Reading the message
In a post a week before the elections for the European Parliament, I suggested that there is a problem when politicians argue for us to use an election to ‘send a message’, firstly because the end result is a conglomerate of a whole lot of individual decisions taken...
Why The Urdd Eisteddfod Should Be Moved To Easter
Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.So this week the Urdd Eisteddfod (essentially the young person's Eisteddfod is being held in Cardiff. I'd like to go. We've been there before when it's been in the Welsh capital.But we're not going.Why? Simple. It clashes...
Unionism and Nationalism in Welsh Political Life
It is possible to view unionism and nationalism as closely related political phenomena. They are not political antonyms and each contain seeds of the other. Welsh unionism has exhibited a deeply patriotic character which stresses the importance of nations in union,...
Cymru votes for an Anglo-British Far Right .
So by far the largest vote in the European Elections in Wales went to an Anglo-British right wing party that has no policies no membership and is run like a corporate company.It is a plot worthy of a Dystopian Science Fiction novel.Nigel Farage's Brexit Party now...
The Battle For Wales: It Begins….
Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.Well the results for the European elections are now known. In Wales The Brexit Party won. Basically hoovering up Conservative and UKIP votes. Unfortunately for those of us on the Remain side, the vote was split five ways....
Result highlights Welsh Lib Dem fightback
Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds has praised the party’s success in the European elections, claiming they’re a clear example of the Welsh Liberal Democrat...
Tonight shows Brexit is not settled will of the people
Plaid Cymru has beaten Labour in a national election for the first time in its history, with its MEP Jill Evans re-elected to serve a record fifth...
There is no constitutional reason for next PM to call GE2019.
I must admit I do not share the view that because a governing party changes their leader then there should be a General Election to follow.As Bella Caledonia points out Yesterday I tweeted that there’s “only about 70,000 members of the Conservative Party. Basically a...
‘Very infuriating, never quite right’: Kyffin Williams yr awdur
Hunan-bortread Diolch o galon i Ymddiriedolaeth Kyffin Williams am y gwahoddiad i draddodi Darlith Flynyddol Kyffin Williams eleni. Rydw i’n ymwybodol o’r darlithoedd rhagorol gan gyfres hir o siaradwyr eraill ar Kyffin. Maen nhw wedi treulio blynyddoedd yn...
The Insomniac Meanderings Post : Don’t Know What To Do Saturday Edition
Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.Well for various reasons my plans foe today Saturday are shot to pieces. I wanted to see if I could watch some Welsh Rugby League action but the season hasn't started yet. For all intents and purposes the Rugby Union and...
On Being A Temporary Carer/Househusband…..And Planning For The Next Time
Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.You may remember early last year I was in Essex exile looking after my ill mother for about two months. Well sometime in the future I will have to be nurse/carer for the wife who will be in hospital for regular surgery....
It is perhaps in the genes of politicians, that they are directed to the leadership of their party and thinking they could be Prime Minister.Even when their party is in a slump , there is always those who aspire to leadership even if the polls suggest that it will be...
Something has Changed
Image credit: Theresa May. Picture by Annika Haas (CC BY 2.0) The tide had turned. Whereas once I heard sympathy from Torys and non-Torys alike for a Prime Minister trying to deliver the near impossible with a polarised public and an obstinate Parliament, more...
AMs back dementia charity’s awareness week
Shadow Ministers Janet Finch-Saunders and David Melding have pledged their support for Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends scheme. Marking Dementia Awareness week (20th to 26th May), the Welsh Conservative Assembly Members joined a cross-party group of AMs and...
Worst A&E waiting times in Wales for over a year
Statistics released today (Friday 24th May) show that 23.7% of patients – that’s 21,381 people – had to wait longer than the four hour target. That’s the highest percentage since March 2018, when NHS Wales had the lowest rate of people being seen within four hours on...
The end is still not nigh enough
Getting things right with the benefit of hindsight is easy enough; getting them right in advance is a lot harder. But Theresa May’s premiership was doomed to end in tears from the point at which she picked up a red pen and started drawing impossible and contradictory...
Statement on Theresa May’s resignation
Responding to Theresa May’s resignation announcement, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds has commended her commitment to public service but said her approach to Brexit made her departure...
