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Thursday, February 22, 2007

Meachers splitting tactics


Spare us from Meacher - He voted for the war - What did he do for the environment as a minister? How many houses has he got??? I wouldn't want to see the kind of internecine dispute for which the Left are famous, or infamous. John McDonnell is the candidate with credibility. Meachers credentials, as a candidate of the Left, are much more ambiguous BBC reports Labour MP Stephen Pound, who described Mr Meacher as a "faintly ridiculous" figure, said he would be surprised if the veteran left-winger managed to get the required support. "It's a pity because, frankly, he's going to get humiliated," said the Ealing North MP. "I suspect he knows that, if he put his ego to one side a bit he would realise that."
Aren't there ANY real socialist Women in the Labour Party? Obviously not.

Meanwhile the deluded PM defends Iraq policy insisting that adequate planning for post-war Iraq was undertaken before the invasion went ahead? OK OK just shut it Tony.

Aberthaw potential site for NEW Nuclear Power Station



Independent 22nd Feb 2007


CONSULTANTS working for the UK Government have earmarked Aberthaw in the Vale of Glamorgan as a potential site for a new nuclear power station, according to an industry source. The Department of Trade and Industry said there were no plans to build any new nuclear power stations. ..industry source told the Western Mail, "There is a document in existence which identifies Aberthaw as a suitable location for a nuclear power station. It's an academic exercise which looks purely at the technical case, without considering the political impact.

Have anyone asked the people of Wales if they want a new nuclear power station? No we don't. Write to your local politican asking them to say no to nuclear power. Julie Morgan MP for Cardiff North supports Nuclear power and has voted for this polciy in the house of commons. Read more on Julie Morgan MP for cardiff north and her views FOR nuclear power

Say no to nuclear power


Western Mail 20th February 2007
SCOTTISH Nationalists today called on Labour to rule out the construction of any new nuclear power stations. The party claims Scotland can instead become a world leader in green technologies.

Why can't the politicians in Wales dare speak out and say no to nuclear power? But we have politicians like Julie Morgan who vote to support nuclear power every time!

Room on the broom for Sophie with Cherie


Very appropriate story! New Labour have really lost it if they think Cherie will win votes for ther new labour asbo queen Sophie Howe. Reach for the sick bucket!!

Labour rolls out Cherie to help save Cardiff North

Feb 20 2007 Western Mail CHERIE BLAIR lent her support to Labour's Welsh Assembly election campaign yesterday with a visit to an under-threat seat.
Leafy Cardiff North tops the Conservatives' target list for the election in May.
Mrs Blair joined a group of children and Labour candidate Sophie Howe for story time at Whitchurch Library. The Prime Minister's wife read Room on the Broom before meeting parents and colouring in a picture of a witch on a broomstick. broom!!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Redwood: I did not vilify single mothers

Feb 20 2007 Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail

FORMER Welsh Secretary John Redwood was embroiled in another row over single mothers last night after saying he was fed up of "lies" over remarks he made after a visit to a Cardiff estate 14 years ago.

He was widely criticised as vilifying one-parent families in a speech he gave after a tour of the capital's St Mellons estate in 1993.

But he insists he merely called for absent fathers to make a contribution to their children's upbringing, and that he then became an early victim of Labour spin

..There is no end to the long line of politicians, New Labour these days, blaming parents and especially mothers for anti social behaviour, the sate of the nation , council housing, the world..yeah

Tony Blair and centralisation

Open Democracy - London,UK
Devolution for Scotland and Wales would be accompanied by a series of regional assemblies, directly elected mayors and a return to local democracy in London ...

Wales short changed, says Opik

Today at Prime Minister's Questions Tony Blair confirmed that any Labour Government or Executive would commit itself to the Barnett Formula.

