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News

Labour and Plaid agree on Senedd carve-up

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LABOUR and Plaid Cymru this week pre-empted the results of a Senedd Committee’s enquiry and announced a huge increase in the number of Wales’s Senedd Members.
While the Special Purpose Committee on Senedd Reform continues to hear evidence ahead of its final report, Labour and Plaid announced they had agreed that Wales would elect 96 Senedd members instead of the current sixty at the next election.
Securing electoral reform and expanding the Senedd were Plaid Cymru manifesto commitments while expanding the Senedd was a Labour policy pledge.
However, the arrangements announced on Tuesday (May 10) are likely to increase questions about how accountable Senedd members are to their electorate.

FIXING THE SYSTEM

One of the key gripes of those in favour of Senedd reform is the abolition of regional members selected using Wales’s complex PR system.

The new arrangements will see 32 constituencies based on the new Westminster constituency boundaries electing three members each but grouped with six other constituencies to ensure seats are allocated (theoretically) more proportionately.

If that sounds complicated, the system will have one simple result.

It will sever the link between elected and electors.

Voters will vote for parties and not individuals. The party-list will decide who gets elected to represent you.

You will no longer have a say in the identity of your representatives.

Instead, the parties have all the power to decide who gets elected.

You’re made for life if you get in via the system proposed.

And if that sounds like modern Welsh democracy, it’s a very peculiar form of it.

The arrangement suits Labour as its voters won’t have any chance to vote for anyone else. In a properly proportional single transferrable vote system (STV), votes get the chance to rank their preferences.

Under the proposals, voters will vote for one party and whoever else gets elected depends on the system churning out results and favoured and otherwise unelectable party hacks.

Like most current regional members, Senedd Members elected under the proposed system will become

invisible in their communities.

MPs will have far greater local profiles.

Suppose the proposals want to encourage nation-building and create a stronger and more democratic Welsh Parliament. In that case, the results are likely to entrench Labour and Plaid in a permanently symbiotic relationship with very little chance for other parties to breakthrough.

It’s a system ripe for abuse by party managers and rooked to exclude small parties from any national say.

From Labour and Plaid’s perspectives, it will ensure the Conservatives are permanently excluded from power in Wales.

THE WIND OF CHANGE

First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “The case for Senedd reform has been made.

“We now need to get on with the hard work to create a modern Senedd, which reflects the Wales we live in today. A Parliament that truly works for Wales.

“The joint position statement we are publishing today will help support the important work of the cross-party Special Purpose Committee to move Senedd reform forwards.”
Adam Price, leader of Plaid Cymru, said: “These reforms will lay the foundations for a stronger Welsh democracy and a fairer, more representative Senedd that will look entirely different to the outdated political system at Westminster.

“A stronger, more diverse, more representative Senedd will have a greater capacity to perform its primary purpose of making a positive difference to the lives of the people of Wales.”
Ensuring that the Senedd is more diverse is an interesting step forward.
The statement detailing the proposals says that electoral law in Wales will include “integrated statutory gender quotas and mandatory zipping.”
The first part of that phrase indicates an aim to ensure equal representation between the genders in the Senedd.

The second part, “mandatory zipping”, requires parties to put forward equal numbers of male and female candidates and alternate between men and women when preparing their candidate lists.
If number one on the internal party list is male, the second is female, the third male, the fourth female &c.
It is unclear whether the Welsh Government has the legal power to force those measures.
Mark Drakeford and Ada Price wrote to the Reform Committee’s Chair, Huw Irranca-Davies, saying their proposals are “most likely to achieve the two-thirds Senedd majority required by law to deliver reform.
“We are confident that the statement below will enable you to make recommendations on these fundamental issues.”

DRAKEFORD AND PRICE “TRYING
TO STRONGARM COMMITTEE”

The Welsh Conservative response was swift.

Andrew RT Davies said: “Wales does not need more politicians in Cardiff Bay – we need more teachers, doctors, dentists, and nurses.

“While we have consistently objected to more politicians, we recognise Labour and Plaid have enough votes to push ahead.

“That’s why we have engaged constructively with the Senedd Reform Committee.

“Sadly, both parties have completely undermined the committee’s work with this announcement.”

Darren Millar, the Conservative Member of the Senedd Reform Committee, was even more scathing.

Announcing his decision to quit the Committee, he said: “It was extremely disappointing to see the Committee undermined by the publication of a joint position statement on Senedd reform by the First Minister and the Leader of Plaid Cymru.

“Issuing the position statement to the media in the absence of any written or oral statement to the Senedd was extremely discourteous to the Welsh Parliament.

“The publication of such a prescriptive statement before the Committee completes its work. However, this announcement effectively terminates its ability to draw independent conclusions.

“It is with regret that I have resigned from the Committee, but after the stunt pulled by the First Minister and Plaid’s leader, it has become futile.

“It is unacceptable that they have tried to strongarm the Committee by imposing their position in this way. Senedd committees should not be fettered in this way.

“We joined this committee and process in good faith as there was a mandate for change, but it looks like that was misplaced.”

The Reform Committee will report on May 31, but it looks like its decisions have been made for it.

