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Positif Politics

News Releases 2008

Positif Politics announces The Evolution of Devolution Conference for November 6th (October 2008)

Anyone interested in Wales' relationship with Westminster, the Wales Office and other organistions are being invited to attend a unique one day conference on the Evolution of Devolution on November 6th at the All Nations Centre, Cardiff. (Flyer can be downloaded here)

The Bevan Foundation in conjunction with Wales' leading Public Affairs Company, Positif Politics, will be analysing Wales' current relationship with Westminster, the Wales Office and other bodies in and outside of Wales. The Government of Wales Act 2006 heralded a fundamental shift in the process of devolution, enabling the National Assembly for Wales to assume greater control of its own affairs via Legislative Competence Orders and Assembly Measures.

Victoria Winckler, Director of the Bevan Foundation said: "Things are definitely changing in terms of how we make laws in Wales for Wales. The Government of Wales Act has already given legal competence to the Welsh Assembly Government to pass laws through the National Assembly on almost 40 different types of issue, including the boundaries of local authorities, the school curriculum, redress against the NHS and the provision of education and training to pupils with additional needs. As we enter a new political season - and the second year of the Assembly's enhanced powers - this event brings together leading politicians and commentators for a dialogue on the current and future relationship between Cardiff and Westminster. It's time for a serious discussion and a serious evaluation. The Bevan Foundation is committed to helping make a meaningful discussion happen."

Principal Consultant and Managing Director of Positif Politics, Daran Hill said: "One year on, it is timely to look at the new system and evaluate how the relationship between players in Wales and Westminster is working and if and how it could be improved. There's been lots said from different quarters in praise and in condemnation of our new constitutional framework. Now is the time for some measured analysis of how the dynamic and maturing devolved government system is working and the opportunities it presents."

Leading Assembly Members and experts will be exploring these issues including Presiding Officer Lord Dafydd Elis Thomas AM; Huw Irranca-Davies MP, who has played a key role in navigating legislation through Westminster over the past year; Carwyn Jones AM, the Counsel General of the Welsh Assembly Government; Jonathan Morgan AM, who has been piloting a Legislative Competence Order through the system; Jenny Randerson AM, who introduced the first backbench Measure to the Assembly; Hywel Francis MP, Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee; Cheryl Gillan MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales; Elfyn Llwyd MP; and former Secretary of State for Wales, Peter Hain MP, who was the architect of the current system.

 

3 More to the Ockey with 180 on the Board (September 2008)

Positif Politics, Wales' leading and largest Public Affairs company, is now bigger and better than ever!Since its establishment in 2006 the company can boast to having worked with, and represented, 180 charities, businesses, organisations and pressure groups.

To meet increasing work needs the company's "summer signings" of Huw Evans and Beryl Wichard have now been joined by Alun Gruffudd, who is on a sabbatical year from Citizen's Advice Cymru.

Mr Gruffudd said "This is an excellent opportunity to further my experience and knowledge of the political environment particularly within the new law making context. This is an exciting challenge and allows me to learn a great deal more about a whole plethora of organisations."

"The company is going from strength to strength," said Managing Director and Principal Consultant Daran Hill. "I believe this is based upon our transparency and diligence to providing our clients exactly what they want in a format that makes sense. We have established ourselves as a company that listens to clients, meets their needs and provide them with a first class service.

"This we feel is reflected in the trust our clients have in us and we hope that through our continuing burgeoning team of experts we can continue to provide both existing and new clients with expanded but equally professional services."

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Positif Politics makes its move (August 2008)

Positif Politics, Wales' most innovative and fastest growing public affairs agency, is launching a new website to coincide with the opening of new offices at 104-105 Bute St, Cardiff, CF10 5AD.

Having been established in 2006 the company has grown rapidly and now boasts over 150 clients. Its new and exciting website is a perfect vehicle for the company to keep clients up-to date on developments, its team profiles and promote its work.

http://www.positifpolitics.co.uk has been developed in conjunction with its technological partner, the Pollen Shop, and promises to be a real addition to the Wales public affairs scene. It will be updated regularly and will be a real asset to Welsh political life.

Managing Director Daran Hill said: "In our first year of operation we provided an internet-based election service to 40 clients. Following such rapid growth we recognised the need to develop our site to ensure that we could provide as wide an audience as possible an opportunity to find out more about us and keep up to date with public affairs developments in Wales."

