News

Starmer sets out vision for ‘Wales reborn’ at Labour’s Llandudno conference

Published

5 months ago

June 28, 2025

PM promises £5bn uplift, green steel, and ‘defence dividend’ as Labour draws battle lines with Reform and Plaid

KEIR STARMER delivered a speech heavy with symbolism and policy at Welsh Labour’s 2025 conference today—framing his government as the architects of a new era in Wales, while attacking the populist right and Welsh nationalism as threats to the country’s future.

Addressing delegates at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, the Prime Minister promised a “brighter future for Wales”, outlining a programme of investment and reform he said was already reshaping the country less than a year after Labour swept the General Election.

“That’s your victory, Conference,” Starmer told members. “A Wales back in the service of working people. And we’re only just getting started.”

With a confident delivery backed by visually striking footage from the event, Starmer’s speech marks a significant moment for Welsh Labour—not just in rhetoric but in resources.

£5 billion and a “Labour Spending Review”

At the heart of the speech was a commitment to £22.5 billion annually for Wales over the next three years—a significant uplift in block grant funding. Starmer claimed this equates to:

£5 billion in additional funds,
16,500 new jobs,
Two new Freeports (Celtic Sea and Anglesey),
Investment zones in Wrexham, Flintshire, Newport, and Cardiff,
£445 million for railway upgrades, including five new stations,
£200 million+ annually for local growth funds.

This, Starmer said, was a clear difference from the previous Conservative government:

“A Labour Spending Review, by a Labour Government, making Labour choices.”

In political terms, Starmer is directly contrasting Labour’s fiscal policy with both the austerity of the past and the radical tax-cutting agenda promoted by Reform UK.

Steel, security, and sovereignty

One of the most significant announcements was a firm recommitment to Port Talbot’s green steel transition, including an £80 million transition board and future support through the National Wealth Fund. Starmer contrasted this with Nigel Farage’s recent visit to the site, accusing him of:

“Pretending he’s got a plan to reopen a blast furnace… He’s got no idea what he’s talking about.”

He warned that Reform’s proposals would cancel the electric arc furnace project due to begin within weeks and “throw away 5,000 jobs.”

Alongside green steel, Starmer introduced the idea of a “defence dividend” for Wales. He pledged:

Investment in 6,000 existing defence jobs in Wales,
Skilled job creation through technology upgrades,
The largest military pay rise in 20 years,
Upgrades to 800 military homes,
Veterans to be given priority for social housing.

This forms part of a broader strategic message: Labour can deliver security—military, economic and social—where others cannot.

Welfare, work, and difficult choices

Starmer also addressed the UK’s welfare system, calling it “broken” and “failing people every day.” He rejected Conservative-style cuts but promised reform that encourages people into work:

“We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on – and we won’t. But we also can’t let it become a snare.”

He outlined:

Millions in mental health support,
NHS reform to tackle waiting lists,
Council house-building programmes,
Enhanced worker rights, including the end of fire-and-rehire.

This part of the speech sought to reclaim the narrative on welfare and productivity—long a political weakness for Labour—by offering a moral case for reform alongside fairness.

Fighting Reform and Plaid: “Backwards or forwards?”

Starmer reserved some of his sharpest words for Nigel Farage and Reform UK, mocking the party’s economic plans and casting Farage as a self-serving populist:

“A wolf in Wall Street clothing… Reform doesn’t create jobs. They throw them away.”

He warned of a “backroom stitch-up” between Reform, the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru that could plunge Wales back into “chaos and division,” referencing Plaid’s commitment to independence without a roadmap to reunify Wales economically or socially.

This sets up the battleground for 2026’s Senedd election: Labour will frame itself as the only party with national competence, moral clarity, and local delivery.

Praise for Eluned Morgan and post-industrial justice

Starmer praised First Minister Eluned Morgan, calling her “the best person to lead Wales into the future,” and highlighted her lobbying success in securing £118 million for coal tip safety and a fairer mineworkers’ pension scheme.

“We’re doing right by mining communities,” he said. “We’ve righted the historic injustice of mineworkers’ pensions.”

This appeal to Labour’s traditional base—post-industrial, working-class voters in south and north Wales—aims to reconnect with communities that drifted during the Brexit years.

Analysis: Why this speech matters

Starmer’s address was not just a laundry list of policy. It was a clear electoral pitch to:

Disaffected former Labour voters,
Trade unionists,
Younger progressives,
And those fearful of Reform’s rise.

