Wales Reform UK Ex-leader Jailed for Taking Russian Bribes

Nov 21, 2025 | Nathan Gill was once described as Nigel Farage's right-hand-man when both men sat in the European parliament.

Now the former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been jailed for 10-and-a-half years after admitting taking £40,000 in bribes to make pro-Russian statements in 2018 and 2019.

A Reform UK spokesman said: “Mr Gill’s actions were reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable. We are glad that justice has been served.

Labour Party Pushed Into Third Place in Wales Special Election

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Plaid Cymru, a center-left nationalist party, defeated the right-wing Reform U.K. and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour in a race seen as a test of his popularity.

A center-left nationalist candidate defeated the governing Labour Party and Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist Reform U.K. in a Welsh Parliament special election on Thursday that has been closely watched as a potential bellwether of major upheaval in wider elections next year.

Plaid Cymru, a party that supports Welsh independence from Britain, had been vying with Reform U.K. in polls leading up to Thursday’s vote in Caerphilly — for decades a Labour Party stronghold — amid poor approval ratings for both Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government and its main opposition, the center-right Conservatives.

Its candidate, Lindsay Whittle, was elected with 47 percent of the vote. Reform U.K.’s candidate was second on 36 percent, despite a high-profile campaign joined by Mr. Farage, which he had said could be the start of “spectacular” victories for the party in other parts of Wales. Labour’s candidate placed third, with 11 percent.

The election was seen as the latest bruising test for Mr. Starmer’s Labour government, which has had remarkably low approval ratings for a party that won a landslide victory in July 2024, while Reform U.K. has surged in the polls. » | Lizzie Dearden | Reporting from London | Friday, October 24, 2025

As a result of Brexit, Wales would be best served by being an independent country in the European Union. It would bring prosperity to Wales just as it has brought prosperity to the Republic of Ireland. Saying that Wales is too small to be independent might well have been true at one time, but today, with the existence of the EU, it is a nonsense. There are other small, independent countries in the EU. Luxembourg is a great case in point. Luxembourg is very small and very prosperous. Bring true, lasting prosperity to Wales by being an independent country in the EU. Being joined at the hip with England has never brought true, lasting prosperity to Wales. In any case, the Welshman's roots are in Europe. Welsh Celts can be traced back to Austria, to Hallein, apparently. (You can google it.) Is it a coincidence that the very word for salt in Welsh is halen? — © Mark Alexander

Snowdonia, Großbritannien | Zu Tisch Reupload | ARTE Family

Oct 4, 2025 | Bei den drei Brüdern Finn und Steff Smith, sowie Jack Cunliffe dreht sich alles ums Essen: Die Region Snowdonia im Nordwesten von Wales ist für den Anbau von Lauch bekannt. Das Gemüse wird jüngst als Superfood gefeiert.

Der 31-jährige Finn Smith ist gelernter Bäcker, sein Bruder, der 29- jährige Steff, überrascht mit einem Superfood-Brunch: Lauchfritters mit "Laver Bread".

Bei den Brüdern Finn und Steff Smith, sowie Jack Cunliffe dreht sich alles ums Essen: Die Bergregion Snowdonia im Nordwesten von Wales ist für den Anbau von Lauch bekannt - und das inspiriert auch viele hier typische Gerichte.

Vor allem im Winter gibt der Lauch den Walisern Kraft und Energie. Der 31-jährige Finn Smith ist gelernter Bäcker und versorgt die Familie mit Sauerteigbrot, aus dem er ein “Welsh Rarebit” mit viel Lauch herstellt. Sein Bruder, der 29-jährige Steff überrascht die Familie mit einem Superfood-Brunch. Zu seinen Lauchfritters kommt “Laver Bread”, eine Paste aus Seegras, die er mit pochiertem Ei garniert. Sein vierjähriger Sohn Bran hilft ihm beim Kochen.
Auch Tante Tamsin Smith kocht mit Lauch. Da das Stangengemüse in der Region kaum noch kommerziell angebaut wird, experimentiert sie damit in ihrem Garten. Die heimischen Lauchsorten sind robust und winterfest. Der viele Regen in der Region bietet ideale Anbaubedingungen. So schaffte Lauch es sogar zum Nationalsymbol der Waliser.

