We're doing worse than eastern Europe- but we're doing better than France and the US

Whether it's comparing Welsh NHS waiting times to England, Welsh education spending to Ireland, or the Welsh economy to other poor parts of the EU, Wales often comes off badly in those international comparisons so loved by the media and by the opposition in Wales. We all know that most of these comparisons are not strictly fair, but the damage they do when they appear in print is considerbale. It might damage the governing parties to an extent, but although most of the levers to address anything to do with the economy or spending (but not hospital waiting times, it should be noted) remain with Westminster, negative headlines about Wales invariably hurt the Assembly's reputation, and dent the standing of all politicians that sit in the Assembly. After all, because the Welsh Government is so active at the moment, alot of people in Wales (according to consistent polling) are under the misapprehension that the Assembly has the most influence over Welsh affairs. This cuts both ways, because although it shows that the Welsh Government is performing well, they also then get the blame for things beyond their influence or control that go wrong.

One of the biggest threats to devolution and the progress of democracy in Wales is the drip feed of these anti-Welsh headline statistics.

In this case, the Tories have managed to capture a prominent headline in the Western Mail that reads "Labour ‘complacency’ as stats put Wales below Eastern Europe". This isn't so much talking Wales down (it's factually correct), but making an unsuitable comparison for political gain, to try and shore up the Tories ahead of an election that isn't even an Assembly one. It's a game focused on British politics rather than on scrutinising the Welsh Government. Indeed, if an Assembly election was approaching, he would've blamed Ieuan Wyn Jones for a global economic crisis that was caused by the kind of people that fund the Conservative party.

Nick Bourne should be ashamed of this press release because it doesn't do the cause he professes to support any favours. Indeed, the reactionary and bigoted comments beneath the article say things like "Why give even more powers to the idiots who have put us in this position?"...and "Is it any wonder that Wales is poorer than Eastern Europe. Eastern Europeans are given priority when applying for jobs here and I am not referring to the headline "Ad says 'workers must speak Polish'". Anti-devolution and borderline racism. Even allowing for the fact that alot of internet commenting is now done by semi-organised groups with agendas, and that there are a couple of progressive comments about this not being the fault of the National Assembly, it's quite easy to imagine these sentiments becoming entrenched among Welsh people if this drip-drip of negative stories from the Welsh Conservatives continues.

Now what are these new stats that are putting us below eastern Europe? They're unemployment stats. Nick Bourne is correct when he says “We have the highest unemployment rate of any UK nation – and higher than countries like Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia.” This is true, Welsh unemployment in February was at 8.6%, while the UK level is 7.9%. It is the worst rate of any UK nation. But it's misleading for Bourne to blame this on the Welsh Government, because for most of the devolution period Welsh unemployment was actually lower than the UK average. The fact Nick Bourne knows this makes his intentions with this press statement even more questionable.

He has deliberately used eastern Europe in his comparison because for people that are not clued up, "countries like Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia" conjure up emotive images of poor, Stalinist economies, Trabant cars and secret police. The reality is different, with eastern Europe's economies making huge strides and catching up with the rest of Europe. Welsh unemployment is bad at the moment, but it is lower than some of the wealthiest nations like France (10%), Ireland (12.7%) and the United States (9.7%), and far better than places like Spain. Welsh unemployment is about the same as German unemployment at the moment. When the US Ambassador last visited Wales he said America would prefer Wales' unemployment rate "any day". So the Tories have just used eastern Europe because of commonly-held misconceptions that those countries are backward, old-fashioned or cheap. It's an attitude that taps into the anti-foreigner sentiment so beloved of Conservative politicians.

If Labour or Plaid had put out a press release saying "New stats put Wales ahead of France and the USA" they would be just as factually correct as Nick Bourne's press release. But they wouldn't do so because they'd know it is not an honest comparison. It seems only the Tories are willing to damage devolution with these misleading, inaccurate and anti-Welsh claims. Nick Bourne should be ridiculed in the Assembly chamber for his cynical belief that Westminster elections are more important than devolution.