Yo Ho Ho
Best to eat before going to one of Peter Hain's Christmas parties if this parliamentary answer is any guide: MR ROGER WILLIAMS (BRECON AND RADNORSHIRE): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many Christmas parties his Department plans to host in 2009; what has been budgeted for each such reception; what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) lamb, (b) beef, (c) chicken, (d) pork, (e) turkey, (f) other meats, (g) vegetables, (h) fruit and (i) alcohol to be served at each such function which is produced in the UK; and if he will make a statement. MR HAIN: I plan to host a Christmas reception in London and another in Cardiff this year. We will

For Wales, see Scotland?
Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan once spoke of the pre-devolution perception that there was a "willingness to blame others" in Wales, a perception that may now be less common. But so long as the Welsh Assembly Government's purse strings are pulled elsewhere, there is always a pantomime villain (Westminster/London) to blame for any cuts a devolved government introduces. The Scots in the UK Government seem to have cottoned on to this, probably due to the experience of having a nationalist government in Edinburgh. So today, the Scottish Secretary in Gordon Brown's Government unveiled plans to

Banking on LCOs
Too much excitement can be bad for you, so let's talk about LCOs. Wales's former First Secretary has given his views on Legislative Competence Orders here. Old news to readers of Mr Michael's Penarth Times column, I grant you, but interesting nevertheless - who are these Ministers who "spent far too long deliberating over Ann's proposals instead of getting on with it"? Time for the Penarth Times to name and shame. The LCO Parliament has spent more time debating than any other is the one to give the Assembly the powe

Remembering
Gordon Brown and David Cameron were not the only politicians to get themselves photographed in the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, although other politicians managed to get snapped without so much fuss. Conwy Labour MP Betty Williams was photographed as she planted a cross in memory of the citizens of Conwy who lost their lives in conflicts. She told her own website: "It was a pri

£800 to be Peter's friend
How much would you pay to have dinner with the Welsh Liberal Democrats? Did I hear fifty quid at the back? If you have nine mates, why not make a night of it and claim the discounted rate of £450 for a table for 10? Or if you're feeling really flush, two grand will allow you to sponsor the conference dinner as the Welsh Lib Dems gather in Swansea next February. "Sponsorship includes: Space to display promotional material (banners, pop-ups, leaflets etc). 10 minutes to address everyone present with a speech. A thank you from the appropriate party spokesperson for your organisation. 2 tickets to the Conferen