We need a completely new approach to social housing

 Before I start I should announce I live in a former council house which my father bought  partly to ensure that I had somewhere to live when he died.

The BBC reports that

" Plaid Cymru AM has accused a party colleague of undermining its policy on the right to buy council houses.

Bethan Jenkins demanded Neil McEvoy delete a Facebook post objecting to Welsh Labour ministers' plans - backed by Plaid - to stop council house sales.

Mr McEvoy said right-to-buy was the "one realistic way" many working-class people had of owning their own home.

But Ms Jenkins, the party's housing spokeswoman, said social housing should not be sold off.

A bill to abolish the right-to-buy is currently making its way through the Welsh Assembly, although a number of councils have already been given permission to suspend the policy.

They include Cardiff, where Mr McEvoy is also a councillor".


On September 8 he posted a video to Facebook of a speech in the assembly earlier this year where he protested against the Welsh Government's policy.
In a comment alongside the video, he said: 

 "Sell council houses to working-class people. Use the money to build new ones. Seems simple enough. Not after this room full of multiple home owners, led by Labour, banned the sale of Council houses.
"That was the one realistic way people on the estates had of owning their own home one day. Not anymore."

Ms Jenkins, in a public reply on Facebook, told Mr McEvoy: 

"I strongly suggest you take this post down.
"Following INTERNAL email conversations I told you in no uncertain terms that Plaid policy is to support ending the right to buy."
She said the party's policy had been stated "time and again".
"I think you own your own home so please do not take the moral high ground here," she said.
"You are actively undermining that view, the party policy of Plaid Cymru, and the work myself and [Plaid AM] Sian Gwenllian have done on the committee looking at this legislation. Social housing is necessary to keep as that - social.
"We cannot sell off more homes so that they are off the market and unable to be accessed."

Ms Jenkins's post has since been deleted.



I'm with Ms Jenkins on this how Mr McEvoy can think "Use the money to build new ones. Seems simple enough"., unless you sell them at least market price is beyond me.

There may well be a difference in Cardiff where Private Housing may well be beyond the reach but once you sell to tenants then that to  becomes Private accommodation.

You only have to see programs like "Homes under the Hammer" which often sees former local authority  homes being bought by those seeking to rent them in the public centre

We need a investigation to see how many former local authority homes are now  being run by private landlords.

But we need more than this we need a new approach to housing and greater help to those who wish to own their homes rather than rent.

Those who do rent from local authorities need to be assured that if they were to die, then their children will be allowed to take up the tenancy and not evicted after a very short period as is often the case.

How can you justify evicting someone who as regarded  from what they see as their  Home all their life?

We need a new approach to social housing and whereas I can't see Mr Mcevoy and Ms Jenkins working t together on this, Plaid and other parties need to come up with one.



 

From Botany Bay to Baglan Bay Colonlism Continues.

Wales will become one of the only countries in the world to “import” prisoners if plans to build a super-prison in Port Talbot go ahead, Plaid Cymru has warned.
The party has accused the UK Government of “dumping its prisons problem on Wales”.

 Wales Online reports that 

Plaid Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts secured a debate to try and stop the prison – which could be built on undeveloped land in Baglan – becoming a reality.
In February this year HMP Berwyn, a prison which can hold 2,106 inmates, opened in Wrexham

1. The prison is ‘not needed and not wanted’.

Speaking ahead of the debate, she said: 

“Adding Port Talbot’s 1,600 spaces to the overcapacity created by Berwyn, Wales will have 2,400 places more than is required. Even if Cardiff prison closes, we would still have a surplus of 1,600 spaced.
“Wales does not need more prison spaces. If Wales governed itself in the same way as Scotland governs itself, and had control over its own criminal justice system, we would not be building this prison.”

2. A new prison would be bad for Wales.

The Dwyfor Merionnydd MP said:

 “The decision to impose this prison on Wales is based on solving the crisis in England, not on serving the interests of Wales. But it is the people of Wales that will bear the burden of this decision.
“The cost of healthcare and policing as well as the additional burden on the community of Baglan when prisoners’ families move to the area and stay in the community after release, will fall on Welsh taxpayers.”
She said a new prison in Wales is not “the answer to the chaos in the English prison estate”.

