Wales politics

Published 14 July 2016 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing The UK has a new prime minister - Theresa May. How will Wales fit into a Downing Street in-tray dominated by negotiations to leave the European Union? Brexit in Wales There are issues in the Brexit negotiations that will fundamentally affect everyone, Wales included. Lots has been said about them in the past few months and they will no doubt continue to dominate the news agenda for years to come. There is freedom of movement - can EU nationals live and work in the UK? And the single market - whether firms in Wales and elsewhere in the UK can trade freely with the EU. There are plenty of companies and businesses in Wales that will be waiting to see what the future relationship is, and plenty of employees too - previous figures suggested that 100,000 jobs in Wales were linked to exports to the EU. … [Read more...] about Theresa May: What’s on her to-do list for Wales?

Published 19 March 2016 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Alun Cairns has become the new Welsh secretary after Stephen Crabb was made work and pensions secretary in the wake of Iain Duncan Smith's resignation. Vale of Glamorgan MP Mr Cairns steps up from his role as under secretary of state at the Wales Office which has been filled by Aberconwy MP Guto Bebb. Prime Minister David Cameron made the announcement on Saturday. Mr Duncan Smith quit on Friday over the latest planned cuts to disability benefits announced in the Budget. Mr Cairns told BBC Wales: "There is no better role for Wales than sitting around the cabinet, making sure that Wales' voice is heard loud and clear and also in shaping UK government policy developed to Wales' benefit." Mr Cairns said he wanted to see Cardiff's Capital Region city deal to be as successful as the last biggest … [Read more...] about Alun Cairns Welsh Secretary after Stephen Crabb’s promotion

Published 14 July 2016 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Stephen Crabb has resigned as work and pensions secretary following newspaper allegations he sent suggestive text messages to a young woman. Mr Crabb will be replaced by Damian Green as new Prime Minister Theresa May completes her cabinet team . The Preseli Pembrokeshire MP, promoted to the post in March , resigned "in the best interests of my family", he said. Meanwhile Alun Cairns, MP for Vale of Glamorgan, has kept his job as Welsh secretary. Justice Secretary Michael Gove and England's Education Secretary Nicky Morgan are leaving the cabinet. Culture Secretary John Whittingdale is also not returning to government. Mr Crabb, who was one of several contenders for the Tory leadership who lost out to Mrs May, said: "Over the last two years I have had the huge privilege to serve in the cabinet. … [Read more...] about Stephen Crabb resigns as Theresa May forms new cabinet

Published 22 December 2017 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Former Welsh secretary Stephen Crabb has been cleared of breaching party rules following an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct. The Preseli Pembrokeshire MP was alleged to have sent explicit messages to a 19-year-old who applied for a job in his office in 2013. The Conservative Party found his behaviour fell short but it "did not constitute harassment". Chris Pincher MP was also cleared after allegations of inappropriate conduct. They had been referred to a disciplinary panel, set up under a new Tory code of conduct amid a number of allegations about MPs. Referring to Mr Crabb's case, a Conservative Party spokesman said: "Following an investigation, a panel headed by an independent QC has concluded that Mr Crabb's behaviour did not constitute harassment. "However, it found that … [Read more...] about Stephen Crabb MP cleared over harassment claims

JACOB Rees-Mogg last night suggested civil servants who refused to get back to the office would end up losing their jobs. He spoke out as it was revealed Whitehall offices were still half empty. Ministers are slashing 91,000 civil service jobs as part of a massive drive to cut costs for taxpayers . Mr Rees-Mogg told The Sun: “People will no doubt draw their own conclusions as to whether they think they ought to be in the office when an organisation is reducing numbers.” He also revealed he is deciding which understaffed government buildings could be ditched. He said: “It is probably too early to say which particular body which is very empty is finding that its lease will not be renewed on central London property. But that is happening as we speak.” Read More Civil servants SIMON SAYS How Sir Simon McDonald became one of the UK's most important civil servants THE CHANGE Menopausal civil servants to get more … [Read more...] about Civil servants who refuse to get back to the office cold lose their jobs, suggests Jacob Rees-Mogg