Senior Consultant, Llyr Roberts, added: "Our move to new offices on Bute Street, Cardiff brings us into closer proximity to the hub of public affairs in Cardiff and provides an excellent base to meet with our clients. With the new website and new offices combined Positif Politics is far more accessible than ever before."

Now with a team of resourceful public affairs experts Positif Politics provides an ever increasingly diverse level of knowledge and experience and is working across most sectors in Wales.

"Our growth to over 150 clients in such diverse areas in less than 2 years is a record for any company in Wales and our new website and offices will help us to develop even further," added Mr Hill. "The future bodes well for Positif Politics and we look forward to future challenges and successes."

 

Positif Politics Team Expands with 2 New Appointments (June 2008)

Positif Politics, Wales' fastest growing public affairs company, has today announced that not only is it growing in stature, but also in number. Huw Evans has been appointed as a Public Affairs Consultant and will be joining their already established and respected team of consultants and analysists; and Beryl Wichard joins the team of monitoring executives keeping an eye on Cardiff Bay.

Positif Politics is an established and leading voice, campaigner and adviser within the Welsh political scene and hopes that this new appointment will help the already successful company grow further. Daran Hill, Principle Consultant and Manager of Positif Politics said: "As a company we are proud of our reputation and achievements. Huw and Beryl bring a wealth of experience and new skills to the team which will benefit both us and our many clients. We are delighted to have them on board and look forward to the contribution they will make."

Responding to his appointment, Huw Evans said: "I'm delighted to be joining Positif Politics and hope to make a real impact. Having worked across a number of sectors I bring a good and broad understanding of Wales, Welsh politics and society in general. I also hope that my media experience and work in local government will add to the company's already extensive portfolio and look forward to working with their excellent team of public affairs consultants."

 

A first for Positif Politics - training in London! (May 2008)

Positif Politics has held its first ever open training event outside Wales with a major seminar discussing health restructuring. The event was co-hosted by Positif Politics with our regular event partner, the Pollen Shop. The seminar was held on Tuesday 20 May 12.00pm – 3.00pm in the David Lloyd George Room of the National Liberal Club, London SW1A 2HE.

With Welsh Health Minister Edwina Hart unveiling plans to restructure the NHS, there is going to be a very different health system in Wales. The seminar explored how organisations from across the UK can take advantage of the most radical overall of a heath service in a generation. At the seminar participants found out what’s happening to the NHS in Wales and how they can influence change. The areas that were covered included patient involvement and NHS governance as well as how to influence the agenda on issues like prescriptions, charging and targets

Gwilym Morris, Director Pollination Campaigns said “We are holding the event in London to make sure people working at a UK level have an opportunity to grasp the full significance of the changes.”

The seminar was chaired by Huw Edwards, an Associate Lecturer at the National School of Government and consultant specialising in helping organisations understanding Parliament, devolution and public policy. From 1997 to 2005 Huw was the MP for Monmouth and is also a former member of the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee.

Our attendees were uniformly happy with the event. This is what some of them said:

"Finger on the pulse! This training session hit the mark in terms of getting delegates to think about the issues involved in the 'Structures' consultation." - Philippa Ford, The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

"The seminar was ideal for the voluntary sector - it informed, explained and enlivened a complicated subject." - Keith Bowen, Contact a Family

"This course was 3 hours well spent. Packed with background information and ideas, my organisation is now much better equipped to make the most of the consultation." - Leighton Veale, The Stroke Association

STOP PRESS: Based on responses to the event, Positif Politics will again team up with the Pollen Shop to re-run the seminar in Cardiff on 17th June.


Positif Politics launches Wales' first Legislative Training Programme (April 2008)

Positif Politics has launched its Legislative Training Programme in Wales. During 2008 we will be rolling out our most ambitious and comprehensive training programme yet. You need not be a permanent client of Positif Politics to participate and our hope is to remain at the cutting edge of innovative public affairs training.

The programme is being rolled out by Daran Hill in an innovative partnership with independent trainer and former MP Huw Edwards, and Marie Navarro.

Huw Edwards is an independent trainer and consultant specialising in understanding parliament, devolution and public policy. He is an Associate Lecturer of the National School of Government, the former civil service college and has also worked as training consultant for ModernGov. He currently provides in-house training for the staff of the National Assembly for Wales. From 1997 to 2005 Huw was Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Monmouth and a member of the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee.

