Scottish and Welsh Ministers Criticise ‘Cack-handed’ Plans to Scrap EU Rules

THE GUARDIAN: UK government accused of not properly consulting devolved parliaments over ‘Brexit freedom bill’

The proposed bill will have a significant impact on hundreds of areas controlled by devolved governments. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA
Senior ministers in the Welsh and Scottish governments have furiously criticised “last-minute and cack-handed” plans from the Conservatives to scrap or amend thousands of EU rules.

The move – nicknamed the “Brexit freedoms bill” – has also raised alarm from constitutional experts who said it would make it easier for ministers to bulldoze through important parliamentary scrutiny.

Senior sources in the devolved governments have accused the UK government of failing to properly consult ministers in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Stormont, even though the proposals, released on Monday by No 10, will have a significant impact on hundreds of areas controlled by devolved governments.

One source said the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish parliaments first learned an announcement was imminent when they were invited at 1.51pm last Friday to an unexpected meeting on Saturday with Suella Braverman, the attorney general.

It involved ministers from all three devolved administrations and the cabinet ministers for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. » | Severin Carrell and Jessica Elgot | Monday, January 31, 2022

Boris Johnson’s History Is Catching Up with Him, Says Welsh First Minister

THE GUARDIAN: Mark Drakeford highlights that prime minister has been sacked from two previous jobs for lying

Boris Johnson, the prime minister, has been criticised by Mark Drakeford. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has launched a fierce attack on Boris Johnson, claiming “his history is catching up with him” and suggesting the easing of Covid restrictions in England is designed to distract attention from the crisis the prime minister is facing.

In sustained criticism of Johnson, Drakeford highlighted that Johnson had twice been sacked from previous jobs for lying and said he believed that everything the Conservative UK government was currently doing was about protecting his position.

Speaking at a press conference in Cardiff, Drakeford, who leads a Labour administration, said: “The prime minister is someone who’s been sacked from two previous jobs for not telling the truth.”

He flagged up a newspaper editorial on the eve of the December 2019 election that spelled out Johnson’s flaws, adding: “In many ways, I think what you see is his history catching up with him.” » | Steven Morris | Friday, January 21, 2022

Wales to Require NHS Covid Passes to Attend Nightclubs and Events

THE GUARDIAN: Enforcement of mask rules on public transport to be stepped up as coronavirus cases rise

The outdoor area of a cafe in Castle Arcade, Cardiff, in June. Photograph: Huw Fairclough/Getty Images
People will have to show an NHS Covid pass to enter nightclubs and attend many events in Wales from next month, the first minister, Mark Drakeford, has announced.

Drakeford encouraged people to work from home wherever possible and to get fully vaccinated if they are not already. He said enforcement of measures such as wearing face coverings in indoor public places and on public transport would be increased.

Wales is at alert level 0 and will remain so for the next three weeks, but the Labour-led government said Covid case numbers were “very high”.

Drakeford said: “Across Wales, coronavirus cases have risen to very high levels over the summer as more people have been gathering and meeting. Tragically, more people are dying from this terrible virus. » | Steven Morris | Friday, September 17, 2021

Wales Launches Plan to Become Most LGBT-friendly Country in Europe as Westminster Slides Backwards

PINK NEWS: The Welsh government has unveiled a new LGBT+ action plan and set out its hope to become the most LGBT-friendly country in Europe.

Key actions will include trying to devolve powers related to the Gender Recognition Act in order to reform it to benefit trans people; using “all available powers” to ban “all aspects of” LGBT+ conversion therapy; and increasing support for Pride events across Wales by sponsoring Pride Cymru, establishing a Wales-wide Pride Fund and appointing a Welsh Pride co-ordinator. » | Vic Parsons | Friday, July 30, 2021

Welsh Red: Ex-postal Worker and Retired Nurse Grab Gold with a Pinot Noir

THE GUARDIAN: Monmouthshire’s White Castle Vineyard scoops top prize against global rivals in prestigious blind tasting award

First it was English winemakers that had vineyards in traditional wine-making regions such as France looking over their shoulder, now it is Wales, after a “deliciously fresh” pinot noir from Monmouthshire scooped a prestigious wine award.