It’s the end of the Prime Minister, but the beginning of a new Brexit battle
In response to the Prime Minsiter's resignation statement, Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price AM said:
Apropos of nothing in particular
This week’s Welsh Political Barometer poll asked the following question: “Which of the following do you think would make the best Conservative leader and Prime Minister if Theresa May were to stand down?” These are the results, presented in two columns: for our entire...
Paul Davies AM commenting on the resignation of Theresa May MP
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Paul Davies AM, has commented following the Prime Minister Theresa May announcing her departure. He said:
A ‘social’ democracy: How Spotify, Facebook and co could help get Wales to the polls
The democratic deficit has long been a hot topic for Welsh politicos. And for good reason. 20 years since the birth of devolution, and awareness of Welsh politics is lamentable. The fact that education and health are run here in Wales escapes many. Politics is still...
Coming Soon…In A Country Without An integrated Train System A "Global Centre Of Rail Excellence"
Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.Ken Skates is the Welsh Labour government minister for the economy and transport. He's a man who likes to make announcements but the sort of person who once they're analysed are found wanting.He is the person who thought it...
The coming political hangover…Friday political thoughts thoughts…..
Friday political reflections...Two recent opinion polls show the Brexit Party getting between 27% and 31% in yesterday's polls with Labour a clear second at around 25%. Two Westminster polls show Labour with a leads of 5% and 10%. I have no news from the Resolven...
The biggest scandal of yesterday’s European elections
The ballots have been cast and verified, all that remains is to count them on Sunday night, but what rankles most about these elections is the fact that so many people were denied their right to vote.As the Independent says, government could now face court action...
Have "Welsh" Labour and Remain voters switched votes ?
I must admit I began to get a bit worried about the #PlaidFirstTime twitter responses as it all looks to good to be true .Throughout the day I was inundated with these sought of tweetsJoanna Mahon@Jo_loves_cheese·10hReplying to @Plaid_CymruI usually vote Lib dem and...
The Only Child Lonely Child Myth
Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.The latest book I'm reading from the library is The Unlikely Heroics Of Sam Holloway by Rhys Thomas. I won't speak a lot about this novel here. I've only just started it and so as the plot might alter my perceptions as I go...
European election sees countless people voting Plaid for the first time
As polls close in the European election, Plaid Cymru has said that it has been ‘inundated’ with messages of support from people who usually support other...
Evidence from Cwm Taf Health Board “not consistent” with Cwm Taf families experiences – Helen Mary Jones AM
Helen Mary Jones AM and Plaid Cymru shadow minister for health has expressed doubt over the evidence presented by members of Cwm Taf Health Board to the Senedd’s Health Committee...
Pastel
Pastel from Swansea have been building a reputation over the past year and we finally got to see them live at this year’s Rawfest in Cardiff. The music scene in Wales has always favoured the south and Cardiff in particular. However, alongside the likes of Bandicoot...
An Analysis Of The European Elections For The Welsh Right Wing…… Through The Medium Of Signs Along The A48 Between Cardiff And Bridgend
Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.Regular readers will know that I do shift work and part of my journey takes me along the A48 road from Cardiff to Bridgend.Well for the past few days the weather has been fine. Bright, blue sky and sunny. Not too hot. Not...
“Stochastic Terrorism”
In the aftermath of the Christchurch murders, the term “stochastic terrorism” has returned to the scene. It appeared around 2010, and has experienced some meaning drift. Back then it referred to “the use of mass communications to stir up random lone wolves to carry...
Welsh Conservatives back Cwm Taf leadership changes
The Welsh Conservatives have backed the news today that leadership changes could be considered at the shamed Cwm Taf Health Board. Commenting, Acting Health Spokesperson Darren Millar...
Farage as Wilkes,,,nothing new under the Sun the threat of the Scottish and the French..History revisited
Some months ago I heard a story . Someone had claimed that the only use of History was in a Pub Quiz. I began to rave about this and then began to reflect. It disturbs me and yet it is worthy of reflection. I began to think about the similarities between the political...
An extraordinary time in politics
In the near 40 years I have been in politics I have never seen anything like the mess we are currently in as a democracy and as a nation. As somebody who has studied history, I am struggling to find precedents for the extraordinary chaos that exists in the two main...
