4 WALES, SEE WESTERN ENGLAND II

The Labour in Wales Welsh Government’s plan to develop Wales’ economy pretty much effectively aims to turn our country into ‘Western England’.  Plaid Cymru have warned that the National Development Framework will ‘split Wales’ and is simply about ‘securing crumbs from the UK Government’s table’.

The regional development plan put forward by the Welsh Government, which covers the next 20 years or so, seeks to identify where nationally significant developments should take place, national and regional growth areas, what infrastructure and services are needed and how Wales can contribute to the fight against climate change.

In Cymru / Wales, until we run our own affairs, we are facing some interesting if somewhat stark choices, we can choose the Alun Cairns model of Tory-inspired Western England or Labour in Wales’s new flawered vision of our future. Labour in Wales’s regional map would “drives a wedge” into Wales, and ignore the “pressing” issue of lack of north-south connectivity, and neglects some of those parts of Wales needing regeneration and development.

The Welsh Government simply replaces the four-region model with a different approach focused on distributing wealth, power and investment equitably across the whole of Wales by targeting intervention and growth to the areas in most need.

What’s depressing is that Labour’s proposal might as well be a carbon copy of the Tory-inspired model of entrenched economic dependency. The four-region approach is modelled on the UK Government’s Growth Deal areas. Future Wales is more about the future of the Northern Powerhouse, the Bristol Western Gateway and the Midlands Engine than it is about Cymru / Wales.

This simply offers an economic plan based on securing crumbs from somebody else’s table, rather than building up Wales’ economy in its own right. Instead of offering a vision that brings Wales together, Labour is carving Wales up to serve Boris Johnson’s agenda (and Cymru / Wales) on a plate without even the asking. 

The new / old lack of vision pushes the north and the south of our country even further apart and neglect’s the pressing need for improved north-south connectivity. As if that wasn’t enough it also neglects some of those parts of Wales most in need of regeneration and development, namely the western seaboard and the valleys of the south. 

This approach will not change the UK and Welsh Governments failure to distribute wealth and growth equally across Wales. It is still not too late for this Labour-in-Wales Welsh Government to replace the four-region model proposed in Future Wales 2040 with an approach that focuses on making Wales a connected, sustainable, prosperous and self-sufficient nation in every sense. We can live in hope…

Now sadly, none of this is new - the other unionist / centralist party in Cymru / Wales, the Conservatives in Cymru / Wales, with a few honourable exceptions have never been happy with idea of devolution actually delivering anything beyond simple inadequate administration, deep down they would probably like to get rid of it (along with the very idea of Cymru / Wales). 

Here in Cymru / Wales we have all seen and experienced over the years the Westminster wobble ( by Red, Blue /Orange and Blue governments ) in relation to the commitment to complete the electrification of the Great Western line to Swansea, the failure to develop the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, and the threat to cancel promised public borrowing powers after the proposed M4 Relief road was dropped.

Boris' mutterings about intervening to overrule the Labour in Wales Government's decision not to build the M4 relief road, or the lead Financial Times article (Monday 13.07.2020) about Westminster’s plans to retain control of state aid at the expense of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, should not surprise anyone. 

It is interesting that Boris and his ilk, in what's probably the most narrow elitist English governments (if not one that appears to be increasingly out of touch with English thinking on the Union) anytime since the 1700’s, have serious barely concealed disdain for the concept of devolution and barely concealed contempt for Cymru / Wales itself. 

Labour in Wales’s lack of vision firmly routed in a belief in the union and what is an incredibly faint if not mistaken hope that the Labour cavalry in Westminster will eventually come riding to the rescue. They didn’t do much between 1997 and 2010, and with Labour in Westminster representative (in Wales) voting against or abstaining on the transfer or strengthening of devolved powers to Cymru / Wales it does not suggest that they will  in future. 

Honestly it should be enough to make people wonder just exactly who’s interests we are being governed in?   For our SE our future, if left to other people’s choices is as part of the Western Gateway (a revamped version of the old Severnside Agenda, or Greater Bristol by any other name). What we are looking at is not so much a case of for Wales see England, more like for Wales, literally see Western England.

