Uncared for nationalist gets voted in and is blocked by government

Published 2 hours ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing The Scottish Parliament "plainly" does not have the power to set up an independence referendum, UK government law officers have argued. The Supreme Court is to look at whether MSPs can legislate for a vote without Westminster's backing in October. The Scottish government has argued that any vote would be "advisory" and would not directly break up the union. But UK law officers said there was "no secret" that Scottish ministers would want the vote to lead to independence. Papers published on Wednesday said a referendum was "not designed to be an exercise in mere abstract opinion polling at considerable public expense", and it would clearly be used to push for "the secession of Scotland" from the UK. Judges will hear arguments at the court in London on 11 and 12 October. The SNP has also applied to … [Read more...] about UK government argues MSPs do not have power to set up indyref2

Published 7 January 2019 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing After years at the heart of government, Mark Drakeford today starts in the top job. BBC Wales' political correspondent Daniel Davies has spoken to friends, colleagues and opponents of the Welsh Labour leader about his politics, personality and the sort of first minister he will be. Mark Drakeford's political awakening came early. Nationalist fervour swept his home town of Carmarthen when Gwynfor Evans was elected as Plaid Cymru's first MP in 1966. At grammar school, Mr Drakeford remembers groups of pupils marching around chanting political slogans. English-only road signs lay piled on the ground, torn down the night before. The political climate fired the imagination of the young Drakeford, a clarinet-playing cricket fan. Trashing road signs was, he thought, a "fantastic thing to be doing", he told me. … [Read more...] about Mark Drakeford: From Latin degree to Wales’ leader

By Rachel Flint Published 15 August 2021 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic There are fears rules making it easier for pop-up campsites to open during the Covid pandemic have led to a "free-for-all", harming rural communities. Landowners can open campsites for up to 56 days without planning permission, after rules were relaxed. While owners say the sites are boosting tourism, some residents claim their communities have been damaged after campsites "sprang up overnight". The Welsh government said the rules were helping the tourism sector. With more people holidaying within the UK this summer, because of Covid rules on travel abroad, demand for camping in parts of Wales has risen , with reports of popular sites being booked up for months. During the pandemic the Welsh government temporarily relaxed planning … [Read more...] about Covid: Pop-up campsite rules ‘harming communities’

Italy's far-right, right-wing and centrist bloc is on track to win a broad majority in both houses of parliament at next month's national election, benefiting from divisions among its opponents. The conservative alliance leads opinion polls ahead of the 25 September ballot, with the far-right Fratelli d'Italia or Brothers of Italy set to be the largest single party. On the basis of its election promises of tax cuts and higher pensions, a win by the conservative alliance may strain Italy's public finances, while the bloc would also be expected to crack down on illegal immigration. A study by the Cattaneo Institute think tank, based on the latest polls, suggests the alliance could elect 245 lawmakers out of 400 at the Chamber and 127 out of 200 at the Senate. Analysis from Italy: A political crisis that nobody wanted Italy's President Mattarella dissolves parliament, new election set for 25 September The conservative bloc includes Giorgia Meloni's … [Read more...] about Right-wing coalition on course to win Italy election, says study

Published 23 October 2018 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing A whopping 73% of all restaurants in one part of Wales are selling fast food, it has been revealed. Blaenau Gwent tops the UK league table - with 55 out of 75 outlets takeaway venues. Wales has seen a rise of 48% in fast food outlets from 2010 to 2018, ahead of the UK average increase of 34%, according to the BBC Shared Data Unit . Obesity specialist Prof Nadim Haboubi described the rise as a "disease" for Welsh communities. Caerphilly has second highest proportion of take-away restaurants at 66%, and Rhondda Cynon Taff is number four in the UK with 63%. Wales has had 670 fast food outlets open in the past eight years, with Neath Port Talbot seeing its numbers more than double from 50 to 105. The numbers are based on figures from the Office of National Statistics. More takeaways on high … [Read more...] about Takeaway Wales: Britain’s fast-food capital?

Published 26 April Share close Share page Copy link About sharing An angler says urgent action is needed to clean up the River Severn after finding "shocking" levels of pollution. Glyn Marshall, who also campaigns to protect rivers, said Severn Trent Water was not removing phosphate at its treatment plant at Diglis, Worcester. He fears pollution will lead to algae growth and wildlife dying. Severn Trent said its permit did not require it to remove phosphate at the site, but the plant was being upgraded to allow it to do this by May 2026. Mr Marshall, 65, said data from the river sewage map showed untreated waste went into the Severn at Diglis 81 times last year. "The residents of Worcester need to realise that what's going into our local river is horrible and it's not getting any better," he said. The river had become increasingly polluted and one example was reduced … [Read more...] about Worcester angler calls for pollution action to ‘save’ River Severn

By Paul Pigott Published 16 April Share close Share page Copy link About sharing A lifeboat volunteer said he spent days in hospital after contracting a parasitic infection linked to sewage after a river training exercise. David Deveney suffered giardiasis after spending two hours in the River Severn and said an investigation found an 80% chance it came from human sewage. Sewage was spilt into Welsh rivers more than 95,000 times and for more than 791,000 hours last year, figures show. The illness has not been categorically linked to sewage or spills in Wales. Both the River Severn and River Wye, which end in the Severn Estuary, run through Wales and England. Welsh Water, which provides water and wastewater services to most households in Wales, said the spills had "a limited impact" on Welsh rivers. Mr Deveney, a lifeboat training manager with the Severn Area Rescue … [Read more...] about River pollution: Rescuer infected with sewage-linked parasite

Published 6 July Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Campaigners are urging supermarket giant Tesco to work with its egg suppliers along the River Wye to combat increasing levels of pollution. River Action says there are 20 million chickens being farmed in the Wye catchment area in Herefordshire and Tesco is the biggest customer to two suppliers there. The excrement causes ecological damage to the river, the group says. Tesco said it would continue to engage with suppliers. The group said it had written a letter to the supermarket chain where it states the situation had "reached a state of emergency". "If this situation continues to be left unaddressed, the River Wye faces ecological collapse." A Tesco spokesperson said it was funding the work of the Wye and Usk Foundation to tackle water pollution and working with suppliers to help reduce pollution. … [Read more...] about River Wye pollution: Tesco urged to help reduce Wye pollution

Almost $12 million dollars was lost to pokie machines across South Canterbury in 2021, and Timaru machines gobbled up most of that, according to Department of Internal Affairs figures. More than $10m, which equates to $28,000 a day, was spent on pokie machines in Timaru alone. This figure is the amount lost to machines, also known as gaming machine profit (GMP), and does not include any winnings paid out to gamblers. In Timaru, $10,150,461 was lost at 166 pokie machines across 13 venues, 11 of which are located in medium to medium high deprivation areas. That loss was up by $1.5m on 2020. READ MORE: Pokies gradually on the way out in Mackenzie District Ruapehu District Council tackles 'huge' level of gambling harm Pokie machine 'sinking lid' on the table as Lower Hutt reviews gambling Wellington council poised to start ditching 'dirty money' pokie machines Timaru tops figures for annual per person spend on pokies for the whole Canterbury region, averaging … [Read more...] about South Cantabrians lost almost $12m to pokies in 2021