Community

Native oyster success story on the Milford Haven Waterway

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AFTER more than a year of careful rearing, thousands of juvenile native oysters have now been returned to the Milford Haven Waterway, marking a major milestone in an ambitious restoration project involving the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.

Since the project began in late 2023, Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences has been nurturing native oyster broodstock collected from Angle Bay and Burton Ferry. These oysters spawned multiple times in controlled conditions, producing hundreds of thousands of larvae. The tiny larvae were then reared until they were ready to settle on to shells, where they mostly remain fixed as they grow. Some scallop shells held as many as 160 individual oyster spat, ranging from 4mm to 10mm in size.

In February, an estimated 200,000 baby oysters were released into the Waterway by students from Paddle West. Braving a strong easterly wind, the team (assisted by Sky the dog, and with rescue cover support from Rudders Boatyard) successfully deposited the oysters onto the seabed. While not all will survive, many are expected to take hold and contribute to the recovery of the native oyster population.

Once abundant in UK waters, native oyster populations have dramatically declined due to habitat loss, pollution, over-harvesting and disease

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority Biodiversity Officer, Sarah Mellor, said “This collaborative project is a major step forward for native oyster restoration in Wales. Achieving complex native oyster reefs once again in the Daugleddau may seem a distant dream, but this project has accelerated our learning and made the dream tangible. These oysters will play a vital role in improving water quality, storing carbon and creating habitat for marine life.”

To further support the restoration effort, some of the oyster-covered scallop shells have been placed into oyster hotels at Rudders Boatyard, where they will be closely monitored. Atlantic Edge Oysters will also oversee a selection of the young oysters to assess their growth rates.

The oysters will be tracked as part of the Natur am Byth! Mòr restoration project, delivered by the Marine Conservation Society with assistance from Sue Burton, the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC Officer.

Sue said,“Native oyster restoration needs oyster suppliers and growers, and this project has proved that we can deliver this in Wales with our home-grown native oysters and expertise.”

The project is being delivered in partnership with Bangor University, the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC Officer and Tethys Oysters in Angle Bay. It forms part of the Blue Carbon Strand of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority’s Wild Coast! Sustainable Landscapes, Sustainable Places Programme, funded by the Welsh Government and co-ordinated by Tirweddau Cymru Landscapes Wales.

The restored oysters will now be closely monitored to assess their survival and growth, helping to inform future restoration efforts and strengthen the long-term recovery of the species in the Milford Haven Waterway.

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News

Oriel y Parc opens its doors to a world of peace and tranquillity

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An exhibition featuring the work of two leading artists and illustrators is to open at the National Park Discovery Centre in St Davids.

Featuring the work of Jackie Morris and Elly Morgan, ‘Tangnefedd Rhyngom: Peace Between Us’  invites visitors to explore the theme of peace, creating an opportunity for people to pause, reflect and connect with the quiet beauty of the world around them.

The exhibition brings together two distinct approaches to peace.  Jackie Morris – illustrator, artists and writer best known for The Lost Words and The Lost Spells – presents a series of prints depicting painted doves, using her signature style to convey peace as a dynamic force.  In contrast, Elly Morgan, known for her intricate ceramic work, offers a tactile interpretation of peace through her ceramic doves which draw inspiration from Pembrokeshire’s  natural landscapes.

Elly Morgan’s Wings of Peace

On World Poetry Day (March 22), Jackie Morris will host a talk and a question and an answer session which will provide a deeper insight into the exhibition as well as  themes that inspire her work.  The free event will take lace between 2 pm and 3 pm. 

Meanwhile Elly Morgan will lead a family-friendly workshop from 11 am to 3 pm on Sunday, March 23.  The drop-in invites participants of all ages to contribute to a collaborative installation using recycled materials and acrylic paints.

The exhibition will be on display at Oriel y Parc until Sunday, April 27.

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Crime

Haverfordwest woman jailed for assault occasioning actual bodily harm

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A HAVERFORDWEST woman has been jailed for assaulting another woman, with magistrates ruling that only a custodial sentence was justified.

Sarah Moane, 34, of Three Meadows, Haverfordwest, appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (Mar 13), where she was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The court heard that on December 27, 2024, Moane assaulted Kayleigh Summers, causing her injuries. She was found guilty of the offence on March 13, 2025.

Moane was already serving a 10-week custodial sentence, imposed by Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on August 6, 2024. The latest sentence is to run consecutively, with the court citing the seriousness of the offence and the fact that it was committed while Moane was subject to a suspended sentence. The offence was further aggravated by intoxication and domestic violence.

She was also ordered to pay £650 in costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Restraining order imposed

A restraining order was issued against Moane, preventing her from:

  • Contacting Kayleigh Summers by any means, directly or indirectly.
  • Entering any premises occupied by Summers as her usual place of residence.
  • Posting or causing to be posted any references to Summers on social media or any other electronic platform.

The order remains in place until March 12, 2026.

The court noted that no compensation was awarded due to the provoked nature of the attack.

Presiding over the case were Magistrates Ms V Knapp, Miss L Gunter, and Mr N Samuel, with Ann Griffiths prosecuting.

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