3. The jobs argument does not stack up.

Ms Roberts said:

“The primary argument that both the British Government and the Labour Welsh Government invoke is that of jobs but if they close Cardiff or Swansea prisons, these new jobs would be offset by job losses elsewhere.
“Port Talbot has been through tough times of late but the answer is unequivocally not to turn Wales’s industrial powerhouse into an industrial-size penal colony to prop-up the failing English prison system.”

4. The prison would be at risk of flooding 

Speaking in the Westminster Hall debating chamber, the MP said:

 “Council officials have confirmed the proposed site is on a C1 flood plain, putting it in the highest bracket of flood risk areas... The prison exacerbates the chances of flooding for over 1,000 homes in the area and questions must surely be raised about the safety of building a prison in an area so susceptible to flooding.
“Just think of the huge implications a flood would have for those caring and maintaining order within the facility.”

Plaid wants to see the “devolution of the criminal justice system so that Wales will no longer be subject to Westminster policy and can instead build a justice system that meets the needs of Wales”.

 Aberavon Labour MP Stephen Kinnock last month said the proposed location of the prison “doesn’t make sense” and warned that construction would be “incredibly expensive and disruptive”.

From this it seems Mr Kinnock's objection is that he  doesn't want it in his constituency  but would accept it being built in Wales.

Indeed it seems that the Welsh Labour have surrounded to Westminster.

Defending the selection of Port Talbot, Justice minister Sam Gyimah s said: 

“When assessing where to build new prisons the Ministry of Justice worked very closely with the Welsh Government to identify suitable sites for a new prison build in Wales. We undertook a comprehensive evaluation of over 20 sites in South Wales...
“After careful consideration, Port Talbot was selected as the best potential site for a new category C prison build in Wales.”

With another  new Prison 2106 capacity prison opened on 28 February 2017, in Wrexham  it seems that Wales will either be thee most lawless nation in Europe or will see inmates coming from outside.

One can only wonder if this decisions were made in order to strengthen the case against a Welsh Justice system.

This is a case of colonialism  and reflects how Westminster regards devolution a attitude that seems to be shared with the Assembly Government.

I would rather see a devolved Justice system which sees Prison as a last resort  and certainly in an Independent Wales we would have a surplus Prison capacity.

Labour's Welsh Hegemony set to continue.

Wales is looking to return to Pre-1970 Two-Party  politics as  the Labour party’s strengthen its hegemony with the latest  has taken them up to fifty percent support in Wales with pony the Tories with any real support.

The latest Welsh Political Barometer poll, the first systematic test of public attitudes and voting intentions since last June’s general election.

The w poll explored voting intentions for both Westminster and the National Assembly. These are the voting intention figures for a general election that our poll produced (with changes on the general election result in June indicated in brackets):

 

Labour: 50% (+1.1)
Conservatives: 32% (-1.6)
Plaid Cymru: 8% (-2.4)
Liberal Democrats: 4% (-0.5)
UKIP: 3% (+1)
Others: 2% (+1.5)

 Professor Roger Scully of the university’s Wales Governance Centre said:

 “Labour would capture Aberconwy from the Conservatives, and Arfon from Plaid Cymru.”

The Liberal Democrats were wiped out in June but the polling suggests the party could win back Ceredigion from Plaid Cymru. Such a move would leave today’s four-strong Plaid group with just two MPs; the Conservatives would be left with seven, a drop of one.

The Barometer poll also asked once more about voting intentions for the National Assembly. For Westminster, as seen above, the two largest Britain-wide parties are a long way ahead of all the others: for the moment, at least, traditional two-part politics has re-asserted itself. In the devolved context things are rather different. Labour once again have a commanding lead, but they now have two significant competitors – Plaid Cymru as well as the Conservatives. Here are the figures for the constituency vote (with changes since the last Barometer poll to ask about such matters, in late May, again in brackets)

Labour: 43% (+1)
Conservatives: 25% (-1)
Plaid Cymru: 19% (no change)
Liberal Democrats: 5% (-1)
UKIP: 4% (-1)
Others: 3% (+1)

Here are the figures for the regional list vote (with changes in party support since May once again indicated in brackets): 

Labour: 40% (+2)
Conservatives: 23% (-4)
Plaid Cymru: 19% (+2)
Liberal Democrats: 5% (-1)
UKIP: 5% (-1)
Others: 6% (+1)

 Taking into account the projected constituency results, and once more assuming uniform national swings since May 2016, our poll provides the following projected outcome for the regional list seats: 

