´óÏó´«Ã½

Help is at hand for those of us still suffering post-election withdrawal symptoms.

As if the Labour leadership election were not exciting enough, its conclusion will usher in something not seen this century - shadow cabinet elections.

This exercise in mass democracy among the 259 Labour MPs will take place this autumn, with a crucial meeting to decide the rules scheduled for next week.

This meeting will decide how many of the 18 seats are reserved for women. There's speculation that a third of the seats could be reserved.

Among Gordon Brown's Cabinet, Peter Hain is one member likely to stand in what is likely to be a crowded field.

Chris Bryant, Wayne David, Kevin Brennan and Huw Irranca-Davies, Ministers all in the last government, are expected to stand.

Nia Griffith, Ian Lucas and Geraint Davies are other names on the lips of colleagues, although none has announced candidacy. Mr Davies is a parliamentary "retread" having just returned to Westminster after previously representing a Croydon seat.

The elections may be months away but have energised Labour MPs. Business Questions in the Commons have become a rolling hustings for potential candidates and a daily point of order from Chris Bryant has become part of parliamentary procedure.

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He may have got his fingers burned extolling the virtues of , but Peter Hain has once again dared to share with us the dilemmas faced by some of the middle-classes.

Readers of The Sunday Times, and those who pay to get over its website paywall, will have enjoyed the shadow Welsh Secretary's travel article headlined Peter Hain on buying a holiday home with friends.

As the man himself puts it: "Ever dreamt of a place of your own in France, but been daunted by the cost, the responsibility and whether you would ever get out there enough to enjoy it?"

Indeed. Mr Hain explains how a group of his close friends clubbed together to buy a French holiday home, complete with femme de ménage, or housekeeper, and a gardener. No word on whether the kitchen has an Aga or not.

Research into the property took some time - "thank goodness for budget flights" says the Neath MP - but the project has been a great success.

Mr Hain, then a busy Minister, decided not to join the co-operative, although he does own a share in a small family property in Spain.

The French property has since doubled in value. "I still don't regret opting out, but I am a little wistful" he writes.

With Labour keen to attack the Tory/Lib Dem coalition's "cabinet of millionaires", perhaps opting out was the wisest move.

One of the friends, Andree Rushton, has written up the story as a book: Bonnes Vacances!: Sharing a House in France.

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The last of the newly-elected Welsh Tory MPs has made his maiden speech in the Commons.

Glyn Davies made his debut shortly before 10 o'clock last night in a debate on the role of backbenchers.

His speech followed the convention of saying nice things about his constituency and his predecessor.

The latter must have been a challenge as relations between Lembit Opik and Glyn Davies have not been that cordial of late.

This is what Mr Davies told MPs: "My immediate predecessor was Lembit Öpik, and I want to pay tribute to him. He was a man of great talent in many, many areas of activity-and I must say that in some areas he achieved a level of excellence that I am sure I will not be able to match. He served his constituents very well, however, and I wish him well in his new chosen careers."

Warm words, perhaps - carefully chosen, certainly. Mr Davies's most recent , accuses his predecessor of trying to undermine him through "sly" and "devious" behaviour.

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Admit it. There's been something familiar missing in your life recently. Not just the World Cup or Wimbledon, but the Commons' Select Committee on Welsh Affairs.

This committee, now under new management, held its first public meeting for months today, taking evidence from the new-ish Secretary of State for Wales for the first time.

A baptism of fire for Cheryl Gillan? In reality, the odd spark flew but there were few fireworks. Mrs Gillan insisted that she was at all times "batting for Wales" although when faced with tricky questions she employed a straight bat in the manner of Geoff Boycott in his prime. "It would not be right for me to pre-judge....."

In a tour of "fantastic" things she'd seen already in Wales, she announced: "We are hoping to grind the lenses for the largest telescope in the world and that would be terrific". That conjures up an interesting image of the Welsh Secretary hard at work at the grindstone, although she may have been using "the Welsh we" in that statement.

The questions from new committee members were largely partisan. Judging by his helpful queries, Conservative Alun Cairns appeared to be auditioning for the still vacant position of parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State.

Labour's Geraint Davies and Owen Smith were intent on securing an admission that Wales would lose out disproportionately from the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition Budget.

They got one: "There is an acceptance across government that there could be a disproportionate effect on Wales."

For those who care to play buzzword bingo on occasions such as these, Mrs Gillan offered a full house within half an hour. Bilaterals, quadrilaterals, JMCs, WALES DEL, the inevitable Barnett formula - all were present and correct. Cheryl Gillan probably described her own wedding as a bilateral.

She said the Barnett formula, which effectively decides the levels of most public spending in Wales, was coming to the end of its life and said the Government hoped eventually to move to what she called "a fair funding formula" - an implicit admission the current formula is unfair.

