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Welsh
Assembly Member Peter Law ran as an independent and won the seat.
Law had resigned from the Labour
party in protest at the imposition of an all-women candidates' shortlist
following the retirement of incumbent MP Llew Smith, and
overturned a 19,313 (60%) Labour majority with a significant 9,121 (25%)
majority.
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Tony Blair last night appealed to
Labour Party members in Wales to back this autumn's campaign for a Welsh
Assembly after the anti-devolution MP, Llew Smith,
announced that he was satisfied with Mr Blair's commitment to free speech
on the issue.
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But Mr Smith's public row,
which prompted his leader to say that reasonable opposition to devolution
would be tolerated without threats of expulsion, may have a
counter-productive result.
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Mr Blair and his Welsh Secretary,
Ron Davies - who was accused of trying to strong-arm Mr Smith, MP
for Blaenau Gwent - called the proposed assembly vital to the democratic
renewal of Wales and plan a series of party meetings to cement support
for a Yes vote.
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http://politics.guardian.co.uk/wales/story/0,9061,444427,00.html
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Mr Smith was however later
barred by the Speaker from tabling any further questions on arms to Iraq
or the Scott Inquiry, a controversial decision which has further limited
the opportunities for holding the government to account on these topics.
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He took the issue up with Lord
Justice Scott directly, who declared that he had no objection to
ministers answering questions on the matters he was investigating.
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Llew Smith,
who was elected to the Commons in 1992, is amongst the most tenacious
tablers of parliamentary questions (PQs).
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http://www.cfoi.org.uk/awards94pr.html
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House of Commons, Hansard,
Written Answers, Prime Minister, June 23, 2003, col. 615W (written
response of Prime Minister Tony Blair to a question from Llew Smith
MP).
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http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2003_11/Spear.asp
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If Llew was not, he would
be pushing Rhodri to use the election result to take out Blair.
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Llew Smith
wants to keep Wales subject to the Fascist measures being introduced by
Blair.
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He would be organising to recover
the soul of the Labour Party.
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http://www.indycymru.org.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=213
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Smith had enjoyed a
majority of 19,313, making it the safest parliamentary seat in Wales.
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Law won the seat, defeating
official candidate Maggie Jones, and gaining a majority of 9,121 votes.
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general election, which was used
to impose a candidate favoured by the party's national leadership to
replace the retiring member Llew Smith.
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http://www.zdiamond.net/articles/Peter_Law
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As Tony Blair prepares to give
evidence today to the Hutton Inquiry investigating the death of Dr David
Kelly, Llew Smith and Glenda Jackson have called on him to
disclose the nature of his involvement in a significant change to a
section of the dossier concerning nuclear weapons.
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icWales - Llew Smith
in new Blair dossier claim
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In a letter sent to Mr Blair
yesterday Blaenau Gwent MP Mr Smith and Ms Jackson, who represents
Hampstead and Highgate, have drawn attention to textual changes in the
dossier that made the possibility of a nuclear attack by Iraq appear more
imminent.
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http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/content_objectid=13341723_method=full_siteid=50082_headline=-Glenda-and-Llew-in-fresh-Blair-dossier-accusation-name_page.html
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Former Labour MP for Blaenau
Gwent Llew Smith says independent challenger Peter Law will
win his old seat, overturning a 19,000 Labour majority.
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Mr Law, Assembly Member for
Blaenau Gwent, left Labour in a row over all-women shortlists.
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Llew Smith,
an MP for 13 years before standing down at this election, said local
people resented the way the Labour candidate Maggie Jones was selected
through an all-women shortlist.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/newsFeedXML/moreover/-/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/wales/4496793.stm
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Llew Smith :
To ask the Prime Minister if he will instruct the Attorney-General to
evaluate the statement made by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi
Annan on 15 September that the invasion of Iraq was illegal and contrary
to the Charter of the United Nations.
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The Prime Minister : The
Attorney-General has made his view clear on this matter.
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Thank goodness MPs are still
pursuing this, but Blair just makes a mockery of the PQ procedure.
