Content about Politics

BE SURE to remember your hankies, as Manon Eames’ production of Rape of the Fair Country promises to be a tearjerker.This fantastic new adaptation of Alexander Cordell’s 1959 book, brings 20 years of Welsh history to life through the eyes of one working-class family, the Mortymers, and the community of Blaenavon. It charts the changing political ideologies of the mid-19th century and their dire consequences. 

ASSEMBLY Member Andrew R T Davies has called for a tax cut for Wales's wealthiest if the government gets more devolved financial powers.

He claimed in his speech to the Assembly last night cutting the 40p tax rate for the highest earners in Wales would encourage business and entrepreneurialism. He argued the move, which would affect about 120,000 people, would create a more active Welsh economy.

Prime Minister David Cameron told Westminster last week the poor, including those in Cardiff, should not need food banks to help them eat.

He said: “Benefit levels are not set at such a low level that people can’t eat, I’m afraid.”

This came as food banks across the country reported unprecedented demand. There is a hidden hunger in our society, and in the Welsh capital Cardiff Food bank are doing their best to tackle it.

CARDIFF council has planned to merge a number of services into Enterprise Centre hubs in a bid to cut down council office expenses.   

The Jasmine Enterprise Centre, Ely, is just one of a number of centres which will have to find space for these proposed plans. Ely library, housing office and reception for the police and fire services will all be moved there.

Peter Bradbury, councillor for Caerau, said: "The centre is currently a fantastic resource and I hope this will make it an even better resource."

Teachers in Wales are being subjected to physical violence and verbal abuse on a daily basis, a survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers has revealed.

A third of the school and college staff surveyed claim to have endured punching, kicking and pushing while at work, 25 per cent of whom say they were targeted personally. Another quarter said they had witnessed violence directed at a colleague.

The Environment Agency has announced it is taking a “Wales first” stance in response to appeals to ease the drought in South East England.

There have been recent calls from individuals and companies for Welsh water agencies to pump water into drought-affected areas in England.

Areas covered by Thames Water, Anglian Water and Southern Water have been hit by a serious drought following below average levels or rainfall over the past two winters.

Residents are angry over the empty land at the rear of Mynachdy Road, Gabalfa, which is treated as a dumping ground and infested with rats. 

The site, which was originally a coal yard, has been empty for years. Old tires, plastic bottles, glass bottles, domestic goods and food waste are all chucked over the metal gates, which are supposed to prevent such happenings.

Despite the rejection of a planning application to build six blocks of student accommodation on the site, residents remain unhappy.

Cardiff will lose £200 million in benefit payments over the next four years, according to a Cardiff Assembly Member.

Mark Drakeford, AM for Cardiff West, spoke to The Cardiffian ahead of his appearance at the launch of the Wales on the Edge report, which warns one in four people across Wales will be adversley affected by welfare reforms.

The report is the first from Cuts Watch Cymru, which is made up of 17 Welsh poverty charities and voluntary organisations.

Cardiff is bucking the Welsh trend for poor inward investment after American firm Conduit announced plans to create 600 new jobs in the area.

This follows the publication of the Welsh Affairs Committee’s report on inward investment in Wales, which highlighted the steady decline in Wales ability to attract inward investment. In the early 90’s, Wales accounted for 15% of all investment in the UK, but by 2010 this had dropped to just 6%.

A new Welsh Development Agency should be established to help improve Wales’s economy, a Select Committee report has recommended.

The previous agency was scrapped five years ago, but this move was criticised by the Welsh Affairs Committee who said the closure of the WDA has reduced the visibility of Wales in the global market.