Senedd/Election Watch - January 2016

Jonathan Edwards MP (Plaid, Carms E. & Dinefwr) criticised the formula used to determine rail fares after regulated fares – such as season tickets – rose by 1.1%. He said, “Calculating prices based on Retail Price Index (RPI) is an unpopular system which has attracted criticism from respected economist...

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Live From Angel Street - January Communities Committee

The next webcast Bridgend Council (BCBC) meeting I'm going to focus on is the Community, Environment & Leisure Scrutiny Committee, held on Wednesday (27th January) – you can watch it he.....

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Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap V : The Inquiry

(Pic : BBC Wales) Yesterday, the Public Accounts Committee published their forensic report into the failed Regeneration Investment Fund for Wales (RIFW)....and it makes really, really grim reading for the Welsh Government (pdf...

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Assembly rejects Trade Union Bill

It's a no from the Assembly.... (Pic : BBC Wales) Earlier today, the National Assembly voted on the UK Government's highly-controversial Trade Union Bill, which most AMs – and the Welsh Government - roundly criticised last year (AMs take swipe at Trade Union Bill...

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A Mayor for Cardiff?

Should Cardiff have a directly-elected mayor? (Pic : Cardiff City Hall) It's a question that could be put to electors in the capital if a new campaign succeeds in getting the right number of signatures to trigger a local referendum on the issue....

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Local Democracy petition given short shrift by AMs

LA! LA! LA! LA! WE ARE NOT LISTENING! LA! LA! LA! LA! (Pic : Carmarthenshire Planning) When it comes to rotten boroughs in Wales, there's one that stands head and shoulders above any other and that's Carmarthenshire, which is being run in a manner similar to Saudi Arabia; there's a token elected body but an unelected monarch...

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Wales reacts to steel job cuts

(Pic : Wales Online) As you're all probably more than aware, yesterday Tata Steel Europe announced 1,050 redundancies at steelworks in Wales and Englan...

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Assembly unites over changes to Draft Wales Bill

*grunt* (Pic : Wales Online) In what will probably be the final say AMs will have before the full Wales Bill is introduced in the UK Parliament – presumably in the next few months – and probably the last (serious) discussion on the constitution of the Fourth Assembly, AMs recently debated the recommendations of the Constitutional...

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EU Referendum : The IWA Debate

We still don't know when the referendum will be held on the UK's membership of the European Union but, to much fanfare, the first Welsh debate was hosted last night in Cardiff by the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) and Cardiff University, with the First Minister lining up against UKIP leader, Nigel Farage ME...

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Say Your Prayers

Oh Lord, please bless this Powerpoint presentation by BT.... (Pic : SLAYER!) Should local authorities hold prayers before council meeting...

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Making the Metro

(Pic : BBC Wales) At the end of November the Welsh Government launched the first publicity campaign for the proposed South Wales Metro after the project was given a firm go ahead earlier in 2015 (Metro a Go Go...

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Senedd Watch - December 2015

An “opt-out” organ donation system, created by the Human Transplantation Act 2013, came into effect on 1st December. Consent to have organs donated after death will be presumed unless Welsh residents aged over 18 have either specifically opted-out or their families object. The National Assembly's Health & Social...

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