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http://www.warmwell.com/04oct12kofi.html
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Harry Barnes also tabled an
amendment to the Commons motion from Jackson and Smith (see above)
in line with these comments.
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Gary Kent looks at the
topsy-turvy world of Glenda Jackson and Llew Smith
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The result, however, is far more
serious: Iraqi security forces are less able to defend the election
process, which is under vicious attack from the so-called resistance and
has actually been sanctioned by the UN Security Council.
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http://www.labourfriendsofiraq.org.uk/archives/000092.html
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December 21, 2004
Gary Kent looks at the topsy-turvy world
of Glenda Jackson and Llew Smith
The
Guardian's David Hencke reported on Saturday 17th December that the defence
secretary "has been blocked from sending a Christmas gift of weapons and
ammunition on behalf of the British taxpayer to re-equip the Iraqi army and
police" by two left-wing Labour MPs, Glenda Jackson and Llew Smith.
They
had tabled an Early Day Motion which argued: "That this House while
welcoming the gifting of equipment for training purposes to the Iraqi Interim
Government, as detailed in the Ministry of Defence minute dated 15th
December, deplores the inclusion of this gift of live ammunition, grenade
launchers and pistols; and calls upon the Government to withdraw such
military hardware, which will do nothing to reduce violence and intimidation
in a country awash with such weapons."
Hencke
says that the MOD has confirmed that "delivery of the equipment - part
of a £17.5m package - will have to be halted until the MPs' objections are
examined" and that "the move means at the minimum that no equipment
is likely to reach Iraq until after the elections."
The
MOD told him that "Our objective is to hasten the capability and
capacity of the Iraqi police, national guard and department of border
enforcement. This will help reduce the burden on our own forces, enhance
wider conflict resolution and facilitate our ultimate withdrawal."
Llew
Smith, on the other hand, says that "While we all want the conflict to
end in Iraq as a soon as possible, pouring guns into a country already
stacked with weapons is not the way to resolve the conflict. To sell the idea
that by making this Christmas gift of arms to the unelected Iraqi regime will
speed up the withdrawal of the occupying forces is disingenuous. The British
troops should be withdrawn because they were part of an illegal invasion
force, as the UN secretary-general has confirmed."
My
comment
The
interim government hasn't been elected. Careful observers will have noticed
that Iraq was under one-party rule for several decades until recently.
The
point is that the interim government and its national assembly have been
drawn from various groups to be as representative as possible and to arrange
elections. So this comment by Llew Smith is just so much cant.
The
result, however, is far more serious: Iraqi security forces are less able to
defend the election process, which is under vicious attack from the so-called
resistance and has actually been sanctioned by the UN Security Council.
Who
wasn't moved by the terrible picture of an election worker being shot in the
head whilst his colleagues waited for their turn? These men were brave
patriots and their murder was intended to sicken public opinion and scare
others from protecting the election process. Those who murdered them must not
pass.
Labour
MP Harry Barnes, who is also a Joint President of LFIQ raised this issue
directly with the Prime Minister in the Commons on 20th December.
He
said: “On Iraq, the Prime Minister said that the European Council has
confirmed its full backing for, and financing of, United Nations protection.
Is not part of such action this Government's supplying of weapons to the
fledgling Iraqi security forces, police and army? Words are not enough, and
such action is surely necessary in order to contain terrorist forces in
Iraq.”
The
Prime Minister agreed that “we must ensure that we not only train the Iraqi
forces but equip them properly, so that they can defend themselves against
terrorists who are often very well financed and well armed.”
Harry
Barnes also tabled an amendment to the Commons motion from Jackson and Smith
(see above) in line with these comments.
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Llew Smith
had carefully groomed the constituency delegates in order to guarantee
his own selection for the 1992 election.
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Panic spread throughout the
constituency when there was one major blip.
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It was up to the National
Executive of the Labour Party to add Michael Foot to the shortlist.
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http://www.paulflynnmp.co.uk/commonsdetail.jsp?id=745
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Even though the Tories got 20% of
the General Election vote in Wales, they were denied even one seat.
