Ich Dien, Indeed

For forty years, Wales has been lucky enough to have Prince Charles, and Prince Charles has been lucky enough to have Wales.

Yes, there is the syncretism. And the environmentalism instead of conservationism. And the silly yet nasty cult of the silly yet nasty Dalai Lama. He can also come across as pro-EU, which paleocons occasionally are, because they see it as Christendom, which is exactly what it is not. But he is still at least the nearest thing to Britain's pre-eminent paleocon, with his work in support of traditional arts and crafts; with his appreciation of the relationship between Truth, Goodness and Beauty; with his opposition to zoning, whether by function (residential and commercial) or by class; with his understanding that Communism would come back if capitalism were unfettered; and with his championing of so many other causes dear to the hearts of those of us who are conservationists and not environmentalists, right down to saving the red squirrel.

Meanwhile, Wales is a happy and even hallowed land. Seventy-four per cent of those who could have voted for devolution there declined to do so. Ex-Labour Independents and small parties have lately captured many council seats, captured and retained the erstwhile Commons seat of Aneurin Bevan and Michael Foot, and captured and retained the corresponding seat at Cardiff, all on programmes as far from the economic sectarian Leftism that New Labour used to profess as from the social and cultural sectarian Leftism that New Labour now professes. Where that Commons seat was concerned, the favourite New Labour device of the all-women shortlist took a hell of a kicking.

A lesson to us all…