Lembit Opik, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, commented afterwards: "This formula distributes a woefully inadequate sum of money to Wales from Central Government relative to the needs of Wales 21/2/2007

RADIOACTIVE contamination from Sellafield

Sellafield

RADIOACTIVE contamination from Sellafield has been detected on Braystones beach following recently improved monitoring. British Nuclear Group has reported in the Sellafield newsletter that "a week of radiological monitoring was carried out at Braystones beach between Monday January 29 and Friday 2. "The monitoring was in line with an Environment Agency statutory requirement. "As a result of the monitoring we have removed three contaminated items from the beach. These are being fully analysed to determine their source.

Whitehaven News 9th Feb 2007

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Defend Council Housing: Investment not ownership needed


Tuesday, 20 Feb 2007 09:00
Defend Council Housing (DCH) has called on the government to invest in improvement to social housing rather than threaten the secure tenancies of residents.

A government-commissioned review into the future of council housing by John Hills will be published this morning and could recommend that tenants lose their right to life tenacies.

DCH chair Alan Walter said: “The case for investing in decent, affordable, secure and accountable council housing is stronger than ever. The private housing market is failing millions today as it always has."

And he warned that "starving council estates of investment; forcing tenants to give up our secure, life long tenancies; , and siphoning money out of tenants rents to subsidise shared ownership schemes is ideological dogma that solves nothing but will antagonise millions of council tenants and those on council housing waiting lists".

DCH warned introducing a time limit in tenancies or means testing for residents "would turn our estates into massive hostels with a transient, not sustainable, community".

John Hills gives his views on council housing

Independent review urges major rethink on social housing -A report by Professor John Hills, commissioned by the government and published today, calls for urgent debate and major reforms to ensure social housing meets its aims. ..why not listen to the tenants instead!

3 MILLION COUNCIL TENANTS FACE BOOT

Mirror.co.uk - Feb 19, 2007
He added: "People in social housing are often poor families, single parents and the longterm sick and disabled. "They need and deserve security and affordable rents, not the fear and uncertainty of homelessness.
DEFEND COUNCIL HOUSING HOPE THAT 1.6 MILLION ON HOUSEHOLD WAITING ...
New Labour leave no stone unturned .. after all look at all those council properties they let go to ruin .. wouldn't it be better to get rid of them and all that land could be used by developers to build luxury crap flats as badly as possible and make loads of cash!

Sunday, February 18, 2007

QinetiQ boss sells stake

Thu 15 Feb 2007

LONDON (SHARECAST) - QinetiQ Group, the defence manufacturer and security firm, floated a year ago amid a flurry of interest in the former Ministry of Defence division.

The group, which started as part of the MOD's defence research laboratories, enjoyed a bullish start after its float was 20 times oversubscribed, however it has fared less well since.

Chief executive Graham Love has made his first dealing in the shares, selling 2.9m at 205p per share and netting £5.95m in the process. That leaves him with a stake of 7.78m

Shares in QinetiQ have struggled in their first year on the market but some upbeat announcements and record half year results on the back of strong US growth have helped them climb back to flotation levels.

St Athan academy road links plan thrown into doubt


Rhrodri makes promises he can't keep without using our money to line Metrix consortium pockets!!

Feb 16 2007 Peter Collins, South Wales Echo
First Minister Rhodri Morgan has signalled the Assembly is moving away from plans to upgrade road links with the Cardiff International Airport.

It had been believed that the new 5,500-job military academy in the Vale of Glamorgan would lead to huge improvements in the transport network.

But at a meeting with business leaders, Mr Morgan said the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) would not be able to raise private funding to pay for the scheme. He said it was also unlikely that a private company would be able to charge a toll for a road from the M4 to the airport.

Plans to trunk the A48 from Culverhouse Cross to Sycamore Cross and parts of three roads leading to the airport, were scrapped following public opposition, although WAG was understood to be keen to press ahead with improved road links from the M4 to the airport.

But at the meeting with business leaders, Mr Morgan said: 'You may not get a dual carriageway from the M4. What company would want to have a toll on that road?'

