News

Herald links with Vote for Policies

Published

10 years ago

April 2, 2015

THE HERALD believes that voters deserve to know what they are voting for when they enter the ballot box.

We spoke with Matt Chocqueel Mangan, founder of the website Vote for Policies to find out how our readers can find out more about the policies parties stand for and how, sometimes, the results of a little digging can be surprising.

“The story goes back to 2010,” Matt told us over an uncertain telephone line. “I did not know who to vote for. I was not new to voting, but I am not a political person. I do not have a background in politics at all, my work has been in digital media and web design.”

We asked how he found out about parties’ policies: “In 2010 I found that it was incredibly dull and arduous to find out what was actually in parties’ manifestos. Smaller parties, such as UKIP or the Greens tend to put everything out there. Larger parties are rather more cautious and release only what suits them; they tend to want to set a news agenda rather than release the whole thing online.

“It occurred to me that voters should know which policies suit them, or tally with their beliefs and wishes, without having to pick their way through a lot of badly written jargon.

“So, we set up the website Vote for Policies, which took the policies the parties announced and allowed people to work their way through them without being distracted by the party political stuff that surrounded them on the parties’ websites or in their manifestos.”

The reaction to Vote for Policies took Matt aback: “It just really took off. This is not an opinion poll, all the site does is ask people which policy they prefer and it then matches those against the party the policy belongs to; there is no hidden catch to this and no political agenda.

“People have been surprised by what the results have told them. Around a quarter of users have said they are more likely to vote as a result of comparing policies; almost two-thirds have been surprised which party most closely matches with their individual concerns; a significant number have changed their voting intentions.”

The focus is very much on the individual, explained Matt: “This sort of blind testing is a revealing and worthwhile experience. There are no distractions from political spin and politicians. It empowers the individual by enabling them to make informed choices based on their own reactions to party policies.

“By this stage in the 2010 election campaign, we had 20,000 unique responses. In relation to May 2015, 200,000 individuals have already taken part by using Vote for Policies.”

The Herald has linked up with Vote for Policies for the current General Election campaign.

Follow the link on the Heralds’ Facebook pages and websites and show us what matters to our readers. We will be asking the General Election candidates for their reactions to what is revealed when you vote for policies and not personalities.

https://voteforpolicies.org.uk/survey/herald

News

Carmarthenshire takes leading role in latest Celtic Noir – ‘Out There’

Published

10 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Sarah Jane Absalom

Carmarthenshire looks set to take another leading role as the location for ITV’s highly anticipated gritty drama ‘Out There’,

Produced by Buffalo Pictures and starring Martin Clunes, the programme will be aired on January 19.

The news means that Carmarthenshire is fast gaining recognition as a hub for the Celtic Noir genre of filming, and the new six-part thriller joins the many TV and film productions which have been drawn by the county’s dramatic, beguiling landscapes and attractive market towns.

It follows on from the highly acclaimed BBC’s Keeping Faith as well as The Light in the Hall/ Y Golau for Channel 4.

‘Out There’ will showcase Carmarthenshire’s natural beauty against the malice of an insidious crime wave sweeping the British countryside, led by county lines drug dealers and urban gangs that use the countryside as their field of operations. Martin Clunes stars as farmer and single parent, Nathan Williams, who runs a farm which has been in his family for generations.

Many of the filing locations can now be visited by following Discover Carmarthenshire’s new ‘Set Jetter Trail’ which provides insider tips on how best to follow the sometimes eerie paths that many stars have taken around the county.

Crime

Father of baby girl killed in Tenby incident says its been like a ‘horror movie’

Published

11 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Staff Writer

A SIX-MONTH-OLD baby girl has tragically died after her pram was struck by a car in a multi-storey car park in Tenby, Pembrokeshire.

Sophia Kelemen, described as “smiley and bubbly,” suffered catastrophic brain injuries in the collision on Thursday (Jan 2). Despite being airlifted to a Cardiff hospital, the injuries proved fatal.

Sophia’s family, from Greater Manchester, had been on holiday in Wales and were preparing to head home when the incident occurred.