Tamsins herzhafte Lauchküchlein bäckt sie mit Caerphilly-Käse - eine Variation der für die Region typischen “Welsh Cakes”.

Magazin (D 2022, 33 Min) Mediathekl
Verfügbar bis zum 23/12/2025


Korrektur: Mount Snowdon ist nicht der höchste Berg Großbritanniens. Ben Nevis in Schottland ist es. – Mark

UK’s First Female Archbishop Tells of How She Hid Her Sexuality for Decades

THE GUARDIAN: New archbishop of Wales says faith kept her going through decades-long struggle for acceptance as a woman and lesbian in the Anglican church

The new archbishop of Wales, the Most Rev Cherry Vann, has told of how she kept her sexuality secret for decades as part of her struggle to be accepted as a female minister in the Anglican communion.

Speaking to the Guardian on Thursday, the day after her appointment, Vann, 66, said that without the strong belief that God had called her to the priesthood she “would not have survived” her journey through the ranks of the church.

Vann became one of the first female priests to be ordained in England in 1994. Now, as the UK’s first female and first openly gay archbishop, and the first openly lesbian and partnered bishop to serve as a primate within the Anglican communion, she has well and truly broken the stained glass ceiling.

“It happens that I’ve lived in a time that’s meant that I’m a trailblazer, but I’m not a campaigner,” the Leicestershire-born archbishop said during an interview at the Church in Wales’s offices in central Cardiff.

“I’m not somebody to be out there all the time but I do seek to be true to what I think God’s asking of me.” » | Bethan McKernan | Wales correspondent | Sunday, August 3, 2025

Fighting the Crime Gangs Taking Over the UK High Streets | BBC News

Jul 31, 2025 | Along a one-mile stretch of road near the centre of Newport, south Wales, 19 shops have been shut down in the past nine months for selling illegal tobacco and vapes.

"It's shameful that this is happening," Steve Hay, one of the Trading Standards team responsible for the closures, said.

He believes that the sale of illegal goods is a crime causing deep problems in the community.

Illegal cigarettes, tobacco and vape products were seized from 3,624 shops across England, Scotland and Wales in 2024-25, according to BBC Freedom of Information requests.

The Home Office said that "over 500 town centres are getting extra neighbourhood patrols" and that these would have a major role in cracking down on the sale of illegal tobacco products.

Ex-First Minister Drakeford Calls for Wealth Tax

BBC: The chancellor "absolutely" needs to look at introducing a wealth tax to deal with a growing gap between the rich and the poor, according a former Welsh first minister.

Mark Drakeford said the "root of inequality is the way that wealth is distributed across the population".

He also told Walescast it was a "moral imperative" for Labour governments to scrap the two-child benefit cap as a way of reducing child poverty. » | James Williams, Presenter Walescast | Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Keir Starmer Accuses Nigel Farage of Taking People for Fools’ in Wales

THE GUARDIAN: Starmer makes claim in speech to Welsh Labour conference as polls suggest Reform could be biggest party in Senedd after next year’s elections

Keir Starmer has used his keynote speech at the Welsh Labour conference to launch an attack on Nigel Farage, as the prime minister turned from fighting off a rebellion of his own MPs, to fighting off the threat of Reform.

Starmer said Farage was “taking people for fools” in Wales, and criticised the Reform leader’s recent visit to Port Talbot, during which he demanded the reopening of Welsh coalmines to provide fuel for the town’s now shuttered steel making blast furnaces.

“Just look what he said … pretending he has a plan to reopen a blast furnace. Nigel Farage isn’t interested in Wales. He is interested in Nigel Farage,” Starmer said. » | Bethan McKernan Wales correspondent | Saturday, June 28, 2025

Bring back coal mining? Farage is off his bloody rocker! – © Mark Aleander

The Patagonian Bones | Welsh Settlers Documentary | Timeline

Feb 1, 2020 | Following the discovery in 1995 of a set of human remains in a coffin on the coast of Patagonia in Argentina, a team of scientists set out to find out if they belonged to the long-lost grave of Catherine Roberts, the first Welsh woman to die in Patagonia shortly after she arrived with the first group of settlers in 1865.