He also used the example of Bristol Airport which has poor road links and said that it did not seem to have harmed its development.

Villagers in the Vale were concerned at talk about trunking the road from Culverhouse Cross and at the plans to build a new road from the M4 directly to the airport.

A spokesman for the Metrix consortium, the group behind the successful St Athan bid, said they had no public comment to make on Mr Morgan's views. But the consortium has embarked on detailed negotiations with WAG and others on the infrastructure implications of the academy development

In an exclusive interview with the Echo this week, Mike Hayle, chief executive of Metrix, said continued public support was vital. He also said: 'It is also important that the Assembly Government shows that it will deliver what it said it would deliver.'

A major development blueprint which will be used as a guide for the academy plans concluded that 'there is sufficient highway capacity within the local road infrastructure to absorb the impact of the development'. The conclusion was reached by a transport group which included Assembly Government representatives and Metrix.

Plaid Support for 'Defend Public Housing' Meeting







Plaid Cymru's Swansea West Assembly Candidate Ian Titherington will be attending this Tuesday's meeting in the city's Guildhall, in support of the 'no' campaign to stop the transfer of Council housing.

The meeting is being organised by Unison of which Ian is a branch officer and is in response to a massive and expensive media campaign paid for by the Lib Dem administration - to offload public sector housing.

Ian Titherington stated, "The time has come to stop the Swansea Lib Dems from privatising and outsourcing every public sector service they deem 'problematical.
12 February 2007

Anger at respect tsar's day of 'insults'


A leaked letter accuses Blair adviser of needlessly offending a conference of youth justice experts

Jamie Doward, home affairs editor Sunday February 18, 2007
The Observer
One of Tony Blair's most trusted and controversial advisers, the 'respect tsar' Louise Casey, has been accused of 'behaviour not befitting a senior civil servant' and insulting and offending an audience of experts when delivering a keynote speech at the Youth Justice Board's annual conference.

'Respect tsar' is No 10's favourite to take over youth justice board


Alan Travis, home affairs editor Tuesday February 13, 2007 The Guardian

Downing Street is pushing for Louise Casey, Tony Blair's "respect tsar", to take over the job of chair of the youth justice- this is an absolute disgrace! Tony Bliar and New Labour are such conrol freaks!!

consultation a joke to new labour!

from the Sunday Telegraph 18th Feb 2007

'I was struck by the madness of a remark Blair made last week. It was just as the High Court ruled that the government's recent consultation with the public over what our future energy policy should be wasn't consultative enough, and that he and his ministers would have to consult us on the policy again. Asked if this would put on hold his plans to build more nuclear power stations, he said: 'No. This won't affect the policy at all. It'll affect the process of consultation, but not the policy.' Take a good hard look at that quote again. It's mad. It's based either on a belief in the possession of psychic powers so discriminating they can predict the outcome of a consultation before it happens (which is mad) or they're based on the belief that words have no meaning other than the meaning one chooses to give them and that this meaning can change at any particular moment (which is at least three times as mad as the first example of madness). '

Unicef report trashed by new labour & Colin Crouch


They would trash it wouldn't they that is new labour..
Study after study says the same - Such Bollocks Colin Crouch - blame the tories, blame the individual, it must be the kids fault and if not the mothers. T Blair answer to gun crime - more power to the police - lock up more kids younger etc - put Louise Casey in charge of the youth justice board and never mind the horror of every civilised socialist person /human rights org except the government voice cehr - keep the few community projects that work sucessfully with kids short of money but find plenty of dosh for armed police on the street.
...privitise all council housing - don't listen to the people that live there as they are not worthy of listening too. ..they are rubbish like the schools etc Such snobbery and class derision is appalling but we of course we all believe in equality & it is ok as more middle class kids are going to uni and tony listens to car drivers who use the internet..the alpha new labour male/female reigns supreme while you listen to their excuses . When will all this stop? Who will stand up and say so?