White Castle Vineyard’s “pinot noir reserve 2018”, a red wine that costs £25.50 a bottle, has become the first Welsh vintage to win a gold medal in the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Robb Merchant, a former Royal Mail worker who runs White Castle with his wife, Nicola, a retired nurse, described the win as “fantastic” for the vineyard which had been his “wife’s dream” to establish. » | Zoe Wood | Wednesday, July 7, 2021

All NHS and Care Staff in Wales to Get £735 One-off Bonus

WALES ONLINE: It is estimated the payment will benefit 221,945 people in Wales

NHS and social care staff are set to be given a bonus in their next pay packet to recognise their "extraordinary contribution" during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Welsh Government has confirmed that the one-off payment is equivalent to £735 per person to cover the basic rate of tax and national insurance contributions incurred. After deductions most people will receive £500.

It is estimated the payment will benefit 221,945 people in Wales including 103,600 social care staff, 90,000 NHS Wales staff, 2,345 deployed students and 26,000 primary care staff (including pharmacy, GP, dental and optometry staff). » | Mark Smith, Health correspondent | Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Pubs in Wales to Close by 6pm under New Covid Restrictions

THE GUARDIAN: Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes will also not be allowed to sell alcohol from Friday

Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes in Wales will have to close by 6pm and will not be allowed to sell alcohol, the Welsh government has said, under restrictions to come into place from 6pm on Friday.

Indoor entertainments such as cinemas, bingo halls, soft play areas and casinos will also have to close.

The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, said the facts behind the new regime were “stark”. He said that unless the government responded now it had been advised that by 12 January there would be 2,200 people in hospital in Wales with Covid and between 1,000 and 1,700 preventable deaths could take place this winter.

The decision to put stricter restrictions on hospitality across the country has been criticised by the Conservatives in Wales and is causing huge concern to owners of bars, pubs and restaurants. » | Steven Morris | Monday, March 30, 2020

What Are the Rules of Wales's Circuit Breaker Coronavirus Lockdown?

THE GUARDIAN: We look at what the measures are, when they begin, and for how long they will be in place

The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has announced a two-week national lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus.


Read the article » | Steven Morris | Monday, October 19, 2020

Wales to Ban Visitors from Covid Hotspots in England

THE GUARDIAN: First minister says he will act this week if UK government refuses to stop people travelling

People who live in Covid-19 hotspots in England are to be banned from travelling to Wales, the Welsh first minister has announced.

Mark Drakeford said he had asked for the “necessary work” to take place to allow devolved powers to be used to prevent people from travelling into Wales from “high prevalence” areas.

Drakeford claimed people in Wales were “anxious and fearful” and were “clamouring” for action to be taken. He said the Welsh government would act by the end of the week if the UK government continued to refuse to stop people travelling from English Covid hotspots.

He said: “Evidence from public health professionals suggests coronavirus is moving from east to west across the UK and across Wales.

“Much of Wales is now subject to local restriction measures because levels of the virus have risen and people living in those areas are not able to travel beyond their county boundary without a reasonable excuse. I am determined to keep Wales safe.” » | Steven Morris and Libby Brooks | Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Covid Lockdowns in Four More Areas of Wales as Cases Rise

THE GUARDIAN: Stricter rules from Tuesday in Newport, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent

About a quarter of the Welsh population will be subject to local lockdowns after sharp rises in Covid-19 cases triggered restrictions in four new areas.

Strict limits on travel and socialising will come into force from 6pm on Tuesday across Newport, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent in south Wales.

Lockdowns are already in place in Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taf and the Welsh government made it clear that other local restrictions or even a national lockdown could be brought in.

No lockdown has been imposed in Cardiff but three of the areas now restricted have borders with the Welsh capital and many people from the lockdown areas travel there every day for work and education.

Announcing what he called “genuinely extraordinary” measures, the Welsh health minister, Vaughan Gething, said the rise of coronavirus cases in the four new areas had been “worrying and rapid”. » | Steven Morris | Monday, September 21, 2020

Welsh Minister Warns of Possible National Lockdown as Covid Cases Rise

THE GUARDIAN: Updated rules must be followed, says government, as infection hotspots are detected in south Wales

A new national lockdown could be imposed in Wales within weeks unless people follow the updated rules on social gatherings, the country’s health minister has said.

