Brexit dominates, the environment suffers
This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post
The government’s focus on the seemingly never-ending Brexit farce in Westminster has meant that other, important priorities are being neglected, not least the environment.
I am sure the thousands of school pupils who went on strike to demand a greater focus on climate change, will be very upset to note that the UK is likely to miss almost all the 2020 nature targets it set itself a decade ago. They are not alone in that.
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Valuing our libraries
This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post
Swansea library service is a success story. In 2017-18, the last year for which figures are available, 1.3 million people visited their local library. Only seven of the 22 local authorities in Wales had more library visits per 1,000 head of population than Swansea.
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Fighting for Lucy’s Law
This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post
Recently, Swansea Council unanimously passed my motion calling on the Welsh Government to introduce ‘Lucy’s Law’ and became one of 15 Welsh councils calling for change.
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The mouths of fools
This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post
'The mouths of fools are their ruin; they trap themselves with their lips' - Proverbs 18:7 New Living Translation
The danger with writing about Brexit is that anything I might say will be out-of-date minutes after I have committed it to paper. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to comment on a recent complaint by one Tory MP that leaving the EU means we have no voice and no MEPs.
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The crisis facing Welsh councils
This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post
Pleas from Welsh Councils for more cash has been a standard since I first got involved in politics over 35 years ago.
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Action needed on 101
As a local councillor, I deal with the police a lot in an effort to resolve various incidents that impact on my community. Most of this is informal, but there are also bi-monthly PACT meetings in which the police and local councillors are able to interact with the community.
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Why we need better youth facilities
This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post
When I read last week that there one of the political parties is proposing to introduce legislation in England to guarantee "quality youth services for all young people", I was reminded of my own attempt as an Assembly Member to do the same in Wales back in 2008.
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Is it time to talk about Community Councils?
This is an article for the Institute of Welsh Affairs Click on Wales site
As officials in the Welsh Government begin their task of evaluating responses to the consultation on restructuring Principal Councils in Wales, it is worth turning our attention to the Cinderella of local government, the forgotten few, our Town and Community Councils.
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Our green deficit
This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post
The decision by the UK Government not to proceed with the Swansea Bay lagoon is massively disappointing. The Secretary of State for Wales dismisses the case for providing a revolutionary and clean source of energy by stating it would only have created 28 permanent jobs. When did he last stand in a dole queue?
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Why we need a vote on the final deal
This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post
On 5th June 1975 an advisory referendum took place in which 67% of those voting confirmed our membership of the European Economic Community on the basis of clearly set out terms of membership.
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