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Health Minister Eluned Morgan seems likely to become the new First Minister after former contender Jeremy Miles announced he would not be standing to replace Vaughan Gething.

Mr Gething resigned last Tuesday, July 16, following months of controversy over donations totalling £200,000 that he took from a convicted criminal and the revelation that he had deleted messages during the Covid crisis because he feared they could be disclosed under freedom of information legislation. He subsequently lied to the UK Covid Inquiry.

 

The Welsh government’s response to the Covid pandemic was “hampered by undue complexity," a public inquiry has found.

In the UK Covid-19 Inquiry's first report, which looks at the UK's preparedness for a pandemic, the Welsh Government was criticised over its preparations.

The report said that the system in Wales was a “labyrinthine,” and that there were failed opportunities to create a coherent system.

 

Some GPs in Wales have been running at limited capacity without computer systems following a global IT outage.

Planes have been grounded throughout the world, many industries disrupted and TV channels forced off air.

In Wales, trains have been delayed or cancelled, GPs are having to revert to handwritten notes and are turning away all but the most serious patients.

The exact cause of the problem is unknown, although several firms have blamed an issue with Crowdstrike cyber security software.

 

Welsh language campaigners have targeted Welsh Government offices across Wales, claiming Labour ‘chaos’ is causing delays to a promised White Paper on housing.Cymdeithas yr Iaith members have taken direct action against Welsh Government offices across Wales overnight (17 July) in response to delays in publishing their long-awaited White Paper on housing, declaring that solving the housing crisis will be the biggest challenge for the next First Minister of Wales.

In April, Julie James, the Welsh Government’s former Cabinet Secretary for Housing, committed to publishing a White Paper on the Right to Adequate Housing and Fair Rents, which would precede a law, before the summer recess of the Senedd.

 

Fresh calls have been made for an independent Wales-specific public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic following the UK probe’s first report.

Published today (July 18) the Wales section of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry described the Welsh Government’s preparations for a pandemic as “labyrinthine” with the reality not matching the rhetoric.

Outgoing First Minister Vaughan Gething said the publication was an “important moment for Welsh families bereaved by Covid-19” and for the frontline staff who “worked so hard” during the pandemic.

 

An extra £5m has been allocated to reassess the speed limit on 20mph roads, the Welsh government has announced.

Transport Minister Ken Skates previously said the decision to reverse parts of the controversial £34m default 20mph policy was in response to “consistent” concerns raised by "a lot of people".

Updated guidance to councils said there was no need to reassess all roads.

The Welsh government said it expected most changes from 20mph to 30mph to be on A and B roads "which are typically main or strategic roads" and "away from places that attract frequent pedestrians".

 

Vaughan Gething has announced that he is stepping down as the first minister of Wales, following a series of controversies that left his position untenable.

All eyes now turn to who might replace him - and how that process will work.

While it is too soon to know for sure, who are the most likely candidates to run for Wales' top job?

 

All 11 water firms in Wales and England are under scrutiny by Ofwat as part of its major investigation into whether their sewage treatment works are polluting the environment.

The water regulator said it showed “how concerned we are about the sector’s environmental performance”.

Ofwat announced it had served formal enforcement notices on the four remaining utilities firms – Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, Hafren Dyfrdwy, Severn Trent and United Utilities.

It means it has gathered evidence and found the firms may have breached their obligations to protect the environment, which could lead to fines.

 

Vaughan Gething has resigned as First Minister following weeks of controversies and a mass walk out by his cabinet.

He said the assertion that some kind of wrongdoing had taken place is “pernicious, politically motivated and patently untrue”.

In a statement published on Tuesday morning (July 16) he said: “I have this morning taken the difficult decision to begin the process of stepping down as leader of the Welsh Labour Party and, as a result, First Minister.

 

Concerns have been raised that an energy firm is “courting” Welsh politicians with gifts and donations in order to gain favour and influence for future wind farm projects.

