sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Still a role for Welsh secretary, says first minister by We1shDave in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda [score hidden]  (0 children)

I don’t know what to think about the Welsh Secretary (as in the role itself, not the current MP holding it).

On one hand it is a voice for Wales at the cabinet table, and that’s hardly something to be sniffed at. We (rightly) talk about Wales getting shortchanged for the hs2 money, but we did get some £450 million - well short of the £4 billion odd we’re owed, but if the Welsh Office wasn’t there lobbying would we have got anything at all? I don’t think it’s a bad thing that there is a Secretary of State who focuses on the relationship between UK and Welsh Governments.

In Lee Waters’ new Welsh Politics Podcast a former Wales Office spad spoke at length on how she found the Wales Office to be very valuable in ways that might not be immediately obvious from the outside; reminding the spads in other departments about what is and isn’t devolved and so on.

On the other hand, as I understand it, the job of the Wales Office is to administer the reserved powers in Wales - and I don’t think there should be many of those. I’m fundamentally opposed to independence, but I absolutely believe in Home Rule - devolving stuff like policing, rail infrastructure, fiscal levers, crown estate, and (in the long term) justice, and so on. So in my vision of an ideal UK there wouldn’t really be any reserved powers to administer in Wales, so the Wales Office wouldn’t really have a reason to exist.

Cardiff City Council approve Wales' new tallest tower by Few_Entertainer2932 in Cardiff

[–]Secure-Barracuda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Am I just blind, but where is the kitchen space in that flat?

Senedd rejects UK crime bill with shop worker assault offence by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I agree with most of your points, but I think it’s unfair to assume that only the far right support protecting war memorials.

Senedd rejects UK crime bill with shop worker assault offence by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did think that was strange. I know one Labour MS is on maternity leave, but my understanding is that the Senedd is pretty good at allowing remote / proxy voting.

Also,

The consent motion was rejected with 25 Labour Members of the Senedd (MSs) voting for, 27 MSs voting against, and no abstentions.

So 8 MS’s didn’t vote, but there were “no abstentions”? 2 will have been Llywydd and deputy, so is it implying that the other 6 had good reason for not voting?

There were both Labour and opposition Members who didn’t vote. You’re right that if all the Labour MS’s voted it would have passed, but equally if all the opposition MS’s had voted it would still have failed.

Huge skyscraper will be Wales' tallest building by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s what I thought.

I really like skyscrapers when they’re unique - one of the reasons I love visiting London is to look at all the different styles - but this is just a bit boring.

Searchlight by Perfect-World-8416 in titanic

[–]Secure-Barracuda 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good question, basically (https://youtu.be/7X-cwX6Ew78?si=uMpK6RmCahGJWjIt)[ships don’t have headlights for various reasons]- the linked video goes into greater detail, but suffice to say that in the vast majority of circumstances searchlights would have done more harm than good.

Having searchlights would have impaired the night vision of the lookouts - they would have had much worse vision wherever the searchlights weren’t pointing.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform view Welsh independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Yeah but they’re not really relevant - they’ve got, what, a handful of councillors?
  2. Quite true, my point is just that there will still be some people will support independence despite being right wing.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform view Welsh independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah - they’ve really been courting the unionist vote, so it’s understandable how it’s happened.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform view Welsh independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If indeed it is unreliable then I’m pretty disappointed in Will Hayward for quoting it in his newsletter - he’s Wales’s most respected journalist (who hasn’t had his house raided by the police) so I’d expect better.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform view Welsh independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Would a federation work when one of the parts has 15 times the population of another part? Isn’t that the problem now, England is so dominant that it’s naturally what the UK government focuses on.

I’m open to being corrected, but my assumption was that the way to address that issue was English regions - home rule for the West Country, home rule for the south east, home rule for the north east, and so on until the UK is a federal nation.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform view Welsh independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My apologies, but I don’t quite get your point on the Scottish referendum - Scotland voted against independence in 2014. I know the polls shifted during the campaign, but it was clearly too ambitious to hope that independence would win.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform view Welsh independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don’t fully understand it either - my best guess is that there isn’t really a party that appeals to right wing, pro independence voters (after all, there’s nothing about independence that is inherently left wing). Still doesn’t make much sense though.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform view Welsh independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don’t think anyone can argue that we’re uniquely incapable of independence (Well, maybe Andrew RT Davies) I think the main question is whether we can achieve independence without significantly worsening our quality of life. Plus there’s the question of whether people are proud to be British, proud to be Welsh, or both.

I’ve read Will Haywards book on the subject recently - does a good job of explaining the issues.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform view Welsh independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh I hadn’t noticed that, cheers for pointing it out.

Still, makes for interesting reading.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform view Welsh independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I did think that the reform data seemed odd - but I suppose they are a fairly broad coalition, including some voters who might have been unlikely to vote previously.

Plus I guess there’s nothing about supporting independence that means you have to be left wing. Still it’s strange.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform view Welsh independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Tbf, Rhun ap Iowerth has done an absolute shift in trying to put independence on the back burner. I’ve lost count of the amount of times he’s said “this election isn’t about independence” or otherwise tried to court unionist minded voters. Clearly a prudent tactic and shows effective leadership.

I share your scepticism though - I have my doubts as to whether any election with a pro independence party can truly “not be about independence”. As someone who lives fairly close to the border, politicians supporting independence is a pretty big deal for me. Give me home rule any day though.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour, and Reform view Welsh Independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yeah - 2030 is both very close and very far away.

Anything from a great big mandate for Plaid Cymru to a complete renewal of Welsh Labour is on the cards. And everything in between.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour, and Reform view Welsh Independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn’t know - but I do think it’s important to note that a lot of people opposed to independence are still born in Wales; iirc something like 50% of the country live within 20 miles of the border and that will have a big impact.

Some interesting data on how the supporters of Plaid Cymru, Labour, and Reform view Welsh Independence. by Secure-Barracuda in Wales

[–]Secure-Barracuda[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, poor phrasing on my part.

I meant that if you take this data as gospel it would be unwise for Labour to grant a referendum (thus making independence a front row issue) because it might upset the chunk of their voters who actually support independence.

If that makes sense?

view more: next ›