tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11589701847524349402024-03-18T03:03:49.938+00:00Leanne WoodAelod Cynulliad Plaid Cymru dros Ganol De Cymru / Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for South Central WalesLeannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.comBlogger300125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-89108876216738558622012-03-31T16:15:00.002+01:002012-03-31T16:15:34.854+01:00Earth Hour<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUQ4o0Z1VUESKaA6x4s8ywI5cfM2eSqqV9Ly9HMfX7Oq3dIlqUjkYQGDwfwjomqVhycVmnY_TylHHddiHXdE3qhzB6hkugQsIYQRgY78sV3BVFCZS5L13cAypAK2MVodtso_Bmexho4g/s1600/Earth+Hour+best.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUQ4o0Z1VUESKaA6x4s8ywI5cfM2eSqqV9Ly9HMfX7Oq3dIlqUjkYQGDwfwjomqVhycVmnY_TylHHddiHXdE3qhzB6hkugQsIYQRgY78sV3BVFCZS5L13cAypAK2MVodtso_Bmexho4g/s400/Earth+Hour+best.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Tonight sees <a href="http://www.earthhour.org/">Earth Hour </a>. Earth Hour began five years ago in Sydney when more than 2 million people turned off their lights.<br />
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Since then the event, which is organised by WWF, has gone from strength-to-strength with a record 138 countries taking part involving hundreds of millions of people last year. Hopefully 2012 will see more records broken for participation.<br />
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It's great to see that <a href="https://rctmoodle.org/yggevanjames/">Ysgol Evan James in Pontypridd </a>will this year lead the switch off in the UK for Earth Hour after winning a competition. Pupils from the school will take part in a candle-lit walk through Pontypridd town during Earth Hour which begins at 8.30pm. <br />
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The Earth Hour concept is worth backing and I hope it gets support in 2012 like never before. Our environmental problems are not going to be solved by just one hour of reduced power consumption. However, the more people switching off the stronger the message delivered to the powers-that-be that people want to see stringent action on climate change.<br />
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So please do this tiny bit for our planet by supporting Earth Hour at 8.30pm this Saturday.<br />
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Diolch.<br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-91100219041565753012012-03-29T16:29:00.000+01:002012-03-31T21:19:26.012+01:00Ymlaen!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOze5kZGwfLsGO7hx4jwhfN3lQBsVRTU6efJkXQtCueWMh2bKz5te6ooYB6nqVXHTuREs7vQutfawwPRwl4OXB20YB57zGozEPTxooPHg48EfM_zKg0fcyswNChudPQmKV933er32g3J4/s1600/Victory+speech.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="268" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOze5kZGwfLsGO7hx4jwhfN3lQBsVRTU6efJkXQtCueWMh2bKz5te6ooYB6nqVXHTuREs7vQutfawwPRwl4OXB20YB57zGozEPTxooPHg48EfM_zKg0fcyswNChudPQmKV933er32g3J4/s400/Victory+speech.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
The last week-and-a-half has been busy and in many ways, life-changing. What an honour it has been to be <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-17381377">elected as leader of Plaid Cymru</a>. That I am the first woman leader in our history makes it all the more special. I can't miss this opportunity to thank everybody who helped my campaign in whatever way they could – you are too numerous to mention by name, but you all know who you are. I would also like to thank all of the Plaid members who placed their faith in me. I have undertaken do my utmost to represent the core beliefs that have made Plaid what it is; the only political party to put Wales first. Participation in the leadership election was very high at 76%. This impressive turn-out, allied to <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/news/2012/01/27/surge/">1500 extra party members </a>that have joined Plaid Cymru in recent months, bodes well for our future.<br />
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There has barely been any time to pause and reflect on the election since the result was announced on the afternoon of March 15th. My first official function as Plaid leader came the following Monday when the Grand Slam-winning Welsh rugby team and coaches came to the Senedd. As a Welsh rugby fan it was fantastic to be involved in some small way in the celebrations and to meet some of the players. Their dedication and willingness has made Wales proud and provides inspiration to so many. <br />
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A trip to <a href="http://www.erwrdelyn.ik.org/">Ysgol Erw'r Delyn Special School </a>earlier that day may have been much lower profile but it was, nonetheless, more important. I was invited to listen to a presentation of the problems encountered by the pupils’ during what should have been routine shopping trips to Cardiff. It was shocking to see and hear how difficult it is for disabled people to access the kind of areas in clothes stores and fast-food restaurants that most able-bodied people take for granted. The lack of disabled parking in multi-storey car parks is another issue that needs looking at, as does access to public transport. I have argued that we should strive to create a nation that leaves no one behind. This will be a guiding principle during my tenure as Plaid Cymru leader. <br />
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In my first full week, we had our annual spring conference at the Ffos Las race course at Trimsaran which helped to maintain the momentum that the leadership contest has generated in recent months. The overwhelming mood at conference was <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/mar/23/leanne-wood-wales-plaid-cymru">very positive </a>and members are energised as we approach the local elections on May 3rd. There was plenty of lively debate on a range of issues that provided plenty of food for thought. <br />
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During my first <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/welsh-politics/welsh-politics-news/2012/03/24/leanne-wood-calls-on-party-faithful-to-deliver-wales-from-moral-bankrupcy-91466-30612913/">conference speech </a> I highlighted the need to extricate our country from an economic system that favours London and the South East of England at the expense of the areas on the periphery of this overheated haven for multi-millionaires. <br />
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Here is an extract from my speech:<br />
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<b>“We want an economy that is built on equity, on fairness, on balance between the needs of the present and future generations, and on the twin spirits of creativity and generosity. <br />
“So, what is our most urgent priority? <br />
“Over the last twenty years we have seen the gap in wealth in Wales growing ever wider. <br />
“On current trends within a generation Wales will no longer belong in the club of high-income countries.<br />
“But predictions only come true if we accept their inevitability. <br />
“If we shift course then our future changes with us.<br />
“What is this path to a better future?<br />
“I think there are three giant goals we need to set ourselves in the coming decade.<br />
“We must build the green economy, invest in our knowledge base and create the infrastructure for success in the 21st century.<br />
“We need a green-print not just for the valleys but for the whole of Wales,retrofitting every home and every building until every last one is fit for the future – starting with those that need the help most, the homes of those on low-incomes. <br />
“Through this one programme we can create thousands of jobs, hundreds of apprenticeships and save millions in energy usage which can be used to fund the project. <br />
“We should have done this nearly twenty years ago when Dafydd Wigley first suggested it in his ground-breaking 100,000 answers job creation strategy.<br />
“But this time we have the Parliament with the power to do it.<br />
“Let’s build up our renewable industry. <br />
“As a nation we have been given a truly amazing legacy. <br />
“Our country is infused with energy. <br />
“First it was coal – now it is wind and wave. <br />
“But let us not repeat the mistakes of our history. <br />
“Let us make sure that people here reap the benefit from this second industrial revolution. <br />
“The German renewable sector employs 40,000 people in wind energy alone.<br />
“If turbines are to be built then let them be built by Welsh hands and minds and with Welsh steel.”<br />
<i></i></b><br />
Over the coming weeks I intend to visit as many parts of Wales as possible to spread the positive message we have to deliver. I hope to see you on the way.<br />
<br />
ENDS<br />
<br />
Mae'r wythnos a hanner diwethaf wedi bod yn brysur ac, mewn sawl ffordd, yn newid llwyr ar fyd. Mae wedi bod yn fraint aruthrol i mi gael fy ethol yn arweinydd ar Blaid Cymru ac mae’r ffaith mai fi yw'r arweinydd fenywaidd gyntaf yn ein hanes yn ei wneud hyd yn oed yn fwy arbennig. Rhaid i mi achub ar y cyfle hwn i ddiolch i bawb a fu'n helpu fy ymgyrch ym mha bynnag ffordd y gallent – rych chi’n rhy niferus i'ch enwi i gyd, ond rych chi’n gwybod pwy ydych chi. Hoffwn hefyd ddiolch i holl aelodau Plaid Cymru sydd wedi ymddiried ynof fi. Rwyf wedi ymrwymo i wneud fy ngorau glas i gynrychioli'r egwyddorion craidd hynny sydd wedi creu Plaid Cymru’r presennol: yr unig blaid wleidyddol sy’n rhoi Cymru yn gyntaf. Roedd y niferoedd a bleidleisiodd yn yr etholiad arweinyddol yn uchel iawn – 76%. Mae’r ffigwr trawiadol hyn, ynghyd â’r 1500 o aelodau ychwanegol sydd wedi ymuno â Phlaid Cymru yn y misoedd diwethaf, yn argoeli'n dda ar gyfer ein dyfodol.<br />
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Prin fu unrhyw amser am seibiant i fyfyrio ar yr etholiad ers i’r canlyniad gael ei gyhoeddi ar Fawrth 15fed. Daeth fy ngwaith swyddogol cyntaf fel arweinydd Plaid Cymru y dydd Llun canlynol ar ymweliad tîm rygbi Cymru – enillwyr y Gamp Lawn – a’u hyfforddwyr â’r Senedd. Fel rhywun sy’n cefnogi rygbi Cymreig roedd hi’n wych i chwarae rhan fechan yn y dathliadau, ac i gwrdd â rhai o'r chwaraewyr. Mae eu hymroddiad a'u parodrwydd yn destun balchder i Gymru ac yn ysbrydoliaeth i gynifer o bobl.<br />
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Efallai bod ymweliad ag Ysgol Anghenion Arbennig Erw'r Delyn yn gynharach y diwrnod hwnnw wedi mwynhau proffil llawer is ond mi oedd, serch hynny, yn fwy pwysig. Cefais wahoddiad i wrando ar gyflwyniad o'r problemau sy’n wynebu’r disgyblion yn ystod teithiau siopa arferol i Gaerdydd. Roedd yn frawychus i weld a chlywed pa mor anodd yw hi i bobl anabl gael mynediad i'r math o ardaloedd mewn siopau dillad a bwytai bwyd parod y mae’r rhan fwyaf o bobl abl eu cyrff yn eu cymryd yn ganiataol. Mae angen edrych ar y diffyg parcio anabl mewn meysydd parcio aml-lawr, ac ar fynediad i gludiant cyhoeddus. Rwyf wedi dadlau y dylem ymdrechu i greu cenedl sy'n gadael neb ar ôl. Bydd hyn yn egwyddor arweiniol yn ystod fy nghyfnod fel arweinydd Plaid Cymru.<br />
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Yn fy wythnos lawn gyntaf, cawsom ein cynhadledd wanwyn flynyddol yng nghwrs rasio Ffos Las yn Nhrimsaran – digwyddiad a helpodd gynnal y momentwm a grewyd gan y ras arweinyddol dros y misoedd diwethaf. Roedd teimlad cadarnhaol iawn yn y gynhadledd drwyddi draw, gydag aelodau’n llawn brwdfrydedd wrth i ni nesáu at yr etholiadau lleol ar Fai’r 3ydd. Cafwyd trafodaeth fywiog ar ystod o bynciau a digon i gnoi cil drosto. <br />
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Yn ystod fy araith gynadleddol gyntaf tynnais sylw at yr angen i ryddhau’n gwlad o system economaidd sy'n ffafrio Llundain a De Ddwyrain Lloegr ar draul yr ardaloedd hynny sydd ar ymylon y lloches or-boeth hon i luosfiliwnyddion. <br />
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Dyma ran o’m haraith:<br />
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<b>“Rydym am weld economi sy'n cael ei hadeiladu ar gyfartaledd, ar degwch, ar gydbwysedd rhwng anghenion cenedlaethau’r presennol a'r dyfodol, ac ar greadigrwydd a haelioni ill dau.<br />
"Felly, beth yw ein prif flaenoriaeth?<br />
"Dros yr ugain mlynedd diwethaf rydym wedi gweld y bwlch cyfoeth yng Nghymru yn cynyddu fwyfwy.<br />
"O barhau’r tueddiadau presennol, ni fydd Cymru o fewn cenhedlaeth bellach yn perthyn i glwb y gwledydd incwm uchel.<br />
"Ond dim ond os y derbyniwn ni eu natur anochel y daw proffwydoliaethau’n wir. <br />
"Os ydym yn newid ein llwybr, yna fe fydd ein dyfodol yn newid gyda ni. <br />
"Beth yw’r llwybr hwn i greu gwell dyfodol?<br />
"Rwy'n meddwl bod angen i ni osod tair prif nôd i’n hunain yn y degawd nesaf.<br />
"Rhaid i ni adeiladu economi werdd, buddsoddi yn ein sylfaen wybodaeth a chreu seilwaith ar gyfer llwyddiant yn yr unfed ganrif ar hugain.<br />
"Mae angen cynllun gwyrdd – nid yn unig ar gyfer y cymoedd, ond ar gyfer Cymru gyfan, yn ôl-ffitio pob cartref a phob adeilad hyd nes bod pob un yn addas ar gyfer y dyfodol – gan ddechrau gyda'r rhai sydd fwyaf angen y cymorth mwyaf, cartrefi’r rheiny ar incwm isel.<br />
"Drwy'r un raglen hon gallwn greu miloedd o swyddi, cannoedd o brentisiaethau ac arbed miliynau o ran defnydd ynni, y gellir ei ddefnyddio i ariannu'r prosiect.<br />
"Dylem fod wedi gwneud hyn bron i ugain mlynedd yn ôl pan awgrymodd Dafydd Wigley ei strategaeth ‘100,000 o atebion’ arloesol i greu swyddi.<br />
"Ond y tro hwn mae gennym y Senedd â'r pŵer i wneud hynny.<br />
"Gadewch i ni ddatblygu ein diwydiant adnewyddadwy.<br />
"Fel cenedl rydym wedi derbyn etifeddiaeth anhygoel.<br />
"Mae ein gwlad wedi ei thrwytho ag ynni.<br />
"Yn gyntaf roedd glo – ac yn awr mae gennym y gwynt a'r tonnau.<br />
"Ond gadewch i ni beidio ag ailadrodd camgymeriadau ein hanes.<br />
"Gadewch i ni wneud yn siŵr mai pobl yma sy’n elwa ar yr ail chwyldro diwydiannol hwn.<br />
"Mae sector ynni adnewyddadwy yr Almaen yn cyflogi 40,000 o bobl ym maes ynni gwynt yn unig.<br />