In the chair, David Davies was robust enough to cut Mrs G off before she got too long-winded and to encourage, Bercow-like, short questions from committee members.

After an hour, they let her go to her next bilateral. Or lunch, as you and I know it better.

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are a form of parliamentary graffiti, where MPs can let off steam on the issues of the day, condemn government policies or just praise their local football team.

They also give backbenchers the chance to demonstrate their abilities as connoisseurs of fine ale.

An EDM tabled by the Caerphilly MP Wayne David MPs praises "a truly superior brew with its light, summer, juicy, tangy, Frank Cooper's Oxford marmalade flavours".

The praise is heaped upon the Summer Ale brewed by micro-brewery in Mr David's constituency.

Mr David tells us: "Its slightly sour nuances are a great match with garlic, apple and mash". Not all politicians have such sensitive palates.

Mr David's motion has won the support of former Welsh Secretaries Alun Michael and Peter Hain, and Plaid Cymru's parliamentary leader, Elfyn Llwyd.

I've never sampled the beer myself, although apparently the ale was selected to accompany the main course at the all-party parliamentary group beer group awards.

That should kill off all doubts that MPs really can organise a party in a (micro) brewery.

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The path to "Super Thursday" appears less than smooth despite enthusiasm in both Westminster and Cardiff Bay for three votes - Welsh Assembly elections and two referenda - on the same day next May.

Thirteen days ago, the ´óÏó´«Ã½ reported growing pressure behind the idea of postponing next May's elections to the Welsh Assembly by one month. One expert suggested it was 80 to 90 per cent certain.

Welsh Tory leader Nick Bourne had written to other party leaders with the suggestion that they ask the Secretary of State for Wales, Cheryl Gillan, for a delay.

There was cross-party concern about insufficient "breathing space" between a referendum on the assembly's powers - likely in March - and elections in May. That concern was amplified once the UK government announced plans for a referendum on the voting system used for Westminster elections to be held on May 5.

First Minister Carwyn Jones told us: "I've already raised the issue of delaying the assembly elections with the Secretary of State and I'll be doing the same thing again on Monday. I've not yet had a response from her. We're also hoping that we can take a cross party view on this.

"What Nick is asking for has already been done."

You may have been left with the impression that the assembly government wanted the elections moved. The appeared to confirm this impression.

The Secretary of State said she would give her response when she received a formal request, prompting an anonymous source close to the First Minister to tell the Western Mail: "What is the point of having these bilateral meetings between the First Minister and the Secretary of State if everything is supposed to be put into writing?"

Not writing things down does allow politicians to wriggle out of clearly misleading impressions given.

So days ago, Carwyn Jones told the Welsh media: "We do not want the assembly elections moved."

Instead, he wants the UK government to move the referendum on voting systems and has written to David Cameron to tell him so:

"We do not want the assembly elections moved, they have been in place now for the last four years and we take the view that if anything needs to be moved, it's the neophyte election, in other words, the AV referendum, and that the assembly elections should then stay as they are."

Respect agenda or not, there seems little chance of Mr Cameron agreeing to this request. (The Assembly's presiding officer, Lord Elis-Thomas, has already announced his conversion to the idea of three votes on one day.)

Mr Jones added: "I think the AV referendum should go off until the end of next year, quite frankly. As far as the assembly elections are concerned, they should be held on May the 5th, but there is no rush as far as the AV referendum is concerned, as it would only affect the general election which would take place, on current plans, in May 2015."

The Press Association's Daniel Davies asked Mr Jones: "I thought you had already asked the Secretary of State to delay the assembly election by four weeks so it wouldn't clash with the other referendum"

Carwyn Jones: "No. We've never done that"

Daniel Davies: "So there's been no agreement between party leaders to ask the Welsh Secretary to delay the election?

Carwyn Jones: "No"

Daniel Davies: "Any idea why Nick Bourne said that there had been?"

Carwyn Jones: "Never was. There was never an agreement to delay the election. It was discussed, but there was never an agreement to delay the election. It was certainly never agreed by the Liberal Democrats, I can promise you that and it was something that we never formally put to the Secretary of State."

Not formally, perhaps, if you insist on writing everything down although as one UK government source says, there's certainly been "a change of emphasis". The unpublished minutes of a meeting between Carwyn Jones and Cheryl Gillan apparently suggest a desire on the former's part to delay the elections.

Meanwhile, Cheryl Gillan is still working to a timetable of an assembly powers referendum in March and deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told MPs this morning: "In Wales, to hold three different elections in a matter of weeks, would be a mistake."

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Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan and her predecessor Peter Hain are embroiled in an entertaining war of words over how much taxpayers' cash each spent on hotel bills.

Mrs Gillan has defended her use of the St David's Hotel when visiting Cardiff - and used a parliamentary answer to claim that she spent less on hotels (per night) than he did.

