Latest news with #Welsh-specific
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Politics
- Wales Online
Wales' First Minister says 'lessons need to be learned' over grooming gang abuse
Wales' First Minister says 'lessons need to be learned' over grooming gang abuse The Conservative group leader in Wales said sexual exploitation of children had been 'happening right under our noses here in Wales' Wales' First Minister Eluned Morgan has said "lessons need to be learned" over the sexual exploitation of children an opposition politician claimed had been "happening right under our noses here in Wales". Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar asked questions to the First Minister about the issue on Tuesday, June 17. He had previously raised the case of a Welsh survivor of child sexual exploitation who goes by the pseudonym Emily Vaughn. She has previously shared her story to raise awareness of the impact of abuse on victims By the age of 20 Emily was raped more than 1,500 times after she was transported from Wales to Telford where she was sexually abused on a regular basis for six months which you can read about here. Her story was used by the Welsh Conservatives to add weight to their calls for a Welsh-specific inquiry in a previous discussion in the Senedd. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here. The Senedd voted against those calls in January but Plaid Cymru's amendment – which called for an all-Wales audit – was unanimously agreed and you can see the details of that here. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has now announced an England and Wales-wide inquiry following a report from Baroness Louise Casey who led an audit into abuse and exploitation. Her report was published on Monday, June 16. Article continues below Senedd Conservative group leader Mr Millar said the Casey report made numerous references to Wales "including exploitation of children by a gang in Wrexham and the case of a 13-year-old girl who was sexual abused by three men yet was on a child protection plan just for neglect rather than sexual exploitation". He told the Senedd: "The evidence is clear: sexual exploitation has been happening right under our noses here in Wales and concerningly Baroness Casey also referred to more than 1,000 under-18s receiving support at sexual assault referral centres here in Wales in just 2023-24 alone and that appears to be more than twice the rate of under-18s presenting at such centres in England. That is alarming.". Mr Millar said he had asked the Welsh Government to publish its correspondence with the police, local authorities, social services, and other stakeholders in January. He said: "It took five weeks for the Welsh Government to issue a simple three-sentence response. "It didn't publish the information, it issued what I regarded as a dismissive three-sentence response, and the Casey report also suggests that the Welsh Government has failed to provide information that she also requested and it warned that fear of being accused of racism has deterred authorities from acting both here in Wales and in other parts of the UK. "So, will you guarantee, First Minister, that there will now be full co-operation with the national inquiry?" Mrs Morgan replied: "Obviously we'll be looking at the recommendations to ensure that there is full co-operation. I have written to the home secretary to ensure that Welsh issues and any recent events as well as historic events will be investigated and analysed by this inquiry. It is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed so I think that lessons need to be learned. "We mustn't shy away from collecting data on the ethnicity of perpetrators. "I think that abuse is abuse and it must be condemned, irrespective of where it comes from, but what we will do is to ensure that we comply and we work with the inquiry to make sure that we do everything we can to stop this hideous approach and that the things that are happening to young girls in our community stops." Article continues below
Powys County Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Powys MP says he'll vote against party on benefit cuts
Powys' Labour MP is set to vote against the Government's proposed cuts to disability benefits, calling them a 'fresh round of austerity on vulnerable people'. Steve Witherden, the MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, says he will be voting against his party's planned cuts to disability benefits, saying he fears the cuts "will hit Wales particularly hard'. As part of a Green paper published by the government in March 2025, plans were announced to reform both Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and the health benefit component of Universal Credit. According to the Department of Work and Pensions, as many as 370,000 current PIP recipients would no longer receive the support. Mr Witherden said the plans lack a Welsh-specific impact assessment, citing the fact that Wales has 275,000 PIP recipients and more than 7,000 in Mr Witherden's constituency, adding that he would vote against the reforms as 'many constituents' could lose support. He said: 'I was a secondary school teacher for 20 years and I spent most of those as a trade union rep, fighting for good jobs. I know that from an honest day's work comes pride and dignity. 'This is true for disabled people as much as anyone else. It is also true that the benefits system helps those who can't work go about their lives with dignity too. 'Changes to Personal Independence Payments will make many of my constituents suddenly ineligible for support and face threats to their financial security. This will not make it easier for them to find and stay in work. 'With an older and poorer population, where one in seven working age people receive PIP, the cuts will hit Wales particularly hard. 'I became a Labour MP to stand up for my constituents. When given the opportunity, I will be voting against the Green Paper, a fresh round of austerity on vulnerable people.' The Powys MP has previously criticised the Labour government's proposed cost-cutting measures, saying in March 2025 that he felt the proposed changes to welfare in the Chancellor's Spring Statement were a form of ' even deeper austerity ', adding that they would 'strip benefits from our most vulnerable' and lead to 'more suffering'. He also called for taxes on extreme wealth as an alternative to the cost-cutting measures.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reform UK 'would work with any other Senedd party'