SAVING OUR ARTS

These past few months have reminded people how important art, culture and heritage is. At times like these it is more important than ever to people and communities; a vital buttress that protects and enhances our quality of life. 

Currently however, we face a cultural emergency, as well as a health and economic one. Culture is part of the key that will ensure we prosper economically and in terms of our collective health as we move towards the future.

The impending decimation of the Welsh arts industry from this pandemic will have a grave and far reaching impact. Not only for the thousands who have or will lose their jobs and careers, but without a thriving creative industry, who will tell our story now?

It is deplorable that the Westminster job support scheme is unlikely to save many of our cultural attractions and live music venues from closure. In one simple move thousands of jobs – which, up until now, had been saved through furlough – have been re-categorised as ‘unviable’. 

Both the Conservative Government in Westminster and the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff have produced plenty of warm words but offer no real actions nor solutions on the short, medium and long-term problems. Instead, the sector has been left to wither on the vine. Plaid Cymru stands as the only party speaking out and offering real leadership and guidance to the sector. 

For many young people in Wales, the Arts has been a viable career choice, but with such a threat to the industry in Wales, many young people will find yet another door closed to them when it comes to starting their careers. 

6 Important Key Issues for 2021

I believe that there are six important policy areas that that should be important in the Senedd elections in May 2021.  They are Housing and Planning, Public Transport, Economic Development and Regeneration, the Devolution of control of Policing and Criminal Justice, control of our Water; and Energy. I firmly believe that these policy areas can set the agenda for our nation  for the next ten years +

We need to talk about Housing, Labour in Wales is silent on the matter and the other Unionist or anti devolution parties are silent on this issue. For the life of me, I cannot see any positives for Cymru / Wales simply being a simple adjunct to England, or Newport being a simple dormitory town for Bristol. I have never, and never will subscribe to the Severnside agenda, no matter how many times it gets rebranded and relaunched. In our south east, along the coastal belt and in and around Newport and Torfaen (not to mention around Cardiff and Caerphilly) and across Monmouthshire the last thirty years we have seen a significant if not spectacular growth in the amount of housing, a significant percentage of which of late has never quite been aimed to fulfil local housing needs. 

The other side of the coin, in relation to the pressing issue of Housing, is planning. Our Planning system is shambolic, Here in Cymru / Wales we face number of pressing problems, covid aside, many of our pressing problems are not helped by the inherent problems with our 19th planning system with its out of touch focus on unitary development plans, and the lack of decent affordable integrated public transport, which are all part of the problem we face.  Other than being an enabler to help with social and economic problems and the implementation of solutions, our Planning system is simply part of the problem. 

Another pressing problem that afflicts many of our communties, right across Cymru / Wales is that of redevelopment. Redevelopment is perceived by many people as something that is done to them, rather than by or for them. I have lived in Casnewydd / Newport for 43 or 44 years of my life - like many people  in the Port I have watched my home town / city get redeveloped to death. With the redevelopment companies moving in hoovering up the cash and departing. Newport’s 19th century Market which has served the city well, through good and bad times and two world wars, is to undergo yet another redevelopment. This redevelopment may be the final blow, as most to the remaining stallholders are in the process of moving out and the builders will soon  begin work to transform the market into a multi-million pound, multi-purpose centre.

Another key area, where the Unionist Parties are largely silent is that of Policing and Criminal Justice. At Westminster Unionist machinations (with Labour in Wales and the Conservatives working hand in glove in the voting lobbies - or Labour simply absenting themselves or abstaining) has resulted in a strange end result. Our Senedd is quite unique, it is the only devolved legislature within these islands not to have any control over its nation’s police forces. Now it’s worth noting, that control over Policing is devolved to Scotland (effectively since 1945), Northern Ireland, England, London, Manchester and even the City of London.

The issue of Water, in Cymru / Wales should still be more contentious than it is - again the Unionists are as quiet as Church Mice on this issue. On the 15th July 2020, for the first time in our history, our Senedd debated the issue of independence. While most independent observers will note that our devolution settlement is deeply flawed, by way of comparison to Scotland and Northern Ireland. It’s sometimes shocking when you actually look at the things that we don’t control - aside from Policing, and large aspects of the planning process, significant aspects transport infrastructure development and probably most surprising of all our water resources.