North Wales: 2 Conservative, 1 Plaid, 1 Labour
Mid & West Wales: 3 Labour, 1 Conservative
South Wales West: 2 Plaid, 2 Conservative
South Wales Central: 3 Conservative, 1 Plaid
South Wales East: 2 Conservative, 1 UKIP, 1 Plaid

 According to Professor Scully This, in turn, gives us the following overall projected result for the National Assembly:

Labour 31 seats (27 constituency, 4 regional)
Conservative 16 seats (6 constituency, 10 regional)

Plaid Cymru 11 seats (6 constituency, 5 regional)
UKIP 1 seats (1 regional)
Liberal Democrats 1 seats (1 constituency)

Prof Scully said in his online analysis 

 “Overall, this is clearly a very good poll for the Labour party – one fully in line with the strong showings that the party has been making in Britain-wide polls, and in many local council by-elections, since the June general election. Welsh Labour had not previously reached 50% support for Westminster in any poll since February 2013.
“The incredible political turnaround that the party achieved during the general election campaign continues to have some life in it. The Conservatives have slipped only a little bit since the general election, and remain at what are, by historic standards, quite high levels of support for them in Wales.

I suppose we shouldn't have expected any real change since May as any "Welsh" factor continues to be subdued by Brexit and the absence of any Welsh Media.

For Plaid it is surely a clear indication that they need to push their Unique Selling Point of Independence starting with a comparison to a comparison with Scotland which despite a Unionist "SNP Bad"  still as strong support for that Party and indeed Independence.

Certainly Plaid needs to go in to the next Elections for both the Assembly and Westminster with a "Parity with Scotland" campaign and drop their seeming acceptance that Wales is currently to poor economically to seek Independence.

The hypocrisy of Jeremy Corbyn in calling for the S to use powers to offset austerity when it is already doing so and not pointing out the failure of his own party in Wales do do so in the Welsh Assembly should point to Labour  reverting to its belief that only winning in Westminster matters  and the idea that we could see Progressive Left Wing governments in the Welsh and Scottish legislatures  is irrelevant  to  gaining power in the House of Commons.

Blarite or Corbynist  Labour are Unionist to the core  and Wales and Scotland are relevant  only n sending Lobby fodder to Westminster, where the cause of both Nations are ignored under a London centric mindset.

Catalonia has been let down by the Radical Spanish left.

It is perhaps a lesson for Independence Seekers here in Wales  to note that the Mayor of Barcelona has dealt a blow to bid to hold an independence referendum  refused to let its voting centers be used for the ballot opposed by the national government.

Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau told Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont in a letter Friday she couldn’t allow use of the centers until he could outline plans for protecting public employees from the consequences of working on the vote, according to El Pais. Spain’s constitutional court on Thursday said it would ask 947 Catalan mayors to avoid taking part in the referendum.

The refusal by Catalonia’s biggest city for now to aid the referendum is a blow to Puigdemont as court rulings sought by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy add legal pressure on public officials seen to be facilitating the vote.

A spokesman for the Catalan government wasn’t immediately available for comment when contacted Saturday.

Puigdemont’s coalition in the Catalan parliament passed a bill on Sept. 6 to call the independence referendum for Oct. 1. To the fury of Rajoy’s government, the assembly has also passed a bill laying out how Catalonia would be run under a transition to potentially becoming a republic

Mayor Coalu is a  menber Barcelona en Comú (Catalan for Barcelona in Common) ia citizen platform launched in June 2014^[that is currently governing in minority in the City of Barcelona. Its policy agenda includes defending social justice and community rights,^]promoting participatory democracy, introducing mechanisms to tackle corruption, and developing a new model of tourism for Barcelona.

Barcelona en Comú is  allied to Podemos (Spanish: [po̞ˈðe̞mo̞s̺], translated in English as "We can")^[ the left-wing political party in Spain both have a platform of direct democracy .

But  it seems this does not include supporting the right of  of Catalonia to hold a Independence Referendum.

A Left wing Party that claims to be radical buckling under from pressure from a Right Wing central Government who would have thought it?

Citizens face a torrid time accessing Government Digital Services,

My WIFI was done yesterday so I didn't post a Blog so apologies.

But it at least it made be think about it and how much I rely on Broadband access.

