The Welsh Assembly

On Saturday, I was asked to take part in a survey being carried out by the Welsh Assembly Government. I had been randomly chosen to to give my views as a resident of the part of Denbigh where I live. The researcher was a very pleasant lady and the questions were straightforward enough. They were seeking to explore my views on the Welsh Assembly, my local Council and my local Police force.

At the end, I was asked if I wanted to offer any additional comments. Indeed I did. My overall impression had not changed radically since my childhood and I can only hope that my views were broadly those of my neighbours. When I was growing up, it was always supposed that Wales was a distinct group of three countries. The haves in the South to whom came jobs and investment. The forgotten group in the middle who were largely forgotten about. The Gogs in the North who were thrown a few scraps every now and then as a token gesture.

In truth, little has changed. It is good to know that the Welsh Assembly Government is seeking the views of its electorate.  They might not like the answers though. Then as now, transport links in Wales were risible both at a regional and national level. It remains a sobering fact that a commuter wishing to travel from the top of Wales to the bottom has to do so via England. If that wasn't inefficient enough, attempting the journey by car is, if anything, even more forbidding. As long as this situation remains, the "them and us" attitudes will prevail. On a local level, our public transport is very poor. In common with many rural areas, the services which run are both expensive and infrequent heavily reliant on government assistance. If this is to persist - and there seems little evidence to the contrary - it is time to rethink our infrastructure and planning.

Across North Wales, and nationally for that matter, market towns have been relentlessly driven in to the ground by allowing large supermarkets to come in and mop up the struggling town centres. If public transport prohibits travel out of the towns, it surely makes sense to develop the towns and recapture their roles of forty years ago. Then, they supported local jobs and the concept of a vacant high street shop was a the stuff of dreams. Street markets thrived and local events were regular and well attended. The move away from the town centres has been a disaster. It can't be reversed soon enough. Granted, the picture in more urban areas may be somewhat different but in rural communities in places like North Wales, the need for a vibrant town centre is essential to support local communities struggling to make ends meet. It will grow jobs and, just as importantly, it will foster a local community spirit which has been too long lacking.

The erosion of the town centres in North Wales has taken place at a time when the Public Sector has sadly become the major employer. It was a sad day when this happened. It is not that we don't need a Public Sector - of course we do. But we need a more realistic balance between the public and private sectors. Where I live, employment in the Public Sector has become the dream. This reflects badly on the potential within the Private Sector. It is the latter which will promote innovation, growth and progression. The Public Sector should be in the background - not the foreground. It is little wonder so many young people locally leave the area for England to seek a better future. The majority would stay if the opportunity existed to do so.

They may well want to promote the Welsh Language but this is going to be in vain if the majority of those taught ultimately leave for England - and I know plenty that have. I did. I suggest to the Welsh Assembly that while seeking to promote the Welsh Language is well intended, it remains tertiary to their real challenges. If they address transport, town centres and jobs, the Welsh Language can then be pulled in to the foreground. The police provision locally is not the best. We in North Wales have become synonymous with the concept of slapping a speeding fine on motorists. Aside from the obvious effect on tourism, it is naive at best. Put simply, I could be drunk as a skunk high on any drugs you care to mention, but as long as I'm within the speed limit, I'm off their radar. Meanwhile, the streets are so seldom patrolled, the sight of a policeman is almost a past-time now. Recent events have highlighted the lack of independence with which the police are monitored. If the spotlight is ever turned on them, the response is always the same. They will investigate themselves and their own behaviour and it has nothing to do with anyone else. Wrong. It has everything to do with everyone else. Just like the council and the Welsh Assembly, they are still a public body and, as such, remain accountable to the public. To do so with a semblance of credibility, they must cease this silly practice and emerge in to the daylight of the real world. If they had nothing to hide, there would no problem.

I don't know if my views reflect those of my neighbours but hope so. Nationally, the picture will be the average so my views are of limited worth but I was glad to have the opportunity to express them. Long live democracy. Let us hope they intend to heed the views they receive and act upon them. Should they do so, they might actually reap the rewards.