I joined the First Minister's 'listening' tour of Wales - and this is what I took from it
It wasn't the biggest tour in the UK this summer but the 'listening exercise' did aim to usher in a new era for the latest First Minister of Wales. Dubbed a PR stunt by Plaid and criticised for the lack of formal meetings with stakeholders the journey across the nation by Eluned Morgan was supposed to take the pulse of the general public in Wales.
It was meant to be informal and low key and I can vouch for both those things when we joined the tour in the centre of Bangor. These events are usually very tightly managed and the FM's convoy will sweep in for a highly planned visit.
On this occasion it was an approx location and some text exchanges on arrival to track down the FM and a very small entourage near the clock in the centre of the city. You could easily of missed her as she was already on walkabout - engaging passing shoppers.
I have to say I've never seen it done in this way - a far cry from the normal arranged guests for a visit from a leading politician. She stopped briefly for introductions before carrying on - sometimes striding after passers-by to start a conversation.
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Some thought it was one of the dreaded survey/sales people and quickly walked past but I was actually surprised how many people did recognise the new First Minister. This is generally a positive for any politician but on the negative side could be be explained by the extensive coverage of the travails of Betsi health board while she was Health Minister.
There was a photographer in tow to capture her meeting the general public - backing up the PR stunt accusation. In terms of a backdrop Bangor high street was an interesting choice given it doesn't do much to advertise Welsh Government's 'town centre first' ambitions.
The empty units and other issues in the city centre were one of the most common topics raised by those who did stop to chat - a problem not helped by Welsh Government failing to pass on the full business rates discount to the retail and hospitality sector this financial year, a point I raised with her later.
As you may expect the state of the health service in North Wales - with long waiting lists and Betsi still in special measures - was another subject that kept cropping up. Transport for Wales, a lack of sanitary products in a local school, and the cutting of the winter fuel allowance, were also raised by those who took the opportunity to question the First Minister. Women were the most likely to stop and chat, and the fact she is the first woman leader in Wales was commented on a number of times.
She seemed at ease with meeting the public - which is absolutely not always the case with politicians - although she didn't really get a hard time from anyone, apart from a muttered complaint from one man passing by, about what I'm not quite sure.
I was invited along on the promise of a chat at the end of the tour and as time dragged on I began to wonder what opportunity I'd get as she stuck to the task of chasing down shoppers for a good 50 mins or so.
But to be fair once finished on the high street they invited me for a coffee and a chance to put some of the issues we know concern our readers to the FM.
Any chat with a Welsh Government minister over the past year has to involve raising the 20mph speed limit and I think she's probably the least enthusiastic over the default limit I've encountered. It felt like she wished it was a problem that would go away and in hindsight a road they'd never travelled down - well aware that it remains hugely unpopular with a decent majority of the country's population. There is now the hope that switching back of some roads to 30mph under new guidance will appease more drivers.
On the NHS - more specifically Betsi - she didn't trot out the usual Welsh Government one about a lack of funding under the now previous Tory UK Government, perhaps because it was pointed out that Wales was underperforming England on most health measures. Instead she cited the increased demand on service - a valid point - but also said health boards were getting extra funding but questioned whether this was leading to better performance.
She felt some were working to be bone to deliver for patients while others were not matching that commitment - a not uncommon view with some I know working in the health service. Her solution is more transparency and accountability and only time will tell if she can effect change as FM after seeing problems continue to grow while serving as health minister from 2021 until she was appointed FM last month.
Overall she was less defensive than her predecessor - although she arrived in the role with less of the baggage that weighed down Vaughan Gething.
So was the 'listening tour' a PR stunt or genuine attempt to uncover the gripes and hopes of the people of Wales. I have to say it's probably good for politicians to at times bypass the usual stakeholder groups and speak directly to the public.
But consultation with the public and specific industry and other groups must be an ongoing process as there was a feeling under Mark Drakeford's government that engagement had been a tickbox exercise at times - with the route of travel already decided.
And fundamentally what really matters to the public is delivery - people need to see waiting times come down, ambulances reach the sick and injured in a timely manner, and pandemic ravaged high streets start to recover.
Listening is the easy part. Starting to solve the problems that people raised and offering genuine hope for the future - particularly after 25 years in power - is where it becomes far more difficult.