News

THE HERALD INTERVIEWS • NEIL HAMILTON

Published

8 years ago

July 12, 2016

Tom Sinclair

‘Bright future’ ahead: Neil Hamilton
gives his views on the Brexit

ONE OF the fairly small band of Welsh politicians who were pleased with the outcome of last Thursday’s EU referendum was UKIP’s Senedd Leader Neil Hamilton, who has been an outspoken supporter of Free Trade since before the UK joined the Common Market in 1973.

The Herald spoke to the Mid and West AM on Friday morning (Jun 24) to discuss his thoughts on what this historic result would mean for Wales.

“It’s a historic day for Wales – I’ve been fighting for this for 49 years , since I joined the Anti-Common Market League in 1967 when I was at school in Ammanford,” he said.

Given that, with the exception of Ceredigion, Mid and West Wales voted Leave, was he pleased with the local result?

“The result from Carmarthenshire was extremely good. It was 55/45 wasn’t it? So it was better than the national average,” he said. “I’m very, very, pleased. Carwyn Jones’ and Leanne Wood’s constituencies both voted to leave so that’s very satisfying as well.”

Given that, even at the time of writing, another EU referendum looks unlikely, and leaders of the major political parties appear to have accepted that Britain will leave the EU, we asked Mr Hamilton what he thought leaving the EU would mean for Wales.

“First of all , it means there will be more money for Wales, and I’m going to issue a demand today (Jun 24) that the government should guarantee that Wales gets the taxpayers money which is currently spent by the EU in Wales and avoid the possibility that this is siphoned off somewhere else in the UK,” he said.

“And then there will be a Brexit dividend from £10bn a year we send to Brussels which is spent in other parts of Europe. We should have at least £500m a year out of that.”

Wales is used to the NHS being treated as a political football, but did Mr Hamilton think that the increase in NHS funding – promised by both Leave campaigns – would materialise?

His response appeared rather more measured than some of the rhetoric used by Leavers like Boris Johnston during the campaign: “The money is there to spend and we, via our elected politicians , will decide where,” he said. “The NHS is a priority, and I would expect that a certain part of that will be spent on the health service.”

In the interests of fairness, it is worth mentioning that the £350m a week figure which Britain apparently spent on the European Union rather than the NHS was not endorsed by UKIP.

Another matter which is almost sure to prove contentious in the coming months is the subsidies received by Welsh farmers from the EU – most notably the Common Agricultural Payment (CAP). We asked Mr Hamilton whether he would be leading calls for the UK Government to provide a similar level of subsidisation for the industry in Wales.

In response, he claimed that leaving the EU could actually lead to an upturn in farmers’ fortunes: “What we need is a guarantee that at least the same amount of money as the EU spends in Wales – it’s all British taxpayers’ money anyway – should be given to the Welsh Government for it to spend,” he stated.

“And obviously agricultural subsidies are another very high priority, particularly because Wales has so many marginal upland farms.

“We can provide a better system of agricultural subsidy and income support than the CAP and we can have cheaper food into the bargain. It will be good for farmers and consumers.”

While UKIP exceeded expectations across South Wales in the Assembly elections, the party was still some way behind Labour in the region. However , the Leave vote, in spite of Labour MPs and AMs supporting Remain, was particularly strong in the old industrial heartland of the country, from Llanelli to Ebbw Vale. We asked Mr Hamilton why he thought this was the case.

The former Conservative MP suggested that this was the result of disillusionment with mainstream political parties, particularly Labour.

“The Labour Party had given up their working class base. The Labour leadership are very multicultural urban-orientated – they’ve given up on the old industrial communities which founded the Labour Party,” he claimed.

“That is why UKIP is doing so well in the Valleys seats. We got 25% of the vote in places like Merthyr and Ebbw Vale in May, and we’re going to build on that. Our aim now is to replace the Labour Party in those Labour-voting areas.”

“I know that at the General Election last year , UKIP’s support base was the most working class of the major political parties in Britain – much more than the Labour Party.

“The people who run the Labour Party today are middle class academics and professionals who have lost their touch with the ordinary working man. UKIP is a grassroots movement full of ordinary people, so we’re much more representative than the Labour Party,” the former barrister and reality TV star added.

With a minority Labour Government running Wales at present (again) and the leader of the Welsh Conservatives an advocate of Brexit, we asked what role UKIP would play in post-EU negotiations.

“I said in my very first speech in the Senedd that we were going to be a constructive opposition party and we wanted to play a full part in getting the best deal for Wales, ” Mr Hamilton said.

“Of course, that was contemptuously rejected by Carwyn Jones and Leanne Wood, who tried to do their own downstairs stitch-up deal.

“UKIP has seven AMs in the Senedd and support in constituencies. We represent 15% of the people of Wales and we cannot be ignored. I’m going to give support to the demands by the Welsh Government that we should get our fair share of the Brexit dividend.”

When we spoke to Mr Hamilton, the pound had just plummeted to its worst level since the 1987 crash. We asked whether he thought this would be a short-term blip.

He agreed, and wasted no time in laying the blame for the pound’s poor showing squarely at the door of ‘so-called experts.’

