TRUE COLOURS

Most but by no means all the people who are engaged, enraged or passionate about politics and perhaps journalism (at least at the editorial level), can be said are defined or shaped by the past, whether trying to right wrongs or injustices (perceived or real) or shaped by past events. This may well never have been so true than at the moment, as the east is no longer red, at least not since 1989 -1991, despite the old fashioned newspaper and media headlines. 

The east was never that Red

Russia, is an autocratic authoritarian state with nominally and questionably privatised state industries, it is no longer communist or even vaguely left wing (not that Soviet style communism was ever that left wing or particularly that communist especially during its most murderous tyrannical phase). Not that you would be able to tell this from the headlines in the tabloids and broadsheets - who are happily talking up a verbal spat between the UK and Russia and painting the east as red.

There are two issues here; the attempted murders in Salisbury and (a possible) murder in London (as yet by persons unknown or at least as yet unidentifiable) which are currently being investigated by the police and other agencies. That investigation should not be hindered by hysterical headlines and ramped up political point scoring rhetoric from Westminster. Leave the police to get on with the investigation, to develop and follow their leads to their conclusions unhindered by a Westminster lead media hysteria. 

The verbal spat with Russia, is something that suits politicians in both the UK and Russia. The motivation for attempted murders in Salisbury and the murder in London remain as yet unproven, although it is probably more than possible that elements of the Russian security service are involved but not necessarily a certainty at present. This public spat with Russia has looked for and has been talked up by the Conservative Westminster government for some months. 

While the latest incidents in Salisbury and London are well beyond the pale, this quarrel suits the current government, particularly as it will not move beyond a largely verbal spat, diplomatic expulsions and some boycotts. It has successfully and understandably dominated the headlines and helps to distract from more shambolic Brexit related domestic issues. 

The sudden discovery that Russia has an authoritarian government, is a little late - the annexation of Georgian territory, an organised land grab in the Crimea and eastern Ukraine have all taken place in recent years with barely an organised coherent response from the West.  What little response there has been has been modified by the deployment of significant soft power by Russia, particularly in France and a Germany but also quite possibly here in these islands. 

Whats is also being overlooked during the current media storm is that successive recent UK Westminster governments (New Labour, Con-Dem and Conservative (weak and wobbly) have all consistently failed to develop the UK’s energy independence. There is no strategy to  ensure that there is a long term energy strategy that develops the technologies necessary to curb the dependence on imported energy supplies from unstable or potentially hostile regions of the globe. 

They have also failed to deal with the consequences short and long term of questionable money laundering activities of the city of London and the impact of ‘Russian’ capital on the political system. Questions have been periodically asked over the years about the relationship between significant donors and the Labour and Conservative parties and about any political impact of any donations on policy and policy positions. 

Money laundering does not bring much by way of political or financial capital to the UK's financial system, once laundered the money moves on.  Many oligarchs live outside of the UK and pay pretty minimal taxation within the UK and they remain commercially and culturally tied to Russia.  Regardless as to how the spat with Russia plays out, one thing is pretty certain, Westminster will not do is investigate just exactly where the money comes from.  

TIME FOR SOME FRESH THINKING

Small businesses play a significant role at the heart of our communities; they create wealth and sustainable employment opportunities for local people. Profits and investments made by them tend to stay within the communities where they are based. So rather than plunder small to medium sized entrepreneurs from Bristol, we need to grow and sustain our own small business creators in Newport and across Gwent and to make our towns and cities business SME friendly.

For too many years economic development in Wales has been focused on large scale development of what can be best described a single egg solutions, which promise much and deliver significantly less, the focus should be on developing small to medium size local businesses, which are significantly less likely to up sticks and leave for perceived greener pastures and fresh applications of development grants.

This focus on attracting large-scale single source enterprises, which promise much but deliver significantly less than anticipated, is short sighted in the extreme. The LG development near Newport, was a good example of an expensive disaster / fiasco [please take your pick] which promised the usual total of 6,000 jobs - accrued significant public funding - which was committed by the then Welsh Secretary, William Hague, yet never delivered anything like a third of what was promised.

A combination of what can best be described as fantasy island economic assessments, a fatally flawed business case and a forthcoming Westminster election led to one of the spectacularly duller decisions of recent years being made, something that ended up costing us millions of pounds worth of public money. The WDA has in truth not really consistently delivered anything like long-term economic stability and much needed long-term job opportunities to our communities that it should have done.

European funding opportunities (soon to be a thing of the past) have been seriously wasted, where are the significant tangible assets, beyond some visibly badged infrastructure projects that you can literally put your hand on like improved communications (rail, road, broadband infrastructure, etc) that can bring long term benefits to our communities.

Amongst the questions that should have been asked is how much money has been scammed (and scammed may be the key word) into dubious training programmes and questionable educations programmes that fail to deliver the necessary skills that workers and potential workers need to make a decent living in the modern economy?

Back in the day the Plaid driven One Wales Government made significant efforts and attempts to think and act differently when it came to economic development and support for small to medium sized enterprises. This is the only real thing that will put wealth into our communities, and develop and sustain longer-term employment possibilities.

Attracting branch factory operations of a relative short-term duration might get some headlines but it does not help to sustain and develop our economy. We really do need to think differently and focus economic development priorities on smaller local businesses who will be rooted in our communities and offer more flexible employment opportunities.

Friars Walk in Newport is a welcome exception to the last thirty five years, when across the south east, we have seen the commercial hearts of many of our communities (including Newport) seriously damaged (if not ripped out) as a result of a combination of aggressive policies pursued by the larger retail chains and exceptionally poor decision-making on the part of local government and central government indifference.

When combined with the rapid growth of unsustainable, ill-thought out and more than questionable out of town and edge of town retail developments which leave next to no place for the smaller local businesses and retailers and deprive consumers of real choice. When you factor in parking charges, business rates and the effect of the closure of high street banks and post offices in many of our communities and you begin to see why many of our smaller businesses and local shopping centres are up against it.

Local small businesses as well as trading with us the consumers also trade with each other - so the community gets twice the benefit. Money spent by and in local businesses spends on average three times longer in the local economy than that spent with chain stores which is instantly lost to the local economy which in times of recession our communities can ill afford.

Our National Assembly needs to have the power to vary business taxes in order to help boost our businesses, as well as encourage investment in skills and the tools of their businesses and their workers. If we are going to make Wales a nation of aspiring entrepreneurs and to encourage and enable them, our communities and our economy to flourish we need to encourage the development of community owned social enterprises.

It should be pretty clear to most people that before and after the banking crash - the present financial market and its institutions have failed over recent years to supply sufficient venture capital for the SME sector in Wales. One step forward would a venture capital fund for Wales, which should be established by, but independent of the Welsh Assembly Government

Such an independent venture capital fund could raise capital and deliver investment through a co-investment model, with approved private sector partners to our SME sector, where such investment would make a real difference. More of the same old twaddle from Whitehall and Cathay’s just simply won't do at all, vastly expensive one egg, one basket schemes to generate the seemingly standard 6,000 jobs, just won't do.

What we need is fresh thinking and action from the new government - more than just talk, we need some concrete steps to encourage growth, boost manufacturing industry, support our small to medium sized enterprises and an end to the business rates and that's just to start with.  Otherwise it will just be a case of same old, same old with ill thought out public sector cuts which will do nothing to boost our communities, our economy and that’s one thing we cannot afford.