"Os yw tyrbinau i gael eu hadeiladu, yna gadewch iddyn nhw gael eu hadeiladu gan ddwylo a meddyliau Cymreig a gyda dur Cymru."</b><br />
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Dros yr wythnosau nesaf yr wyf yn bwriadu ymweld â sawl rhan o Gymru ag sy'n bosibl i ledaenu'r neges gadarnhaol mae'n rhaid i ni gyflawni. Rwy'n gobeithio’ch gweld yn ystod y daith.<br />
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DIWEDD<br />
<br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-58712812955825056542012-03-09T15:53:00.001+00:002012-03-09T15:56:08.041+00:00Let Down By Two Governments<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12hsLOZVpPoZ5Txh8gHHEmyBYElvfdvM3KD_RLNkSJzFOEhXKh014lKm3qtX76-dcnDMxJIU8nCiblZ6twVm4hYQOF8psVMKiQpRq-Dk2seHsmoT4HqL4wz3nxF_TVmIexGM6ktd10XE/s1600/remploy+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="205" width="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12hsLOZVpPoZ5Txh8gHHEmyBYElvfdvM3KD_RLNkSJzFOEhXKh014lKm3qtX76-dcnDMxJIU8nCiblZ6twVm4hYQOF8psVMKiQpRq-Dk2seHsmoT4HqL4wz3nxF_TVmIexGM6ktd10XE/s400/remploy+pic.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
I was angry to hear the announcement on Wednesday that <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/03/07/two-thirds-of-remploy-factories-to-close-with-1-700-job-losses-for-disabled-workers-91466-30480027/">seven out of nine Remploy factories in Wales are earmarked for closure</a>, resulting in the loss of nearly 300 jobs. The Westminster coalition, with this decision, has jettisoned the livelihoods of so many disabled people. Wales has, once again, been hit disproportionately hard compared to other countries in the UK yet the Welsh Government seems to lack the motivation, inclination or gumption to do anything about it.<br />
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The workers of Remploy are in a particularly acute situation as many are disabled and in the current climate are unlikely to find work elsewhere. The situation is worse now after the <a href="http://leannewoodamac.blogspot.com/2008/03/remploy-trefforest-workers-betrayal.html">programme of Remploy factory closures under the Labour Westminster Government in 2008.</a> Anecdotal evidence from former workers at the Trefforest factory has indicated that very few found work after Labour swung the axe there. As anyone who is out-of-work will know, finding a job is very difficult in the current economic climate. If you are disabled and living in the valleys where jobs are scarce, then your prospects of working are very dire. <br />
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Anyone who follows plenary sessions in the Assembly will know that I have raised the situation at Remploy repeatedly over the last six months. I have warned the Welsh Government time and time again that the situation was looking bleak and that urgent action was needed if the principle of supported employment in Wales was to be protected. I don’t mention this to say ‘I told you so’ but to highlight the culpability of the minority Labour Welsh Government in this whole sorry episode. <br />
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Here are some of the exchanges from The Record that I have had in plenary with the First Minister and Education Minister:<br />
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<b>September 27th 2011:<br />
</b><br />
<b>Leanne Wood:</b> "Given the economic situation that has been outlined by previous questioners, I would argue that jobs should be the top priority for the Government. I recently wrote to the Minister for Education and Skills, who replied that the Welsh Government recognises the importance of supported employment. There are two Remploy factories in my region, South Wales Central, both of which are under threat. First Minister, will you agree to make the case for the devolution of the budget for Remploy factories in Wales? Further to that, will you make a commitment that, in the event that you are successful with that argument, you will ensure that those Remploy factories remain open?"<br />
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<b>The First Minister:</b> "First, the Government fully supports Remploy workers. Many people work for Remploy. The Remploy factory in my own constituency was the first of its kind. Many people working for Remploy would find it difficult, even with the right level of support, to achieve employment elsewhere. We know that many Remploy factories have a full order book. However, there are question marks over the drive and commitment of Remploy’s senior management, in my view, to ensure that those order books continue to be full. With regard to the devolution of the budget, that is something that I would like to explore—alongside the Minister for education—with the unions, to see if they have a settled view on this matter."<br />
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<b>October 4th 2011:<br />
</b><br />
<b>Leanne Wood:</b> "First Minister, last week, I raised the issue of the two Remploy factories that are in the South Wales Central region that are under threat and I asked you to explore the possibility of getting the budget for Remploy devolved to Wales, and I asked to undertake a commitment that, if the budget is devolved, those jobs would be safeguarded. You agreed last week to explore the matter with the Minister for Education and Skills. Given that the Remploy workers are on the brink of losing their jobs and livelihood, time is of the essence, so can you update us on your discussions, please?" <br />
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<b>The First Minister:</b> "The Minister for education and I are both aware of the situation at Remploy and have discussed the situation many times in the past. I cannot pretend that getting the budget for Remploy devolved is going to be easy, or that the UK Government would acquiesce to that, but we will continue to press the case."<br />
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<b>November 29th 2011:<br />
</b><br />
<b>Leanne Wood:</b> "First Minister, I too recently visited the Remploy factory in Porth, and was told quite clearly that, if the factory secured the public procurement contract with Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, the business would be viable. In reality, public sector sales for Remploy in Wales have reduced by two thirds in the last three years. Can you update us on what discussions you have undertaken recently to secure the future of Remploy and, specifically, what you can do to ensure that Remploy has access to public contracts to secure its long-term viability?"<br />
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<b>The First Minister:</b> "I refer you to the point that I made earlier to the Member for Pontypridd ("It is right that local authorities should set an example and look to procure from companies such as Remploy in order to help those people who are in supported employment"). <br />
"In addition, I raised the issue with the Secretary of State in a meeting with her and asked her to consider the mechanics of the financing of Remploy being devolved. I have not had a response yet."<br />
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<br />
Then we have this exchange from Wednesday of this week between Leighton and I following the announcement that 7 out of 9 Remploy factories are earmarked for closure:<br />
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<b>Leanne Wood:</b> "Minister, this announcement could not have come at a worse time. Welfare reform is only just with us and, already, many people are very concerned about their future income and are asking questions such as, 'Will I qualify for benefits in the future?’ and 'Will I get a job if I’m knocked off benefits?’. It is only a short time ago that we lost the Treforest factory and other Remploy factories. Anecdotally, I have heard that many of those sacked workers—who, remember, were sacked by a Labour Government—are still out of work and have all but given up on finding a job in the current economic climate. I am sure that you will agree, Minister, that that is a terrible waste. All of those workers have a contribution to make. None of them deserves to be on the scrapheap. This is yet another example of the worst off in our society being forced to pay for a financial crisis that was not of their making. How many such examples do we all need? <br />
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"Minister, what representations did you make regarding the devolution of the budget and responsibilities for the Remploy factories in Wales? You tell us that the UK Government did not listen, but I would like to know whether you made the point. What discussions have there been between the Government’s health department from a public procurement perspective to see what business can be provided to guarantee the future of the Aberdare factory in my region? Does the Government, in principle, support supported employment? What concrete measures can you take to try to safeguard at least some of these jobs, if you cannot safeguard all of them? Finally, with the Jobs Growth Wales programme, will you commit to making a percentage of the jobs available for disabled people who may otherwise have found work within the Remploy network?"<br />
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<b>Leighton Andrews:</b> "The First Minister raised the issue of the devolution of the overall budget for Remploy factories in Wales with the Secretary of State for Wales. I have to say that that proposition was seen by the trade unions representing Remploy workers as very much a last resort when I discussed the issue with them. Of course, the issue is that Remploy factories have operated across Great Britain on specific lines of employment and that, for us as a Government, there would be a need to disaggregate the overall budget of those factories from those specific business lines, which operate on a Great Britain basis. We have not been given access to that information. Therefore, it has been impossible for us to make a calculation as to whether that would make those factories more or less viable. It has also been a situation on which we have wanted very much to work with the trade unions representing the Remploy workers, and we have sought to do so.<br />
<br />
"With regard to procurement, not only the health department, but other Welsh Government departments have extended opportunities for Remploy factories to be considered in the supply of goods and services, as I said in my statement. With regard to supported employment, we recognise the role for supported employment. Currently, the responsibility for that lies with the UK Government. We believe—I still believe today—that it is for the UK Government to take its responsibilities to these workers seriously and to demonstrate that it is putting the support behind them. In respect of Jobs Growth Wales, we will look at the opportunities there may be for specific support for workers with disabilities. My colleague the Deputy Minister for Skills will make a statement on that in due course."<br />
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I would argue that with seven out of nine factories earmarked for closure, the situation is at a last resort now. Much more could have been done to safeguard the Welsh Remploy jobs and work to improve the financial viability of the factories that have struggled to balance the books. It needed political will; it looks like that will was not there. It is starting to look like the Labour party is content to sit back and do nothing while blaming the Westminster coalition for everything. Of course a lot of blame lies at the door of the socially regressive Con/Dems, but the mantra for Labour AMs seems to be: ‘love complaining, hate responsibility.”<br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-243723866064118912012-03-01T09:17:00.001+00:002012-03-01T09:17:35.069+00:00Welfare Reform<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2eCZrt5BBUn5rypd19gjYCAYJlfHo25DXUh-PYpAcIC8EASjw8u9k7s98enu-IDV1CiXsSLAV8Ka9yja2LM1rQda7SlKputRxTnkBdPlp-hmoIcF3GDmdHEgxdSivI1G_KtPg6yN74g/s1600/welfare+boot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2eCZrt5BBUn5rypd19gjYCAYJlfHo25DXUh-PYpAcIC8EASjw8u9k7s98enu-IDV1CiXsSLAV8Ka9yja2LM1rQda7SlKputRxTnkBdPlp-hmoIcF3GDmdHEgxdSivI1G_KtPg6yN74g/s400/welfare+boot.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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The cuts imposed on people in Wales by the Westminster Coalition will not only be brutal but will affect us <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/02/28/benefit-changes-will-hit-one-in-four-in-wales-poverty-campaigners-warn-91466-30420093/">to a greater extent </a>than any other country in the UK. <br />
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Welfare reform will increase poverty. It will undermine the Welsh Government’s stated policy aim of reducing child poverty, wiping out the gains made over the last decade. By 2012-13, the Welsh Government has estimated the reforms could <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/02/29/welfare-changes-in-wales-will-plunge-6-000-more-children-into-child-poverty-91466-30427167/">increase cases of relative child poverty </a>in Wales by around 6,000. Plaid Cymru has said over and over that it is not right that the poorest people pay for the mistakes of the bankers. Yet that is what is happening.<br />
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A coaltion of charities produced their <a href="http://www.cutswatchcymru.org/">Cuts Watch Cymru</a> report this week, which shows how the cuts are impacting on people in Wales. The worst of the cuts are yet to come, but so far, there has been a 38% increase in the numbers of people applying for a crisis loan since 2007 and a 40% increase in the numbers of people going to loan sharks. The Welsh Government is powerless to protect people against these cuts. There are a number of recommendations in the report which could help to provide a buffer against the worst effects of the cuts, but it is inevitable that Wales will be hit hard while so many people here depend on welfare payments. <br />
