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Chocolates, leeks and elephants

Betsan Powys | 13:59 UK time, Saturday, 1 March 2008

Spot the new addition in the foyer of this year's conference.

The black box for completed carbon footprint forms? Nah - old hat.

The scrum for Jonathan Evans MEP's superior "Delivering for Britain in the European Parliament' chocolates? Nah - even older.

But the simultaneous translation headsets? Now those are a new addition. So far, 26 delegates have stumped up the £10.00 deposit just in case anyone speaks Welsh from the stage.

Yet more evidence of the Welsh Conservatives' new found respect for the Welsh language ... or should that be blatant attempts to woo disillusioned Plaid Cymru voters?

Not at all, says David Jones MP (the only Welsh Conservative MP to have made it to Llandudno by the way).

In fact couldn't the same be said of his particularly snazzy, leek-laden tie?

"I've had this for at least ten years" comes the indignant answer. "Look, it's even got the date on the back!"

He won't be needing a headset. It's news to me but David Jones speaks Welsh fluently and has a wife who is determined that he should start using it.

Go for it Mrs Jones. And good luck with finding the Welsh for that "flaming elephant in the room".

°ä´Ç³¾³¾±ð²Ô³Ù²õÌýÌý Post your comment

  • 1.
  • At 08:01 PM on 01 Mar 2008,
  • Andrew Lye wrote:

I don't understand the need to make the comment that David Jones was the only Welsh Conservative MP to get to their conference.
Stephen Crabb is my Conservative MP (Preseli Pembrokeshire). I didnt vote for him in 2005, but I fully appreciate that he is entitled to a family life at the week-end, like anyone else with a full-time job. I do not know if he is with his family, ill, or on other business, but does he (or any other Conservative MP) HAVE to attend.
This was just a cheap, snide comment that was uncalled for in the blog.
If he was with his family, thats fine by me!
I do understand our Assembly Member is at Llandudno, according to his blog, so maybe he is covering for Stephen Crabb?

  • 2.
  • At 05:32 PM on 02 Mar 2008,
  • John R. Walker wrote:

The Welsh for the flaming elephant in the room is Undeb Ewropeaidd - better known as the European Union...

The elephant the Tories desperately don't want to talk about...

  • 3.
  • At 08:40 PM on 02 Mar 2008,
  • Pete Roberts wrote:

Nice to see the Tories finally catching up with the mainstream Welsh parties at last. But interesting to see that their members need a financial incentive to remember to hand the headset back at the end of the session.

Could it be that unlike the Lib Dem conference last weekend the headsets got very little use?

  • 4.
  • At 10:05 AM on 06 Mar 2008,
  • Oscar wrote:

"This was just a cheap, snide comment that was uncalled for in the blog."

No it was not, it was stating a fact.
It was also nothing to do with the "Day"job, it was THEIR party conference.
It was a bit of support for THE party workers who work year round.
An assemble member is a very poor sub for a member of Parliament.
Bit like putting a sunday league player on for a premier league club!

  • 5.
  • At 05:32 AM on 26 Mar 2008,
  • A Hewitt wrote:

Why isn't their a political blog about independence for Wales and the fact it costs the UK 115 million pounds a week to just be in the EU. A large number of English would like to see the end of the Union and enjoy what the rest have an English Parliment instead of the Federal one we've got now, as the English have no say on anything English. Come on Wales follow Scotland's way. Ex-pat Brummie, from old Welsh capital Birmingham.....oh

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