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Welsh politics thread

Nowhere else in the world would they tolerate having to go into another country to get from north to south of their own country.

Wales needs something, a core industry because the way I see it, from living there for a while is that it is minimum wage or the dole, there is virtually nothing else for people to do.

It´s pointless having a national assembly when they have not managed to address this fundamental issue after all this time.

We have a huge resource of natural energy at our fingertips, wind turbines on and off shore, wave power, solar. Wales could become the battery of Britain, we could have ended our reliance on Russian gas and driven down fuel costs two decades ago. You can’t get near Penyfan during the summer it’s grid locked yet tourism is completely under managed.
 
I'm not sure South Wales is much better

I can remember as a teenager one lad wanting to enter a University canoeing competition somewhere in South Wales, all because he already nailed this bird once and knowing she'd be there wanted a second bite of the cherry pie

Can't remember exactly where but it was along the River Taff somewhere, and my abiding memory was of grinding poverty in the area. On the Sunday the village shop was shut, but as we were obviously strangers, we had locals coming up to us asking if we wanted the shop to open

This being, when we could sleep up in the rafters of a pub for a quid a night

I doubt much has changed outside the Cardiff bubble over the years

There are quite a few up market bed and breakfasts in Merthyr. It’s msinly due to bike park wales and the rich city gents and ladies with a fair chunk of disposable income with a need to hurtle down a Welsh mountain at break neck speed. The spin of isthe owners are coming to me for quirky and funky itens to furnish their premises. We all win with a strong tourism market.
 
Some good universities.

The tech sector around South Wales is really good, and well linked into industry.

Yep some strong investment in that area, some of the best in the world. The Ajax is being built by General Dynamics in Merthyr they have funnelled into the local schools, they cherry pick the better kids and put them through the collage in town and fund the education. No issues with that at all. The problem as with most areas is lack of unskilled jobs that the kids from the lower end of the spectrum need to get them out of poverty and living with mam and dad and Into work.
 
Yep some strong investment in that area, some of the best in the world. The Ajax is being built by General Dynamics in Merthyr they have funnelled into the local schools, they cherry pick the better kids and put them through the collage in town and fund the education. No issues with that at all. The problem as with most areas is lack of unskilled jobs that the kids from the lower end of the spectrum need to get them out of poverty and living with mam and dad and Into work.

Agreed mate, we do not succeed unless we take all along with us.

Another happy story is that the Raspberry Pi is made in Pencoed.

Made in the UK! - Raspberry Pi

Such a great bit of kit, and really good for children and grown up's and made in Wales.
 
We have a huge resource of natural energy at our fingertips, wind turbines on and off shore, wave power, solar. Wales could become the battery of Britain, we could have ended our reliance on Russian gas and driven down fuel costs two decades ago. You can’t get near Penyfan during the summer it’s grid locked yet tourism is completely under managed.

Badly managed tourism industry. I agree whole heartedly.
The whole renewable power industry would be a total success , however you have to get it past the Eco Mentalists who are more concerned with the welfare of unicorns and rare triffids than the creation of jobs in that sector, with all the employment created by the service sector for it.
 
Agreed mate, we do not succeed unless we take all along with us.

Another happy story is that the Raspberry Pi is made in Pencoed.

Made in the UK! - Raspberry Pi

Such a great bit of kit, and really good for children and grown up's and made in Wales.

Yep plenty of success stories the Royal Mint is another. The future for Wales is not all doom and gloom. I just get frustrated when I’m told Wales can’t survive on it’s own, the largest city’s Cardiff, Swansea and Newport are all thriving, Wales has a population of 3 million, Ireland has a population of 4.8 million. Unfortunately a lot of those outside of Wales see us as a thorn in their side and a country full of people claiming benefits.

Every time sometime goes wrong the default setting is to blame Westminster. It’s time we had the ability to hold our political elite to account.
 
Badly managed tourism industry. I agree whole heartedly.
The whole renewable power industry would be a total success , however you have to get it past the Eco Mentalists who are more concerned with the welfare of unicorns and rare triffids than the creation of jobs in that sector, with all the employment created by the service sector for it.

You are correct and the annoying factor is they all work in the public sector in well paid protected jobs. There is a place for eco protection but jobs are vital. It seems they hold the balance of power. That needs changing.
 
Yep plenty of success stories the Royal Mint is another. The future for Wales is not all doom and gloom. I just get frustrated when I’m told Wales can’t survive on it’s own, the largest city’s Cardiff, Swansea and Newport are all thriving, Wales has a population of 3 million, Ireland has a population of 4.8 million. Unfortunately a lot of those outside of Wales see us as a thorn in their side and a country full of people claiming benefits.