The final key issue is that of energy (both Policy and Development). Back in the 1960's people were actually told that by the year 2000 energy would be so cheap that it would be impossible to bill people for it. That never happened, largely as a result of the ideologically driven privatisation of the energy boards created a privatised (effective) monopoly. Once ‘market forces’ set to work we were left with the big six energy suppliers (a cartel by any other name). With weak regulation - despite some periodic and actually very effective work by Westminster parliamentary select committees - the cartel members have been able to get away with much - mostly at our expense (literally). 

SIMPLY PART OF THE PROBLEM

Here in Cymru / Wales we face number of pressing problems, covid aside, the lack of affordable housing, the weaknesses of our economy, the inherent problems with our 19th planning system with its out of touch focus on unitary development plans, and the lack of decent affordable integrated public transport, which are all part of the problem we face. 

For serious times, we need serious government and serious leadership. We lack both at all levels of government. If the governments in Cardiff and London were serious about public transport then our railways then some serious consideration should be given to looking at reconnecting some of our towns to the rail network. A good follow on would be reconnecting Caernarfon, Dolgellau and Builth Wells to the network, and reopening the line to Llangefni and Amlwch on Ynys Mon. 

Locally the re-opening / construction of stations at Caerleon / Ponthir (a well sited, well connected station could serve both communities well), Magor and Llanwern should be priorities. We also need to improving North – South rail communications and rebuild and re-open the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line. We also need to get road  freight off our roads and back onto our railways. 

In the south east, we need Abergavenny and Chepstow railway stations to be real gateways, with fully integrated local bus services. We need better facilities at Severn Tunnel Junction and Caldicot railway stations and the provision of safe secure parking facilities. We need feasibility studies into the development of a Parkway Station at Little Mill and the possibilities of re-opening the railway line from Little Mill to Usk and the development of a new railway station at Usk.

The final stage of the rail-link from Ebbw Vale to Newport needs to be completed and along with new railway stations at Caerleon / Ponthir and Magor would help to reduce road congestion. Such developments would provide a regular rail service to local residents and reduce the ever increasing traffic burden from already overcrowded roads. The re-opening of Pontrilas Railway station (in south Herefordshire) for passenger traffic (and timber shipments) would also help, as would a feasibility study into developing regional rail freight services, removing heavy Lorries from local roads.

A lack of coherent governance in Cymru / Wales may explain, why when it comes to railways in Cymru / Wales, there is a tendency to focus on anniversaries of rail closures rather than anniversaries of openings. This could be because transport policy was something that was done to us rather than done for us or done by us. I mention this, because back in 2012 I noticed that a plaque had been unveiled marking the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the railway in Knighton (Powys).

The spectacular 22-mile section of the Heart of Wales line from Craven Arms, Shropshire, to Knighton was constructed in 1861, and managed to avoid being closed in the 1950's and 1960's.  A £5m project which upgraded parts of this rural railway was finished in 2011, which reinstated five passing loops at Knighton, Llandrindod Wells and Llanwrtyd Wells in Powys, and at Llandovery and Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire. This was a small but positive step which could, which with extra services could lead to more regular and better used trains.

In the last twenty one years in Wales there have been two successful railway re-openings carried out by Network Rail at the request of the National Assembly; the Vale of Glamorgan Railway Line (re-opened on Friday 10th June 2005) and the Ebbw Valley Railway Line (partially re-opened on Wednesday 6th February 2008).

Being brutally honest these were administrative rather than legislative projects, this has not been the case in Scotland, where bills to reopen old railways were vigorously debated, scrutinised, amended and passed by the Scottish Parliament. If we are serious about integrated public transport then we are going to have to get serious about how we are going to develop and redevelop our public transport infrastructure.

We face a future where relatively cheap fuel will be a thing of the past, so we need to ensure that all our communities have reasonable access to a reliable cheap system of integrated public transport, at the heart of which needs to be our long neglected rail network. 