“This volatility has taken place because the so-called experts we were told up till yesterday we had to believe didn’t see it coming,” he insisted. “Markets don’t like upset – they don’t like being wrong-footed. It’s a great time to buy at the moment, and the market will bounce back over the next two weeks.

“It will become absolutely clear in no time at all that the doom-mongering scenario the government itself went into overdrive to promote is entirely bogus, and we will carry on trading with Europe and the rest of the world. In the short term , nothing’s going to change, but in the longer term there’s a world of opportunity.”

The so-called ‘Project Fear’ campaigners suggested that a number of businesses could leave Britain if the country gave up EU membership. However, even accepting that was the case, did he think that uncertainty over Britain’s future would discourage new inward investment over the coming years?

Mr Hamilton did not. “I think when people decide to make an investment they look at the whole business environment, particularly staff, and if we have a better regulatory environment than across the channel then businesses are going to invest here,” he claimed.

“They have done for centuries. We have access to the Single Market in the same way as the United States, Canada, Australia, India and China. There is a tariff wall around the EU but that is relatively small – an average of 4%.

“We have a massive trade deficit with the EU so it is pretty much in their interest to agree to a free-trade agreement, which is what we should very quickly put together.”

Mr Hamilton also dismissed suggestions that Britain should ‘buy in’ to the Single Market: “All we want is free trade, and even if we didn’t do a deal with the EU for the Single Market , we would still have access to it.

“All we would have is a tariff barrier, which is on average 4%. We would put a similar tariff on EU exports to us. There is a hundreds of billion pounds deficit in terms of the EU so if they try to discriminate against us , they will be the losers,” he added.

“We will get the benefits of tariffs on their exports to us which we could then return to our exporters so it is more than self-financing.”

One of the claims made by senior figures in the Brexit campaign was that without EU membership, Britain would be in a position to protect its industries, and possibly part-nationalise struggling firms like Tata Steel.

However, Mr Hamilton felt that this would not be a positive move: “The future lies with free trade not with protectionism,” he added. “But, take steel for example. Where foreign competition is unfairly subsidised as it is , with Chinese steel we can take protective measures to even the playing field as the United States has done.”

Renationalising struggling industries was also not on the cards, except as a short-term measure. “Well we could do it, but I don’t think nationalisation is the way forward. Politicians running industries has not proved to be very successful in the past.

“Sometimes as a temporary measure , the government needs to step in. But , it should never be a long-term option in my opinion,” he added.

Looking forward, Mr Hamilton ‘believed that Wales had a bright future outside the EU.’

Community

Ben Lake MP visits postal workers during Christmas rush

Published

1 hour ago

December 18, 2024

Tom Sinclair

BEN LAKE MP visited postal workers at the Llandysul Delivery Office last Friday (Dec 13) to show his support and gain insight into their operations during the festive season—the busiest time of the year for Royal Mail.

The holiday period sees Royal Mail handle around double its usual volume of letters and parcels, as people send Christmas cards and shop for gifts online. To meet this seasonal surge, the Llandysul Delivery Office has hired four extra vehicles, while Royal Mail nationally has recruited 16,000 temporary workers and introduced nearly 4,000 additional vans, trucks, and trailers.

During the visit, Ben Lake spoke with Ryan Goellnitz, Customer Operations Manager, about Royal Mail’s efforts to enhance convenience for customers. These include services like Parcel Collect—where posties collect parcels directly from customers’ doorsteps—and the introduction of over 5,000 new parcel drop-off points this year, including at Collect+ stores and parcel lockers.

Ryan Goellnitz said:
“It was great to have Ben visit our Delivery Office and show him how we are gearing up for our peak period. We are pulling out all the stops to deliver Christmas for our customers.”

Ben Lake, MP for Ceredigion Preseli, praised the dedication of the postal workers:
“It was a pleasure to visit the Llandysul Delivery Office and witness the incredible volume of post managed by Royal Mail, not only here but across the country. This is an essential service year-round, but the effort and planning to ensure smooth operations during Christmas are extraordinary.

“I am immensely grateful for their tireless efforts and dedication, which deserve to be fully recognised. The visit gave me real appreciation for the hard work and commitment of everyone involved.”

Royal Mail’s preparations for Christmas are a year-long effort, ensuring the postal service continues to meet the festive demand.

News

Pembrokeshire County Council achieve Insport Partnerships Gold Standard

Published

2 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Herald Sport

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL have recently achieved the insport Partnerships Gold Standard, recognising their commitment and passion to providing inclusive opportunities for disabled people across the local authority area.

‘insport’ is a Disability Sport Wales programme delivered with the support the of Sport Wales, which aims to support the physical activity, sport, and leisure sectors delivering inclusively of disabled people. The purpose of the insport programmes is to support the development of inclusive thinking, planning, development and delivery by everyone within an organisation so that ultimately, they will deliver across the spectrum to disabled and non-disabled people, at whatever level they wish to participate or compete. The intent is to facilitate and deliver cultural change in attitude, approach, and provision of physical activity (including sport) and wider opportunities for disabled people.

