Letters to the Editor – Abolish the Welsh Assembly

Dear Sir,

The BBC idea on traveling around Wales asking people what they would do if first Minister is a good one!

However No mention was given to anyone who had any contrasting view, I write to you in the hope you will address this issue when asking the Welsh Public over the next weeks to give a balanced view.

Good luck and thank you for taking the time to read this mail and I hope to have a positive reply.

Here is the result of the 1997 Referendum.

No  552,000

Yes 559,000

I AM SURE that many readers will be delighted to learn that a new political party has been formed to represent the hundreds of thousands of welsh voters who have no representation in Cardiff Bay and no candidates who for whom they are able to voice their views through the ballot box. The party which was launched some months ago speaks of course on behalf of those of us who no longer wish the Welsh Assembly to exist; it is an appalling waste of our money and for the vast majority of the time its inception has been a complete failure as a democratic institution.

One only has to look at the policy areas which have been devolved to see that it should not exist. Health, Transport, Agriculture, all expensive failures Unfortunately and largely because it is in their own interests to do some all the mainstream parties have now gathered around their own political bubble and decided that by uniting in favor of its existence they think that the people of Wales will swallow another four years of it. Well we, those of us who live in the real world won’t put up with it any longer! People from the whole array of political opinion now agree that we need to be rid of this expensive and wasteful layer of political activity.

To those who desire to see ‘our own government’ have full control of our economy beggars belief. Since the WAG was established in 1999 and given many powers to run our economy, the Welsh Gross Value Added has fallen to 75.2% of the UK average.

The percentage of children in poverty in Wales is 32% compared with Scotland’s 25% and N. Ireland’s 26%. In July 2010 the WAG had 72 offices in Wales and 14 outside Wales at a running cost of £17.7 million per annum.

In 2007 the total running cost of the WAG was £355.41million. The cost. Now is £500 million.

Just note the words of the main parties and Plaid Cymru who were not in approval of giving the Welsh public a referendum on tax powers for Wales. (They knew the response would be no from the Public)

In my view this will have major ramifications for the Welsh public so much for Constitutional Democracy

I remain yours sincerely

James Cole