My sure coincidence there was a report  that

More homes and businesses in some rural parts of Wales could receive a broadband boost after £56m in funding was announced.

The UK government wants 95% of the UK to have access to superfast broadband speeds by the end of the year.

The Welsh Government has a 96% target through its Superfast Cymru programme.

But BT previously said delivering access to the 40,000 properties was being delayed by the challenges of installing fibre optic cables.

Seven of the UK's top 20 worst performing parliamentary constituencies are in Wales, according to report by the British Infrastructure Group.

Carmarthen East and Dinefwr had the slowest broadband connections in Wales, ranking fifth overall.

Wales Office Minister Guto Bebb said:

"Providing access to reliable, high speed broadband is probably the single most important thing we can do to ensure the sustainability of our rural communities and businesses. We know there is more to be done."

It is also a case that  everybody needs access to the Internet and the Government are now making it essential


 GOV.UK Verify is an identity assurance system developed by the UK Government Digital Service (GDS). The system is intended to provide a single trusted login across all UK government digital services, verifying the user’s identity in 15 minutes. It allows users to choose one of several companies to verify their identity to a standard level of assurance before accessing 12 central government online services

Certified companies

Barclays
CitizenSafeDigidentityExperianPost OfficeRoyal MailSecureIdentityVerizon

If You do not possess a Passport  ot Driving Licence then you can only Register via Experian  and you must also have a mobile  phone so they can text you a password. Many of those without these two will be unemployed and will have to use this new service and will probably face delays .

List

The following services are currently connected to GOV.UK Verify as of July 2017:^[16]

Service	Service provider
Personal tax account	HM Revenue & Customs
Renew your Blue Badge	Warwickshire County Council
Check your income tax	HM Revenue & Customs
Renew your short term medical driving licence	DVLA
Report a medical condition that affects your driving	DVLA
Check your state pension	Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue & Customs
Universal Credit Digital Service	Department for Work and Pensions
Self Assessment tax return	HM Revenue & Customs
View or share your driving licence information	DVLA
Claim for redundancy payment	Insolvency Service
Claim a tax refund	HM Revenue & Customs
Help your friends or family with their tax	HM Revenue & Customs
Rural Payments	DEFRA
PAYE for employees: Company car	HM Revenue & Customs

I have tried registering but so far have been unsuccessful and I believe Thousands of honest people will have difficulties in doing so.

If you live in an area with poor Broadband then you are going to find the increasing Government insistence that you apply on lines difficult.If the government believe this is the way to carry out business then they surely must make sure everyone has access to Information Technology .We depend on the Internet these days to an extent that some tasks that we used to use by Snail Mail are now almost impossible. It is not just businesses that are loosing out. ordinary citizens face a frustrating time as they try and access services that our government insist we use online even if they don't provide the access that we need.

Now the Tories in Bridgend are in disarray.

Is there something in the water in Bidgend?

In November last Year  I posted that 

Six stalwart Bridgend Labour councillors have been barred from seeking re-election for the party.Ross Thomas, who represents Maesteg West, Keith Edwards, Maesteg East, Edith Hughes and Gareth Phillips, both of Oldcastle in Bridgend, Cefn Glas' Cleone Westwood and Bettws' Martyn Jones have all been deselected.The decision was made by the Ogmore constituency Labour Party (OCLP) following internal interviews in front of a panel to assess the suitability of candidates for next May's local elections.

Now it seems the Tories are in disarray in the County as Three Bridgend councillors have quit the council's Conservative group after an "internal" row.

Bridgend Tory group leader councillor Ken Watts, Alex Williams and Julia Williams resigned from the local party on Wednesday.

Hendre ward councillor Ms Williams said they resigned due to an "internal group matter".

A Conservative spokeswoman said the councillors' decision was "disappointing."'

The three councillors submitted their resignations during a full council meeting on Wednesday night, before a Labour motion condemning the UK government's decision to scrap rail electrification beyond Cardiff to Swansea was due to be discussed.

The motion, passed by the council, said not carrying out the rail upgrade was "a betrayal of the people of Bridgend".

Ms Williams supported the motion, Mr Watts, abstained, while Mr Williams did not vote as he was on holiday.

She said:

 "I am 100% for the motion, but that is not why we resigned, people think that is why because I went against the party line, but that is not why."