Marie Navarro is a specialist in public law, the powers of the Welsh Assembly Government, and the new legislative powers of the National Assembly for Wales. Marie is a Research Associate at Cardiff Law School and the Principal Researcher and Editor to the Law School website Wales Legislation Online which sets out the powers of the National Assembly for Wales and of the Welsh Assembly Government since July 1999: http://wales-legislation.org.uk. She has a Master in Public International Law and European Law from the University of Amiens (France). A current PhD student, her MPHIL-PhD is entitled "The Evolution of Welsh Devolution". She is also an independent trainer and legal consultant specialising in understanding devolution and public policy. She is an Associate Lecturer of the National School of Government, the former civil service college.

The programme is based on day-long courses focussed on specific items of legislation and the first four events have been unveiled:

Each event involves an expert in the chair, a leading Assembly Member as a contributor, and an entirely bespoke product.

Commenting on the launch, Daran Hill said: "Positif Politics Training has already developed an excellent reputation for our in-house seminars. We also have built up a strong reputation for understanding and interpreting the new legislative powers of the Assembly. It was natural that we bring the two together and I'm overjoyed that we've hit the ground running with this exciting and challenging programme that will run well beyond the summer."

Susan Bowen, part of the monitoring team at Positif Politics, has moved sideways and expanded her hours in the company to act as co-ordinator of the Positif Politics Training strand.

 

Local Elections Under the Spotlight with innovative Local Election Package (April 2008)

Positif Politics has kept up its reputation for innovative elections coverage. Following the success of our innovative Positif Politics Election 2007 package through which we provided 40+ organisations in Wales with information and analysis of the Assembly election, this year we bring you Election 2008+++, a new service to help you navigate the Welsh Local Government Elections.

Local Authorities play a key role in the lives of the people of Wales in areas such as education, social services, the environment, economic development, housing and culture. The election results will shape the work of government, political parties and public affairs professionals in Wales for the next 4 years.

Llyr Roberts, Senior Consultant at Positif Politics and the information project leader, said: "Our experienced team has a reputation for innovation and high-level elections monitoring. We do the hard work and provide regular briefings and handbooks to help you navigate the changes in adminstration and the alterations in policy that are bound to come as the whole of Wales goes to the polls yet again."

Our Election 2008+++ package includes:

Welsh Local Government Election 2008+++ Guide
A guide to what's at stake for the 4 main political parties, the campaign issues in each of Wales' 22 local authorities, which are the Councils to watch, and who is likely to be in power for the next 4 years. This comprehensive overview will be sent to subscribers on 1st April.

Election 2008+++ Bulletins during the campaign
Commentary and Analysis of the campaign and political updates sent to subscribers in the four week period before the election.

Welsh Local Government Election 2008+++ Results Handbook
A comprehensive guide to the results in Wales' 22 local authorities with commentary and analysis from our team of political experts, sent to subscribers in the week starting Monday 5tj May.

Welsh Local Government Election 2008+++Results Seminar
A one day seminar featuring expert opinion and analysis and representatives from the 4 main political parties, held on Friday 23rd May 2008 at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff.

 

Positif Politics training on Party Politics a huge success (March 2008)

Positif Politics is proud to have delivered a political training event to over 40 people. Party Politics sought to demystify the way political parties in Wales operate, and did so in an informative way based on speaker presentations from representatives of the staff of the four Welsh parties. Dave Hagendyk, Welsh Labour; Gwenllian Lansdown, Plaid Cymru; Matt Lane, Welsh Conservatives, and Ian Walton, Welsh Liberal Democrats were each given a one hour "slot" to explain how their parties operate and how they can more effectively work with external partners within a new and developing political system.

In Wales the Westminster-based parties have, to varying degrees, become "more Welsh" and autonomous, particularly in the context of Assembly election planning, policy formulation and campaigning. As the powers of the National Assembly grow, the main political parties in Wales have assumed a new purpose and importance, with their work, especially in the area of research and media relations, either augmented, or wholly provided, by party group support staff in the Cardiff Bay.

Commenting on the new site, Managing Director Daran Hill said: "This was a really high value event. We spotted the knowledge gap and helped bridge it in a way that was beneficial to both our audience and to the political parties themselves. I'm very pleased with the outcomes, and with the turnout."

The event was co-run by Positif Politics and Leigh Jeffes of Berney Communications, the first time that Positif Politics has worked jointly with another public affairs company in delivering an event.


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