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It was the stitch-up of Rhodri
Morgan that shrank the Labour General Election vote of 55% to 36%.
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They had 64% of the vote and only
53% of the AMs.
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http://www.paulflynnmp.co.uk/commonsdetail.jsp?id=131
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Since the Labour government has
come to power, Llew Smith has also accused the Welsh
Secretary Ron Davies and his Special Adviser, Huw Roberts, of threatening
to expel him from the Parliamentary Labour Party over devolution.
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Mr Smith's Blaenau Gwent
Constituency Labour Party responded to the reports saying they 'deplore
the threats of disciplinary action against Llew Smith'.
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Mr Smith told the BBC that
Ron Davies had warned him he would be thrown out of the Parliamentary
Labour Party should he campaign against a Welsh Assembly.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/politics97/devolution/wales/briefing/dissent.shtml
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Gwilym ab Ioan has kept his
position as Plaid's vice-chair in Ceredigion and Brecknockshire but will
face a motion of no confidence at the next meeting of the regional
branches.
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The latest attack by the Blaenau
Gwent MP Llew Smith follows the resignation of a member of
Plaid's National Executive after he said Wales was becoming 'a dumping
ground for oddballs and misfits'.
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Mr Smith said: "I am
increasingly arriving at the conclusion that it is fundamentally a racist
organisation.
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http://www.castlebar.ie/board/0701/36807.htm
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In London it is not the idea of
having an elected mayor which is causing Labour's problem but again, Tony
Blair's stubborn insistence that devolution doesn't extend to his own
party members deciding who they'd like to represent them.
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In Wales we have
"left-wing" MP Llew Smith sniping at devolution,
while in London, another left-wing MP, Ken Livingstone, has decided to
use a form of devolution to further his political agenda.
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The meeting was apparently
attended by about 50 Labour activists from all over Wales who hope to get
the issue discussed at the Wales Labour Party conference later this
month.
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http://www.waleswatch.welshnet.co.uk/assembly/blaenau.htm
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I would welcome the erstwhile
Elwa functions to be returned to local government, close to the people
they serve.
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Comment “ Smoke without fire, by Llew
Smith
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One of the main arguments for a
Welsh Assembly was to put an end to quangos making decisions on behalf of
citizens.
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http://www.cipfa.org.uk/publicfinance/features_details.cfm?News_id=20757
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In a separate debate last week,
defence minister Lord Bach admitted that the US was encouraging Britain
to become involved in its missile programme.
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A parliamentary statement from
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon to Labour MP Llew Smith
conceded that the MoD has sent two experts to work at the US Missile
Defence Agency.
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Suggestions of a deepening
relationship between Britain and America over missile defence surfaced
again last week.
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http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1345380,00.html
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We may never know the robustness
of Kamel’s evidence, but Mr Blair should tell us his side of things.
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But some of us believe there were
other reasons for going to war, including oil and the determination of
the United States to control the Gulf.
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By Llew Smith MP
One of the reasons Tony Blair gave for invading Iraq was his assertion
that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capable of being
delivered within 45 minutes.
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http://www.poptel.org.uk/scgn/articles/0307/page12a.htm
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Llew Smith
MP questioned the Deputy Prime Minister on CHP in the Thames Gateway.
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http://www.chpa.co.uk
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Conservative party leader William
Hague has sought to pile on the pressure on Tony Blair over a Labour MP's
claims that he was threatened with expulsion from the party if he
campaigned against the Government's devolution plans.
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Mr Hague wrote to Mr Blair,
saying that backbencher Llew Smith's account of events was
"completely inconsistent" with the denials the Prime Minister
issued at yesterday's Commons question time.
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The Prime Minister has responded
to Mr Hague's letter and says he still believes no threats were made to
Mr Smith, the Prime Minister said, he considered, "the matter
closed".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/politics97/news/06/0626/expulsion.shtml
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Compare Llew Smith
to 'No More Terrorism Laws'
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Compare Llew Smith
to 'BB Anti-Blairite Terror Laws'
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Compare Llew Smith
to 'Democratic and Fair Society Party'
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http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?id=uk.org.publicwhip/member/1236
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Blaenau Gwent MP Llew Smith,
who is standing down at the next General Election, said he could no
longer recognise the party he had been part of for 42 years.