Sport Pembrokeshire and Pembrokeshire Leisure have consistently developed their offers for disabled people locally, becoming the first local authority partner nationally to achieve the insport Partnerships Gold standard. Working with the natural, rural and coastal assets, the Sport Pembrokeshire & Pembrokeshire Leisure teams’ have done a fantastic job in navigating the opportunities and challenges to prioritise the inclusion of disabled people in leisure & community-based physical activity (including sport) opportunities. Ensuring that as many people as possible can be involved in sport and physical activity.

Achievement of the insport Partnerships Gold standard means that an inclusive approach to communities of disabled people is embedded within strategies, programmes, and thinking. This award is never the end of an organisation’s inclusion journey, and Disability Sport Wales will continue to support Pembrokeshire County Council as they continue to provide sector leading inclusive opportunities for disabled people.

Pembrokeshire have a number of excellent examples of collaborative work and partnerships supporting the delivery of strong inclusive programming across Pembrokeshire’s communities which add significant value to the area’s rich inclusive sporting heritage. These opportunities provide the initial steps on the pathway that many former and current Paralympic and Commonwealth Games Para athletes have taken from Pembrokeshire, including the Paris 2024 Paralympic Champion, Matt Bush; Paris 2024 Paralympic athlete, Jodie Grinham; 2022 Commonwealth Games medallist Lily Rice.

Tom Rogers (Governance & Partnership Director, Disability Sport Wales) said: “Pembrokeshire’s achievement of the insport Partnerships Gold standard is a remarkable milestone that highlights the unwavering commitment to inclusion in physical activity (including sport). This achievement recognises the efforts in creating opportunities that ensure everyone, regardless of ability, can participate and thrive in physical activity and sport at a level of their choosing.

Achieving the insport Partnerships Gold standard reflects the culture of inclusivity and recognises the excellent example for communities across Wales and beyond of an embedded culture of inclusion. Sport Pembrokeshire’s dedication to breaking down barriers and fostering an equitable and person centred approach to the delivery of physical activity is reflected across their programming. The commitment to inclusion exits across the Sport Pembrokeshire and Pembrokeshire Leisure teams’ and the achievement of this standard recognises the years of hard work by current and former team members, as well as excellent community led opportunities across the local authority area.

Congratulations on this significant achievement—your success paves the way for a brighter, more inclusive future in sport.”

Matt Freeman, Sport Pembrokeshire Manager said, “Pembrokeshire County Council is proud to achieve the prestigious insport Gold Standard, a recognition of our commitment to championing inclusive sport and physical activity across the county. This milestone, led by Sport Pembrokeshire – the Council’s sports development team – reflects the collaborative efforts of our partners to ensure opportunities for inclusive participation continue to grow. We remain dedicated to working with both new and existing partners to expand access and make inclusive provision a cornerstone of sport and physical activity in Pembrokeshire”.

Education

Call for clarity on rural schools policy from Welsh Government

Published

2 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Tom Sinclair

CYMDEITHAS YR LAITH have called on the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, to use the current review of the School Organization Code to state clearly the presumption against closing rural schools, and that local authorities must start from the point of view of trying to maintain and strengthen them, only considering closing them if all other options fail.

In a message to the secretary today, the movement referred to the words of Ceredigion Council’s Chief Executive, Eifion Evans, during the authority’s Cabinet meeting at the beginning of the month (Tuesday, 3 December), when it was agreed to treat statutory consultations on the proposal to close Ysgol Llangwyryfon, Ysgol Craig-yr-Wylfa, Ysgol Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn, and Ysgol Syr John Rhys in Ponterwyd as informal ones.

Mr Evans told the meeting: “The Code is extremely complex and extremely difficult. And as I’ve said all along, the Code is very vague at the moment. It’s a headache for officials as much as it is for anyone else as to how to interpret it and use it. I hope that the review that is currently taking place down in Cardiff regarding this Code is going to finally try to get some sort of clarity on what needs to be done.”

In response, Ffred Ffransis said on behalf of the Cymdeithas yr Iaith Education Group: “The 2018 edition of the Code states clearly enough that the introduction of a presumption duty against closing rural schools that are on the Government’s official list. But many local authorities such as Ceredigion believe that they can start from the point of view of an intention to close a number of rural schools to save money, and then, just go through the empty steps of naming and ruling out alternative options with the same generic sentence.”

In September 2018, when introducing the Code, Kirsty Williams AM explained its intention on the floor of the Assembly: “Local authorities in those areas, if they have a school that’s on the list, should start on the basis that closure is the last option and they should seek every opportunity through a variety of ways to keep those schools open… Presumption against a closure and the option to seek alternatives to keeping a school open, again, should not be left to the official consultation period, but should be employed by the council before they make any decision to go out to consultation on the future of the school.”

Mr Ffransis added: “It is clear that following a process similar to what we saw with Ceredigion Council did not follow the intention of the Senedd and the Welsh Government when introducing this change in the Code.

“Quite simply, the principle of presumption against closing rural schools needs to be emphasised and made clear in the third edition of the Code that will be published as a result of the consultation. This way, it should be impossible for anyone to mistake that the Senedd or the Welsh Government is serious about the policy.”