Category Archives: Wales

First minister says SNP MP who defected to Tories ‘probably never believed’ in Scottish independence – as it happened

Posted on by

Humza Yousaf says Lisa Cameron’s move was ‘the least surprising news I’ve had as leader of the SNP’

NHS waiting lists have hit a new record high, with more people facing long waits, PA Media reports. PA says:

Figures for the NHS in England show 7.75 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of August, up from 7.68 million in July.

This is the highest number since records began in August 2007 and comes despite Rishi Sunak saying cutting waiting lists is one of his priorities.

Continue reading...

Storm Agnes brings 70mph gusts and heavy rain to Britain and Ireland

Posted on by

Danger-to-life warning issued as first named storm of autumn damages buildings and disrupts travel

Gusts of 70mph were recorded as the first named storm of the autumn, Agnes, swept across Britain and Ireland, damaging buildings, causing travel delays and leaving homes without power.

The Met Office issued severe weather warnings covering much of the UK, where strong winds and heavy rain were expected on Wednesday evening and into Thursday.

Continue reading...

Historic Welsh pub loved by Dylan Thomas awarded £300,000 grant

Posted on by

Co-operative enterprise Vale of Aeron is one of 45 projects to receive money in Community Ownership Fund’s latest round

When Iwan Thomas received the news that he had won a £300,000 grant for the Vale of Aeron, a pub adored by the poet Dylan Thomas when he lived nearby in the 1940s, he was working a shift but had to hold his tongue.

Thomas, the 53-year-old chair of the Menter Tafarn y Vale co-operative group that runs the pub, could not tell any of the regulars until the news embargo lifted. “There was certainly a wry smile, where you know you’ve got something you’re keeping a secret, but it’s a good secret,” he said. “We’re delighted.”

Continue reading...

Why Tories are using cars as a political dividing line in the UK

Posted on by

Attempt to show Labour as ‘anti-motorist’ at forefront of Conservative pre-election campaign

After a week in which Rishi Sunak rowed back on the UK’s climate commitments and delayed a ban on petrol cars, it seems he is making a pitch to drivers a key part of his pre-election campaign. Here are the wedge issues the Tories are expected to deploy against Labour to paint them as “anti-motorist”:

Continue reading...

Animal welfare groups criticise American XL bullies ban, saying they’re ‘deeply concerned’ about lack of evidence – UK politics live

Posted on by

PM says breed, responsible for series of attacks, will be banned once it has been properly defined

Here is the full text of what Rishi Sunak said in his video statement about banning American XL bully dogs. (See 11.50am.)

The American XL bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.

I share the nation’s horror at the recent videos we’ve all seen. Yesterday we saw another suspected XL bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.

It’s clear the American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities.

I’ve ordered urgent work to define and ban this breed so we can end these violent attacks and keep people safe.

Continue reading...

Hope for thousands as NHS approves drug for acute migraine

Posted on by

First and only Nice-recommended medicine could ‘alleviate misery’ of condition in England and Wales

NHS health advisers have approved the first treatment for acute migraine in a decision that promises to bring relief to about 13,000 people.

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has recommended a drug called rimegepant, also known as Vydura, which is made by Pfizer.

Continue reading...

New £1bn government upgrade to plug Great Britain’s draughtiest homes

Posted on by

Households could save £400 a year on energy bills via means-tested insulation scheme

Households could save up to £400 a year on energy bills under a new means-tested scheme to insulate more than 300,000 of Great Britain’s draughtiest homes.

The government is spending £1bn on grants for homes that have low energy efficiency ratings and are in lower council tax bands.

Continue reading...

Selfie-takers caused pony to fall to death at Welsh beauty spot, says charity

Posted on by

Visitors to Gower urged to maintain distance after spate of incidents, including newborn foal falling off cliff

Visitors to a Welsh beauty spot have been warned not to go close to ponies to take selfies after a newborn foal fell to its death from a cliff.

In another incident a woman was injured when she was kicked by a gypsy cob pony on the Gower peninsula in south-west Wales, while ponies have also been injured or killed by cars and disturbed by drones.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak says he told China actions to undermine British democracy are ‘completely unacceptable’

Posted on by

Prime minister says he told Li Qiang, the Chinese prime minister, at G20 that Chinese interference with the work of parliament will ‘never be tolerated’

Simon Clarke, who was the levelling up secretary during the Liz Truss premiership, has defended the government’s decision not to explicitly label China as a threat. In posts on X, or Twitter as many of us still call it, he said:

There are legitimate reasons why it is difficult for ministers to say China is a threat – that’s the nature of international relations. What matters more than words is that our policy choices change to reflect the undoubted danger of China’s actions.

Here I think the Government’s record stands up pretty well. You have the soft power of our new Pacific trade bloc membership in the CPTPP (which notably does not include China) and you have the hard power of the new AUKUS alliance - itself a response to Chinese aggression.

Continue reading...

One killed and another critical after bus and car collide in Pembrokeshire

Posted on by

Major incident declared and number of passengers injured after crash on Cleddau Bridge in west Wales, police say

One person has been killed and another is critically injured after a collision involving a 52-seater bus and a car on a bridge in west Wales.

