was born in a taxi travelling between Mostyn and Prestatyn - Point of Ayr, as the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, says.

"The taxi therefore turned left at the bottom of School Lane (Ty'r Ysgol), Mostyn. If he had turned right and gone to Chester I suppose I would have been entitled to vote in an English referendum."

The Lords will be a duller place without him.

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Friday 19 September

Good times return?
posted by David | 1341 BST | Add comment

Could the Brent East by-election result usher a return to normal politics? I'm old enough to remember the days when voters used by-elections to give governments a bloody nose during the mid-term of a parliament.

In olden days, by-elections mattered. They added colour, usually through the presence of the late Screaming Lord Sutch, the late Vincent Hanna would lead the media circus in turning some nervous young candidate into a nervous wreck, and the result would generate headlines for a day or so.

We haven't seen such fun and games for years now. By-election campaigns have been as dull as a night in with Iain Duncan Smith. The Brent East result suggests the good old days may be back.

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Bryant's rebellion
posted by David | 1341 BST | Add comment
He's supported the government throughout the fall-out of Dr David Kelly's death, but plans for an appointed House of Lords are too much even for Chris Bryant - the super-loyal MP for Rhondda.

Mr Bryant denounced plans to remove the hereditary peers and dis-ennoble Lord Archer as "this measly measure".

The former Church of England vicar even urged the government to get rid of the C of E bishops in the upper House.

It's said there are only 17 Labour backbenchers who have yet to vote against the government.

When the likes of the ambitious Mr Bryant raise the flag of rebellion, Tony Blair really has got problems.

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