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The welfare safety net we have all become used to will not be there in the future. That is why we must now have a <a href="http://en.leannewood.com/?p=269">plan</a> to increase the numbers of people in work, to reduce the numbers of people reliant on the ever-reducing welfare/public expenditure pot. If we want good welfare provision in Wales, and I believe most people do, then we will have to show that we can pay for it. <br />
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I have advocated bringing together all the best talents in this country to consult widely on a long term plan to create jobs, jobs, jobs. These jobs should be created as part of the building a new 'social economy' which puts people before shareholder profit and which is designed to turn around our ailing and disadvantaged economy, to bring prosperity to all parts of Wales. These outcomes will not happen by accident. No one person or party has all of the answers and a plan like this could only work if people are prepared to think long term, breaking out of the short term thinking that comes with four year election terms. It won't be an easy job. It'll be a huge challenge, but do we have an alternative?<br />
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Happy St. David's Day.<br />
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<br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-63798168742920648662012-02-22T14:52:00.001+00:002012-02-22T16:49:07.921+00:00Hands off our Welsh water<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1aGqVE6fnPQbKkRgLqPY5Nb4tBedsJSmQ0znRb9LxBoAKiJZZijUtt-8hS8KPFEcmom1vJxQGhGry-dzRJTA6-NZ-7EjNZRSEAPbgQQEcBbVIN9wwf7ZxP-MAZf6BBY60mMjkzhDeSY/s1600/bigdam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="197" width="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1aGqVE6fnPQbKkRgLqPY5Nb4tBedsJSmQ0znRb9LxBoAKiJZZijUtt-8hS8KPFEcmom1vJxQGhGry-dzRJTA6-NZ-7EjNZRSEAPbgQQEcBbVIN9wwf7ZxP-MAZf6BBY60mMjkzhDeSY/s400/bigdam.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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It is becoming increasingly apparent that water is going to be a valuable resource for the people of Wales in the years to come. It is now imperative that Plaid Cymru leads a positive national campaign to safeguard the future of Wales' water resources. <br />
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The issue was brought into sharp relief this week when the National Farmers' Union in England called for the <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/02/21/farmers-call-for-national-water-grid-as-defra-declares-england-drought-hit-91466-30370853/">exploitation of Wales' water for the benefit of the drought-hit south-east of England</a>. Plaid Cymru's <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/news/2012/02/09/plaid-cymru-publishes-silk-commission-proposals-for-improving-nations-economic-performance/">evidence</a> to the UK Government's Commission on Devolution, also known as the Silk Commission, calls for the Welsh Government to be given the power to levy new taxes.<br />
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Plaid Cymru must make sure that people in Wales fully benefit from any future exploitation of Welsh resources. Water has a deep emotional resonance amongst the Welsh people. It is a crucial part of our national history and we have a lot of it. <a href="http://www.llgc.org.uk/ymgyrchu/Dwr/Tryweryn/index-e.htm">The story of Tryweryn </a>still rings true: Wales has an abundant resource which thirsty parts of the state desire. We must play to our strengths and we should allow the export of our water - but on the condition that the people of Wales should see the benefit.<br />
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At the moment it is not possible to directly charge money for water that specifically goes to England, because in the privatised water market there aren't any national borders. However, if future changes are made to the market in line with the climate change agenda, we must make sure that Wales is in a position to benefit financially. At the moment water is not that valuable in raw monetary terms. But this could change. Any new taxes we could levy on water would be looking to the future and specifically to any new reservoirs or other pieces of infrastructure that might be developed in Wales. <br />
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The UK Government is developing a new water policy which may also involve legislation. The Welsh Government is also interested in water having recently issued a statement about its role in combating climate change. It is no coincidence that the Government of Wales Act specifically excludes the Assembly from making any laws relating to water supply. Why don't the powers-that-be want Wales to decide on our own natural resources? <br />
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These resources should belong to the Welsh people, not to corporations or to the UK Government.<br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-44265966861203376022012-01-30T13:25:00.000+00:002012-01-30T13:34:39.609+00:00A Tiny Tax Whose Time Has Come<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrer-yVOh7600rJzOSbyoPd2SJwNrRlBEAxKJmnq0_zo6jZpGV8RLhCaEKmGIxKU2X3Z5sPrJqCsviA7AZ2zOEwaGfu1Ri73Eu2RkUGFaYoOSKcXvxK9aiD3IM6FOS2d7A4fH5tgVql58/s1600/robinhoodtax1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="267" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrer-yVOh7600rJzOSbyoPd2SJwNrRlBEAxKJmnq0_zo6jZpGV8RLhCaEKmGIxKU2X3Z5sPrJqCsviA7AZ2zOEwaGfu1Ri73Eu2RkUGFaYoOSKcXvxK9aiD3IM6FOS2d7A4fH5tgVql58/s400/robinhoodtax1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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How we can defend people’s livelihoods and futures against the savage cuts to public services the UK coalition is inflicting?<br />
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How we can fund all the development Wales needs? <br />
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How we can pay for the projects that will build a green and caring society, one that also does its bit to make our world a better place for its poorest communities wherever they are?<br />
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A <a href="http://robinhoodtax.org/">Robin Hood Tax</a> or Tobin Tax would be a good place to start. The Robin Hood tax is a tiny tax on financial transactions. It could raise billions to create jobs, to fight poverty and to combat climate change. A tax with the added advantage of reining in the kind of speculative trading – gambling, really – that plunged large chunks of the world economy into its current crisis.<br />
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Last year I was one of <a href="http://robinhoodtax.org.au/2011/10/over-1000-parliamentarians-across-the-world-call-for-robin-hood-tax/">1,000 parliamentarians </a>in 30 countries who signed a declaration calling for early implement of a Robin Hood Tax, to make the financial sector – which caused the current crisis - pay a greater contribution towards safeguarding livelihoods and saving lives. In other words, making them help to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYtNwmXKIvM">turn the global crisis they caused into a global opportunity</a>.<br />
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Since then, the support for a Robin Hood Tax has soared, bringing together some strange bedfellows. <br />
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Not too surprisingly, the <a href="http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-20093-f0.cfm">TUC</a> and many trade unions - <a href="http://www.unison.org.uk/international/pages_view.asp?did=13677">Unison</a>, Unite and the GMB, the NUJ, the teachers’ unions and more - see its potential to help hold the line against spiralling poverty, as do charities like Barnardo’s, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams and many churches. <br />
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Overseas development charities like <a href="http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/actions/robinhood.html">Oxfam</a> want part of the proceeds to go towards <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2011/may/08/robin-hood-tax">fighting climate change </a>in the world’s poorest countries.<br />
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Global supporters include UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Bill Gates, George Soros, Desmond Tutu.<br />
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Even the <a href="http://robinhoodtax.org/latest/pope-endorses-robin-hood-tax">Pope is onside</a>: the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace recommended that funds raised from it be used to help low income countries suffering the effects of the financial crisis.<br />
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There’s strong support across Europe. As you might expect, Plaid MEP Jill Evans backs it, but so does the European Parliament. Right wing leaders like French President Sarkozy and German leader Angela Merkel have been pushing it hard. The new Spanish Prime minister Mariano Rajoy has just joined them. <br />
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Amongst European leaders, the most strident opponent is David Cameron – once again on the side of the greediest bankers against the wellbeing of millions. Ed Milliband and Ed Balls once said they supported it, but have backpedalled; while many individual Labour and Lib Dem politicians and members believe a Robin Hood Tax is right, their leaders are failing to stand up to Cameron, Osborne and the banking lobby.<br />
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In a letter to the G20, <a href="http://www.makefinancework.org/home-english/financial-transaction-tax/1000-economists-for-a-financial/">1,000 economists - including Nobel Prize winners and our own Dr Calvin Jones </a>– argued that the financial crisis “has shown us the dangers of unregulated finance” and that it’s time “<i>for the financial sector to give something back to society</i>”. They went on to say:<br />
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“<i>Even at very low rates of 0.05% or less, this tax could raise hundreds of billions of dollars annually and calm excessive speculation. The UK already levies a tax on share transactions of 0.5%, or ten times this rate, without unduly impacting on the competitiveness of the City of London. This money is urgently needed to raise revenue for global and domestic public goods such as health, education and water, and to tackle the challenge of climate change. Given the automation of payments, this tax is technically feasible. It is morally right.”</i><br />
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I agree with them. I’d like to see Wales come out loud and proud in favour of a Robin Hood Tax on banks, hedge funds and the rest of the financial sector to make them pay their fair share to clear up the mess they created.<br />
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Let’s have a “Coalition of the willing” in Wales, to help push for this fair and useful tax - and to show Cameron and the other Westminster politicians that defending the interests of banking’s greediest is totally unacceptable to us. That it’s simply not fair for poor people to pay the price of mistakes made by rich bankers, to die for lack of medicines or for their children to be forced out of school because of an economic crisis they did nothing to cause. <br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-78733224098036164022011-12-15T16:28:00.000+00:002011-12-15T16:28:00.948+00:00Standing for Plaid Leadership<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tHNlnhmrl8_Wl12nS7SGvZa3Trnu_3g89V46mqW8RZDl96-dBjJ_jmhiTJM5djmCoonnyMdhJs5ZzFXYEeLVv6ebNlCuLXwMctb9nO2sfv91hkTI7GX0E7J58dpSVkwAOQjJW2u7o2A/s1600/DSC01503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="268" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tHNlnhmrl8_Wl12nS7SGvZa3Trnu_3g89V46mqW8RZDl96-dBjJ_jmhiTJM5djmCoonnyMdhJs5ZzFXYEeLVv6ebNlCuLXwMctb9nO2sfv91hkTI7GX0E7J58dpSVkwAOQjJW2u7o2A/s400/DSC01503.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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I have decided to put my name forward for the <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/12/15/i-m-standing-for-real-independence-says-new-plaid-contender-91466-29956793/">leadership of Plaid Cymru</a>. The next few years will present a great opportunity for Plaid to fulfil our long term ambitions and I would like to be at the helm as we enter a new chapter in our history. <br />
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Now, more than ever, a strong Plaid Cymru is needed to put the transformation of our economy at the fore of the political agenda. I have the vision, ambition and determination to do that.<br />
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More information about my campaign and platform can be found on my campaign website <a href="http://leannewood2012.com/">www.leanewood2012.com </a>or by following me on Twitter and Facebook.<br />
<br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-44552713539540070702011-12-09T17:25:00.001+00:002011-12-09T17:49:41.484+00:00Whose side are you on?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoqftiClhp-ItQunL4H-NcZ47oxthq_FhivdyxdwTpLoEJ9qGC7G4Bq3QXzYQFxOV_MqO6zTjNkHbg5k2Er9rTjzt1S-5gsXDY3XKbXgIUN7459MDgviqwlHP2tMEKvI7LrJ59gJgpcw/s1600/pensions+strike.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="183" width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoqftiClhp-ItQunL4H-NcZ47oxthq_FhivdyxdwTpLoEJ9qGC7G4Bq3QXzYQFxOV_MqO6zTjNkHbg5k2Er9rTjzt1S-5gsXDY3XKbXgIUN7459MDgviqwlHP2tMEKvI7LrJ59gJgpcw/s400/pensions+strike.bmp" /></a></div><br />
