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.

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?

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.

This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post

All eligible Welsh undergraduate students starting university this year will be able to apply for a financial support package that, for the first time, will address living costs.

This is an article for the Institute of Welsh Affairs website Click on Wales

The ink was barely dry on the Act of Parliament that created the 22 unitary councils in Wales before the doubts started to set in.

This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post

Setting the council’s budget for the following year is always a difficult and exacting process. Thousands of jobs are dependent on the £384 million budget (of which only 30% comes from council tax), the £38 million capital budget, and the £123 million the council spends on managing and improving its housing stock.

This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post

The decision by the Welsh Government to give the vote to 16 and 17 years olds at local council elections is good news This reflects a similar provision for that age group in Scotland.

This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post

Friday 24^th November was International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, also known as White Ribbon Day. It is followed up until the 10th December by 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence.

This is an article for Liberator Magazine

For all intents and purposes, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are facing an existential crisis. For the first time since the Liberal Party was formed in the nineteenth century we no longer have an MP representing a Welsh constituency. Our once small but successful Welsh Assembly group has been reduced to a rump of one and our councillor base is smaller than it has been for some time.

This is an article for the South Wales Evening Post

There has been controversy in Swansea of late over the council's decision to no longer collect soft plastics for recycling, despite the fact that these materials are capable of being processed. This was an issue I raised at a recent council meeting.