Politics

How Ceredigion Preseli candidates will tackle the cost-of-living crisis

Published

5 days ago

July 2, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

AHEAD of the July 4 general election, Ceredigion Preseli general election hopefuls have outlined what they will do about the cost-of-living crisis.

As part of constituency changes, bits of north Pembrokeshire – including St Davids and– are joining the new Mid and South Pembrokeshire constituency.

Other parts of the north of the county are now in the new Ceredigion Preseli constituency; which extends up past Aberystwyth and also includes Cilgerran, Crymych, St Dogmaels, Fishguard and Llanrhian.

There’s now a 15-candidate battle for the two seats, eight in Mid and South Pembrokeshire and seven in Ceredigion Preseli.

With a July 4 date set for the general election, candidates for the new Ceredigion Preseli seat are: Ben Lake for Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrat Mark Williams, Welsh Labour’s Jackie Jones, Conservative Aled Thomas, Tomos Barlow for the Green Party, Karl Robert Pollard for Reform UK, and Taghrid Al-Mawed for the Workers Party of Britain.

In the run-up to the election, all candidates were asked: “What will you do to improve the economic situation/ help tackle to cost-of-living crisis in your constituency?”

Plaid Cymru hopeful Ben Lake, previously MP for Ceredigion, said: “The cost-of-living crisis has affected every one of us. During the winter of 2022/23, the UK Government implemented a support scheme to help households pay for their energy bills but off-grid homes were initially excluded from this package.

“Ceredigion was the constituency that was most reliant on heating oil or LPG as a source of energy on mainland Britain, and as the MP, I championed my constituents’ needs and secured monthly payments of £200 for off-grid homes to help with the rising costs. I would continue to push for greater support from the Government for families and for those with the greatest needs.

“I am also an advocate for creating opportunities. Ceredigion Preseli has so much potential waiting to be unlocked but investment in core infrastructure (digital and transport) is essential to do so.”

Taghrid Al-Mawed for the Workers Party of Britain said: “I do not feel it is fair that a CEO of one of our supermarket chains earns £9.5 million pounds a year when the people working in the shops who create that wealth get a tiny, tiny fraction of that and the Welsh farmers run at a loss to provide these supermarkets with the produce they sell.

“We will stop this, we will redistribute the wealth away from the fat cats back to those who created the wealth in the first place. The constituents of Ceredigion Preseli would notice more money in their pockets, more money to go into the local economy to revitalise it, not to be hoarded by a few in offshore accounts.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Mark Williams said: “Conservative mismanagement of the economy has hit the majority of us hard, and Lib Dems are committed to provide long term help with the cost of living by cutting energy bills through a Home Energy Upgrade Programme.

“We need to tackle rising food prices through a National Food Strategy, and getting mortgage rates under control though careful economic management.

“When public finances permit, we are committed to raise tax free personal allowances – a Liberal policy which has already taken millions of people out of tax already. We will scrap the bedroom tax and increase the Carer’s Allowance.”

Green Preseli Pembrokeshire candidate Tomos Barlow said: “Introducing a Universal Basic Income will give people an opportunity to strive for better as it gives power to people in work to be able to do better for themselves generally, and also making jobs generally more secure for people.

“I also believe that we need to be heavily diversifying industries within this constituency, and we can do that by encouraging green energy and (with reform to the system) encourage green instillation schemes which can increase the amount and diversity of apprenticeships that we are desperately needing. We also want to encourage apprenticeships in agriculture, horticulture, carpentry and so much more.”

Conservative candidate Aled Thomas said: “Rural communities like Ceredigion and North Pembrokeshire can often feel left behind by both Westminster and Cardiff Bay as the dynamic of our communities is nothing like those in urban centres.

“As someone brought up on a remote farm in the countryside, I know the challenges that rural communities face and I’ll use my voice to fight this injustice in the next parliament.

“As inflation eases and the country’s economic growth returns, we now have a clear plan to cut taxes for working people to ensure they have more money in their families’ pockets to spend on what they want and need.”

Jackie Jones, Labour candidate said: “After 14 years of the Tories, people in Britain are facing soaring mortgages, sky-rocketing bills and the highest tax burden in 70 years. If Rishi Sunak is given five more years on 4 July, the average household is set to be £5,883 worse off. We cannot afford that.

“Being inside any incoming Labour government, I will have direct access to those who make decisions to drive investment to our town centres, our rural communities and our businesses: town centre regeneration, good, well-paying jobs, a better childcare offer, help for higher and further education, more teachers, help for farming, creation of GB energy and better transport. These measures will bring down your bills: food, mortgages and much more without higher taxes.”

All candidates were contacted and asked to respond.

The candidates have also been contacted for further responses on subjects to come, the next being agriculture/the countryside.

News

What new Parliament would look like under proportional representation

Published

10 hours ago

July 6, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE Electoral Reform Society has modelled what the new parliament would look like after the general election under proportional representation.

The modelling shows what Parliament would look like under the Additional Member System (AMS) [1] of proportional representation (PR), which is used for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments as well as the London Assembly, compared to the results under the current Westminster system of First Past the Post (FPTP)

	Vote share	AMS – MPs	FPTP – MPs
Labour	33.7%	236	412
Conservatives	23.7%	157	121
Reform	14.3%	94	5
Lib Dems	12.2%	77	71
Greens	6.8%	42	4
SNP	2.5%	18	9
Plaid	0.7%	4	4

A visual representation of how the results would look for PR compared to the First Past the Post results can be found here https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/18633267/

The Parliament elected under PR would far more closely reflect the way the country voted. It could lead to a number of scenarios politically, and likely lead to a government that represented a far greater share of voters. For instance, a Labour, Lib Dem, Green coalition under AMS would represent 52.7% of voters, rather than the just 33.7% represented by the Labour majority government.