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This week presented a rare opportunity for opposition politicians to come together in the House of Commons to oppose the deeply unfair reforms of the <a href="http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/pcs_comment/index.cfm/id/6025795D-4C2C-4F1A-861BCDAF07F94AAA">public sector pensions</a>. By supporting a motion laid by <a href="http://www.snp.org/media-centre/news/2011/dec/snp-secure-vote-uk-pension-cuts">the SNP</a> and <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/news/2011/12/08/plaid-tells-uk-government-to-stop-pensions-cash-grab/">Plaid Cymru </a>which called for the UK Government to reverse unfair changes to public sector pensions, the Labour Party could have sent a clear message that this issue was more important that party politics. Labour MPs could also have sent a message to the two million or so people who stood on picket lines and marched on rallies last Wednesday that their fight was their fight and their number one priority. <br />
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Instead, Labour politicians showed that tribalism is more important than the protection of the public sector pension scheme. They took the side of the Con/Dems on Wednesday. The motion was defeated 242 to 11.<br />
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This debate was the first one to be heard in the Commons in the last year-and-a-half since pension changes were first mooted. In this time, there have been 36 opposition debates held by Labour where public sector workers and their pensions have been ignored. A significant number of Labour MPs also crossed picket lines at Westminster last week even though some vowed not to. <br />
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I was proud to visit a number of picket lines last week and march with my fellow Plaid Cymru members, including our leader <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/news/2011/11/30/plaid-cymru-leader-joins-public-sector-workers-to-march-through-cardiff/">Ieuan Wyn Jones</a>, during the Cardiff rally. Labour politicians were conspicuous by their absence; a fact that did not go unnoticed by many of the people taking part in the rally. This non-committal position reflects the deep malaise their leader Ed Miliband now finds himself in by refusing to back the strikers and going as far as condemning the withdrawal of labour. <br />
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If Labour politicians cannot back the public sector workers on an issue as clear cut as the unjustified degradation of hard-earned pension rights then surely they should be asking themselves whose side are they on?Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-86583508657103688462011-11-29T18:50:00.000+00:002011-11-29T18:53:30.919+00:00Plaid supports strikers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisByf-JoID07aKaQT5K7JmYe6FUJmamwrrkQALoRYgsp2JbzL0kLWOhnhsSodlHcRuk5luCH5pE5T_TcJJOZ7IB2sz9gLMFeaBabXv5OeSHu-98fGLyHM2pj62vHtYNJ1XLjF4UKAdDpU/s1600/fair+pensions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="155" width="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisByf-JoID07aKaQT5K7JmYe6FUJmamwrrkQALoRYgsp2JbzL0kLWOhnhsSodlHcRuk5luCH5pE5T_TcJJOZ7IB2sz9gLMFeaBabXv5OeSHu-98fGLyHM2pj62vHtYNJ1XLjF4UKAdDpU/s400/fair+pensions.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Tomorrow, one of the biggest days of industrial action will take place in the UK in living memory. I will stand with the many ordinary men and women who are calling for the pension schemes they signed up to and paid in to, to be honoured. It is not too much to ask for a retirement without poverty after a lifetime of work but that is exactly what is at stake if the Westminster coalition has their way with the public sector pension scheme.<br />
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This is precisely why this issue has garnered such wide-spread support, particularly from trades unions which have never previously taken part in industrial action. Refuse workers, teachers, nurses, civil servants, meals on wheels providers will all be screwed by this Westminster <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1280554/The-coalition-millionaires-23-29-member-new-cabinet-worth-1m--Lib-Dems-just-wealthy-Tories.html">cabinet of millionaires</a>. Yet if you swallowed the rhetoric, you would be forgiven for thinking that tomorrow’s strikers are greedy, self-serving and not living in the real world. <br />
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Education Secretary of State Michael Gove this week described some of the union leaders as <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/uk-politics-video/8920359/Michael-Gove-strikers-are-itching-for-a-fight.html">“militants itching for a fight”; </a>a statement rendered even more farcical by the emergence of <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics-news/2011/11/29/tory-minister-michael-gove-who-blasted-unions-over-strike-accused-of-hypocrisy-as-picture-emerges-of-him-on-nuj-picket-line-86908-23597381/">pictures of him kneeling proudly on an NUJ picket line </a>in the 1980s. <br />
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The Government’s lead negotiator with the trade unions is Francis Maude MP. This <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/most-popular/2011/11/22/pension-slashing-minister-francis-maude-could-pick-up-731k-retirement-pot-115875-23579471/">privileged</a> son of a Tory MP has been hopelessly inept throughout the whole proceedings and shown <a href="http://grangetownjack.blogspot.com/2011/11/francis-maude.html">an ignorance of Government policy </a>that mystifies his appointment as the government's liaison person with the trade union movement. I'd say that it's the Westminster Coalition Government that is actually ‘itching for a fight’ with the public sector. After all, they have form when it comes to <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/publicsector-jobs-cull-has--begun-already-says-cipd-2134308.html">cracking down on the public sector</a> in their brief, but incredibly destructive, 18 months in office.<br />
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In Plaid Cymru, we know whose side we are on. We recognise that public sector workers <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/news/2011/11/18/fair-pensions-for-all-call-by-plaid-mp/">deserve to retire without facing grinding poverty after a lifetime of dedication</a>. Most importantly, we are not afraid to declare our support for such a just cause….<a href="http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2011/11/28/miliband-deserts-strikers-as-gove-goes-on-warpath">are you listening Ed Miliband</a>? As a Unison member and chair of the cross-party PCS group in the Assembly, I will proudly take my place on the picket line tomorrow. <br />
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I have no doubt that moral argument is on our side. With solidarity and determination, victory will be ours too. <br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-35103090103115819652011-11-21T16:36:00.001+00:002011-11-21T18:15:58.192+00:00More for the bankers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dw4VyvGWBrhWYCf_JfU7h9YYf4snk9DhOeclVjnSlDcnrZJnEz0bf_5RuqdjYZ0yaZ0dPNejrMGeNAdeo3OfGX6Iq_LDTLsfC-fL0eivl6_bhiq6JLG7mvyXN5w4QQnGMgAIl41xZ30/s1600/brick+laying2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="176" width="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dw4VyvGWBrhWYCf_JfU7h9YYf4snk9DhOeclVjnSlDcnrZJnEz0bf_5RuqdjYZ0yaZ0dPNejrMGeNAdeo3OfGX6Iq_LDTLsfC-fL0eivl6_bhiq6JLG7mvyXN5w4QQnGMgAIl41xZ30/s400/brick+laying2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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The Westminster coalition has <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iEFN6jIrlprqgS2jBLc0uUrzWGPQ?docId=N0761941321803228071A">revealed plans </a>today to “assist” the flagging housing market by underwriting mortgages with £400 million of tax-payers’ money. While the finer details of the plan and whether it applies to Wales are yet to be revealed, the stated aim of the 'Get Britain Building' initiative is to reduce deposits for newly built homes. <br />
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No one can deny that the construction industry is in need of a boost. That message came loud and clear last week with the <a href="http://www.fmb.org.uk/information-and-help/publications/masterbuilder/october-2011/external-affairs/?entryid59=244056">launch of the Wales Construction Federation Alliance in Cardiff Bay</a>. Housing building is undoubtedly one of the best ways to stimulate an economy. The housing charity <a href="http://www.sheltercymru.org.uk/home/default.aspx">Shelter</a>, amongst others, has shown that for <a href="http://media.shelter.org.uk/home/press_releases/every_pound_cut_from_new_homes_will_cost_the_economy_3.50,_shelter_warns">every £1 of public money spent on house-building, the economy gets £3.50 back.</a> There is a strong imperative to provide affordable housing in Wales where social housing is more scarce than in England. <br />
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However, the latest gimmick from the Con/Dems is an ill-thought out response to these challenges. The banks, propped up with tax-payers cash have carried on their 'business as usual' with the culture of <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b7653de4-0af1-11e1-ae56-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1eMJHeg2d">excessive pay and bonuses persisting unhindered </a>by the mistakes of the past. With a 100% guarantee applied to their lending decisions, isn't there a big risk of mistakes repeating themselves? It was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/05/the-subprime-25-the-top-2_n_197495.html">irresponsible lending in the US sub-prime mortgage market </a>that lit the touch paper for the casino capitalism bonfire of 2008 that is still raging today. How do we know that George Osborne won't sanction even more reckless borrowing with a cast-iron guarantee to mortgage lenders? As Mervyn King said in August 2008:<br />
<br />
<i>"We don’t guarantee lending to other forms of borrowing; we don’t guarantee lending to manufacturing borrowing...it would be a very dangerous move to move to a situation where the government saw its major role as guaranteeing lending...why should the taxpayer take on the risk of borrowing by individual borrowers some of whom are risky it’s the lenders who should take the risk. And what we saw in the first half of 2007 was that not enough attention was paid to monitoring the riskiness of that lending.”<br />
<b></b></i><br />
Furthermore, wrapped up in today’s announcement is an offer of a heavy discount on council houses – worth up to 50 per cent – in a bid to persuade people to buy their homes. This will further exacerbate the scarcity of social housing and increase waiting lists. When little or no social housing building is taking place, this is an irresponsible and ideological move by the Con/Dem coalition. Thatcher’s right-to-buy scheme of the 1980s may have had its supporters but the heavy discounts, allied with a failure to replenish housing stock, laid the seeds for the shortage of social housing we have today. <br />
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We need a major social housing programme to provide the much-needed shot in the arm for the construction industry and to shorten the creaking housing waiting lists of local authorities across the UK. This would provide an asset for the public who will own the housing at the end of the investment. Under today's announced plans there will no tangible pay-back to the tax-payer. Mortgage lenders, bankers and private house builders will be the main beneficiaries. <br />
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The Westminster Coalition is keen to trumpet at every opportunity how their <a href="http://blogs.news.sky.com/therealeconomy/Post:bae36632-e8c8-4b86-9688-3f72254b7003">interest rates on borrowing are very low </a>because of its austerity programme (or socially regressive and ideological war on the public sector and people on the lowest incomes, depending on how you look at it). Why not use these low borrowing rates to carry out a bold and ambitious social housing programme that will give people homes, jobs and help to build up the public asset base? The answer is ideological. <br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-48238197947538144432011-11-13T18:14:00.001+00:002011-11-13T18:27:08.173+00:00End all wars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-149X8_zetxE27mRY-ZeVEiwoE3MKBcpJej5TQyZSPV4ZvluDlnCcemn8vGNC4bNq8MIEYZ_MmXrsiLf1tMXj3Tneg3WqTZ0EPz0VwUce0f3NMwAHOFcb9KOsLhoGZaVNzbAYdyOJWk/s1600/peace+poppies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="195" width="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-149X8_zetxE27mRY-ZeVEiwoE3MKBcpJej5TQyZSPV4ZvluDlnCcemn8vGNC4bNq8MIEYZ_MmXrsiLf1tMXj3Tneg3WqTZ0EPz0VwUce0f3NMwAHOFcb9KOsLhoGZaVNzbAYdyOJWk/s400/peace+poppies.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
This week in the Senedd the Conservatives held a debate calling on the government to plan a commemoration of the start of world war one in 2014. This was my contribution to the debate, from the <a href="http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-chamber-fourth-assembly-rop.htm?act=dis&id=226127&ds=11%2F2011#dad">Assembly's Record of Proceedings</a>:<br />
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<b>Leanne Wood</b>: <i>This debate is timely, given that there will be many families remembering past and present wars, and the loss of their loved ones at remembrance services throughout the country this coming Sunday. Those who have lost their lives in the conflicts of the twentieth century, and the more recent ones this century, will all be remembered. As they are remembered, I hope that there will also be time for reflection on the war that sparked remembrance Sunday. That war, which ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, started almost 100 years ago. Let us not forget that that was meant to be the war to end all wars.<br />
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The last known survivor of that war was the late Harry Patch. I will take some time to remember Harry’s words; words that, in my view, powerfully sum up the dark reality of what war is all about. When he was 107, Harry Patch said<br />
