The Hiraeth Review
Blwyddyn newydd dda. Happy new year and welcome to our new newsletter. Below you'll find a tailored selection of articles, podcasts, videos and more that the team at Hiraeth have found useful, interesting or insightful during the past month. All paid Patreons will receive this one week before it is published to our free tier, public mailing list, and here on the website. Thank you for your ongoing- or newly begun interest in our work and independent Welsh media.
The big news in Welsh politics is still the contest for Welsh Labour leader and First Minister for Wales. Vaughan Gething and Jeremy Miles continue their contest to see who can accrue the most endorsements without naming a single policy they'll deliver that is different from what the party promised to deliver in 2021.
We hope that this debate is one that focusses on both the future of the party and the country and not simply a retreading of the shades of reddish-grey, social-ish platitudes that we have become accustomed to in Welsh politics.
There is no money, and the promises, or lack thereof, reflect this. Both candidates promising only to undo cuts in their current or former departments, which leads us to ask why those cuts happened in the first place.
We offer a warning. Don't expect to be enthralled by a radical departure from the Welsh Labour of the past. Both candidates will keep with the old reliable Welsh Labour formula and both candidates are looking towards London for any sense of hope.
Turnout in the last leadership election was just over 50%. It's early days yet, but we'd be shocked if turnout breaks 40% of party members this time around.
The Economy of the UK is in serious trouble - Economics Explained
Well, the title says it all really. Our favourite Australian Economics Podcast (what do you mean you don't have one of those?) explains why the UK’s two speed economy is damaging living standards. The UK's poor economic performance is one of the reasons to think there will be a May general election, before it gets much worse.
Vaughan Gething’s Empty Promise
Will Hayward from WalesOnline has largely given short shrift to the respective campaigns of Vaughan Gething and Jeremy Miles to succeed Mark Drakeford as Welsh Labour leader and Wales’s First Minister.
However, it rarely gets shortier or shriftier than his most recent substack (subscription required) which includes a pretty damning assessment of Vaughan Gething’s key NHS pledge that Welsh funding would never drop below thos of England hnder his premiership:
“The only time Wales has dropped below England in terms of per head spend was during Covid and that was because the UK Government spaffed billions on contact tracing. If he wants to make a real promise, he should vow to pass on all the cash Wales gets as a Barnett consequential from English health spending…”
‘We Don’t Want to Be a National Laughingstock’: How Lauren Boebert Blew Her Safe Seat
This is a general election year, not only in the UK but also the US. This article details the quick rise and quicker fall of arch MAGA conservative congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who is having to attempt a seat switch in order to have any hope of returning to Congress after the next election.
Behind the obsession with the limelight and conspiracy theories, this is actually a highly revealing insight into what happens when politicians start to ignore the values of their constituents for the plaudits of ideological commentators. Wonder if some politicians might learn that in the UK this year also.
Rishi Sunak looks back to 1992 with latest election strategy pivot
Much has been made of whether the next election will be more like 1992 or 1997. The real answer is neither. It will be like 2024. Unlike 1992 you do not have an economy in slow but dependable recovery, nor like in 1997 do you have a charismatic opposition leader who is widely liked. Even the Tories cited in this article acknowledge that Sunak pulling off a result like ‘92 will be difficult and one of them is Lord Hesseltine, he should know.
Why are so many election rules being changed for 2024?
The introduction of Voter ID requirements for UK Government-controlled elections and introduction of the First-Past-The-Post systems for Police & Crime Commissioner and English regional/mayoral elections had plenty of news coverage on introduction due to their perceived electoral advantages for the Conservatives.
However, there are many more changes incoming that may be equally important but have had far less scrutiny. The Hansard Society has this great explainer podcast to fill in the gaps.
A Vision for Wales - Jeremy Miles MS
LabourList have been so kind as to publish Jeremy Miles’s speech from his leadership campaign launch so now we can all peer over what the frontrunner will do should he win. A speech which cannot be faulted for its ambition or prose, but leaves much to be desired in terms of detail. Hopefully we can speak to Jeremy soon and he can provide us a little more information on how exactly these lofty aspirations will be matched.
How will elections shape the world in 2024? - The New Statesman
We are all aware that there will be an election in the UK this year, did you know that countries containing over 4 billion people will go to the polls this year? The team at the New Statesman take you on a half an hour whistle stop tour through some of the most geo-politically significant elections that will take place in 2024 and what they mean for global democracy.
After the Constitution Commission - What Happens Next?
We have seen Mark Drakeford repeatedly state the importance he and his government are placing on the work of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales, likely with hope of influencing the UK Labour Party’s imminent manifesto-writing process. He has been busily touring Constituency Labour Parties to make the case for reform in face of no little scepticism from current and future members of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
However, it’s not just the union reformers in Welsh Labour (and, in theory, Welsh the Lib Dems) that are interested in the Commission’s report, Plaid Cymru (and, in theory, the Wales Green Party) are obviously keen to champion the possibilities of independence considered by the Commission.
To outline Plaid’s first official response, Rhun ap Iorwerth will be speaking at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay at this event organised by Aberystwyth University’s Centre for Welsh Politics and Society on 31st January.
Internal Market Act riles the Celts once more
Welsh and Scottish governments have suggested that the UK Internal Market Act leaves them at risk of unchecked EU goods entering their markets.
The UK internal market law - a key aspect if Stormont is to return in Northern Ireland is facing increased scrutiny in Scotland and Wales. A cross-party report from the Scottish parliament has highlighted concerns about handling regulatory divergence within the UK market despite the government’s internal market act – as the Welsh government states it will decide what EU goods enter its market. The UK Internal Market Act (IMA) guarantees Northern Ireland “unfettered” access to the rest of the UK – but is strongly opposed by the devolved governments in Cardiff and Edinburgh who see it as a ‘power grab’ by Westminster.
The Mighty Atom returns to Wales?
Conveniently coinciding with our mini-series of pods about at the pros and cons of nuclear power in Wales, Westminster’s new civil nuclear roadmap sets out plans to explore the possibility of building another nuclear power station in the UK as large as Sizewell C.
Top of the list, apparently, is a new massive plant at Wylfa on Ynys Môn, a move that would be welcomed by local authority leader and prospective MP Llinos Medi but not by a clear majority of her party.
And that's it from the first, revampaed edition of our monthly newsletter. Please let us know what you think and do share the word about the podcast, the newsletter, and the Patreon. We have some great stuff in store for 2024!
Other stories, analysis, and opinion articles will appear here on our website: www.walespolitics.com
