2002 June                 65

July                        152

September               266

November                386

2003 January           415

February                   517

I sat next to Peter Hain last Friday morning, at Labour's Conference Business Breakfast, now a conventional point-of-contact between the Party and local business interests.  Peter Hain is a career politician, currently Secretary of State for Wales, but destined for higher Cabinet office - check his biog.  As for me - well, as a socialist property developer and company director, I always crop up on the Party's business database.

Hain and I discussed the loss of the excellent Land Authority for Wales, which was ill-advisedly folded into the Welsh Development Agency in 1999, and abolished.  LAW was a great socialist innovation (of 1976) and was wantonly destroyed by New Labour, against the wishes of the development industry in 1999. 

He was a bit hazy on what had happened, and asked me to write to him about it..

• This is that letter

Expression must be given to the universal public resentment and contempt for the abuse of corporate power - see my thesis at Tame the Corporations.   But that must be converted into practical politics - and that is what I have done as a matter of practical politics.

But none of that excuses the Government's choice of response.  It is shallow and racially provocative, without pointing the way to a fair, long-term solution.. The time has come for Labour to think big, think radical.

• This is what should be done.

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On Sunday, I had my Welsh lesson - again!  My once-a-week love affair with my own language continues: I engage my own Tutor, once every week.  The Welsh language is rich, distinguished, elegant and expressive.  Sadly, the BBC did not broadcast in England their excellent recent historical series - you can click through, and get the flavour >

• The Story of Welsh

Vicars in the Dock

That, I suspect, was the impression created by reports of a new vicarious liability case, decided this month by the Court of Appeal.  A Police Authority was held legally liable for injuries caused by an off-duty police constable.   

• This case needs un-packing

Old Friends

No friends like old friends  I spent Thursday evening in a Paddington wine-bar The Gyngleboy, with old Labour Party friends (all with building-industry connections, our original point of contact) -  Ian Wallace, Stephen Gruneberg and Eddie McCauley.  There is no greater pleasure than drinking and talking with old friends - especially the talking...

• One of their suggestions was that I should add a Discussion Group, to this website - and I have done that - let me know if you can make it work and - be a first contributor..

Auditing Democracy

Democratic Audit is a fine concept.  It describes a team of political analysts and commentators led by Stuart Weir, and imaginatively funded by the Rowntree Charitable Trust.  I was delighted to be join them last Thursday, to speak at their London Conference to launch their second major publication, charting the first five years of  New Labour’s UK democratic record.  

My contribution was limited to the issue of The English Question, that of regional devolution within England  The present White Paper is a feeble and ineffective measure, and is tragically destined to fail.

And in any event, however strong the case is for Regional Assemblies, the greater challenge remains the strengthening of city government.  The governance of our cities is languishing under Labour, throughout England, Wales and Scotland.  Devolution left this problem unresolved.  My 1996 constitutional analysis still stands, even if the language now sounds a little old-dated, post-Celtic devolution -

• Building a New Britain.

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Confidence is indivisible 

Business news comes in dribs and drabs.  Reports come through about “investor confidence”,  “City confidence”, “business confidence”, “manufacturers’ confidence”, “retailer confidence” – and “consumer confidence”.  They generate acres of newsprint, a torrent of headlines. 

Yet there is only one confidence that matters.  And that is consumer confidence.

More from Russia

You clearly enjoyed the Moscow Times leader, about Vladimir Putin and the Oligarchs.  For me, even more interesting is the current debate in the Russian Parliament (the Duma) about regional devolution and local government reform.

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New Discussion Group  Let's experiment with a bit more interactivity (as they say...) - you can now make your own contribution to any political debate - try the new JoinWarrenEvans Discussion Group.

Rendering
Europe Real

I am anguished by the current feebleness of the European vision.  For me, Europe remains an unending source of inspiration and delight.  This week, I travel with twenty Welsh Fabians to Strasbourg to establish personal contact with some of the institutions of Europe – in particular, with both Neil and Glenys Kinnock (both Fabians of long standing).

• And I am convinced that we must do much more, to give reality to the European dimension.  I argue for a new Europe-wide network
  of European Community Councils.

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Storm-clouds are gathering over the World Trade Organisation.  It is being torn apart by the refusal of the US Government to make any concessions on the public manufacture of proprietary medicines, blocking  the WTO negotiations at Geneva.