QinetiQ stock dealings make some trigger happy

From Julia Finch Friday February 16, 2007 The Guardian

Why are we not surprised at QinetiQ boss Graham Love's rush to sell a large wodge of his shares at the earliest possible opportunity?

QinetiQ, for those with short memories, is the defence technology group privatised by the government last year in a controversial move that generated paper fortunes worth more than £20m for the group's chairman and chief executive, Sir John Chisholm and Love.

Yesterday Love and Andrew Sleigh, managing director of the business, leapt at the chance to turn their shares into real money - about £6m and £1.8n respectively. They acted just days after the first phase of a lock-in agreement came to an end. The three-phase lock-in allows directors to sell about a third of their shares after 12, 24 and 36 months. Love chose to flog 27% of his holding ASAP.

His dealings came days after the US private equity group Carlyle cashed in its last chips in QinetiQ. The sale ended a highly lucrative and controversial investment for the Americans. They acquired 31% of QinetiQ from the UK government for £42m in 2003. They then raised some £160m selling part of their stake at flotation and a week ago sold the rest, raising £140m.

Carlyle, whose image was so battered by Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and whose directors once included the former president Bush and ex-prime minister John Major, is now out of the picture and evidently attempting an image makeover.

For shareholders who rushed to buy QinetiQ at the float, it has not been an impressive year. The shares, floated at 200p, were standing at 206p last night. And the company, which recently installed the former CIA boss George Tenet on its board, remains contentious.

Only last month the government, - QinetiQ's biggest shareholder with a 19% stake - was involved in a row after making consortiums led by the company preferred bidders on a £16bn private finance initiative contract for the MoD.

Why does the defence business always seem so tawdry?

Friday, February 16, 2007

Tony Blair defiant over nuclear plans!


No 2 nuclear power

Tony Blair has said he is still firmly behind the construction of new nuclear power stations, despite losing a High Court battle with Greenpeace.
BBC 15th Feb 2007

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Female bullying types

BULLY FOR YOU: how to spot them and the best ways to deal with them, by Shane Watson

Sorry we're closed Pregnant women turned away in Cardiff

Sorry, we're closed

Cardiff is the worst place in Wales to have your baby!

The 10 worst units for closures to expectant mothers last year, and the number of hours they were closed:
1.Rochdale Infirmary, Rochdale, 469.
2.Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath, 459
3.Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, 305.39
4.Southmead Hospital, Bristol, 205
5.Eastbourne District General Hospital, 145
6.University Hospital of Hartlepool, 126

7.University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, 122.5

8.St Thomas' Hospital, London, 105
9.Conquest Hospital, St Leonards on Sea, 102
10.Kingston Hospital, Kingston upon Thames ,96

For full survey details go to www.birthguide.co.uk

Sorry we're closed Pregnant women turned away in Cardiff

Sorry, we're closed

Cardiff is the worst place in Wales to have your baby!

The 10 worst units for closures to expectant mothers last year, and the number of hours they were closed:
1.Rochdale Infirmary, Rochdale, 469.
2.Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath, 459
3.Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, 305.39
4.Southmead Hospital, Bristol, 205
5.Eastbourne District General Hospital, 145
6.University Hospital of Hartlepool, 126

7.University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, 122.5

8.St Thomas' Hospital, London, 105
9.Conquest Hospital, St Leonards on Sea, 102
10.Kingston Hospital, Kingston upon Thames ,96

For full survey details go to www.birthguide.co.uk

Asbo Sophie Howe brings Asbo Hazel Blears to Cardiff North



New Labour would be AM ASBO Sohie Howe brings ASBO Hazel Blears to Cardiff North - kept that quiet. Did yu ask her about pregnancy services?