The tone was firm but measured. His attack lines on Farage and Plaid were sharper than usual, signalling that Labour sees a real threat from both directions—nationalism and populism. But he balanced that with optimistic language about jobs, green energy, and opportunity.

Crucially, the message to Wales was not “we hear you”—a common Labour refrain in the past—but “we’ve already delivered, and we will deliver more.”

Crime

Swansea man dies weeks after release from troubled HMP Parc: Investigation launched

Published

5 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A SWANSEA man has died just weeks after being released from HMP Parc, the Bridgend prison now at the centre of a national crisis over inmate deaths and post-release failures.

Darren Thomas, aged 52, died on 13 November 2025 — less than a month after leaving custody. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has confirmed an independent investigation into his death, which is currently listed as “in progress”.

Born on 9 April 1973, Mr Thomas had been under post-release supervision following a period at HMP/YOI Parc, the G4S-run prison that recorded seventeen deaths in custody in 2024 — the highest in the UK.

His last known legal appearance was at Swansea Crown Court in October 2024, where he stood trial accused of making a threatening phone call and two counts of criminal damage. During the hearing, reported by The Pembrokeshire Herald at the time, the court heard he made threats during a heated call on 5 October 2023.

Mr Thomas denied the allegations but was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to a custodial term, which led to his imprisonment at HMP Parc.

Parc: A prison in breakdown

HMP Parc has faced sustained criticism throughout 2024 and 2025. A damning unannounced inspection in January found:

Severe self-harm incidents up 190%
Violence against staff up 109%
Synthetic drugs “easily accessible” across wings
Overcrowding at 108% capacity

In the first three months of 2024 alone, ten men died at Parc — part of a wider cluster of twenty PPO-investigated deaths since 2022. Six occurred within three weeks, all linked to synthetic drug use.

Leaked staff messages in 2025 exposed a culture of indifference, including one officer writing: “Let’s push him to go tomorrow so we can drop him.”

Six G4S employees have been arrested since 2023 in connection with alleged assaults and misconduct.

The danger after release

Deaths shortly after release from custody are a growing national concern. Ministry of Justice data shows 620 people died while under community supervision in 2024–2025, with 62 deaths occurring within 14 days of release.

Short sentences — common at Parc — leave little time for effective rehabilitation or release planning. Homelessness, loss of drug tolerance and untreated mental-health conditions create a high-risk environment for those newly released.

The PPO investigates all such deaths to determine whether prisons or probation failed in their duties. Reports often take 6–12 months and can lead to recommendations.

A system at breaking point

The crisis at Parc reflects wider failures across UK prisons and probation. A July 2025 House of Lords report described the service as “not fit for purpose”. More than 500 people die in custody annually, with campaigners warning that private prisons such as Parc prioritise cost-cutting over care.

The PPO investigation into the death of Darren Thomas continues.

Crime

Woman stabbed partner in Haverfordwest before handing herself in

Published

5 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Court Reporter

A WOMAN who stabbed her partner during a drug-fuelled episode walked straight into Haverfordwest Police Station and told officers what she had done, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

Amy Woolston, 22, of Dartmouth Street in Milford Haven, arrived at the station at around 8:00pm on June 13 and said: “I stabbed my ex-partner earlier… he’s alright and he let me walk off,” prosecutor Tom Scapens told the court.

The pair had taken acid together earlier in the day, and Woolston claimed she believed she could feel “stab marks in her back” before the incident.

Police find victim with four wounds

Officers went to the victim’s home to check on him. He was not there at first, but returned shortly afterwards. He appeared sober and told police: “Just a couple of things,” before pointing to injuries on his back.

He had three stab or puncture wounds to his back and another to his bicep.

The victim said that when he arrived home from the shop, Woolston was acting “a bit shifty”. After asking if she was alright, she grabbed something from the windowsill — described as either a knife or a shard of glass — and stabbed him.

He told officers he had “had worse from her before”, did not support a prosecution, and refused to go to hospital.

Defendant has long history of violence

Woolston pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. The court heard she had amassed 20 previous convictions from 10 court appearances, including assaults, battery, and offences against emergency workers.

Defending, Dyfed Thomas said Woolston had longstanding mental health problems and had been off medication prescribed for paranoid schizophrenia at the time.
“She’s had a difficult upbringing,” he added, saying she was remorseful and now compliant with treatment.

Woolston was jailed for 12 months, but the court heard she has already served the equivalent time on remand and will be released imminently on a 12-month licence.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

7 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Staff Writer

THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.

The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”

Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”

A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old.