Mr Hain hit back, saying it was wrong for the taxpayer to have to foot the bill for Mrs Gillan's hotel bills incurred because, as an English MP, she has no home in Wales.

This is how Mrs Gillan lit the fuse. She told Mr Hain's deputy, Wayne David in response to a written question: "Since my appointment, I have been required to stay overnight in Cardiff on official business on six occasions, at an average cost of around £93 per stay. That compares favourably with the average cost to the public purse of hotel accommodation in Wales for my predecessor."

Ouch. Over to Mr Hain: "The Wales Office would book good value and convenient hotels for me when I made official visits to North Wales that required an overnight stay. The current Secretary of State is not undertaking official visits. She stays in a five star hotel every time she has to work in Cardiff because as an MP for an English constituency she has no home in Wales. The Welsh taxpayer is footing the bill for this and that is wrong."

Then Wayne David chipped in: "In answering my Parliamentary Question, I am very concerned that the Secretary of State appears to have abused her position. It looks as if she has been instructing civil servants to file through historical records in an attempt to dig dirt on one of her political opponents, which is a very serious matter indeed.

"The Secretary of State should have no special access to information held on the accommodation and security arrangements of former Ministers. To obtain such information, she should submit a Freedom of Information request in the normal way like members of the public and journalists have to do.

"I have written to the Director of the Wales Office asking how this information was obtained by Ms Gillan."

I'll bring you the director's reply as soon as I have it.

UPDATE: Here is is - "I have looked into the matter and consulted the Cabinet Office, and we are content with the way in which it was handled. The Secretary of State was granted no special access to information held on the accommodation and security arrangements of former Ministers. The answer simply made a factual comparison between expenditure incurred in this financial year with that in the previous year."

UPDATE 2: And a A spokesman for the Secretary of State for Wales said:

"It is blatantly untrue to suggest Cheryl Gillan has not undertaken any official visits since becoming Secretary of State for Wales, as the numerous organisations she has met will confirm.

"Mr Hain is also quick to forget that as a Welsh MP he served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and stayed in taxpayer-funded accommodation on his visits there."

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We know when the next general election will be - May 7, 2015. What we don't know is how many MPs Welsh voters will send to Westminster.

If you believe Labour and Plaid Cymru, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives are determined to reduce the number of Welsh MPs by a quarter - from 40 to 30.

This would be part of an overall reduction in the number of the UK's MPs from 650 to 600 - a reduction, says Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, of 7.7 per cent.

So how could this lead to a reduction of 25 per cent in Wales? Welsh constituencies have, on average, fewer voters than those in England. None has Mr Clegg's optimum number of 75,000 voters (give or take 5,000).

Plaid say that if Welsh constituencies are to have the same average number of voters then a cut of 10 is the obvious consequence.

Smallest of the Welsh seats, according to , is Arfon, with 41,198 voters - little more than half the target to be given to the boundary commissions. The geographically vast Dwyfor Meironnydd, another redrawn seat, has just 45,354 electors. Add another 30,000 voters and the local MP will spend more time behind the wheel than Lewis Hamilton.

Former Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy has warned that many seats, such as his own of Torfaen, depend on natural boundaries and slicing valleys would be a challenge for the boundary commission.

The UK Government has yet publicly to confirm or deny any numbers for Wales, although one government backbencher was told by a senior figure that the number of 29 is being considered.

The Wales Office Minister, David Jones, told Mr Murphy during last week's Committee meeting: "It is worrying that a vote in parts of Wales is worth, in some cases, double that of a vote in the south of England. That needs to be addressed. I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman would understand that is wrong in principle that votes should carry different weight.

"It is also a matter of concern that the Welsh vote has not been looked at again at a time when we have the National Assembly and Wales has representation in another legislature. Therefore, while I understand the important points that he made, it is important to review whether the current arrangements are appropriate."

Any reduction in Welsh MPs would need to be accompanied by an amendment to the government of Wales Act to remove the link between Westminster and Assembly constituencies.

Nick Clegg gave no indication of whether further devolution to Wales would influence the cut - the number of Scottish MPs was reduced from 72 to 59 after the Scottish Parliament was established.

The Justice Minister Lord McNally (another Lib Dem) told peers: "There is no specific culling on the basis of Welsh or Scottish devolution."

He put a slightly different spin on things on : "We intend to carry forward the process of devolution so that more responsibility is given to the Parliaments and Assemblies of the nations and regions of this country.

"If you do that, it is absurd to continue with a House of Commons of the same size as when it had the responsibilities that have now been devolved. That is part of the sensible consequences of devolution."

Whatever number the boundary commissioners arrive at, May 7, 2015 could be slightly confusing for voters in Wales as they elect a constituency AM, an MP for a slightly different constituency and AMs from the regional top-up list.

It could be quite an exciting night, if there's anyone left standing from the various campaigns.

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