No hope in David promotion

Wayne David, MP for Caerphilly, was last week promoted to junior minister in Gordon Brown's government. This is clearly payoff for New Labour loyalty and it provides opportunity make a rubbish joke. How does a Welshman get a new Labour promotion? Carefully.

Very carefully in Mr David's case. He, like his Newport East colleague Jessica Morden, has carefully avoided voting against his government on one single occasion. In other words, like so many welsh new labour MPs, he was against an inquiry into the Iraq war, for post office closures, for abandoning the 10p income tax threshold, pro-ID cards, and for 42 days detention without charge (a measure that was abandoned today by central government in light of overwhelming cross party opposition in both places, lords and commons alike).

In South Wales it seems we are stuck for now with New Labour MPs who will do nothing to offend Westminster and upset the New Labour project. This, of course, is one reason among many why to vote for Plaid.

While it would be nice to applaud more Welsh representation at government level it seems David's promotion is nothing more than a thank you after years of forgetting his values and kow-towing to the likes of Blair and Brown. Hopefully the good people of Caerphilly will remember this come the long delayed general election and vote for Plaid. How delicious if Wayne David was to lose to Plaid again, as he did in Rhonnda not so long ago.