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<i><b>'We’ve had 87 years to think what war is. To me, it is a licence to go out and murder. Why should the British government call me up and take me out to a battlefield to shoot a man I never knew, whose language I couldn’t speak. All those lives lost for a war finished over a table. Where’s the sense in that?’</b></i><br />
<br />
Later, he said<br />
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<i><b>'Too many died, war isn’t worth one life’</b></i><br />
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He said that war was <i><b>'calculated and condoned slaughter of human beings’</b></i>. I know from my involvement in the recently formed Justice Unions all-party group, which I have helped to set up, that the wars ongoing today are creating big problems that are impacting on families and communities up and down our country. Physical injuries are visible, but mental problems and, in particular, post-traumatic stress disorder, is all too often not dealt with. In many cases, it is not even diagnosed. Work carried out by the corresponding Justice Union group in Westminster and research carried out by my Plaid Cymru colleauge Elfyn Llwyd has uncovered the vast numbers of ex-service personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder in the prison system or living on the streets. Elfyn Llwyd has led the way in campaigning for better services for mentally and physically injured service personnel. We are hoping that the Wales all-party group can do something similar at a Welsh level. For everyone who has contributed to this debate today, and who is interested in being involved in that all party group, please let me know. <br />
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In remebering the first world war, and all other wars, I hope that we can also remember all people affected: soldiers and civilians on both sides. We must learn the lessons from the past wars? Will we heed the words of Harry Patch?<br />
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To conclude, I support the amendment put forward in the name of Jocelyn Davies, which calls for an exploration of the idea of setting up a peace institute. I ask people to look at what peace institutes do in other countries: in Norway, Finland, Catalunya, Ireland and Germany. We have the powers to do this here. A peace institute could be an important educational resource and a vehicle for bringing together peace-related research; for example, on conflict resolution and arms conversion. The majority of peace institutes elsewhere in the world are self-financing, so it need not be something that requires any major financial commitment. All of the existing peace institutes enjoy academic independence. The setting up of a Welsh peace institute, working with other peace institutes around the world, would be a good way for Wales to commemorate the first world war, by making a contribution to a project that aims, finally, to end all wars.</i><br />
<br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-68938382416381334952011-11-11T11:46:00.001+00:002011-11-11T12:00:13.294+00:00Occupy Cardiff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWyEKsF4uTKLW9l_hyphenhyphensJelWTgwlUcjnjHJAY9Kv1AGWmWGyB1g7R2ne9libonXYw8jJ1geOadUtg81slsHheeMXS8wVr7lLMl8iaXm3BlhtEZv-N6GuB-6pMhEhLyeCsSGOutkEpyEAMI/s1600/occupy+cardiff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="254" width="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWyEKsF4uTKLW9l_hyphenhyphensJelWTgwlUcjnjHJAY9Kv1AGWmWGyB1g7R2ne9libonXYw8jJ1geOadUtg81slsHheeMXS8wVr7lLMl8iaXm3BlhtEZv-N6GuB-6pMhEhLyeCsSGOutkEpyEAMI/s400/occupy+cardiff.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Today, the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=613235070&ref=tn_tinyman#!/event.php?eid=192221504188896">Occupy movement</a> comes to Wales. From 2pm today, protestors will gather at the Aneurin Bevan Staute in Queen Street in Cardiff to be the voice of <a href="http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/">the 99%</a>.<br />
<br />
In her book <a href="http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine">Shock Doctrine</a>, <a href="http://www.naomiklein.org/main">Naomi Klein</a> shows how the world's rich and powerful, the 1%, love a crisis.<br />
<br />
"<i>When people are panicked and desperate and no one seems to know what to do, that is the ideal time to push through their wish list of pro-corporate policies: privatizing education and social security, slashing public services, getting rid of the last constraints on corporate power. Amidst the economic crisis, this is happening the world over</i>."<br />
<br />
Speaking at <a href="http://occupywallst.org/">Occupy Wall Street</a>, Naomi said:<br />
<br />
"<i>today everyone can see that the system is deeply unjust and careening out of control. Unfettered greed has trashed the global economy. And it is trashing the natural world as well. We are overfishing our oceans, polluting our water with fracking and deepwater drilling, turning to the dirtiest forms of energy on the planet...The new normal is serial disasters: economic and ecological</i>...<br />
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<i>The task of our time is to turn this around: to challenge this false scarcity. To insist that we can afford to build a decent, inclusive society—while at the same time, respect the real limits to what the earth can take...<br />
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I am talking about changing the underlying values that govern our society. That is hard to fit into a single media-friendly demand, and it’s also hard to figure out how to do it. But it is no less urgent for being difficult."</i><br />
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Thanks Naomi. That covers it.Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-37998593601643860302011-11-10T17:13:00.002+00:002011-11-10T22:03:22.878+00:00Fiddling While Rome Burns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9SuwkLDJRNjEhilCQggOfUaolKPUP1GuxjFtqgKDqZ00PAeiU1Fo5zEMVRcVGJXiZ8wU0e2-CEOlI062MU-avYoO7agnIvHJBdLlPkdCDWuUjYPIImFEnViJvde2TM8lTpDsp7cUbTI/s1600/economic+downturn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="112" width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9SuwkLDJRNjEhilCQggOfUaolKPUP1GuxjFtqgKDqZ00PAeiU1Fo5zEMVRcVGJXiZ8wU0e2-CEOlI062MU-avYoO7agnIvHJBdLlPkdCDWuUjYPIImFEnViJvde2TM8lTpDsp7cUbTI/s400/economic+downturn.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
<b>From the Assembly's Record of Proceedings: 9th November 2011.<br />
Plaid Cymru debate on the economic crisis:<b></b></b><br />
<br />
"<i>I am sure that everyone listening to this debate is familiar with the effects of the economic crisis and, as Assembly Members, I am sure that we are all well-versed, not just with the fast-moving news events, but also with the way in which the crisis is impacting upon people’s lives, by the very nature of the cases that are coming to our attention.<br />
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In Plaid Cymru, we are deeply disappointed with the lack of ambition and visible action from this Government on the economy. Our economy needs urgent, vast and long-term intervention. No longer can we sit back and cross our fingers, hoping that circumstances are going to change, because all indications are that things are not going to change, and that, if anything, things are going to get a lot worse.<br />
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The First Minister tells us that his door is open and that he is willing to listen to ideas. I have some ideas that I hope that the Government will now start to take seriously. We have no need whatsoever to reinvent the wheel. In a paper that went to the former Enterprise and Learning Committee on 15 July 2010 from the <a href="http://www.cooperatives-wales.coop/">Co-operatives and Mutuals </a>Wales, two international examples were given, which, if we could do the same in Wales, could transform our economy, particularly the worst performing areas of our economy. Clearly, all businesses need finance and we all know that, despite two rounds of quantitative easing, businesses are struggling to access finance.<br />
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The Enterprise and Learning Committee paper refers to the Capital régional et<a href="http://www.capitalregional.com/En/index.asp"> coopératif Desjardins </a>in Quebec, which is an investment fund that was started in 2001. This fund raises development capital for co-operatives to invest in the 'resource’, or the less-developed regions of Quebec. In the first five years, the fund grew from $79 million to $587 million. By 2010, $905 million, raised from individuals and the private sector, was supporting, through loans, 225 co-operative enterprises. What is stopping us from setting up a dedicated fund, along the Quebec lines, to support the expansion of co-operatives and social enterprises in Wales?<br />
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The second international example cited in that paper, which could be considered in Wales, is the vast network of manufacturing co-operatives in the Basque Country. <a href="http://www.mcc.es/ENG.aspx">The Mondragon Corporation </a>was formed with a technical training college in 1956 by a Catholic priest. It now employs over 90,000 people in 256 co-operatives. Within its structure, there are now two banks and a university, and its supermarket chain is the third largest in the Spanish state. It operates a maximum-wage policy, with a ratio of 5:1, so that the highest earner cannot earn more than five times the lowest-paid worker, which then assists with equality.<br />
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If our current precarious economic situation does not warrant bold and ambitious action on this scale, then what will it take? The Government has financially supported co-operatives, but where do they sit in the overall economic strategy? What outcomes does the Government hope to see as a result of that support? Why do we not make the growth of co-operatives a strategic economic objective? Why not pull together all the various interested parties to set up a co-operative growth fund, along the lines of the Quebec model, and why not pay a visit to the Basque Country to meet the people there and to discuss how we could set up something similar to their manufacturing co-operative network in Wales?<br />
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The First Minister has asked for ideas. It is a real shame that he is not here to listen to them this afternoon, but they are on the record and, hopefully, we will see some action on the co-operative front in Wales soon." <br />
<br />
</i>Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-19668210544677504932011-11-08T14:43:00.000+00:002011-11-08T16:22:35.160+00:00Benefits cuts to hit Wales harder<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZS1lyX4q-wdAYQaSsWQPhPutLV91SOXVOmN5O_NqFHkA5k3-UiVe6LyvYGiTltbSGNt_N4aTMc8a-Nr5Xvcu-uFxzh7elnwoGiOgEtpMB8YfP82ArcLFBBTGrFbGW0pGjoI2AwKx374U/s1600/unemployment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="273" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZS1lyX4q-wdAYQaSsWQPhPutLV91SOXVOmN5O_NqFHkA5k3-UiVe6LyvYGiTltbSGNt_N4aTMc8a-Nr5Xvcu-uFxzh7elnwoGiOgEtpMB8YfP82ArcLFBBTGrFbGW0pGjoI2AwKx374U/s400/unemployment.jpg" /></a></div><br />
A new study by Sheffield Hallam University has shown that the UK government's incapacity benefit reforms will <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/11/08/wales-will-suffer-as-65-000-taken-off-incapacity-benefit-91466-29737634/">hit Wales harder</a> than any other part of the UK. It has been estimated that up to<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15633315">75,000 people will no longer be eligible for incapacity benefit</a> by 2014.<br />
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This is proof, if any further was needed, that we are not all in this together as David Cameron would have us believe. The Con/Dem coalition has no compassion for the very people for whom the welfare state was set up – how else would they be able to push through these punitive policies that will hit the former coalfield communities in Wales harder than any other part of the UK? <br />
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This will mean that more people in Wales will have to choose between heating and eating. More children will be pushed into poverty. More local businesses will go to the wall because the disposable income of their customers has been taken away by the UK government. <br />
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David Cameron and his cabinet of millionaires are deliberately and ideologically shrinking the public sector by launching a full-scale attack on our hard-won welfare system. It is a futile exercise to tell people to go and find a job when none exist. Too many people in Wales live in communities where the market has failed to provide jobs and that are yet to recover from the Thatcher policies of the 1980s. Some of those policies involved encouraging people to claim particular benefits to avoid the appearance of inflated unemployment figures. How will benefit reductions on this scale, with no jobs, help to turn these communities around? <br />