In the coming weeks the Electoral Reform Society will also be releasing a model of the 2024 General Election result under the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system of PR, which is the ERS’s preferred system and used in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The model comes after the general election produced the most disproportional parliament in British electoral history.

The results saw the Labour Party win 64% of seats (412) with just under 34% of the votes. Meanwhile, Reform UK and the Green Party won just 9 seats (just over 1%) between them with over 20% of the vote share combined.

Research by the Electoral Reform Society also showed that Labour won an MP for every 24,000 votes they received, compared to one for every 49,000 for the Lib Dems, one MP for every 56,000 votes for the Conservatives, one for every 485,000 votes for the Greens and one for every 820,000 for Reform.

Darren Hughes, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society said: “The job of Parliament is to represent the way the country voted. However, this election has produced the most disproportional result in British electoral history.

“This is because of the distorting Westminster First Past the Post voting system, which means the seats parties get in Parliament often are not matching the share of the votes they’ve received.

“In simple terms, people should get what they vote for. Our modelling shows what Parliament would look like with a fairer proportional voting system such the ones used for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments.

“It’s time we moved to a fairer proportional voting system for Westminster so Parliament accurately reflects the way the country voted.”

News

The National Eisteddfod 2026 could be held in Pembrokeshire

Published

10 hours ago

July 6, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE National Eisteddfod 2026 could be held on the outskirts of Cardigan, just inside Pembrokeshire if Pembrokeshire County Council formalise the proposal.

It would mark 850 years since the first Eisteddfod was held in the town by Lord Rhys.

The site is in Llantood, between Cardigan and Eglwyswrw on the Pembrokeshire side of the border.

“The Cabinet is now asked to formally approve a proposal by the Welsh Local Government Association to host the 2026 Eisteddfod in Pembrokeshire at a site in Llantood, just off the A487,” said the council agenda.

“Following an expression of interest by the former Leader in 2022, the Welsh Local Government Association has confirmed that the 2026 National Eisteddfod will be held in Pembrokeshire.”

The document adds: “There are also several historical reasons for the decision as 2026 marks 850 years since the establishment of the Eisteddfod in the Teifi Valley area.”

The document stated that the council has two options:

The Cabinet approves the decision to host the Eisteddfod at the Llantood site.
The Cabinet withdraws its application to host the festival.

The council document stated that officials recommend “approving the proposal to host the 2026 Pembrokeshire National Eisteddfod at the Llantood site within the Teifi Valley.”

The Cardigan Eisteddfod of 1176, held over Christmas, is the first known Eisteddfod. It was hosted by Lord Rhys of Deheubarth at his court in Cardigan.

Politics

Total annihilation of Tories in Wales

Published

2 days ago

July 5, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE WELSH Conservative Party has been completely wiped out in Wales in the latest General Election, marking a significant shift in the political landscape of the region. Labour emerged victorious, securing all but five of the 32 Welsh Commons seats. Plaid Cymru captured four seats, while the Liberal Democrats won Brecon, Radnor & Cwm Tawe.

In stark contrast to the 2019 election results, where the Tories held 14 of the 40 seats, Labour had 22, and Plaid Cymru maintained their four seats. This recent outcome represents a dramatic change, with Labour now holding 27 seats in Wales.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies expressed his disappointment on X, stating, “We are a party that exists to govern and improve people’s opportunities. Let’s be frank: We’ve let a lot of people down.”

He acknowledged the party’s solid record in Welsh communities across various levels of government, from local councils to the Senedd and Parliament, and emphasised the need to rebuild the party ahead of the 2026 elections. Davies stressed the importance of not taking lifelong Conservative voters for granted as the first step in this rebuilding process.

This election marks the first time in 23 years that the Tories have been entirely ousted from Wales, reminiscent of the 2001 scenario when there was no Conservative representation in the region. The ‘Boris bounce’ that turned much of North Wales blue in 2019 has now dissipated, returning those constituencies to Labour.

Plaid Cymru also had a strong showing, retaining their four seats, and the Liberal Democrats managed to secure one seat. The early signs of this outcome were apparent when the now-former Welsh Secretary, David TC Davies, conceded defeat hours before the results were announced, stating he had only prepared a concession speech.

An intriguing development in this election was the performance of Reform UK, which came second in 12 of the Labour victories, surpassing the Tories and other parties. This could pose a challenge for Labour in the upcoming Senedd elections in 2026.

As the Welsh Tories reflect on their losses, Andrew RT Davies has reiterated the party’s failures and the need for substantial change. Despite the setbacks, the Conservatives still hold 16 of the 60 seats in the Welsh Senedd, while Welsh Labour has half the seats, Plaid Cymru has 13, and the Welsh Lib Dems have one seat, now occupied by Jane Dodds, MP for Brecon, Radnor & Cwm Tawe.

Nationally, the Conservative Party is predicted to win just 131 seats, the lowest in its history, while Labour is projected to secure 410 seats, achieving an overall majority of 170. This wider national trend underscores the significant challenges facing the Conservative Party as they move forward.