Published 13 July 2016 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing New Prime Minister Theresa May has made Boris Johnson, the former London mayor who led the Brexit campaign, foreign secretary in her new government. He replaces Philip Hammond, who becomes chancellor. Ex-Energy Secretary Amber Rudd is home secretary and Eurosceptic David Davis is the Brexit secretary. Ex-chancellor George Osborne was fired, the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said. On arriving at Downing Street, Mrs May vowed to lead a government that works for all, not just the "privileged few". New cabinet: Who's in, who's out? May vows to be 'one nation' prime minister Cameron makes farewell speech from Downing Street Who is Theresa May? A profile of the UK's new PM In pictures: The UK gets a new leader The UK's second female prime minister promised to give people who were "just managing" and … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson made foreign secretary by Theresa May

Published 19 March 2016 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Appointed amid the furore of Iain Duncan Smith's explosive resignation, Stephen Crabb has already been tipped to make the headlines in his own right. The 43-year-old former Welsh secretary, raised by his mother on a council estate in Haverfordwest, has a back story that contrasts sharply with that of many of his cabinet colleagues. He has spoken in interviews of the "horrible decisions about what food and clothing was affordable" as he was growing up. Many see his personal story as well suited to his new role at the Department for Work and Pensions, where he will take on the reforms championed by Mr Duncan Smith and fiercely opposed by some charities and opposition MPs. Stephen Crabb MP 43 years old MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire since 2005 Promoted to Welsh secretary in July 2014 having been a minister … [Read more...] about Who is Stephen Crabb?

Boris Johnson has rejected calling a snap election after fuelling speculation he could go to the country early. The prime minister ruled out a fresh poll in an interview recorded before the government became embroiled in fresh controversy when Tory MP Chris Pincher quit as deputy chief whip , a role in which he was responsible for party discipline, on Thursday over accusations he drunkenly groped two men on a night out. That day Mr Johnson had repeatedly failed to dismiss the prospect of an election before the next scheduled date in 2024. Politics latest: Tories 'mired in sleaze and scandal' It followed reports that staff at Conservative Party headquarters had war-gamed the idea of calling a snap ballot if Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is forced to resign as a result of an investigation by Durham Police into alleged breaches of coronavirus rules. Advertisement However, asked in a recorded interview with LBC radio, broadcast on Friday, … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson rejects calling snap election after fuelling speculation

Boris Johnson is facing mounting pressure over groping claims against a Conservative whip, as two senior female MPs demand a "zero tolerance" approach to sexual misconduct in the party. Chris Pincher quit his role as deputy chief whip after allegedly groping two men - and the PM is being urged to kick him out of the Tory parliamentary group. Downing Street defended the prime minister's decision to appoint Mr Pincher to the whip role earlier this year despite concerns reportedly expressed at the time, saying it was "not appropriate to stop an appointment on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations". Politics Hub: No 10 responds to report PM knew of groping claims Tory MPs Karen Bradley and Caroline Nokes - the only two Conservative female chairs of backbench select committees - took aim in a joint letter at what they called the "inconsistent and unclear approach" by the party to such incidents. Advertisement In a letter to chief whip Chris … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson under mounting pressure over Tory whip who quit over groping claims

Women who question transgender ideology have been branded “farts” as part of equalities training offered to civil servants in Nicola Sturgeon’s Government , it has emerged. Workers who attended a workplace “trans 101” course were told the term was an acronym for “feminism appropriating ridiculous transphobe” and that women who oppose inclusivity measures were part of a “trans hate group”. Staff who attended the training session, run by the Scottish Government’s taxpayer-funded LGBTI+ internal staff network, were also urged to study claims that biological sex is a “falsehood” invented by the medical profession to “reinforce white supremacy and gender oppression”. A grassroots feminist movement has become prominent in Scotland and is vocal in opposition to SNP plans to allow Scots to change their legal sex simply by signing a declaration. Civil servants were directed to claims that so-called “gender critical” women or “terfs” (trans exclusionary radical feminists) “hate all … [Read more...] about Scottish civil servants warned of ‘farts’ in the workplace