Under construction
It's the language that has you almost expecting Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister Carwyn Jones turning up in the Senedd this afternoon in a hard hat each and a luminous jacket.
They are both out to "construct a relationship" and to "work productively". What exactly that means and how precisely that works, neither will be too sure yet. Neither are we but we're clear about Mr Cameron's purpose here. He is in Wales today, so soon after an election because he has a definite and serious purpose: to engage with a government in Wales that is made up of opposition parties in Westminster while at the same time to drive on his party's attempts in Wales to gain ground politically.
Get on with Labour in power, take them on elsewhere.
What do we know before he arrives:
1. An offer to defer spending cuts in Wales for a year, in recognition of the fact that the Assembly Government has already set it budget for 2010/11 is now officially on the table. It had been made before the election in a rather half-hearted kind of way. In fact a senior Conservative suggested to me just last week it was all a case of Nick Bourne 'flying a kite'. Apparently not. Mr Osborne and Mr Cameron are holding the strings now and the offer is there, part of what we had better get used to calling "the respect agenda".
2. If the WAG are wondering what exactly they would be agreeing to defer - only to take on as a double whammy of cuts in 2011/12 - then they and we will find that out on Monday. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Laws, announced this morning that the details of the £6bn in-year spending cuts will be announced on a department by department basis on Monday, rather in the emergency budget on June 22nd. The potential impact on the Assembly Government's budget will be known then too once the Barnett consequentials of spending reductions at a UK department level have been worked out.
3. We know that Cheryl Gillan is pointing a finger of blame at Peter Hain for not "progressing" the necessary preparations for a referendum. She is still, in fact, "in shock" at finding what was on her desk or, perhaps, what was not. She and Mr Hain, now her Shadow, will no doubt continue to trade verbal blows on that front for a while yet. Mr Hain's response by the way - "rubbish on stilts."
4. More significantly we know that Cheryl Gillan plans to remain neutral if and when that referendum is held. We know because that is what she told Radio Wales this morning. She will neither campaign for or against giving the Assembly primary law-making powers in areas devolved to it. She'll make the referendum happen but won't seek to influence what happens in it. So if you were wondering whether there might be a potential for a re-run of the moment captured above, then the answer is no.
5. We don't know for sure but must now strongly suspect that there is no chance of a referendum being held in the Autumn. Mrs Gillan didn't say so outright but in her interview this morning she came as close to ruling it out without actually saying so, as it is possible. The potential of holding it on the same day as the Assembly election next May was again whispered in my ear last week in London. Somebody had better whisper it pretty loudly in Nick Bourne's ear, given his public opposition to holding the two votes on the same day. (Bit hard, mind you, to argue that holding a General and Assembly election on the same day come May 2015 is fine ... but that holding an Assembly election and referendum on the same day is not. Perhaps those hard hats might come in handy sooner rather than later ... )
Will there be any real hard bargaining on financial issues today, let alone any deals? No, of course not. Will two men start to work out how to deal with each other? Yes. Will they shake hands? Will the Deputy First Minister be in the shot? Will Kirsty Williams, once again this week, be there in person but decidedly not in the spirit of political co-operation?
I'll report back later.
Comments
or to comment.