Her father, Alex Kelemen, 27, told the BBC: “Just before we got to the car, the horror movie started.

“It’s been horrific to see our little daughter lying in that hospital bed and going through all those procedures. Everybody loved her—our friends, our family. She’s always going to live in my heart. I know she’s watching over me every day.”

Sophia’s parents now face the heartbreaking task of explaining the tragedy to their five-year-old son, Lucas.

“He’s been asking about his little sister every day,” said Mr Kelemen. “The hardest thing I’ve ever done is explain to him that God loved his sister more than we did. I told him that God gave Sophia a new pair of wings so she could fly above him and protect him.

“There are things I just don’t know how to explain to him. He’s our only child now, and everything we do is for him.”

Family’s heartbreak

Sophia’s aunt, Adriana Kelemen, recounted the devastating events to the Manchester Evening News.

“They were on a short break in Wales with family friends,” she said. “It was their last day. They’d been out, and then they went to the supermarket.

“It happened in the car park. The pram Sophia was in was destroyed.”

Support for devastated family

Fundraising efforts are now underway to support Sophia’s family. Two GoFundMe pages—one in English and one in Romanian—have been launched to cover funeral costs and repatriation expenses. The family plans to bury Sophia in Romania.

Meanwhile, Flaviu Naghi, 33, from Wigan, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, as well as driving without a licence or insurance. He is due to appear at Swansea Crown Court on February 7.

Donations to assist the family can be made via the GoFundMe pages.

Pictured:

Tragic loss: Six-month-old Sophia Kelemen, pictured with dad Alex, died after her pram was hit by a car (Pic: Dyfed-Powys Police)

News

Wales at the forefront of UK drive to ‘turbocharge’ AI

Published

11 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE FIRST MINISTER OF WALES Eluned Morgan has welcomed today’s announcement from the UK Government of a multi-billion pound investment in Artificial Intelligence.

The UK Opportunities Action Plan, launched by Prime Minister Keir Starmer today, aims to drive economic growth, support public services and use intelligent technology to improve people’s every day lives.

Wales is uniquely placed to benefit from the AI infrastructure plans, with work already underway to develop tech hubs, shared resources and data centres.

As part of the investment announced today, US technology giant Vantage Data Centers plans to invest over £12 billion across the UK, resulting in the creation of over 11,500 jobs. The Welsh Government has been working closely with Vantage since 2020 to support the development of its data centres in Wales.

It is expected that the lion’s share of the new investment from Vantage will be in Wales. The biggest investment will be in Bridgend, where the company plans to develop the former Ford factory site to become one of Europe’s largest data centre campuses.

The First Minister is keen to ensure Wales benefits from the investment in AI, saying:

“Today’s announcement, which includes a multi-billion pound investment in AI by some of the world’s biggest tech companies, is a huge boost in confidence for industry in Wales.

“We are seeing that AI is increasingly being used as a power for good, whether that’s increasing productivity or bringing smarter solutions to everyday problems.

“There can be enormous benefits to the economy in establishing the tech and wider infrastructure here in Wales. Industry leaders recognise that the conditions are right in Wales, with a government that will do what it can to make these plans a reality.

“This won’t happen overnight and it’s important that the infrastructure, data, skills and talent is in place to ensure that we all benefit from these solutions. There’s no question that Wales is in an excellent position to benefit, given the work that’s already in progress here.”

The Economy Secretary Rebecca Evans is leading a review to explore how Wales can capitalise on opportunities and develop Wales’ strengths in the development of AI-based technologies.

Over the past year, the Welsh Government has worked with other organisations to develop guidance to support Welsh public bodies in adopting AI in a responsible, safe and ethical way.

Wales has already seen evidence of the value of AI implementation in diagnostic care in the NHS, with a digital pathology platform for prostate and breast cancer detection led by Betsi Cadwaladr seeing a 13% increase in prostate cancer detection rates.

Estyn, the school inspectorate, is also undertaking a review of the use of Generative AI in schools, which will explore the potential benefits to schools, while also considering the challenges they pose.