A first investigation of the DNA of the bones revealed that they belonged to a woman in her 40s of northern European origin, which matched Catherine. But to solve the mystery once and for all, they needed to find a descendant to compare the DNA. Enter Nia Olwen Ritchie, a fire fighter from present-day northern Wales who travelled to Argentina to donate her DNA and solve the mystery.

Two Trains Collide in Wales Leaving One Person Dead and 15 Injured

THE GUARDIAN: Crash in Powys occurred on single-track section near passing loop, with one train apparently unable to stop

A rail passenger died and 15 people were being treated for injuries in hospital after two trains collided on a rural line in mid-Wales on Monday evening.

Witnesses described how people were thrown to the floor of a train and pictures of the scene showed part of one of the carriages crumpled in the impact.

Investigators were at the scene near the village of Llanbrynmair in Powys on Tuesday morning to try to establish why the trains had collided on the line, a single-track section.

The incident took place close to a passing loop on the largely single-track Cambrian line, where one train should stop and the other proceeds at low speed on a small loop of track. It appears that the train that should have stopped was unable to do so, but the collision was slow enough that neither train derailed. » | Steven Morris, Gwyn Topham, Jamie Grierson and Nadeem Badshah | Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Wales' First Minister Vaughan Gething Resigns | BBC News

Jul 16, 2024 | The first minister of Wales, Vaughan Gething, has announced his resignation, only four months after taking the job. It comes after three of his Welsh government ministers and his top legal adviser released resignation statements, calling for him to stand down.

Since taking over in March, he has been embroiled in controversy, and has been dogged by questions over a £200,000 campaign donation from a businessman convicted of environmental offences.

In his resignation statement, he denied wrongdoing, adding: "I regret that the burden of proof is no longer an important commodity in the language of our politics."

Wales Is Bringing In a 20mph Speed Limit. Why – and What Will Happen?

THE GUARDIAN: While many oppose the new restrictions, the Welsh government says it is the ‘sensible and progressive thing to do’

A car travels past a 20mph and ‘Welcome to St Brides Major’ sign in Wales. Photograph: Dimitris Legakis/Athena Pictures
The introduction of a 20mph speed limit on most residential roads across Wales from Sunday is proving one of the most controversial the Labour-run Welsh government has ever put in place.

Welsh ministers argue it will save lives and lead to fewer injuries, save money for the NHS and make communities more pleasant places to live and work in.

The Conservatives argue it will cost the Welsh economy billions of pounds with the Welsh shadow transport minister, Natasha Asghar, calling the rollout “madcap, ludicrous” and Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, attacking it as “absolutely insane”. » | Steven Morris | Friday, September 15, 2023

Penny Mordaunt is right on this. It is indeed “absolutely insane”! If you’re thinking of visiting Wales, leave your Lamborghini or Ferrari home! You won’t need such a beautiful car in Wales. Instead, drive your horse-and-buggy! – © Mark Alexander


Related article here.

All the roads now changing to 20mph and the roads that will remain 30mph as new default comes in »

Tories Lose Vote to Ditch Default 20mph Policy for Wales

WALES ONLINE: Conservative politicians wanted the new 20mph default law in Wales scrapped days before it is due to come into force, but it never looked likely given their low numbers in the Senedd

Opposition politicians have this evening lost their bid to throw out the Labour-run Welsh Government's default 20mph speed limit for Wales, just days before it is due to come into force. The Welsh Government says the law, which comes in on Sunday, September 17, will make roads safer and "improve the quality of life for everyone".

Conservative politicians held a typically fiery hour-long debate at plenary in the Senedd on Wednesday evening, followed by a vote on MS Darren Millar's motion which called for the Government to "repeal The Restricted Roads (20 mph Speed Limit) (Wales) Order 2022".

