An item in my column has been targeted by the Conservatives' razor-sharp rapid rebuttal team. North Wales AM Mark Isherwood has been alerted to an item about him which appeared on March 7 this year, and is quick to send his response (to recap: Mr Isherwood asked Culture Minister Alun Pugh what measures he was taking to maximise the opportunities presented by the link between the old kingdom of Gwynedd and the Arthurian legend).
Mr Isherwood writes:
MIGHTY MATT SMITES PALTRY POLITICIANS A fun-filled friend has recently chosen to tell me about my starring role on your brave, crusading blogspot - well, I was mentioned on 7 March 2006! As you stated, North Wales voters must be delighted that I am prepared to ask the big questions being debated in the pubs. That is, they would be if they knew! Trouble is - & I'm confiding in you now - certain media types only seem interested in stereotyping, sensationalising and sniping. I knew you would be shocked by this, but I regret that such allegations haver been made to me! Woe betide a lowly Assembly Member who has made more contributions in plenary than any other AM in North Wales or submitted more oral questions to WAG Ministers' than any other AM - especially when these are based almost exclusively on issues raised by people in North Wales. Hey, why bother, bobody will know - unless the opportunity for a rare cheap shot is presented! A cynical population is turned off from politics, distrustful of politicians and choosing not to vote in ever increasing numbers. Hey, what's the problem - stoke the fires until representative democracy is truly dead and buried and the journey back to wholly unaccountable Government has been completed. What a service those certain media types will then have done for us all! Have fun. Mark
I'm not entirely sure here, but I don't think he liked it.
Peter Black wrote...
That makes two of us then:
"Peter,
Hope all’s well with you.
Only now, some 6 months’ late, has a fun-filled friend sent me a Black Blog in which you refer to my speech during a debate on school discipline.
You accuse me of untrue statements which deride the efforts of a dedicated and hard-working profession.
Unlike the Baroness, La Davidson, I had never thought you guilty of policy-led evidence.
You rightly refer to my “usual flowery language” – but this is only ever used to ‘top and tail’ researched evidence.
In this instance I quoted directly from published research, evidence-based, which I had taken the time to personally verify and clarify with the respective authors prior to bringing it to plenary.
You state that “not many headteachers will be happy with this passage of his speech, largely because it is untrue” - head teachers were directly quoted. If it was untrue, where is the empirical evidence to challenge this independent research?
Evidence is often inconvenient – especially for The Minister from ‘ELL, or whatever she now calls herself – but evidence it remains unless superseded by further research.
A problem denied is a solution missed.
Have fun!
Mark"
It is the 'fun-filled friend' that I worry about.
Posted by: Peter Black | September 26, 2006 9:46 AM