Nigel Farage has said Reform UK would be willing to work with any other party to form a government in Wales next year. Reform is hoping to win its first Senedd seats at the Welsh Parliament elections in May 2026, with recent polling suggesting support for the party is closely behind Labour, and neck and neck with Plaid Cymru. Farage told BBC Wales that he was open to doing a deal because the Senedd's new voting system will mean "it's not going to be easy" to win an overall majority. The party leader also refused to be drawn on whether Reform UK would appoint a new Welsh leader prior to the Senedd elections, replying: "Give me time". Reform failed to win any Senedd members at the last vote in 2021, but came second in 13 Welsh constituencies at the general election last summer. Polling by Survation conducted in March and April put Labour on 27%, and Plaid Cymru and Reform on 24% each, with the Tories behind on 15%. The new voting system will elect a larger Senedd with 96 seats instead of the current 60, and will use a list system that aims to better reflect how the public voted. While Labour has never held a majority in the Welsh Parliament, other parties will likely hold leverage than before if the election result reflects the state of the polls. Can Reform beat Labour in the North East? Reform and Greens aim high in volatile mayoral contests Reform could win next Welsh election: Plaid MP When asked, Farage refused to rule out any kind of post-electoral pact with the Conservatives in the event of a hung parliament. "Confidence and supply relationships we will of course consider with anybody if it's the right thing to do," he said. Reform currently has no leader in Wales. The man who represented the party in Wales' general election campaign, Oliver Lewis, was recently revealed not to be standing for the Senedd election in 2026. Farage admitted that he currently had nobody in mind for the job but insisted that "new talent" would emerge as the party continued to "grow" and "develop". He said: "We haven't even picked our candidates yet for the Senedd elections, once we do it will become increasingly clear who [the likely leader] is." The Reform UK leader told the BBC that his fledgling party had a "huge amount to do in Wales in a short space of time" but said its local branch structure in the country was "developing". Farage also said he believed there was "no evidence" that him being leader of Reform UK, including Wales, was doing the party "any harm at the moment." He revealed that any new leader in Wales would have to be selected among party members, saying "that's very, very clear, and that's what will happen." Asked whether Reform UK was a "protest party" in Wales without Welsh-specific policies, Farage hit back: "We're not protesting. We want to reindustrialise south Wales. "Let's be absolutely clear about that. "The fact that we've all bowed down to this god of net zero, closing down steelworks, closing down some of the coal that we still need, all of this is madness. "The Senedd has been overtaken by people who all believe in the same blooming thing. "We're going to be a big antidote to that. It's not a protest, this is about positive change." Asked if his party would commit to keeping free prescriptions in Wales, Farage replied: "If we can, yes of course."
BBC News
23-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Nigel Farage: Reform UK 'would work with any other Welsh party'
Nigel Farage has said Reform UK would be willing to work with any other party to form a government in Wales next is hoping to win its first Senedd seats at the Welsh Parliament elections in May 2026, with recent polling suggesting support for the party is closely behind Labour, and neck and neck with Plaid told BBC Wales that he was open to doing a deal because the Senedd's new voting system will mean "it's not going to be easy" to win an overall party leader also refused to be drawn on whether Reform UK would appoint a new Welsh leader prior to the Senedd elections, replying: "Give me time". Reform failed to win any Senedd members at the last vote in 2021, but came second in 13 Welsh constituencies at the general election last by Survation conducted in March and April put Labour on 27%, and Plaid Cymru and Reform on 24% each, with the Tories behind on 15%.The new voting system will elect a larger Senedd with 96 seats instead of the current 60, and will use a list system that aims to better reflect how the public Labour has never held a majority in the Welsh Parliament, other parties will likely hold leverage than before if the election result reflects the state of the polls. When asked, Farage refused to rule out any kind of post-electoral pact with the Conservatives in the event of a hung parliament."Confidence and supply relationships we will of course consider with anybody if it's the right thing to do," he currently has no leader in Wales. The man who represented the party in Wales' general election campaign, Oliver Lewis, was recently revealed not to be standing for the Senedd election in admitted that he currently had nobody in mind for the job but insisted that "new talent" would emerge as the party continued to "grow" and "develop".He said: "We haven't even picked our candidates yet for the Senedd elections, once we do it will become increasingly clear who [the likely leader] is." 'No harm' The Reform UK leader told the BBC that his fledgling party had a "huge amount to do in Wales in a short space of time" but said its local branch structure in the country was "developing".Farage also said he believed there was "no evidence" that him being leader of Reform UK, including Wales, was doing the party "any harm at the moment."He revealed that any new leader in Wales would have to be selected among party members, saying "that's very, very clear, and that's what will happen."Asked whether Reform UK was a "protest party" in Wales without Welsh-specific policies, Farage hit back: "We're not protesting. We want to reindustrialise south Wales."Let's be absolutely clear about that."The fact that we've all bowed down to this god of net zero, closing down steelworks, closing down some of the coal that we still need, all of this is madness."The Senedd has been overtaken by people who all believe in the same blooming thing."We're going to be a big antidote to that. It's not a protest, this is about positive change."Asked if his party would commit to keeping free prescriptions in Wales, Farage replied: "If we can, yes of course."