Ms Williams, who intends to sit as an independent councillor, said:

 "I did speak out in favour of the motion, why wouldn't I? My constituency would be affected greatly by the decision to stop the electrification to Swansea.
"At the end of the day I was elected to represent the people of Hendre and Pencoed, I am nothing to do with the Conservative party."

 Labour MP for Ogmore, Chris Elmore said the Bridgend council Tory group was in "absolute freefall".

"It's clear that many Conservative councillors have begun to oppose the Westminster Party's attitude towards Wales in recent months but this is beyond chaotic with the group leader and two senior councillors resigning," 

Which is a bit  of Chutzpah considering the recent years of his Party internal dispute on the Bridgend council.

Mind you it is somewhat reassuring that in at least one part of Wales Party Councillors are prepared to stick up for the people who elected them and break with the Party Machine.

Jacob Rees-Mogg not a "Loveable Eccentric Toff " but a Tory Bastard.

If Jacob Rees-Mogg was a working class MP then his views that he was “completely opposed” to abortion, even in the case of rape would have met with derision ,

But in most cases it tarted as the anachronistic views of loveable eccentric toff in the same way Boris Johnson's numerous gaffs are explained as "Its Just Boris"

The backbench MP, who has recently hit the headlines over rumours he could be offered a ministerial position, was speaking on Good Morning Britain when he was questioned about his views on abortion.

The Tory MP for North Somerset, who is a practising Catholic, was challenged over whether he opposed abortion in all circumstances, to which he responded:

“I’m afraid I am. Life is sacrosanct and begins at the point of conception.”

He was pressed by Piers Morgan:

“Say you were prime minister: If a woman is raped by a family member, you would say she had no right to have that baby aborted?”

Rees-Mogg responded:

 “She would have a right under UK law. That law is not going to change but my personal opinion is life begins at the point of conception.”

He was also challenged over his views on gay marriage, which he voted against in the Commons.

Rees-Mogg responded: 

“I’m a Catholic and I take the teaching of the Catholic Church seriously.”

Susanna Reid countered:

 “Well there are plenty of Catholics who support same sex marriage.”

Morgan and Reid went further, asking Rees-Mogg the same question which was considered by many to have torpedoed Tim Farron’s career as Liberal Democrat leader:

 “Religion plays a big part in your policies. Do you think that gay sex is a sin?”

He responded:

 “On the issue of sin, it is quite clearly not for me to judge. I very strongly feel I should not judge what other people do. If you look at the woman taking adultery? What does Christ say? Is not for me to pass judgement.”

Ress-Moggs Views led to a backlash 

Daniel Falconer 

✔@DanielJFalconer

Vile disgrace @Jacob_Rees_Mogg told #GMB today he's against abortion even when a woman has been raped. This man hates women, confirmed.

8:19 AM - Sep 6, 2017

But unfortunately there is a tendency to give the likes of Rees-Mogg and Johnson more leeway than other MPs because there still seems to a cringe worthy  tendency in these Islands towards likes and the feeling they should not be thought of in the same ways as "Ordinary People" but  still have privilege to rule us.

Rees-Mogg’s comments come after he refused to rule out one day running to become leader of the Conservative Party.

On Tuesday, a Conservative Home survey of the party grassroots revealed Rees-Mogg was the firm favourite to succeed Thersea May as Tory leader.

Asked if he would “categorically rule out” ever putting himself forward for the job, Rees-Mogg quoted from Jim Hacker, the central character in Yes Minister who wanted to, and eventually became, prime minister.

“I remember Jim Hacker’s answer from Yes Minister,” Rees-Mogg said. ‘I have no ambitions in that direction but if my friends and colleagues advise me that in some humble capacity I could serve my country’, that of course that meant ‘yes’.

There is an almost Feudalistic nature  amongst people that "One Man One Vote" means the likes of Rees-Mogg is the man and he should have that vote.

Do not rule this out or a Rees Mogg  led Conservative party  winning an election as voters fall for the "Loveable eccentric toff " line and the belief he despite his views is somehow better than us and born to rule.

He is nor he is a Right Wing Tory Bastard who doesn't even have the same "Progressive" views on social issues that the likes of John Major had.

He should never be Prime Minister or even an MP and we need to see that the various clones of him that still legislate in the House of Lords are thrown out.

It is 2017 not 1817 can't we see through the idea that just because someone went to Eton and can quote Horace in Latin they are somehow born to rule.