Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Taxpayers money funds Plaid research by MEP's husband

Well this article on Wales Online explains one thing – where hissing Syd as he is not so affectionately known by many - has been lately.

Syd Morgan is the husband of Jill Evans, Plaid MEP. The article states that he “was until September last year a member of the controlling “bureau” of the Centre Maurits Coppieters (CMC), a Brussels-based organisation that researches European issues from a nationalist perspective” and continues

“During his time as a CMC bureau member, the organisation funded a project undertaken by the Welsh Nationalism Foundation, a body founded by Mr Morgan and his friend Alan Sandry, the author of a book on Plaid Cymru. Mr Sandry is currently a bureau member.
The Welsh Nationalism Foundation is an unincorporated body and does not publish accounts. Potential donors are invited on the body’s website to send cheques to Mr Morgan at the home he shares with Ms Evans in Tonypandy.”
A look at the Welsh Nationalism Foundation website reveals the following statement:

“Objectives- The Welsh Nationalism Foundation is an autonomous association engaged in the research and dissemination of all aspects of civic nationalism in Wales and the rest of Europe. It is affiliated to the Centre Maurits Coppieters (CMC), a European political foundation associated with the European Free Alliance, of which Plaid Cymru is a founder member. The Foundation supports the objective of Wales becoming a member state of European Union at the earliest opportunity.”

There are links to Plaid, and to Jill Evans’ website.

It is not the first time that this subject has been raised. Martin Shipton wrote back in June 2010 about the two day conference the Foundation was holding at which a Plaid line up addressed an audience of Plaid members. The suggestion then, as now, was that public money should not be funding such openly party political ‘research’

Of course it is a bit rich of Labour of Labour to be criticising pubic money being spent for political purposes, they are certainly not whiter than white there, but in this instance they appear to have a point.

Wales Online says that Mr Morgan when asked how much European money the Fundation had received from Centre Maurits Coppieters he said he did not have the information readily at hand, and they should ask the CMC. Yet he is the Treasurer, surely he knows a ball park figure?

Something just does not gel here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Plaid Slur.
No salaries are drawn nor remuneration paid to any member for political research at Centre Maurits Coppieters. Nor does the Foundation itself receive public money for its own operations; it is entirely self-funded. Unlike the Wasting Mule who made a clever obtuse association, the title of this thread on your blog is a downright lie.

Labour Fact.
On the other hand, The Bevan Foundation (generally leaning towards Labour) receives public money directly from Labour controlled councils in Wales. Mick Antoniw AM is a trustee.

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Karen - I really don't think you should use derogatory descriptions like "Hissing Syd" (Plaid) unless you have to guts to use terms like "One-Eyed Gordon" (Labour) or "Velsh Asghar" (Tory) or "36DD Kirsty" (LibDem). You are perfectly able, as an employee of the Welsh LibDems, of making your political points without making derogatory references to a persons physical characteristics.

Unknown said...

The term hissing Syd refers more to his snake in the grass personality, and was coined by members of Plaid long before I even met the man.

Unknown said...

And don't even get me started on Slick Antoniw.