Dementia Action Week: Using digital heritage resources to stimulate reminiscence
The Royal Commission continues to promote its resources to stimulate reminiscence. This work has grown out of an event held in 2017 at the Royal Commission in partnership with Aberystwyth University School of Art. This event explored how archives can be used as a...
Nigel Farage, A Milkshake, Jo Cox And Why George Orwell Is Being Proved Nearly Right With Brexit Britain
Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.As I mentioned in a previous post. On Monday the leader of The Brexit Party, currently leasing in the polls for the European Parliament Nigel Farage was hit by a Milkshake was campaigning in Tyneside.I mentioned at that time...
There can be no doubt that the so Called Brexit Party will do well n the European Elections and it seems that it has influenced voting intentions for the fiture UK General election and National Assembly elections in Wales.,.I am going to concentrate on the Assembly...
Today’s election is a choice between two futures
When we go to the polls today, each of us has an important choice to make.
Why is Wrexham Council planning to ‘gift’ land to Glyndwr University?
https://www.facebook.com/153578641833348/photos/a.153582855166260/564845547373320?type=3&sfns=moNews that Wrexham Council plans to "gift" land to help Glyndwr University push forward a housing development on Dean Road in the town has been described as "incredible" by...
Plaid call on Welsh Government to adopt Islamophobia definition
Plaid Cymru have called on the Welsh Government to adopt a clear definition of Islamophobia.
‘Welsh economy has underperformed for two decades’: Welsh Conservatives demand a better deal for Wales
The Welsh Shadow Minister for Business, Economy and Infrastructure, Russell George AM, has called on the Welsh Government to improve life for Welsh taxpayers, businesses and their employees through a shake-up of the economy.
Welsh devolution has come a long way, but the journey is not finished
Welsh Liberal Democrat former Welsh Government Minister and Wales Office Minister, Baroness Jenny Randerson, discusses the past and future of Welsh devolution to mark of a House of Lords debate marking 20 years of devolution. By UK Parliament CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia...
Vote Welsh Lib Dem to send message to Labour
Lead Welsh Liberal Democrat European Candidate Sam Bennett has urged Green, Change UK, remain Labour and remain Conservative voters to lend the Welsh Liberal Democrats their vote tomorrow to send a message to...
Dafydd Elis Thomas comments on Welsh journalists ‘belittling and untrue’
Plaid Cymru’s shadow culture minister asks Culture Minister Dafydd Elis Thomas to withdraw comments
Offa’s Dyke Path, day 8: Kington to Knighton
It’s the last day of the first ‘semester’ of our Offa trip. And it dawns like most of the others, sunny and warm. We buy some sandwiches: there’s nowhere to eat or buy food along the Path ahead. In fact, we won’t go through a single village, just green fields, open...
Perfect Body – Melting Trees
Posted by Francis on May 22, 2019 in CD Reviews, News | Beginning with an incessant and propulsive synth line this track glides along and is both hypnotic and compelling. Moving ever onwards it has some seriously heavenly vocals before part 2 erupts at almost...
Welsh Conservatives calls for 'rapid action' over dentist shortages in deprived areas
A report published today by the National Assembly’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee claims that Welsh NHS dentists are being discouraged from working in more deprived areas across Wales because of current contract arrangements. Commenting on the news, Acting...
Local heroes: Innogy confirms sponsorship for Smart Energy Wales
RenewableUK Cymru is delighted to announce that innogy Cymru, Wales’ biggest investor into renewable energy projects, will be sponsoring the Local Energy Markets session at Smart Energy Wales on 4 July. innogy has a track record of forging long-standing relationships...
Shadow Minister reacts to calls to help young carers in education
Reacting to the news today from Estyn that young carers aren’t being given the recognition they need in their places of education, a Shadow Minister has highlighted a recent Welsh Conservative campaign. Commenting, Shadow Minister for Social Care, Children, Young...
Offa’s Dyke Path, day 7: Hay-on-Wye to Kington
Yet another sunny, warm day. This will be a three-water-bottle day, since it’s fifteen miles to Kington and there won’t be anywhere to eat or buy food en route. C and I pick up supplies from a shop and cross the Wye. Instead of carrying on along the road to Clyro,...
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