Every time sometime goes wrong the default setting is to blame Westminster. It’s time we had the ability to hold our political elite to account.

Your undoubted passion would chime better if you laid aside the desperate urge for victimhood: 'Unfortunately a lot of those outside of Wales see us as a thorn in their side . . . '. You come across as someone trying to pick a fight that doesn't exist.

As an Englishman who has lived here for over 4 years, I would certainly challenge your assumption that Wales would survive as a nation state: simply put, the infrastructure does not exist to support that dream and nor is it likely to do so for many years.

Newport thriving? Not the last time that I looked, which was about 10 days ago and that view is supported by having lived in Caerleon for just over 3 years. Your belief that natural energy resources could be the saving of the nation are, I believe, unfounded: the technology currently available simply does not support that assertion and will not be meaningfully viable for many years-it's up there with unicorns.
 
Newport is a bit of a conundrum tbh. There are some VERY lucrative business areas there, however go in and around the city centre and see the amount of homeless sleeping in doorways and in tents.
Drive through Pillmawr lane from Caerleon and as you reach the highest point, look down over the River Usk to the football fields. In the woods that border the river there's a whole little tented community.

Out of sight, out of mind.
As a nation we need to resolve the basic issues like this before we can progress.
 
Your undoubted passion would chime better if you laid aside the desperate urge for victimhood: 'Unfortunately a lot of those outside of Wales see us as a thorn in their side . . . '. You come across as someone trying to pick a fight that doesn't exist.

As an Englishman who has lived here for over 4 years, I would certainly challenge your assumption that Wales would survive as a nation state: simply put, the infrastructure does not exist to support that dream and nor is it likely to do so for many years.

Newport thriving? Not the last time that I looked, which was about 10 days ago and that view is supported by having lived in Caerleon for just over 3 years. Your belief that natural energy resources could be the saving of the nation are, I believe, unfounded: the technology currently available simply does not support that assertion and will not be meaningfully viable for many years-it's up there with unicorns.

Having lived and worked in England for many years there is certainly a overarching opinion that Wales cannot survive on its own. It seems you share that view, it’s not meant to cause offence, it’s more or less stating the obvious. Indeed many people in Wales share your view, in fact in a previous period of my life I may have also shared your view. I cleared a property in Newport this week on corporation road. It was on the Market for two weeks and sold for £29k more than it would have two years ago. We cannot keep being negative and living in the past, if Wales is going to succeed we must be positive and stop being reliant on Westminster to hold our hand. The English are our friends, family and good neighbours not our parent. Long may that continue.
 
Newport is a bit of a conundrum tbh. There are some VERY lucrative business areas there, however go in and around the city centre and see the amount of homeless sleeping in doorways and in tents.
Drive through Pillmawr lane from Caerleon and as you reach the highest point, look down over the River Usk to the football fields. In the woods that border the river there's a whole little tented community.

Out of sight, out of mind.
As a nation we need to resolve the basic issues like this before we can progress.

Agreed I don’t go into the centre of Cardiff very often. I did last month and was overwhelmed at the number sleeping on the streets. It needs addressing at a national level. As one of the richest country’s in the world we should hang out head in shame that in 2018 people are living in tents begging for food.
 
Newport.
It has the potential to be an extremely vibrant, upmarket city. It just needs the investment and vision to drive it through.
They've made a start, turn the whole riverside area running through the centre of the city into a cafe quarter, much like the South Bank in London.
Get Corporation road, Maindee and Pill redeveloped and sorted out asap. This will encourage businesses and people with money, Newport's very own version of the bay.
There is SO MUCH potential in the area, not enough vision by those in power.
 
Having lived and worked in England for many years there is certainly a overarching opinion that Wales cannot survive on its own. It seems you share that view, it’s not meant to cause offence, it’s more or less stating the obvious. Indeed many people in Wales share your view, in fact in a previous period of my life I may have also shared your view. I cleared a property in Newport this week on corporation road. It was on the Market for two weeks and sold for £29k more than it would have two years ago. We cannot keep being negative and living in the past, if Wales is going to succeed we must be positive and stop being reliant on Westminster to hold our hand. The English are our friends, family and good neighbours not our parent. Long may that continue.
Living here in the Dykedom of Offa, where bloods have mingled for centuries, we live harmoniously (save during Six Nations). However, one difference is that if you live on Welsh side of border, you can go to a hospital in England, but you don't pay prescription charges at your local chemist, in England you do. The railway is the best way to travel north south - and very scenic.
 
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