Monthly Archives: May 2011
Still a scandal
The coalition agreement last year contained a positive step forward for the treatment of children with uncertain immigration status. It contained a pledge to end the detention of children, some of whom as young as five, who after all have committed no crime and pose no threat to…
Derelict buildings – a dereliction of duty?
A great deal has been written about poverty and inequality this week, so this is something different – a look at historical buildings in Wales. Not castles and country homes, but buildings that…
Let’s be honest…
“Let’s be honest… the results for the BNP in the recent election (sic) were pretty dire… Still, we can take comfort in the misery of others!…In Wales, the British National Party beat the Lib Dems in four of the…
Election manifestos – do they matter anymore?
Manifestos? They are a waste of time and no one reads them anyway and they never get delivered because you can’t trust politicians and governments! Right? No, wrong. Throughout the recent Assembly election campaign Welsh Labour leader Carwyn Jones repeatedly stated that he was seeking a mandate from the…
The one thing worse than being talked about?
Whilst munching a lunchtime sandwich a few weeks ago, I watched the BBC News channel broadcast a speech which Kirsty Williams, the Welsh Liberal Democrat leader, was giving to a handful of supporters in Aberaeron,…
Urgent delivery
The next Welsh government has 5 years to transform Wales. With new powers, a clear mandate and, notwithstanding the cuts, a still sizeable budget, there will be no excuse if the figures on unemployment, poverty, low educational achievement and…
The earthquake
Well, the campaign may have been deathly dull but the results of the Assembly election so far haven’t been. In an Assembly that was losing a quarter of its members voluntarily, it now looks like a sea of new faces when Plenary session meets next week. It is no…
The Challenge to the new Government
The scale of the challenge facing whoever forms the next Welsh Assembly Government is clear from new statistics published on the Poverty website today. The news on the proportion of workless households is as grim as…
Attitudes amongst employers are part of the problem as well.
The tabloid view of people who have been unemployed over the long term is that they are largely unemployed due to their own inadequacies and lack of effort. As a result, public debate over welfare reform has been dominated by concepts of ‘scroungers’ and ‘work shy’ people who will…
Reading political runes
Pundits and parties are already gearing up to interpret the results of Thursday’s Assembly elections. This comes after Leaders’ debates and the scrutiny of manifestos, along with claims and counter-claims about the likely outcome. And, whatever the outcome, is it will no…