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These cuts have been designed to hit the worst off while the multi-millionaire tax evaders and avoiders get off scot-free. Will the Welsh government do or say anything about it?Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-53461423306998372702011-10-26T12:51:00.000+01:002011-10-26T12:51:07.762+01:00Rhondda health services<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieskUr5eGak3Dvc3o4kJUHu5FSxVZ_V3lcYfQmxoAzampd5Tlk2RF4_SqMZYZ-QEDnWG1In5QkoHC9VWaSaTxR-bIuJFYufBKo73gkR4fdLs4o0Izqs4jfVVf7rW2RhaJ1OBggbghvMKc/s1600/NHS+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="108" width="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieskUr5eGak3Dvc3o4kJUHu5FSxVZ_V3lcYfQmxoAzampd5Tlk2RF4_SqMZYZ-QEDnWG1In5QkoHC9VWaSaTxR-bIuJFYufBKo73gkR4fdLs4o0Izqs4jfVVf7rW2RhaJ1OBggbghvMKc/s400/NHS+logo.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Plaid Cymru in the Rhondda last night (25th October) held an open meeting to discuss local health services. The long term future of the <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/rhondda/2011/10/20/fury-as-hospital-s-minor-injuries-unit-is-closed-91466-29623436/">Minor Injuries Unit (MIU)</a> is under threat at the new hospital in Llwynypia, having been closed on a 'temporary' basis. The <a href="http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-north-wales-news/aberdare-news/2011/10/13/hospital-s-out-of-hours-gp-service-under-threat-55578-29583101/">out-of-hours GP service</a> is also under threat.<br />
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The meeting was well attended with representatives from Rhondda over-50s forums as well as councillors of both political shades and health service workers, including trades union representatives. There was agreement that a strong and united campaign was needed to protect our local health services and to stop further centralisation. We agreed to ask for the Chief Executive of the Health Authority to attend a public meeting to outline the plans for health services in the Rhondda as part of a campaign to save our local services.<br />
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Permanent closure of the MIU at Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda would have drastic knock-on effects. In the meeting we were told by a paramedic how local ambulance services are struggling now, regularly having to get back-up from Cardiff and elsewhere due to low cover in the Rhondda. A&E at the Royal Glamorgan will see longer waits. Nurses told us how other departments will be run-down in Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda as many currently serve the MIU and will have their work diverted to the Royal Glamorgan. Their feeling was that the MIU had been allowed to run down over time - firstly by closing over Christmas periods, then closing on Saturdays, then reducing opening hours during the week and closing at 4pm instead of 5pm.<br />
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Concerns have been expressed to me about the MIU for well over a year. I have raised the issue on numerous occasions<a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/rhondda/2010/09/30/hospital-staff-claim-redundancies-are-causing-shortages-91466-27358713/"> in the Assembly</a> and with officials from the Health Authority. I have been told that there have been recruitment problems but that there are <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/rhondda/2010/04/29/service-changes-at-new-llwynypia-hospital-prompt-travel-fears-for-patients-91466-26329006/">'no plans' </a>to close the MIU at Llwynypia Hospital. <br />
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When the <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/10/15/first-minister-faces-protesters-at-ysbyty-cwm-rhondda-opening-91466-27474669/">First Minister opened Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda</a> just last October, he vowed to protect from any potential cuts, telling Rhondda Plaid Cymru protestors who were calling for guarantees for the future of the MIU - “It is a fairly new facility and we want to make sure that facilities intended to be here are kept here”. <br />
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We all understand that budgets have been cut and that public services need to change. However, the health service belongs to the people. Changes should not be made in secret. The Health Authority should publish their plans for any changes to services to allow people to have a say on those plans. Front-line services must be protected and that includes services in our new local hospital. Otherwise, it'll be people with already pressed incomes who will have to fork out more on travel, paying the price for a financial crisis that was caused by a bunch of bankers and their friends, who continue to live the life of Riley.<br />
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There are numerous petitions circulating in the Rhondda calling for our local health services to remain. We will shortly be announcing details of a public meeting and a march through the Rhondda. If you value you local health services, please get involved in our campaign.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Leanne Wood<br />
<br />
Plaid Cymru Assembly Member<br />
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South Wales CentralLeannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-82501632444806594212011-10-24T12:35:00.000+01:002011-10-26T12:13:06.498+01:00Independence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMvS9FoHYWkSWq8iIZupQEJEGtp1hGHbulKWQ847mWTHEDIa1gnXGtE1WPF3pUiFCmXlUp_hG8z9fzXXe4bN7EHQ-GHWik_wXkC5_u7arRLfO80w2YoqlkF0reAOtWXnLRUC51M9Jn7c/s1600/SNP+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="140" width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMvS9FoHYWkSWq8iIZupQEJEGtp1hGHbulKWQ847mWTHEDIa1gnXGtE1WPF3pUiFCmXlUp_hG8z9fzXXe4bN7EHQ-GHWik_wXkC5_u7arRLfO80w2YoqlkF0reAOtWXnLRUC51M9Jn7c/s400/SNP+logo.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Scotland is going places. That was the over-riding mood at this weekend's <a href="http://www.snp.org/">SNP </a>conference in Inverness. <br />
<br />
Alex Salmond has every reason to be confident and optimistic. <a href="http://syniadau--buildinganindependentwales.blogspot.com/2011/10/salmonds-speech.html">His speech</a> reflected the confidence and optimism that will be needed on the part Scotland's people if the referendum on independence is to be successful.<br />
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It's hard to work out where the <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/7317623/salmonds-bonnie-boat.thtml">No campaign</a> will come from. <a href="http://t.co/Hcu5zgQl">The Tories are in a terrible mess</a>. Will they rely on their party bosses in London to put the case against? <br />
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<a href="http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/23/scottish-independence-end-of-union?cat=commentisfree&type=article">Long time Labour supporters are starting to</a> see independence as inevitable. <br />
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In her fraternal address from Plaid Cymru to the conference, <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/news/2011/10/23/time-for-serious-debate-on-uk-relationships-plaids-elin-jones-addresses-snp-conference/">Elin Jones AM</a> said that we should now be thinking about the implications of all of this for Wales.<br />
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“<i>As you, in the SNP and in Scotland, consider the real possibility of creating an independent Scotland, we are left to consider what would be left. A UK Government governing all English matters, and only some Welsh matters and even less Northern Irish matters. It is now time for a serious debate on the future constitutional relationship of the countries of the British islands. It is time to debate equality, not subservience and dependence. To us, the UK is currently a pretence of a country. After a Yes vote in your referendum, it could no longer pretend to anyone, not even itself</i>.”<br />
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Can we in Wales emulate the enthusiasm, confidence and determination which was on show in abundance in Inverness this weekend? A glimpse of what is possible was seen in the build up to the rugby world cup semi-final. The nation was united in wanting success then. If that same drive could be dedicated to building and equalising Wales, there'd be 'nae limits' to what we could achieve.<br />
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Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-56716966469810880592011-10-15T15:09:00.000+01:002011-10-15T15:10:08.847+01:00Save Remploy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0icENXiBVCIlm8N4zD99yFg1PTzNatJILiRVRSm76fl5LgnFGorlcv84gpDKXrTxYFmG9pwQ0N2SULZpumSREdJVFOPnDe_dOw4a154KuP-MXRhvZB5kJFMX2FsXXfkI8zFhVbvD5v4/s1600/remploy+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="245" width="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0icENXiBVCIlm8N4zD99yFg1PTzNatJILiRVRSm76fl5LgnFGorlcv84gpDKXrTxYFmG9pwQ0N2SULZpumSREdJVFOPnDe_dOw4a154KuP-MXRhvZB5kJFMX2FsXXfkI8zFhVbvD5v4/s400/remploy+banner.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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The network of government-subsidised supported employment factories operating under the Remploy banner are <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/rhondda/2011/09/29/remploy-staff-step-up-battle-to-save-jobs-91466-29502167/">under threat of closure</a>. The consultation on <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jul/11/remploy-factories-could-close">the Sayce Review</a> comes to an end on Monday. The workers and their trades unions have been collecting signatures on a <a href="http://www.saveremployfactories.co.uk/">petition </a> as part of their campaign to save the factories. (You can 'like' their facebook page <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Save-Remploy/145041952250221">here</a>).<br />
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I paid a visit to the Porth factory yesterday. Many of the workers there would love to work in mainstream employment. However, they know the jobs climate isn't good in the valleys and they know plenty of former colleagues who lost their jobs in the <a href="http://leannewoodamac.blogspot.com/2008/03/remploy-trefforest-workers-betrayal.html">Trefforest factory three years ago</a> who are now on benefits. If their Remploy factory closes, they know they are unlikely to get another job.<br />
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There is a need for supported employment. There is also a need for services to help people with disabilities get in to and stay in mainstream employment. In some places, there <a href="http://leannewoodamac.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-future-for-our-youth.html">are very few jobs</a>.<br />
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With <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15272854">job losses in Wales rising fast</a>, Welsh government action should be taken to protect the 400 plus jobs in the Welsh Remploy factories. I have <a href="http://www.welshicons.org.uk/news/politics/am-urges-welsh-government-to-press-for-devolving-of-remploy-budget-to-wales/">put the case for the devolution</a> of the Remploy budget, asking the First Minister to make respresentations to Westminster and for a commitment to saving the jobs should the devolution request be granted.<br />
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With political will and creativity, for example, by looking at how <a href="http://www.community-tu.org/information/100099/100148/104486/article19/">public procurement contracts</a> could be granted by using <a href="http://scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Procurement/supportedbusinessreg7">article 19</a> of the EU directive, not only to protect existing Remploy jobs but to expand supported employment opportunities in Wales. I was told yesterday that the Porth factory would be a viable business if they had just one local authority's IT contracts. Remploy has a future in Wales if our government wants it.<br />
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<br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-57531778042609453402011-09-25T17:33:00.004+01:002011-09-26T06:54:01.341+01:00Debate in the Senedd on the Welsh economy <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkvPCbXB5PjFZ2s6WCFGVtZawozQlkVRzErVVr5NAtLTomfF2nQcsHrsbyQrxyzYx3Wbk3VCBmMESR2Kbt9bfKTjeyTdjaZuJbLtKK6-7VZYVtZWQ7caIDZwndB3aN1Y9omr2hemKb3c/s1600/town+centre.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkvPCbXB5PjFZ2s6WCFGVtZawozQlkVRzErVVr5NAtLTomfF2nQcsHrsbyQrxyzYx3Wbk3VCBmMESR2Kbt9bfKTjeyTdjaZuJbLtKK6-7VZYVtZWQ7caIDZwndB3aN1Y9omr2hemKb3c/s400/town+centre.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656339305013940402" /></a><br />Speech delivered in the Senedd on Wednesday 21st September during a<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/wales/newsid_9594000/9594950.stm"> Plaid Cymru debate</a> on the funding cuts and the Welsh economy.<br /><br /><strong>Leanne Wood:</strong> <em><em>I would like to focus on public procurement and its potential for stimulating local economies and helping to create jobs. The amount spent by the public sector in Wales is estimated to be £4.3 billion every year. In my view, and that of Plaid Cymru, that money should be working for the Welsh economy, and at the moment so much of it is not. Too much money leaks out of Wales and that is contributing to the ongoing weakness of the Welsh economy. A new mindset is required if we are to turn this around. I accept that some good progress has been made, but to take that next leap a new mindset is required. <br /> <br />In questions earlier, the excellent examples that can be seen in housing were mentioned. Efforts to include social clauses in contracts that enable the sourcing and training of labour locally have been a great success, providing a model of good practice that could be rolled out throughout the public sector. If a local firm gets a contract for work, the money earned by the workers in that firm is more likely to be spent locally, close to where they work, stimulating local business activity. Conversely, people who work far away from where they live are more likely to spend their money elsewhere. Of course, people who are not in work at all are unable to spend money locally, which is why areas with high levels of unemployment often have dying, or dead, town centres. Supermarket, internet and out-of-town shopping has taken a heavy toll on our town centres and there is a limit to what the Government can do to change people’s shopping habits. However, the Government can change its own shopping habits. Every pound that leaks out of Wales is a pound that is not working for Wales. By resolving to try to plug these gaps and keep Welsh expenditure in Wales, that money could contribute towards sustainable jobs growth. If I were to make an optimistic assumption that the Government does not intend to water down the previous Government’s carbon reduction ambitions, measures geared towards supporting public bodies to purchase their food and renewable energy from local sources wherever possible would provide numerous desirable outcomes.