The motion failed with 15 votes to 38. It never looked likely that the Tories would get enough support due to the political make-up of the Senedd. » | Ruth Mosalski, Political editor and Jonathan Hill, News reporter | Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Putting in place 20mph speed limits in Wales is truly absurd. Whoever thinks that this will save lives and cause fewer road traffic accidents is surely mistaken. In my humble opinion, this policy could well cause more RTAs, not fewer, simply because of the frustration it will cause to drivers. A frustrated driver is a dangerous driver. This is a truly sad development. It is also madness. – © Mark Alexander

Welsh Nationalists Say Gold Cape Is Not Safe at British Museum

THE TELEGRAPH: Plaid Cymru has joined calls from other countries to repatriate artefacts in wake of theft revelations

Plaid Cymru wants the 4,000-year-old Mold Gold Cape returned to Wales
Welsh nationalists have joined the Chinese Communist Party and the Greek government in calling for the return of ancient artefacts from the British Museum.

Liz Saville-Roberts, Plaid Cymru’s group leader at Westminster, has repeated calls previously made by her party for the return of an almost 4,000-year-old gold cape in the wake of revelations about thefts at the museum.

The Welsh MP claimed the security of the museum is no longer a strong argument for keeping treasures from nations “under the control of the British Empire”, adding that the Mold Gold Cape and a bronze shield should be handed over. » | Craig Simpson | Tuesday, August 29, 2023

This Horror Story Visited on South Wales by Suella Braverman Could Be Coming to a Street Near You

THE GUARDIAN: A far-right backlash against the home secretary’s asylum policy has brought a deluge of hate to a peaceful Welsh town

Wales hotel protesters Composite: Guardian Design
Take what follows as a little local horror story, if that makes you feel better. But I see it as a parable, a lesson in how toxic things can get when some of the basest ingredients in politics are blended just so and left to fester. Our setting today is a town a few miles outside Swansea, yet with only a few changes it could come to the end of your road.

“I was always proud to say I was from Llanelli. Now? It’s worse than embarrassed. I’m ashamed.” That’s not a disgruntled neighbour speaking, but the leader of Llanelli’s council. And what’s upsetting David Darkin isn’t some new eyesore, but the forces gathering on his streets. In the privacy of his office, he likens what’s outside to the 20th century’s darkest decade.

Just a few months ago, no one here would summon up the ghost of 1930s fascism. But that was before this spring, when the town’s top hotel was taken over by the Home Office to house about 250 asylum seekers – and all hell broke loose.

The Stradey Park Hotel is described by local people as “the jewel in Llanelli’s crown”, the place where everyone wanted to hold their weddings. Even today, as workmen pull out the building’s innards in preparation for its new role, it leaves a splendid shell: a cream-coloured Edwardian mansion tucked into a hillside, with views over the Gower coastline.

Now it is in the hands of Suella Braverman. However hard the home secretary huffs and puffs about cutting hotel bills for asylum seekers, she is now one of the biggest hoteliers in Britain. To house a huge backlog manufactured by the Tories, Braverman has just shy of 400 hotels, creating a chain more than twice the size of the Hilton group in the UK. » | Aditya Chakrabortty | Thursday, August 24, 2023

Anger as Gendered Pronouns Stripped from All of Arts Body's Literature

THE TELEGRAPH: Taxpayer-funded Arts Council Wales is set to purge male and female pronouns like ‘he/him’ and ‘she/her’ from its official documentation

First Minister Mark Drakeford warns that ‘a need for constant vigilance remains’ with regard to the rights of ‘LGBTQ+ communities’ CREDIT: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Gendered pronouns will be purged from official documentation by the Welsh government’s primary arts body, The Telegraph can reveal.

The Arts Council of Wales, the taxpayer-funded body responsible for supporting the arts on behalf of the devolved government, is set to purge male and female pronouns like “he/him” and “she/her” from the body’s official documentation, The Telegraph understands.

In place of gendered pronouns, the Arts Council will use the gender-neutral pronouns “they/them”.

News of the policy arts comes after the Welsh government this year rolled out an LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales, which pledged to ensure public bodies were “sensitive to gendered language”.

Information from the Arts Council of Wales states that the public body is “currently undertaking a general update across our policies amending any specific references to gender (eg she/he/his/her) to ‘they/them’”.

