The ‘Wedge’ worked in Australia. The Tory spin-doctor ‘wedged’ a divide in the successful Oz Labor Government. In-fighting Labor was dumped in favour of a bigoted airhead PM. Now Lynton Crosby hopes to drive his wedge between Labour and Trade Unions here. You’ve been sussed Lynton. Old tricks won’t work.

Tory MP Edward Leigh believes the public are not furious about MPs’ double-jobbing. He intervened on a speech of mine. He boasted of a five month absence from the Commons to act as a barrister in court. No doubt he was sumptuously paid for his truancy plus his MP’s salary. The debate revealed astonishing naivety from multiple-jobbing MPs.

A full weeks pay requires a full week’s work. Extra cash from moonlighting should be deducted from MPs salaries. With some MPs that would mean nil salary – sometimes a true assessment of their worth.

We all love it but Chartism is more than a mural.

No place has done more to honour the Chartists than Gwent. For 30 years Chartist Day November 4th has been celebrated. This year’s will be a feast of scholarship, music, anecdote, wit and song. Newport children will stage a re-enactment. Throughout Gwent events are planned. A new book on a forgotten Newport suffragette will be launched. The courage, vision and sacrifices of Chartism is our history. Let’s celebrate with pride.

The earth moved on August 29th.

Not for centuries has parliament voted against a prime minister’s plan for military action. Backbenchers of all parties refused to slavishly follow America into another futile war. Memories of non-existent Iraq WMDs and the ‘No bullet will be fired’ Helmand incursion haunted the debate. A phone-in I did on American radio produced a storm of sympathetic tweets. World opinion was changed by the Commons vote. We rejected the easy instant non-solution of a military strike that would have intensified the conflict. We voted for the hard painstaking path of diplomacy and peacebuilding, the best hope of ending the suffering of Syria.

Her ‘dedication and passion’ won Rosemary Butler the prize of the ‘Devolved politician of the year’. Against strong competition from Scotland and Ulster, Rosemary’s service was nationally recognized. The University of South Wales also awarded her a doctorate for forty years of inspired work for education.

We are all proud of you Rosemary. We admire your achievements and our thoughts are with you.