<br /> <br />What is stopping the local procurement of food and renewable energy? First, we have competition rules. They may be challenging, but those challenges have been overcome in the social housing sector and in other European Union countries. More work would need to be done to upskill people and to ensure the business capacity to provide food and renewable energy to the public sector. More would also need to be done to train those responsible for procuring on behalf of the public sector—an issue that will be expanded upon later. <br /> <br />Most of all, this would require the political will to set about utilising public sector expenditure to create jobs. Regrettably, without such will and commitment, the cuts will inevitably drive the movement the other way. Bigger, more centralised contracts may well be cheaper, but a failure to decentralise and make money work for the good of the Welsh economy risks us missing a great opportunity. <br /> <br />The creation of a home or internal market was suggested by Leopold Kohr in his 1971 book Is Wales Viable? Kohr’s thinking has been further developed in 'A Greenprint for the Valleys’. Although it offers solutions for the market failures in the Valleys, its principles can be applied anywhere, and I recommend that Members read both—I would, would I not? Commitment, effort and political will from the Government to plug these gaps and stop money leaking out of Wales, coupled with a commitment to decentralise, unbundle and make public contracts smaller, could provide a much-needed boost to the Welsh economy. Surely this is an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss.<br /> </em></em>Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-19062387440854557702011-09-14T15:43:00.006+01:002011-09-14T16:49:13.376+01:00Letter to Welsh MPs on S4C<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0yVHPDjTkV4AZ4ucle-dB0js4ecC-aFBWZ0pkyoogWxtdaAFLDSW6-ISnmNk1tQPqsU9vzVpW1K5uZyPfzsf6VnKH4VMabiplEu3vXciU6keH6MZMLIBsFBhT7xxwddA8JzHWxmzLAw/s1600/s4c2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0yVHPDjTkV4AZ4ucle-dB0js4ecC-aFBWZ0pkyoogWxtdaAFLDSW6-ISnmNk1tQPqsU9vzVpW1K5uZyPfzsf6VnKH4VMabiplEu3vXciU6keH6MZMLIBsFBhT7xxwddA8JzHWxmzLAw/s400/s4c2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652242512094278898" /></a><br />To all Welsh MPs<br /><br />I am writing to you to ask you to support the campaign to safeguard the future of the only Welsh-language broadcasting channel in the world. A lot is at stake for the Welsh language and I hope you will agree with me that this issue transcends party politics. <br /><br />A strong, independent S4C is of vital importance to the survival of the Welsh language. This is especially the case in those areas where there has been resurgence in the language, as evidenced by the surge in demand for Welsh medium education. In many of these households S4C provides, through its excellent children’s service Cyw, the only opportunity to hear Welsh spoken outside of the classroom. <br /><br />There is every reason to be alarmed about the future of Welsh language broadcasting. Firstly, S4C faces a cut of 40% in real terms to its budget. There is not a single television channel in existence that would find it easy to cope with such a devastating financial hit. With S4C due to be absorbed by the BBC under the clandestine funding arrangements thrashed out between the corporation and the Westminster coalition, there is also a real threat to the autonomy of the channel. <br /><br />Furthermore, the Westminster coalition is planning to give ministers the powers to shut down the channel. There is simply no guaranteed provision for S4C beyond 2015. <br /><br />Anyone with a desire to preserve and encourage the Welsh language will, I hope, support the campaign to secure:<br /><br />(1) Complete management and editorial independence for S4C without any interference by the BBC or the Government enshrined in statute.<br /><br />(2) An independent funding formula for the Welsh language channel based on inflation and enshrined in statute.<br /><br />(3) A levy on private broadcasters drawing on best practice in other countries in order to add to the resources available to the channel.<br /><br />(4) Close collaboration between S4C and the Welsh Government to ensure, where possible, synergies in their investment in the media, such as the Welsh Government's investment in Golwg 360, education resources, and local radio. <br /><br />The ‘Save S4C’ campaign is not about calling for the status quo to remain. There is an almost universal recognition that changes need to be made in a wide range of areas to improve S4C. Scrutiny, management structures, its digital platform, quality of programming and the best use of Welsh creative talent are particularly pressing. S4C’s future should, in my view, be the subject of a public review undertaken by the Welsh Government, given that the Westminster coalition has refused to be held to account for the changes they have pushed through. Until that review comes, we must do all we can to make sure that we still have a Welsh broadcasting channel to protect. <br /><br />In addition to lobbying the Westminster Coalition Government, I have decided to withhold payment for my television licence. While this form of protest and the potential consequences may not be to your liking, I hope you can appreciate the strength of feeling on this issue. I hope therefore you will contribute to the campaign to protect Welsh language broadcasting by working to take S4C out of Schedules 3 and 4 of the Public Bodies Bill currently under scrutiny. Please consider – and ask your colleagues on the Public Bodies Bill Scrutiny Committee to also consider - supporting Amendments 10 and 38 and to vote against New Clause 2 at the Committee’s meeting tomorrow (Thursday 15 September).<br /><br />Yours sincerely<br /><br />Leanne Wood AM.Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-48471932336898054842011-09-10T18:55:00.000+01:002011-09-10T18:58:27.371+01:00Follow the money<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4v9346Q07lXAok1jvkraOxQfz0Bu1YtzeBm_XR5qmuG6Y1nU-SUte8ZyjfyGfTxxIwW7y1tIIyIr_yOcl77dOlBeES8OtCD5H5OY8eoiOrgh2XBdNUxE8BGkDPo80WEyVGZskEofuMhw/s1600/Poster_Plaid_Cymru.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4v9346Q07lXAok1jvkraOxQfz0Bu1YtzeBm_XR5qmuG6Y1nU-SUte8ZyjfyGfTxxIwW7y1tIIyIr_yOcl77dOlBeES8OtCD5H5OY8eoiOrgh2XBdNUxE8BGkDPo80WEyVGZskEofuMhw/s400/Poster_Plaid_Cymru.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650786892977538002" /></a><br />Speech delivered to the Plaid Cyrmu conference on a motion about the Welsh economy.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The world has become a very different place since the global banking crash. 2008 saw catastrophic system failure and unsurprisingly, it's those who can least afford it who are now being asked to pay. It's clear that we can't go on in the old way. Capitalism is broke. The market has failed spectactularly and new thinking is needed if we are to get out of what is a very big mess.<br /><br />It's not as though we haven't been here before. The depression of the 1930s only ended in the US with Roosevelt's New Deal and it took years. The Tories answer is for drastic and savage spending cuts and they plough ahead despite the warnings. Their strategy is for the market to provide private sector jobs to replace those lost in the public sector. We all know that strategy won't work in Wales - the market failed to provide jobs in too many places in the boom years. It'd be naive to believe it's going to deliver now.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/uploads/Articles_and_reports/Greenprint_Cynllun_Gwyrdd.pdf">Greenprint</a> was put together to offer propsals to turn around those economies where the market has failed. But the basic principles can be applied to any community. I doubt whether there is a single community in Wales that isn't feeling the after-effects of 2008.<br /><br />In 1971, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Kohr">Leopold Kohr</a> wrote a book called "Is Wales Viable", which tackles the economics of an independent Wales - the "can we afford it" question. Kohr proposes the creation of a home market - where people consume products from Wales, or the home community. Of course it couldn't be done for everything, but if a home market can be created for the basics - renewable energy and food, then we could not only improve our economic position, but we could build up resilience as well - to food and energy price hikes, which are pretty much inevitable.<br /><br />You may have heard the phrase "follow the money". So much money is leaking out of the Welsh economy. Kohr would argue that we should plug those gaps, stop those leaks and take steps to keep the money within the local community. Local authorities are in a good position to take a lead on this. Procuring locally, supporting budding co-operatives, making attractive loan finance available, prioritising job creation and taking steps to keep money local would make a good start.<br /><br />Co-operation is part of Plaid Cymru's DNA. In the early 1930s, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_James_Davies">DJ Davies </a>and Noelle Ffrench championed co-operation not only as a way to overcome economic disadvantage, but also as a route to Welsh freedom. Many party members have set up and been involved in running co-ops over the years - co-operation and collectivism are a key part of what Plaid is about. <br /><br />In the Basque Country during economically difficult times during the 1980s, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation">Mondragon Corporation</a> was formed and is still going strong today employing thousands in manufacturing. One of the most successful post-2008 UK companies has been the John Lewis Partnership - a co-operative.<br /><br />This new, post crash world needs new and different thinking. <br /><br />The motion asks that Plaid Cymru prioritises job creation and the economy, and that we use our strength and influence at the local authority level to contribute to that aim. We can show that by building sustainable and self-sufficient communities and delivering real improvements, we can at the same time as contribute towards the building of a sustainable and self-sufficient Wales. Our nation is, after all, a community of communities. Please give your support to this motion.</span>Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-2289131429903579272011-09-03T19:54:00.006+01:002011-09-05T18:06:38.302+01:00A message from Plaid Cymru to Cardiff Mardi Gras<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cVm4myAitEQlwuaP24m1NrfHHTheUyRWkvvA7CNu1q8eCeENb_9-AT0oU3f5Q4cv2WYTaF9He8iFqlFxaP82CYaaLIuew7ahaQqA270Nvz9L0tPajd0x6ubQ-4ihIr6KNBf4_Pqxe7s/s1600/plaidpride.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cVm4myAitEQlwuaP24m1NrfHHTheUyRWkvvA7CNu1q8eCeENb_9-AT0oU3f5Q4cv2WYTaF9He8iFqlFxaP82CYaaLIuew7ahaQqA270Nvz9L0tPajd0x6ubQ-4ihIr6KNBf4_Pqxe7s/s400/plaidpride.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648211924124690290" /></a>
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<br />My speech to the Mardi Gras this afternoon</span>:
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<br />Prynhawn da Mardi Gras Cymru.
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<br />I bring you greetings and solidarity from Plaid Cymru.
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<br />Today is a day for celebration. A day to party. But it is also a day to remember.
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<br />In days gone past, being openly gay was militant. We should always remember and be thankful to those older gay activists who refused to hide who they were, who refused to kow-tow to a homophobic society. They have given us what we have today and we have come a long way in a relatively short time.
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<br />But we can't afford to be complacent. The economic climate will threaten some of the progressive gains we have made in recent times. We are in increasingly intolerant times. Hate talk is on the up.
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<br />We hear benefits claimants called scroungers, young people called scum. As gay people you should understand where hate talk can lead.
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<br />Whoever is being picked on, hate talk is a danger to us all. We cannot allow it into the mainstream.
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<br />I ask you to take one small moment today to make a big decision. Will you commit to challenging intolerance or hate talk wherever you hear it? If you hear people being put down because they are gay, on benefits, immigrants, gypsies, young - and we've recently been subject to such intolerance for being Welsh...
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<br />Decide to stand up to it. Challenge it.
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<br />Don't let hate and intolerance become a normal part of Welsh political and civic life.
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<br />Today is about celebrating and remembering. It could also be about being determined to fight to keep the gains we have made and to make our society better. If everyone here today makes a personal commitment to stamp out hate in Wales, you can make a fantastic contribution towards creating that equal society we all want.