I suggest you read Shattered Lives: Children Who Live with Courage and Dignity
Camila Batmanghelidjh. Buy it at Amazon

Private equity group sells out of Qinetiq amid audit office inquiry

The Carlyle Group said yesterday that it was selling its remaining stake in Qinetiq, the privatised defence and security concern, in a move that will provide further ammunition for critics of the private equity sector.
Carlyle, which acquired a 33% stake in Qinetiq in 2002 for £42.5m, sold some £160m of shares when the UK company was floated a year ago and stands to pocket a further £140m from the sale of its remaining 67.8m shares.

The National Audit Office announced last year that it was to investigate the privatisation of Qinetiq and said then that the price at which Carlyle acquired its original holding was one of the issues it would be looking at.
Last night the NAO said the investigation was continuing and that it expected its report on the Qinetiq privatisation to be completed by the spring.
Mark Milner Friday February 9, 2007 The Guardian

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Welsh affairs committee welcomes St Athans fiasco!

Session 2006-07
17 January 2007

Press Notice No 4
Welsh Affairs Committee welcomes decision to locate multi-billion pound training academy at St
Athan. The Welsh Affairs Committee today welcomes the decision by the Ministry of Defence to award the contract for a new military training academy based at St Athan.
The contract will create around 5,000 jobs and contribute £58 million a year to the local economy.


Chairman of the Welsh Affairs Committee, Dr Hywel Francis said: “This is great news for Wales and for the future of British military excellence. “As the largest single investment by the Government in Wales ever, it will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the economy in South Wales, providing much needed jobs and investment. We congratulate the Defence Secretary Des Browne on his decision and we look forward with great anticipation to the opening of this centre of excellence in 2013.”
..
But is this true? Does Dr Hywel Francis support PFI so whole heartedly and do his constituents realise this? Does he really think 5000 jobs will be created. who is paying for the necessary con ditional road building and has anny one consulted with the local people or considered the environmental impact of this road building and the academy in Wales?


The Welsh Affairs Committee Members are:
Dr Hywel Francis MP, (Chairman) Labour, Aberavon
Mr Stephen Crabb MP, Conservative, Preseli Pembrokeshire
David T. C. Davies MP, Conservative, Monmouth
Nia Griffith MP, Labour, Llanelli
Mrs Siân C. James MP, Labour, Swansea East
Mr David Jones MP, Conservative, Clwyd West
Mr Martyn Jones MP, Labour, Clwyd South
Jessica Morden MP, Labour, Newport East
Albert Owen MP, Labour, Ynys MĂ´n
Mark Williams MP, Liberal Democrat, Ceredigion
Hywel Williams MP, Plaid, Caernarfon

St Athans myths from Rhrodri Morgan

Recently New Labour MPs in Wales and AMs such as New Labour Rhrodri Morgan fell over them selves to sell the myth to the welsh people that a mega military academy - the largest PFI ever - that is - the biggest PRIVATISATION at St Athans is good for Wales! ..

That it will create 5000 jobs - not very likely...a private company could soon be advertising for nuclear submarine experts in job centres in Wales! 80% of existing MOD traing staff will have to move to Wales.

Saved MOD blushes.............
when the £100m Red Dragon Super Hanger built by mod for fighter repairs before moving all fighter work out of Wales!

New Prison

Assembly discuss location of new prison
ic Wales - Cardiff,
The Assembly Government would prefer the Home Office built any new prisons in Wales at the head of the south Wales valleys, First Minister Rhodri Morgan ..

Now Rhrodri wants to send us dangerous criminals from England and call that job creation for the poorest parts of Wakes. Is this really what Wales needs?

Monday, February 5, 2007

Who's funding global warming?


Who's Funding Global Warming? By Tara Lohan, AlterNetFind out which banks are part of the problem, and which are part of the solution, in the fight against global climate change.