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He said he would not retire from
politics after the election, and said he had rejoined the Labour Party
this year but did not know what he would do in the future.
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Mr Smith, who became MP
for the south Wales constituency in 1992, told his local paper, the South
Wales Argus: “No service is safe from New Labour“ schools, health, housing
and even prisons are all experiencing their privatisation plans.
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http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4146425
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Llew Smith
was elected to the Commons in 1992, having served for eight years as an
MEP.
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Monday, 21 October, 2002, 17:35
GMT 18:35 UK Llew Smith
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He has some of the most daunting
predecessors of any MP.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk_politics/2053938.stm
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The constituency's Labour member
of the Welsh assembly, Peter Law, is threatening to run against Ms Jones
on a "real Labour" ticket and a motion was passed this year to
boycott the selection process and refuse to campaign during the general
election.
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"They are parachuting in
Blairites who have traditionally voted with the right wing and the party
is very much against it," said Mr Smith.
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Leftwing MP Llew Smith,
who is to stand down in Blaenau Gwent at the next election, raised the
prospect of defeat in the Labour stronghold after Blairite Maggie Jones
was picked to succeed him.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4818578-103685,00.html
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The Labour MPs Llew Smith
(Blaenau Gwent) and Glenda Jackson (Hampstead and Highgate) say questions
on issues raised in the Hutton inquiry cannot be tabled to ministers - so
the public does not know MPs are taking up the matter.
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Mr Smith said: "With
the Tories supporting the war in Iraq, it is essential that MPs can ask
critical questions to ministers."
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Ms Jackson, who has been pursuing
the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, over the validity of his legal
advice on going to war in Iraq, said yesterday: "It seems that
anything with the word Iraq in it is being turned down."
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4797912-103550,00.html
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Llew Smith :
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a
statement on the future structure of Nirex.
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Llew Smith :
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how
the operations of Nirex will be (a) overseen and (b) funded under the new
management arrangements.
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Llew Smith :
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what calculation his Department
has made of the (a) physical, (b) environmental and (c) health impacts of
the detonation of a single trident nuclear warhead on an urban area.
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http://www.theyworkforyou.com/search?pid=10551&maj=wrans
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Llew Smith
(Blaenau Gwent): The Secretary of State will be aware that approximately
half of the Iraqi population is under 14 years of age.
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People will be able to express
their opinions at an anti-war conference on Saturday 18 January and at a
march and rally to stop war on Iraq on Saturday 15 February.
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How much money will be needed to
deliver aid and reconstruction to Iraq during and after the war?
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http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/patandvin/parl.htm
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He questioned what Llew Smith
had actually done in recent months in terms of campaigning against the
rise of the BNP in the UK and against some of the asylum polices of his
own party.
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He added, “Where was Llew
when his party locked up asylum seekers in Cardiff prison, or when the
BNP marched in South Wales last year?
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A leading anti-racist campaigner
and Plaid Cymru member has openly accused veteran Labour MP Llew Smith
of being a coward and deliberately stirring up ill-feeling between the
English and the Welsh, after a BBC radio interview where he accused
prominent Plaid party members of being racist but was not prepared to
name names.
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http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Politics&F=1&id=5596
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Ms Glenda Jackson: There is no
requirement for United Kingdom ships to be licensed for this purpose.
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Mr Llew Smith: To
ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the
Regions, which ships have been licensed for the sea transport of MOX fuel
assemblies to (a) other European Union member states, (b) Japan and (c)
other countries from the United Kingdom.
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As explained in answer to a
recent parliamentary question (Official Report 4 Nov 1997, col 139-40):
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http://www.nci.org/l/l12297.htm
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Mr Smith had said: “The
public was informed by many of the world’s politicians that we needed to
go to war with Iraq because they had weapons of mass destruction, that
they were an immediate threat to the world, and that Saddam Hussein was
behind the tragedy of 9/11.