A statement from the Council confirmed that documentation would be changed “as part of our continuous review process”, and that “if we come across gendered pronouns, we’ll be replacing them for the words ‘they/them’. » | Craig Simpson | Saturday, July 15, 2023

What a load of bollocks! This is woke bullshit! Left-wing, socialist crap! What on earth is Drakeford trying to do to Wales? And more to the point, what is he trying to do to the English language? To say nothing of wasting taxpayers' money. Enough already! – © Mark Alexander

Bronze Age Wooden Comb Could Be Oldest Discovered in UK

THE GUARDIAN: Comb and gold hair-ring dating back more than 3,000 years unearthed near Barry in south Wales

The bronze age comb was found in a small burial pit. Photograph: Red River Archaeology Group
They are sometimes depicted as unkempt and wild-haired but the discovery of what is being billed as possibly the UK’s oldest wooden comb suggests prehistoric people liked to take care of their appearance.

The comb and a beautifully crafted hair-ring, dating back more than 3,000 years to the bronze age, were unearthed near the seaside town of Barry in south Wales.

Discovered in a small burial pit where the cremated remains of a human had been placed, archaeologists suggest it shows bronze age people may have been fond of keeping their hair looking good. » | Steven Morris | Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Pride Cymru 2023: Live Updates as Crowds Gather to Celebrate in Colourful Parade before Heading to Cardiff Castle

WALES ONLINE: It's set to be a joyful day in Cardiff city centre full of music and performance

Pride Cymru 2022 was a visual feast to behold (Image: Mark Lewis)
It's that time of year again. Cardiff city centre is set to be filled with colour, joy and celebration for the LGBT+ community throughout the weekend as Pride Cymru 2023 brings people from all walks of life together. The event has been moved forward from its usual August date to June with the main events taking place at Cardiff Castle this year instead of outside the Civic Centre.

This year the parade will start at 11am outside the castle on Saturday and travel down St Mary Street back up the Hayes, along Queen Street, around Park Place and back towards the castle along Greyfriars Road. The feast of colour and music is expected to last up to two hours, with the festival then to follow from 12pm at Cardiff Castle, with last entry at 9.30pm. The festival continues at the same times on Sunday. » | Laura Clements, Senior Reporter & Branwen Jones, Reporter | Saturday, June 17, 2023

UK Could Break Up unless It Is Rebuilt as ‘Solidarity Union’, Says Mark Drakeford

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: First minister of Wales says bonds that tie UK together have come under ‘sustained assault’ from 40 years of neoliberalism

Drakeford said Anglocentric Tories in London had shown a ‘fundamental disrespect’ for the Welsh and Scottish parliaments. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/AFP/Getty Images
The UK could break apart unless it is rebuilt as a “solidarity union” where every citizen’s rights to public services and financial security are protected, the first minister of Wales, has warned.

Mark Drakeford said the social and political bonds that tie the different parts of the UK together have come under “sustained assault” from 40 years of neoliberalism, a trend launched by Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and then reinforced after Brexit by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

“In order to persuade people in all parts of the United Kingdom that their futures lie together within a restructured United Kingdom, we have to recreate a solidarity union,” the Welsh Labour leader said in an interview with the Guardian.

That included rebuilding the safety net for those sick or out of work, with fundamental rights, he said, to environment, consumer and trade union protections, to human rights and to affordable public services. » | Severin Carrell, Scotland editor | Monday, May 29, 2023

What Has Brexit Done for Britain?

Brexit, Britain was promised, would allow the country to ‘take back control’ – of its economy, its borders and its land. But what has that really meant for people now living with its consequences?
It’s three years since the UK officially left the EU. For many of those who voted to leave in the 2016 referendum, it was in answer to a promise to take back control – of funding, over farming, over immigration and trade. But have those promises been kept?
Listen to the podcast here.
As leave voters’ Brexit regret rises, will political parties dare to follow?: Even leavers might be changing their minds, but there’s little incentive for opposition to revisit issue, say analysts »

What has Brexit done for Britain? In two words: Sod all! – © Mark Alexander

Nigel Owens - Respect - Part 1/2 | London Real

Apr 23, 2017

Watch the full episode for free here.

WIKIPEDIA: Nigel Owens.