Socialist Health Association

Spring meeting - March 19th 2007 Committee Room 1 , Glamorgan Building , Cathays Park Cardiff 6 pm
At our meeting in October we agreed to set up about 2 meetings a year which would aim to generate discussion and raise current and topical issues. In partnership with the Bevan Foundation, a left leaning independent think tank ( where there is considerable cross membership) we have arranged an open debate on the theme of
'Can you take politics out of the NHS and leave it to the professionals? '

It will be an open debate will contributions from Paul O'Shea , regional Secretary UNISON, Simon Jones, Chair, Cardiff and Vale Trust , ( in a personal capacity) and Eddie Coyle for the SHA.

The rationale for the meeting comes from the recent debates to 'take politics out of the NHS '

In the last few months , the idea of removing the NHS from direct political control has been widely discussed. All political parties are offering possible policies - aiming to do for the NHS what the Chancellor did for interest rates through the Bank of England! - on the face of it it has an appeal - no more government driven re-organisations and targets - no more difficult public protests for ministers to respond.

However, isn't the NHS inherently political - without the post war Labour Government it would never have been established - publicly funded universal care must be at the heart of a nation's politics?.
Even Bevan rhetorically argued that a dropped bedpan on the ward the Minister of Health should be able to hear.
The recent consultation on the reconfiguration of hospital services in Wales has indicated that local politics remains a key influence on the planning of the National Health Service.

At time when the core principles of the NHS appear to being challenged in England SHA Cymru wishes to lead a debate with the Bevan Foundation on the role of politics and the running of the NHS.

It will also be an opportunity to get together and discuss further activities and it is hoped to have a short meeting of members following the main meeting

Other events

March 3rd Day of the NHS - NHS Together , an alliance of all health trade unions and professional associations has called a day of action - much of the drive for this relates to changes occurring in the NHS in England - it has been a suggested that is also an opportunity to celebrate the NHS - but I am not aware of any events being planned in Wales.

More info on the TUC website ( www.tuc.org.uk/nhstogether/

Eddie Coyle , Eifiion Edwards and Eva Elliot for SHA Cymru

Tel: 01656-754472
Fax: 01656-754497

email: edward.coyle@nphs.wales.nhs.uk

Martin Rathfelder
Director
Publish

www.sochealth.co.uk

Julie Morgan can you make your mind up and say NO to Trident replacement?


Time to make a decision Julie - all the information is out there so why dilly dally.

Say NO to Trident replacement

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Hilary Clinton weak on health care policy

Will Hillary Cave on Health Care?
By Jeff Cohen, AlterNetIt's conventional wisdom that Iraq is the issue that will hurt Hillary Clinton's run for the presidency, but if she offers vague rhetoric and half-way measures on health care, it could destroy her campaign.

FORMER GUANTANAMO BAY PRISONER MOAZZAM BEGG:-


13 FEB - 10 MARCH, AROUND THE UK: EVENTS WITH FORMER GUANTANAMO BAY PRISONER MOAZZAM BEGG:-
18 Feb, Cardiff: 2 - 4pm, Reardon Smith Lecture Hall, National Museum.
neilmcevoy2004@yahoo.co.uk

St Athans A Con - mega privatisation project

From SEREN 'Plaid should have had the courage of their convictions and said St Athan was a con - a privatisation that would do little for the Welsh economy and, taking a wider perspective, damage areas in England where bases were closing. Few local people will get the skilled jobs as trainers re-locate from the 16 bases being closed. Plaid is an anti-war party and a firm stance here would have had Davies backpeddling as the warmonger and liar he is.'
St Athans - is it good for Wales?

Saturday, February 3, 2007

So what is Blair doing about climate change?



We're on the verge of climate catastrophe: that's the verdict of today's report from the world's top climate scientists. If we carry on with business as usual, the prognosis for planet Earth is more droughts, heatwaves and floods, stronger hurricanes, melting ice-sheets and rising sea levels. The message to the world's governments couldn't be clearer: it's time to act.


