Wales

Rental prices have risen three times faster than inflation, new figures find

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/rental-prices-have-risen-three-times-faster-inflation-new-figures-find

CAMPAIGNERS intensified demands for limits on rent hikes after damning new research found that rents are soaring at triple the rate of inflation.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown that the average rent in Britain has increased by 7.7 per cent to £1,332 in the last 12 months to March.

The increase is three times more than the current level of Consumer Price Index inflation, which measures how much the overall price of everyday goods and services has increased.

The figures show a steep 8.9 per cent increase in Wales, where the average rent is £792. In Scotland, rents were up by 5.7 per cent to £1,001.

According to a December 2024 report from Zoopla, rents for new lets are now £270 per month higher than they were three years ago.

The figures mean that a staggering £3,240 has been added to the annual cost of renting since 2021, equating to a 27 per cent increase.

Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey said: “When we are forced to spend too much of our income on rent, the effects ripple across the rest of our lives.

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/rental-prices-have-risen-three-times-faster-inflation-new-figures-find

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Senedd scrutiny committee recommends punishments for lying politicians

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/senedd-scrutiny-committee-recommends-punishments-lying-politicians

A view of the Senedd, the Welsh parliament building in Cardiff

POLITICIANS and candidates in Wales who deliberately lie should face punishment, a Senedd scrutiny committee recommended last night.

The Senedd standards of conduct committee said truthfulness from politicians is essential to rebuild public trust in politics and the way Members of the Senedd (MSs) are held to account must be strengthened.

In January, the committee published a report calling for a new “recall” system, allowing the Senedd to recommend that voters can choose to remove and replace a Member of the Senedd (MS) if they seriously breach the Code of Conduct.

But now the committee is going further, calling on the Welsh government to strengthen the law to prevent and punish politicians and election candidates who deliberately lie.

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/senedd-scrutiny-committee-recommends-punishments-lying-politicians

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First Palestine protests of 2025 take place across Britain

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/first-palestine-protests-of-2025-take-place-across-britain

Protesters march in Huddersfield Photo: Neil Terry Photography

THE first Palestine protests of 2025 took place across Britain at the weekend.

In Wales, campaigners staged a day of healthcare protests including outside Maelor Hospital in Wrexham.

The protest was against “the total destruction of key hospitals and healthcare facilities in Gaza and the wholesale slaughter of Palestinian doctors, nurses and paramedics by the Israeli military.”

A freedom march was also staged through the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire on Saturday, organised by Huddersfield Freedom For Palestine.

And hundreds marched through the streets of Manchester on Saturday in a weekly protest organised by Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine (GMFP), which brings together a dozen support groups in the region.

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Palestine Solidarity Campaign said: “Israel is escalating its attack on Palestinian healthcare system — attacking hospitals and imprisoning hundreds of healthcare workers.

“Join us to demand our government takes action to save Gaza’s healthcare workers.”

The next national demonstration for Palestine takes place in London on January 20.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/first-palestine-protests-of-2025-take-place-across-britain

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWRE
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWRE
Continue ReadingFirst Palestine protests of 2025 take place across Britain

‘It’s a play area for townies’: visitors and residents row over plan for new national park in Wales

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/10/new-national-park-wales-local-opposition

Lake Vyrnwy in Powys would be included in the proposed Welsh national park. Photograph: Jon Beech/Getty Images/iStockphoto

‘It’s a play area for townies’: visitors and residents row over plan for new national park in Wales

Plans to create a new Welsh national park stretching from the dunes of north-east Wales to the wild Berwyn mountains and the peaceful, wooded slopes of Lake Vyrnwy further south have captured the imagination of many ramblers, cyclists and other outdoor lovers.

But the Welsh government’s proposals to improve access to nature have been dismissed by an opposition group as creating “a play area for townies”, sparking a furious debate about who the countryside is for.

Elwyn Vaughan, leader of the Plaid Cymru group on Powys county council, who has become a figurehead for the campaign against the park, claims the plan would lead to more “honey pot” beauty spots, which are easily accessible from large cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. “There would be huge pressures from the number of ­visitors … it would lead to the proliferation of holiday homes and Airbnbs. It would lead to litter pollution and parking problems, which we see in places like Snowdonia,” said Vaughan.

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Original article at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/10/new-national-park-wales-local-opposition

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Welsh Government backs use of ‘unqualified doctors’ despite safety concerns

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https://nation.cymru/news/welsh-government-backs-use-of-unqualified-doctors-despite-safety-concerns/

The Welsh Government has defended the employment by NHS Wales of partially trained medics known as “physician associates”, despite concerns that they can pose a danger to patients.

PAs, as they are referred to, receive some medical training, but it falls far short of the level required for qualification as a doctor.

Critics argue they are a cost-cutting measure and fear safety standards are being compromised.

An assessment carried out by Health Education England (HEE) , and considered by all four of the UK’s health departments, concluded that patients were at high risk of harm from PAs. The health departments have therefore recommended the introduction of statutory regulation for the profession.

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https://nation.cymru/news/welsh-government-backs-use-of-unqualified-doctors-despite-safety-concerns/

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