Details uncovered by Nation Cymru reveal how several Labour Senedd members and a Labour MP have received tickets to sporting events and cash from Scottish company Bute Energy over the last three years.

The firm is currently developing a portfolio of onshore wind and solar power energy parks across rural parts of Wales.

 

A leading anti-corruption organisation has called for an independent probe into the sacking of junior minister Hannah Blythyn.

Transparency International UK is a global movement working to expose serious governance issues in both the UK and devolved governments through impartial, evidence-based research.

The organisation says an investigation should be launched immediately to establish the facts surrounding the ongoing confusion relating to the dismissal of the former social partnership minister.

 

Two local councillors have submitted a motion to their constituency Labour party calling for a vote of no confidence to be passed in First Minister Vaughan Gething.

It is thought to be the first such motion to be proposed within Welsh Labour since Nation.Cymru revealed in February that Mr Gething had accepted donations to his party leadership campaign totalling £200,000 from a company owned by businessman David Neal, who received two suspended prison sentences for dumping toxic sludge in the protected wetlands landscape of the Gwent Levels.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Definitely agree with you there, Welsh Labour seem a little less tainted by the current direction the UK Labour Party is heading. Still too far right for my liking, though.

Worth noting I'm in favour of Independence though, so a unionist party doesn't inspire much hope regardless of colour.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (3 children)

As if we would ever work with those charlatans, absolutely laughable. Given how close Labour & the Tories are with their policy points right now, I would argue it's the rosette turning blue.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Yeah, no problem at all.

There is some debate around where exactly the talk of legitimate devolved powers for Cymru originated and indeed finished, but I would say that there are 2 documents you can pin it down to pretty well.

A white paper called: A Voice for Wales - https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/RP97-129/RP97-129.pdf

And the Government of Wales Act of 1998 (As it was enacted in 1998) - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/38/contents/enacted

I was unable to find a free link for the white paper above, though the document I substituted it with, discusses it in great detail.

Both discuss devolution in great length, you should find what you're looking for here.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Yes, they did.

They may have lied, and I imagine quite a few of them did, but that was the line.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Supposed by whom, I cannot answer. I could describe what I believe is an almost ephemeral sense of what democracy in Cymru was 'supposed' to be, but I think that won't be answer enough for you.

As for sold by whom - Welsh Labour, UK Labour, Welsh & UK Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats besides that. Democracy in Cymru is practically still in its infancy at this point, and it was sold to the people of Wales by the political parties of the UK that supported devolution back then, and those that support further devolution and even independence for Wales now.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Well, it's no secret that the current state of democracy in Cymru isn't what it was 'supposed' to be, or what it was sold as. I would argue it's not unreasonable to keep a hold of the vision of what democracy was promised to be, and by doing so referring to what we have currently as something that shouldn't be the way that it is.

I'm not naive enough to think that this is the best it gets for us, nor am I naive enough to think that meaningful change is right around the corner for us. I have no doubt the path to a healthier democracy in Cymru is a long one, but to give up on the very idea of it, is not something that I intend on doing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (11 children)

I'm not sure what you mean about my life having any standing on what I think the author is trying to convey here? I'm not the author, I was merely suggesting what I believe the intended message was. I literally said that the state of things, in reality, is far from what the author is conveying.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (13 children)

I think it's a case of the author saying how things are supposed to be, rather than than the uncomfortable reality we seem to have settled into.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

The kicker being, that this is the second time, not ever, but in a single month.

It's honestly absurd.

[–] [email protected] 97 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Wild that the answer to young people being exposed to literal genocide and having an opinion about it, isn't to try and do something about the genocide, but to call it indoctrination and try to ban it.

Make it make sense.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Yeah this is exactly what it is.

The commenter above likely read something they disagree with on substack and has chosen to hate the entire platform because of it.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (10 children)

The only difference here though, is that it would be like being a nurse in Spain, and being told you can't speak Spanish to people, despite literally being in Spain, talking to a Spanish speaker.

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