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The Friday Politics Column

Supporting families
This week saw the Labour and Conservative parties attack each other on policies relating to family life. The Tories promise to do more to strengthen families and in particular to restore the tax allowance for married couples. Labour paints this idea as an attack on all the other varied families in the country – single parents, cohabiting couples, and same sex couples. To favour married people financially would be to make others second class citizens, they suggest. A lively debate was had between Labour’s Ed Balls and the Conservative David Willets on the Today programme during the week.

Willets claimed that all the research done on family life shows that children flourish when cared for by a married couple. Balls agreed that this is indeed what the research shows but said that it is also the case that the people who tend to marry are the well educated middle-classes with good jobs – the very context in which children flourish anyway. It’s not the fact that they are married that’s important, he claimed, but that they are from a particular social background.

Now I can see sense in both arguments – which puts me in a bit of a quandary; which are the best policies that deserve my support? Strong families make a strong society. But is it the state’s place to pick and choose which type of family to support through the tax system? Should one type be favoured financially above the others? Though I believe in marriage – I’m not sure it is right for the state to decide for us which lifestyle to choose.

As the General Election draws nearer such confusion will continue to be created for the electors as the parties debate various policies. Add to this the fact that trust in politicians is at an all time low and making a choice will be harder than ever.


Has the Trouble-shooter met his match?
Having been appointed by the Welsh Assembly Government to sort out the mess that is Anglesey County Council, David Bowles seems to be struggling. A letter written by him to the 40 councillors on the island has been leaked to the press and shows the frustration that he is feeling only a few months into his task.

He came with a reputation as a trouble-shooter with an ability to bang heads together and bring order out of chaos. It seems that in Anglesey’s councillors he may have met his match. The majority appear to be well-behaved but, ‘Those few who put their petty spiteful factional infighting above the interests of the island have no place on this council’.

Strong words – but will they be enough? Calls have been made in the past to name those responsible. Maybe now is the time to take such action – before we loose our council altogether.


The Druid returns
And finally, Anglesey has a new political blog on the scene: The Druid. An anonymous blog, he/she claims to be independent of all political parties and intends to post in the island’s defence against economic and depopulation woes.

The in-depth analysis, especially on economic matters, is indeed welcomed. The posts have already caused a stir in some quarters.