A major incident was declared on Tuesday and a health board asked people not to attend the local hospital unless they had life-threatening injuries to ensure there was enough capacity to treat the people injured in the collision.

Continue reading...

Schools concrete crisis is risk to pupils’ mental health, headteacher warns

Posted on by

Leader of a secondary school in Essex warns upheaval could have similar negative impact to that caused by Covid lockdowns

A headteacher whose 830 pupils must learn semi-remotely for at least a term because of the schools concrete crisis has warned that the upheaval could cause a recurrence of the negative mental health impact of Covid lockdowns.

James Saunders, the leader of Honywood school in Coggeshall, Essex, fears that year-seven students entering their first term at secondary school could face future struggles after the Department for Education last week ordered the closure of 22 classrooms as part of a nationwide safety alert.

Continue reading...

Owners of 100,000 properties held by foreign shell companies unknown despite new UK laws

Posted on by

Loopholes are used to obscure ownership of two-thirds of English and Welsh properties held by foreign shell companies

More than two-thirds of English and Welsh properties held by foreign shell companies do not report the identity of their owners, according to analysis that found significant flaws in laws meant to prevent oligarchs from hiding their wealth.

The UK government hurriedly introduced a register of overseas entities in August 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February that year, in an attempt to “flush out corrupt elites laundering money through UK property”. However, critics said there were severe flaws in the rules from the start.

Continue reading...

‘I felt absolutely sick’: John Gladstone’s heir on his family’s role in slavery

Posted on by

Charlie Gladstone on why the only way he can live with his family’s dark past is to turn it into something positive
• William Gladstone: family of former British PM to apologise for links to slavery

For Charlie Gladstone, the question is not what sort of ancestor he had, but what sort of ancestor he wants to be.

When he learned about John Gladstone’s involvement in slavery he was moved to tears. “I felt absolutely terrible. I really, really hated it. It was a shock and I felt absolutely sick.”

Continue reading...

UK weather: more than half a month’s rain to fall in south of England

Posted on by

Met Office issues yellow warnings with heavy rainfall and lightning expected to cause disruption

More than half a month’s rain could fall across the south of England on Friday, which could lead to some homes and businesses being flooded, the Met Office has said.

Between 30mm and 40mm of rain was expected to fall in some areas in six hours, the forecaster said. Typically in August, 63mm of rain falls across the south-east of England over the entire month.

Continue reading...

A-level results 2023: students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive grades – live

Posted on by

School leavers in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man will also receive their results today

The number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has fallen this year, Ucas figures show.

Press Association reports:

Firstly, I want to say a huge congratulations to the hundreds of thousands of students up and down the country who are celebrating their results and next steps today.

I am delighted to see more than 200,000 UK 18-year-olds have secured their first choice, which is testament to their hard work and commitment to progress to higher education in a year that has seen many complex factors at play, such as geopolitics, the economy and job market, and cost of living.

Labour recognises the enormous effort that all of our young people have put into their studies over the past year.

Young people have achieved these results despite the challenges they’ve faced: with a Labour government behind them, offering them pathways to good prospects, there will be no limit on what they can achieve.

Continue reading...

Two people seriously injured as car crashes into campsite in Wales

Posted on by

Six people taken to hospital after vehicle veers off road and hits tent containing baby, who escapes serious injury

Two people have been left seriously injured and four others taken to hospital after a car veered off a road and crashed into a tent on a Welsh campsite.

A baby was inside the tent hit by the car at Newgale campsite in Haverfordwest on the Pembrokeshire coast, west Wales, but is understood to have escaped serious injury.

Continue reading...

Nearly 100,000 fewer top A-levels this year in grading plan, research suggests

Posted on by

Tens of thousands of students face likely drop in As and A*s as ministers aim to return results in England to pre-pandemic levels

Tens of thousands of A-level students face disappointment on results day next week, amid warnings that nearly 100,000 fewer As and A*s could be awarded as the government seeks to return grades to pre-pandemic levels.

Up to 50,000 candidates this summer are likely to miss out on the top grades they might have expected last year, according to one estimate, throwing applications for the most competitive universities into doubt.

Continue reading...

Storm Antoni hits UK with near-80mph gusts and train disruption in south-west

Posted on by

Winds in Berry Head in Devon of 78mph could be August record for area while trees fall on Exeter-Penzance track

Storm Antoni, the first the Met Office has named this season, has hit the UK, with forecasters warning that flying debris thrown up by strong winds could pose a danger to life.

The highest wind gust recorded was in Berry Head (78mph) in South Devon followed by Cardinham (56mph) in Cornwall. The Met Office said these were both provisionally a new highest wind gust for August in those places.

Continue reading...

Weekend winds expected to disrupt UK ferry and train travel

Posted on by

Gusts of up to 65mph forecast to hit English and Welsh coasts on Saturday along with prolonged rain

Ferry and rail passengers have been warned of cancellations and delays as gusts of up to 65mph (105km/h) are forecast to batter the English and Welsh coasts at the weekend.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind in parts of England and Wales from 6am on Saturday until 9pm the same day, and prolonged rain was forecast.

Continue reading...