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<br />I hope you all have a great party today. Let's celebrate, but lets also strive to keep what we've got - and more. Diolch am gwrando.</span>
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<br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-38436179857789693112011-08-30T21:14:00.000+01:002011-08-30T21:15:21.734+01:00What price war?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBU8Z0o2BD9He3iBtJhC1bUrSTCnAg9l0-a_0UcF8dm-0NjJic2zl4Y8r6t5Rrrmc3XyCEOz8zWOh1e8rbpvANKEYQvXeVhzWXlJYjXEfMvKFaHull1JovRkM9P7_5iS43G5IjXRPlZo/s1600/injured+soldier.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBU8Z0o2BD9He3iBtJhC1bUrSTCnAg9l0-a_0UcF8dm-0NjJic2zl4Y8r6t5Rrrmc3XyCEOz8zWOh1e8rbpvANKEYQvXeVhzWXlJYjXEfMvKFaHull1JovRkM9P7_5iS43G5IjXRPlZo/s400/injured+soldier.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646675769224828306" /></a><br />I recently obtained figures which go some way to shedding some more light on the true horrors of war. The death toll in Afghanistan has become a familiar story in the news. At the time of writing, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10629358">379 UK soldiers have died during operations since the invasion of 2001</a>. The death toll for UK soldiers in Afghanistan has <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7019129.ece ">long since passed that of the Falklands war </a>which is remarkable given that the early years were relatively quiet – it was 2004 before the first UK soldier died following hostile action from the Taleban and it was another year-and-a-half before the next soldier died. Given the disproportionate number of soldiers Wales contributes to the UK Army, the bloodiness of the war in Afghanistan is a particular concern here. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/aug/10/afghanistan-civilian-casualties-statistics">There are countless examples of civilians dying in their droves as well</a>.<br /><br />The death toll, as shocking as it is for civilians and combatants alike, only tells part of the story. For every death, there are many, many others being seriously injured or maimed. Here are <a href="http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&thiscontent=1360&date=2011-08-16&pubType=0&from=current&PublishTime=09:30:00">figures</a> showing how this has been the case for UK armed service personnel or civilians working for UK armed forces in Afghanistan. The information, obtained through the <a href="http://www.dasa.mod.uk/">Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA)</a>, shows the number of ‘very seriously injured or seriously injured’ on operations in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2009 surpassed 300. This was nearly double the amount of the casualties sustained during the eight previous years combined. In 2001, when Afghanistan was first invaded by coalition forces, no military personnel or civilians from the UK were recorded as being very seriously or seriously wounded on operation there that year.<br /><br />Figures from the same source on the <a href="http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&thiscontent=1380&date=2011-08-02&pubType=0&from=current&PublishTime=09:30:00">number of amputations </a>carried out on members of the armed forces reinforce the previous statistics. Between 2009 and 2010, the number of “surviving UK Service personnel” having a “traumatic or surgical amputation, partial or complete, for either upper or lower limbs” rose by 40% from 55 in 2009 to 79 last year. Of the 79 people undergoing amputations last year, 39 were identified as “significant multiple amputees.” The figures show that in 2006 the amputations numbered seven. <br /><br />Last year alone there were three people every week, on average, working for the armed forces sustaining a serious or very serious injury in Afghanistan. The number of serious or very serious injured service personnel between January and the end of July is 47 which actually represents a decline in the rate at which soldiers are being seriously injured when compared to the previous two years. However, not many would argue this figure is acceptable.<br /><br />From the very beginning Plaid Cymru has opposed the wars in <a href="http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Politics&F=1&id=5990">Iraq</a> and <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/813509">Afghanistan</a>. We have also campaigned for better support to be given to ex-soldiers suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental health disorders. Not only have the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq proved to be very costly to human life but also to the public finances. Will the mainstream political parties in the UK now accept they were wrong to support interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan and that those mistakes have been compounded by not having any clear exit strategy in either case?<br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-7749720438664650882011-08-22T09:10:00.002+01:002011-08-22T11:12:49.280+01:00Take a holiday in Wales<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWfRLsXT7Zwo9B1VZE6T3QRcEOOGHylinemtXi-I0-e-hd0Qo3bgLU_MKHGRB_M1WOCtOoAzA0ClrJnV54Z-Qn6m-cOOd5lCLoBc6yYibun10nh-PASd9V5hbFcaumCnDQiBAG-j0SM8/s1600/mwnt+beach.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 295px; height: 171px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWfRLsXT7Zwo9B1VZE6T3QRcEOOGHylinemtXi-I0-e-hd0Qo3bgLU_MKHGRB_M1WOCtOoAzA0ClrJnV54Z-Qn6m-cOOd5lCLoBc6yYibun10nh-PASd9V5hbFcaumCnDQiBAG-j0SM8/s400/mwnt+beach.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643576115654893922" /></a>
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<br />It's back to work today after a fantastic holiday in <a href="http://www.visitwales.com/">Wales</a>.
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<br />The coast of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/panoramics/index_coastal.shtml">south Ceredigion</a> is unspoit, not commercialised, natural and peaceful.
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<br />We camped on a working farm which had fields bordering onto the sea between Mwnt and Gwbert. <a href="http://www.cardiganbayfarmholidays.co.uk/camping.html">Nant Y Croi Farm</a> is great for children - there are baby donkeys to feed and small ponies to ride around the campsite, tractor rides as well as having plenty of space to play. A cut through two fields takes you to a rocky walk to the sea where dolphins and seals can regularly be seen and the fresh food sold out of the farm-house guarantees delicious breakfasts.
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<br />Food is one of the reasons to holiday here. One of my faviurite restaurants in Wales is the <a href="http://www.harbour-master.com/reviews/">Harbourmaster</a>, just up the road. Unfortunely, I didn't make it there this time, but I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for somewhere to celebrate a special occasion. The <a href="http://www.harbour-master.com/hotel-wales/food-drink/">food and drink</a> is all local to the area. It'd delicious. They serve <a href="http://www.thegoodpubguide.co.uk/pub/view/Harbourmaster-SA46-0BA">great beer</a> too. We did manage to have a meal and watch an amazing sunset from the terrace of the <a href="http://www.gwberthotel.com/">Gwbert Hotel</a> and get plenty of treats from the <a href="http://www.llwynhelygfarmshop.co.uk/">Llwynhelyg Farm Shop</a> just up the road in Sarnau. The locally-made <a href="http://www.tregroeswaffles.co.uk/">Tregroes chocolate waffles </a>are out of this world. If you haven't tried them yet you really should. And the <a href="http://www.cawscenarth.co.uk/">local cheeses</a>...outstanding. Not cheap, but it is holidays! We also managed to sample some good ale with views at <a href="http://www.shiptresaith.com/">Y Llong, Tresaith</a> and in <a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/ship-inn.en.html">Aberporth</a>.
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<br />As well as enjoying some great weather on <a href="http://www.cardiganshirecoastandcountry.com/mwnt-beach-cardigan-bay.php">Mwnt beach</a> which was a 20 minute walk along the coast from the campsite and <a href="http://www.cardigan-wales.co.uk/">shopping in Aberteifi</a>, we found plenty to do when the sun wasn't shining. My six-year-old was entranced during an afternoon at the Butterfly Rainforest<a href="http://www.cardigan-wales.co.uk/details.php?id=5"></a> in Felinwynt. We went on a <a href="http://www.newquayboattrips.co.uk/">boat trip in Cei Newydd</a> where we spotted half a dozen dolphins and another <a href="http://www.ukhorseriderguide.co.uk/listing.asp?ID=4573">trekking horses</a> through the beautiful countryside.
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<br />With no mobile phone signal on the farm, it was the perfect switch-off break. The overflowing inbox on my return is a price well worth paying.Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-72283863382030017822011-08-20T07:45:00.000+01:002011-08-20T07:45:02.684+01:00Labour should now rule out PFI<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ_ePAtrjlDU8E6CE0YmGZ2kb-cd3qeo5heCFDbrZqru9nNcBb8c2kYxXWxOE3E7PLkVNyDDno5EqWm2xova_3gjT07hq7YUFwGZOP15MgGPMRRQeQT0KmjjVtudyzWDCMkZQzRhPWR2w/s1600/PFI+artwork.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 388px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ_ePAtrjlDU8E6CE0YmGZ2kb-cd3qeo5heCFDbrZqru9nNcBb8c2kYxXWxOE3E7PLkVNyDDno5EqWm2xova_3gjT07hq7YUFwGZOP15MgGPMRRQeQT0KmjjVtudyzWDCMkZQzRhPWR2w/s400/PFI+artwork.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642590189788605170" /></a><br />A Treasury select committee has concluded that the Private Finance Initiative is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14574059">poor value for money</a>. With stories like <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1355436/Blair-push-private-finance-deals-cost-NHS-dear.html">this</a>, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8280051/PFI-must-we-sack-teachers-to-pay-for-320-plug-sockets.html">this</a> and <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1333789/How-taxpayer-save-500m-Gordon-Browns-grotesque-PFI-contracts.html">this</a>, it would have been difficult for them to arrive any other conclusion. <br /><br />Wales has been shielded from the worst impact of PFI. This <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/14/pfi-wheeze-nhs-funding-problems">foolish form of finance</a> was ended in the Welsh health service when Plaid Cymru formed the One Wales Government with Labour in 2007. I hope that the Labour minority government won't ditch this committment and that they will extend a ban on the use of PFI throughout all sectors. PFI will saddle our children and grandchildren with an unsustainable level of debt and will set us back in attempts to improve economically. <br /><br />Due to the <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/11/18/alarm-at-scale-of-welsh-budget-cuts-91466-27672463/">slashing of the Welsh capital budget </a>by the Westminster Government, Labour could be tempted to turn once again to PFI. Despite the wealth of evidence out there to show how pernicious PFI can be, various Labour Ministers have evaded direct questions on their plans for PFI <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/news/2011/06/21/labours-return-to-casino-economics-risks-creating-a-financial-time-bomb-for-wales/">that I and other Plaid colleagues have asked of them</a>.<br /><br />While Labour in Wales are unlikely to pursue PFI with the same vigour as Blair and Brown did from 1997 onwards, the commissioning of just one PFI project would be one too many. Its time to rule out PFI in Wales. <br />Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1158970184752434940.post-25479550700652283112011-07-22T16:57:00.005+01:002011-07-23T22:25:34.492+01:00Community Revolutions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWsQeMgvp7Ka5dvgRARUg04qLmHR2G7jXj5H1XMxcHqhyphenhyphen27YqWsuA5hMFNyH6NLMZIU62zJFpXqAIV4kYMeW00E31tqFDa9Bf3okcxkf8Z2SMGALOCY3FU_rS2sxV1T1-xPfV_cncA7U/s1600/Blaengarw+shot.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWsQeMgvp7Ka5dvgRARUg04qLmHR2G7jXj5H1XMxcHqhyphenhyphen27YqWsuA5hMFNyH6NLMZIU62zJFpXqAIV4kYMeW00E31tqFDa9Bf3okcxkf8Z2SMGALOCY3FU_rS2sxV1T1-xPfV_cncA7U/s400/Blaengarw+shot.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632658090428304754" /></a><br />Earlier this month I had the opportunity to visit the <a href="http://www.creation.me.uk/">largest time bank </a>in the whole of the United Kingdom. Located just a stone’s throw from the Fawr, this timebank in Blaengarw, at the top of the Garw valley, has revolutionised this small community since it was established in 2004. Community owned and managed, the timebank project has succeeded in reducing crime, increasing employment levels, providing vocational training, reclaiming colliery land for community use as well as breathing life into abandoned shops by re-opening them as viable businesses. Throughout the project, the local youth have been engaged and made to feel part of the movement. <br /> <br />What has been achieved in Blaengarw in a few short years is incredible and very inspiring. If this can be done so successfully in Blaengarw, why not elsewhere in the valleys? Blaengarw, like many communities in the Rhondda, is isolated and miles from the hustle and bustle of a major conurbation. The people of Blaengarw have turned this to their advantage by uniting the community to provide the kind of services and opportunities that the market has failed to.<br /><br />Of course, none of the many achievements of the Blaengarw Timecentre would have been possible without community spirit; a quality that is endemic throughout our valleys. This same community spirit can clearly be seen in the people of Maerdy with their determination to <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/07/04/parishioners-organise-sit-in-in-bid-to-save-rhondda-church-91466-28987720/">save one of the community’s last remaining heritage buildings</a>. <a href="http://www.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk/en/councildemocracy/democracyelections/councillorscommittees/councillors/cllrgerwynevans.aspx">Plaid Cymru councillor Gerwyn Evans</a> together with the rest of the ‘Friends of All Saints’ have occupied the church since its last official service at the beginning of the month. <br /><br />They have shown remarkable resilience in their campaign to save the building before it is sold on the open market or demolished. They are asking for the opportunity and time to raise the money needed to renovate and maintain the building so it can be retained for community use for future generations to come. I have been in touch with the Friends of All Saints from the beginning of their campaign and have corresponded with the Welsh Government and the Church in Wales on their behalf. <br /><br />Time will tell whether the campaign will be successful or not; I can only hope all the hard work and determination to find a way to retain one of the last old buildings left in Maerdy comes to fruition.Leannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06805183708630512779noreply@blogger.com0