Vaughan Gething also revealed that the Labour-controlled government was investigating a range of measures for Wales including imposing curfews to try to control the spread of the virus.

He said the same pattern seen in early February as Covid-19 spread across the UK was being observed again. The health minister pointed out that seven weeks later, in the third week of March, Wales, along with the rest of the UK, was in lockdown. » | Steven Morris and Severin Carrell | Monday, September 14, 2020

Plaid Cymru Says Wales Can Be Cradle of a Global Green Revolution

THE GUARDIAN: At manifesto launch, leader Adam Price compares vision to that of John F Kennedy during space race

The Plaid Cymru leader, Adam Price, struck a defiant note at the launch of his party’s manifesto, claiming that an independent Wales could become the cradle of a global green revolution.

Price announced a range of ambitious policies including three power-generating tidal lagoons, a barrage and an offshore wind farm as well as new rail lines and metro networks.

Comparing his dreams to those of John F Kennedy at the time of the space race, Price said the plans were audacious but achievable if the people of Wales pulled together and freed themselves from the control of the Westminster government. » | Steven Morris | Friday, November 22, 2019

Jo Swinson: Lib Dems Winning and on the Up after Byelection Victory

THE GUARDIAN: Party leader to consider future electoral pacts with other pro-EU parties as tactic pays off

Jo Swinson has declared the Liberal Democrats are “winning and on the up” after reducing Boris Johnson’s majority to one by taking a seat off the Conservatives in the Brecon and Radnorshire byelection.

The Lib Dem leader said her party would consider future electoral pacts with other pro-EU parties after its candidate, Jane Dodds, was aided by the decision of Plaid Cymru and the Greens to stand aside.

“The country doesn’t have to settle for Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “There is another positive alternative that is the Liberal Democrats who are winning again and on the up.” » | Steven Morris and Rowena Mason | Friday, August 2, 2019

Could a No-deal Brexit Push Wales towards Independence?

Boris Johnson may have given himself a new title of Minister for the Union, but how United is the Kingdom?

In Wales, where he was today, the Tories are out in front in the latest opinion poll. But many in the Welsh independence movement see his premiership as the perfect gift for their campaign.

A no-deal Brexit puts new pressures on Scotland and Northern Ireland, could it change the game in Wales too? Just this weekend thousands gathered to march for independence, so how indy-curious is Wales?

Protesters March in Cardiff for Welsh Independence

THE GUARDIAN: Thousands march in Cardiff calling for Welsh independence » | Mattha Busby | Saturday, May 11, 2019

The Story of Wales

The Richest Scot in the Empire | BBC Documentary

John Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, was a fabulously rich, maverick Scottish aristocrat. He spent a Welsh fortune on his many passions, creating some of the most extraordinary Gothic architecture in the world.

UK Govt Report: Employers Must Islamise Because Muslims Least Likely To Have a Job

BREITBART.COM: A government report has found Muslims are the least likely faith group in Wales to be employed. In response, it demands places of work provide halal food, prayer rooms, and accommodate face veils and even “cultural differences around handshaking and direct eye contact”. » | Liam Deacon | Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Welsh Teen Held Captive, Beaten & Starved in Saudi Arabia, Court Told

RT.COM: A Welsh teenager was kept prisoner in a cage, beaten and starved by her father, who disagreed with her “un-Islamic lifestyle,” a court has been told. The girl is reportedly still being kept against her will.

Amina al-Jeffrey, now aged 21, was born in Swansea but was allegedly sent to Saudi Arabia aged 16 because her father did not approve of her lifestyle, according to the Times.

She has reportedly been held captive in Jeddah ever since and her father will not allow her to marry a man of her choice, a family division of the High Court heard. » | Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Scottish Leader Meets with EU Heads

The Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been in Brussels today, meeting with European leaders. Sturgeon wants to keep Scotland in the EU, hinting that to achieve that, another referendum on Scottish independence from the UK could be held. RT's Peter Oliver has more.