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Mr Hain said he had an “honest
disagreement” with Mr Smith over the war.
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Earlier Downing Street said
Saddam had created “a permissive environment” for terrorists and al
Qaida operatives were in the country during his time.
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http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3078082
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Llew Smith
with the children at an RSPB education day at Ebbw Vale
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Llew Smith
MP joined children from Glyngaer Primary School for an exciting day of
outdoor education - 'learning the real way'.
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So far, 145 MPs have signed an
Early Day Motion recognising the importance of field visits and urging
Government to support the campaign's aims by making out-of-classroom
learning an integral part of every child's education.
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http://www.rspb.org.uk/wales/school_visits/rwlinaction.asp
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I note that the Contribution also
endorses the provisions in the draft constitutional treaty for direct
transfer of Commission documentation to National Parliaments and for an
"early-warning mechanism" by which National Parliaments would
be able to present a reasoned opinion if they felt that legislative
proposals breached the principle of subsidiarity.
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Llew Smith
(Blaenau Gwent): What evaluation he has made of the proposals put forward
by the Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees of
Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) in respect of the relative
powers of national parliaments.
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I am aware of COSAC's
Contribution of 7 October, and have noted that it proposes that all
Parliaments within the EU should hold simultaneous debates on the
Commission's legislative and work programme.
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http://www.commonsleader.gov.uk/output/page384.asp
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Mr Smith, who wants a
parliamentary statement on the sale, has asked the Speaker, Michael
Martin, to intervene following his criticism of the government's use of
spin doctors and the failure of ministers to make statements to MPs on
government announcements.
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Failure to get agreement would
see a "disproportionate" drop in the bid, according to one
document - suggesting ministers might get only half the money they
expected for the sale.
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An MP is complaining to the
Speaker today about a Ministry of Defence "cover up" over the
offer of nearly £100m financial sweeteners to push through the
part-privatisation of the defence research agency QinetiQ to the Carlyle
Group, a US firm whose European chairman is the former prime minister
John Major.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4577985-103685,00.html
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The threats against me - while
disputed by the Prime Minister during Question Time in the Commons on
Wednesday - are in fact only a duplication of the threats reported to
have been made by Ron Davies in his press conference of May 15, or in the
briefings which followed it.
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Therefore it would make sense to
talk to Llew about his intentions regarding devolution...
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Because all I have done in the
past few days, and will continue to do in the months and years ahead, is
to speak the truth.
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http://politics.guardian.co.uk/wales/comment/0,9236,444472,00.html
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Mr Smith began quietly but
on a single dreary note: "The secretary of state for Wales recently
described the announcement by Coleg Gwent to close certain college
courses in the county and in particular engineering and catering
departments and other courses in my constituency as 'astonishing'.
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Mr Smith continued, his
voice rasping and flat.
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At this point the Speaker, who
had been slamming shut stable doors all morning, suddenly woke up.
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http://politics.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4933437-107978,00.html
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Mr Smith, who intends
raising the issue when parliament reassembles next month, said he was
"disappointed and rather astonished" by the MoD response.
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A group of backbench MPs, led by Llew
Smith, Labour member for Blaenau Gwent, has accused the MoD of
saddling the taxpayer with unquantifiable liabilities and railroading the
plan through parliament.
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In a letter last month, Lewis
Moonie, junior defence minister, told Mr Smith: "Though the
past incidence of claims has been extremely low and these risks have
been, and will continue to be, carefully managed, they are of a nature
which are not necessarily well understood by the private sector.
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http://education.guardian.co.uk/businessofresearch/story/0,9860,784793,00.html
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This is an extract from Hansard,
the recoird of the debates of the House of Commons
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Llew Smith
raises Gwent Theatre's plight in the House of Commons
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I understand the good work that
has been done by the group and I will certainly inform the First
Secretary when I meet him tomorrow about the concerns expressed by my
hon.
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http://www.theatre-wales.co.uk/news/newsdetail.asp?newsID=243
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