News
Council tax could go up by 12.5% [UPDATED]

RESIDENTS in Pembrokeshire could see an increase of up to 12.5% in council tax if the Council is to maintain a number of its services.
Cabinet members were presented with a draft budget at a meeting today (Nov 27), but Cllr Bob Kilmister said if they did not raise the council tax, they could see cuts to a number of important services.
Cllr Kilmister highlighted the areas of Adult Social Care and Education which make up 67% of the entire budget and said he could not make the budget without hitting those areas.
He said: “We’re in a really difficult position, whatever we do, if we increase council tax by these very large figures, we are going to hurt large sections of the community within this county, I have no wish to do that whatsoever, the working poor in particular, will be damaged by that.
“The alternative is that we hit the most vulnerable and the most important in our society with cuts and that is something that all members of this council are going to have to consider.”
Pembrokeshire has historically had a low council tax base but Cllr Kilmister said they were paying the price for that and added that their council tax was 30% lower than that of Ceredigion and Carmarthen.
If Pembrokeshire’s Council tax was the same as those two, they would have an additional £15m.
He went on to say that at the next Council meeting on December 14, they would have to effectively present two budgets, one showing what they would need to balance the books on 5% council tax and the other showing what it would be like if they raised the council tax to 12.5%.
Cllr Kilmister, who jokingly described himself as becoming the Cabinet Member for doom and gloom, said: “Currently, we have asked all services to provide a 5% cut. It is essential that we start to deliver transformation services rapidly.
“I am more confident that we now have a very good plan starting to come into fruition and it is essential that it is in place to actually deliver our Medium Term Financial Plan.
“The Capital programme will also impose financial demands on the revenue budget and whilst borrowing is currently very cheap we still have to pay this back.
“The new Capital programme, as detailed, may not be affordable, drawing attention to the Swansea Bay City Region Deal, 21st Century Schools and economic regeneration budgets. All these projects provide us with opportunities but also huge pressures in terms of what it does to the revenue budget.
“Currently, on next year’s budget, after asking for the 5% cuts from the various departments, we have a shortfall of £3.64m and we still need to identify where those savings are going to come from.
“That’s based on other things that Cabinet and Council will have to determine is whether or not we make further cuts which I fear could be draconian in terms of the effect on the £3.64m or whether we impose a higher council tax above the 5%.
“That is something that, at the present moment, we are going to have to do.”
News
‘Bitter disappointment’: Wales left out of UK steel rescue

Emergency bill to save Scunthorpe reignites anger over Port Talbot closure
WELSH politicians from across the political spectrum have accused the UK government of double standards, after emergency legislation was passed to protect a steelworks in England—while similar calls for support in Port Talbot were ignored.
The backlash follows the passing of a bill in Westminster aimed at saving the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, where the UK’s last remaining blast furnaces are under threat. In contrast, Port Talbot’s blast furnaces were shut down in September 2024 with the loss of 2,800 jobs—without any such intervention.
Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts told Parliament: “Scunthorpe gets security. Port Talbot gets a pittance.”
She said the same emergency powers now being used to protect jobs in England could have been used to save blast furnace steelmaking in Wales, calling the lack of action for Port Talbot a “bitter, bitter disappointment.”

‘Wales treated as second-class’
The Port Talbot site is now transitioning to electric arc furnace technology, with a new plant expected by 2027. While this is seen as a move toward greener steel production, the method requires fewer workers—leading to widespread concern about long-term job losses and economic decline.
Plaid MS Luke Fletcher said Welsh steelworkers were promised support if Labour won power at both Westminster and the Senedd—but the final outcome looked very similar to what the Conservative government had already put forward.

Welsh Conservative MS Darren Millar said the UK Parliament should have recalled the Senedd during the Port Talbot crisis, just as it acted swiftly for Scunthorpe. “When crisis hits Wales, it’s tolerated. When it hits elsewhere, it becomes a national emergency,” he said.
Liberal Democrats: ‘Salt in the wound’
David Chadwick, MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, said the decision to step in now for Scunthorpe while Port Talbot was left to suffer had enraged his constituents.
“It’s rubbing salt in the wound to now hear the government call primary steelmaking a strategic national asset—months after letting our own furnaces go cold,” he said.
“My grandfather worked the blast furnaces at Port Talbot. He would be heartbroken to see this level of inaction for Welsh workers.”
UK government defends its stance
Ministers have defended the difference in approach, arguing that the two sites face different circumstances.

Industry Minister Sarah Jones said the Labour government inherited a deal with Tata Steel that it could not reopen but improved upon. “There was a private investor willing to move forward in Port Talbot. That’s not the case in Scunthorpe,” she said.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds added that Scunthorpe is the last site in the UK still producing virgin steel, making it strategically vital. “This is about national resilience. The world is changing, and we need the capability to produce primary steel for defence and key infrastructure.”
Still, for many in Wales, the damage is done.
One Port Talbot resident told The Herald: “It’s clear now. If this was happening in the South East of England, it would have been called a national crisis. But because it’s happening in Wales, it’s business as usual.”

Crime
Haverfordwest man to stand trial over assault and strangulation allegations

A HAVERFORDWEST man is set to face trial later this year after denying multiple allegations of assault and strangulation involving the same woman.
James Jeffrey, aged 41, of Hill Street, appeared in court charged with six separate offences said to have taken place in Pembrokeshire.
He is accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on June 30 last year, and of battery on December 29.
Further charges relate to an alleged strangulation and another assault causing actual bodily harm between January 15 and March 10 this year.
Jeffrey also faces allegations of criminal damage and a third count of actual bodily harm, both said to have taken place on March 8. The criminal damage charge relates to the woman’s mobile phone.
He pleaded not guilty to all six charges.
Judge Geraint Walters listed the case for trial on October 27. It is expected to last four days. Jeffrey was granted bail until then.
Community
American madrigal choir brings harmony to Pembroke

MAGICAL madrigal memories will linger long after Pembroke and District Male Voice Choir hosted a visiting youth choir from the United States at Pembroke Town Hall on Monday (April 7).
The 50-strong Mountain View High School Madrigals from California — aged 14 to 18 — wowed the audience with their exquisite close harmonies, delivering an unaccompanied performance from their wide-ranging repertoire.
In a touching tribute to their hosts, the young American singers performed a note-perfect rendition of the Welsh classic Myfanwy, before joining the Pembroke choristers in a moving version of Calon Lân.
The local choir, under the baton of Musical Director Juliet Rossiter, responded with a trio of songs: African Prayer, World in Union, and, fittingly, Elvis Presley’s American Trilogy. Accompanist for the evening was Rev William Lambert, with Matthew John acting as MC.
Pembroke’s Town Crier, Gareth Jones, welcomed the visitors with his trademark booming voice, and the Mayor of Pembroke, Councillor Ann Mortesen, presented a town crest to the visiting choir’s musical director, Jill Kenny. Choir chairman Huw Morgan also presented a commemorative plaque, noting that in the choir’s 72-year history, this was believed to be the first joint performance with an American choir.
Earlier in the day, the Mountain View Madrigals had toured Pembroke Castle before travelling to St Davids, where they gave a performance in the Cathedral. The group spent two nights in Pembrokeshire, staying at a hotel in Tenby.
Thanks were extended to Choir Secretary Dave Powell, Gareth Morgan, and the Pembroke Town Hall team for their efforts in organising the memorable visit.
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