So what's Blair doing? He's ushering in a new generation of coal power plants... A number of energy companies are putting in applications to build brand new coal plants - the first to be built in 20 years. This coal rush is the inevitable result of Blair's love affair with the most polluting fossil fuel; coal use has risen under Blair.
The UK now emits more carbon dioxide than 112 of the world's smallest countries combined. So this morning, we at Greenpeace put the responsibility for these emissions at the government's doorstep, tipping four tonnes of coal at the entrance to Blair's environment department:
www.greenpeace.org.uk/blairdumpsclimate

Faith Based Welfare creates religious captives

"Faith-based welfare" in Australia is creating religious captives(Jocelynne Scutt, Online Opinion)
By Jocelynne Scutt -
'The unemployed are no longer allowed to maintain their privacy or demand constitutional coverage. They are at the mercy (sic) of the Salvos, Anglicare, Mission Australia, Centrecare and all those other profit-making arms of the Christian (sic) churches in Australia.'
So watch out when you hear the government say that they want the voluntary sector to have a role in welfare provision, just say no!
Canada: Support striking women at FirstOntario

Rhrodri Morgan 'St Athans Defence Training Academy an example of Labour Labour Patnership in Wales and Westminster plus Blair not an issue

The leadership of the UK party was not an issue for Welsh Labour, he added.
"I think it's an issue for the prime minister to determine and it's an issue for those who are interested in the leadership - like Gordon Brown - to determine as well," he said. "It's not for us."

Mr Morgan said that the two Labour governments - in Westminster and Cardiff - had shown that they could work together "in harmony and partnership". He cited a defence training academy which is expected to create thousands of jobs in south Wales - "the biggest ever government investment ... for the last half-century in Wales" - as an example of "Labour-Labour partnership in Wales and Westminster".

Friday, February 2, 2007

CND Vigil and March in Cardiff



February 17th Cardiff CND Cymru silent vigil and march in Cardiff, followed by a short rally. Assemble 12:30pm at Cardiff City Hall, 1 p.m. march through town centreInvited speakers include: Julie Morgan MP; Jill Evans, national Chair CND Cymru; and a spokesperson from the Church of Wales.The march and vigil focus on the Government's proposals to inflict a new generation of nuclear weapons on the British people, at a cost in excess of £35 billion.For more information contact: Ray Davies Vice Chair CND Cymru 02920 889 514 or Jill Stallard National Secretary, CND Cymru 01495 773 180


Why is Julie Morgan speaking when she can't make up her mind to oppose it?

Compass Trident Survey: the results…
Survey open from 4th December 2006 to 8th January 2007 - total number of respondents: 1090

Do you think the UK should retain a nuclear deterrent after the current Trident system comes to the end of its working life?

Yes 15.32% No 84.04%
Plaid under attack over defence contract
ic Wales - Cardiff,UKDuring exchanges in the Senedd, Mr Davies said Plaid would have "hauled up the white flag" on a defence training contract which is en route to south Wales. ...

PCS Rally agaisnt Privatisation Cardiff


St Athans to save new labour letter

How many new jobs will be created?The decision to privatise the training of the UKs Armed Forces has drawn an angry response from the Public and Commercial Services Union, which warned the plans would result in a brain drain jeopardising future defence capability and see 2,000 staff transferred into a compulsory redundancy situation.
The £19bn contract handed to the Metrix consortium by the Ministry of Defence will see training in everything from tank driving to technology handed to the private sector in a deal resulting in the closure of more than 19 sites with training centred on one site at St Athan.
The union raised doubts about the number of new jobs that would actually be created by Metrix in Wales with existing staff transferring to St Athan from around the country.
The union also warned of a loss of specialist knowledge and expertise with 80 per cent of specialist instructional officers indicating that they would be unwilling to move from across the country to St Athan.
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary said: 'The only winners in the privatisation of defence training are the shareholders of the Metrix consortium.
'The massive privatisation will further anger dedicated staff already facing job losses and below inflation pay, making a yes vote for national industrial action across the civil service increasingly likely.'
This is a blatant attempt to save the Labour party prior to the National Assembly elections.
SMorgan Rogers, Highbury Park, London