The Transport (Wales) Act which came into effect in February 2006 gave the then National Assembly powers to plan and co-ordinate an integrated transport system. New railway stations in Cymru / Wales are mostly (not not entirely) down to seeking approval from Westminster - almost as if devolution does not exist.

The old excuses about a lack of funding (despite the banking related financial crisis) from Westminster are no longer acceptable; Wales making up 5% of the population of the UK, and makes significant contributions to the exchequer over the years - so we need 5% of the UK transport spend, and full control of our transport planning and our transport budget. 

If the current Governments in London and Cardiff are serious about cutting carbon emissions and reducing road congestion then we also need work to get heavy goods back onto our railways. There is no quick fix, but, the time for excuses is over, we need to plan for the future. This may not be cheap but it can be done if the political will is there, as has happened in Scotland, where there is a useful combination of the will, the funding and interested private partners. 

Now let's be honest, with all the best will in the world this is not going to work well, even with the current inert visionless Labour in Wales / Lib Dem coalition government in Cardiff and, as far as Cymru / Wales is concerned an indifferent / hostile Conservative government in Westminster that is openly hostile to the concept of devolution and to the very existence of Cymru / Wales’s very existence.  

The underlying problem is that devolutionary governance can no more be half devolved anymore than someone can be half free. A flawed devolutionary half-way house just won't work anymore, it will not deliver or even give us the chance to deliver, even with the weak / incomplete / flawed legislative powers that the Senydd has. 

The changes and reforms that are necessary to fix the problems in our country, to give Cymru / Wales  the tools to do the job, are unlikely to be gained anytime soon. Even were Cymru / Wales to gain the legislative powers, any future Welsh government would still be in some sort of half devolved limbo state of governance, lacking a fair financial settlement. 

Cymru / Wales need a fair financial settlement, full control of Network Rails budget and priorities within Cymru / Wales so we can construct a decent system of integrated public transport. This is what has happened in Scotland, where significant strides have been made to reopen, redevelop and build a coherent and integrated public transport system, partially due to the fact that Scotland has full control over Network Rails budget and priorities in Scotland. 

The other significant difference between Cymru / Wales and Scotland, aside from geography, lies with our current government in Cardiff Bay. Even if the Labour in Wales / Lib Dem coalition government in Cardiff wanted to do any of this they cannot - they don’t have the powers too, and more importantly they simply lack the political will or necessary vision to even try. How much longer do we have to wait to see some sort of coherent transport plan for Cymru / Wales, let alone the vision? 

Devolution, as is, simply won’t work with the current Westminster Conservative governments 18th century vision of the Union - basically a Greater England - complete with a compliant quit Cymru / Wales which sits as an adjunct to the west of England fulfilling the function as an add on to Bristol with cheaper housing and convenient areas of outstanding national beauty for leisure activities.  Making a observation, that as dominion status is not in the offing, even within a new Brit Empire 2.0, then Independence is the only remaining sensible option. 

A WELCOME U-TURN

“This is a victory for the young people of Wales” says Plaid Cymru as Welsh Government announce MAJOR u-turn into A Level and GCSE grades debacle

 

Responding to the major u-turn from Welsh Government that all A Level and GCSE grades will be based on teacher assessments rather than on algorithms, Plaid Cymru Shadow Education Minister Sian Gwenllian MS said,

 

“This is a very welcome if not a seriously overdue announcement.

 

“Pressure from Plaid Cymru, students, teachers and parents will now mean that our young people will have the grades they should have been awarded all along. The real victory belongs to the young people of Wales who have demonstrated better leadership and decorum than their government.

 

“Whilst it is regretful that this U-turn have come last week instead of putting students through so much unnecessary uncertainty and anxiety, I offer my congratulations to the young people who have led this campaign so ably.

 

“There should be a full investigation into this debacle and the Welsh Government should apologise to students, teachers and schools for what they’ve put them through over the past few weeks.

 

“Never again should the professionalism and integrity of our teachers and the hard work of our students be called into question. For today, let us celebrate that justice has prevailed.

 

ENDS

SUPPORTING WELSH STUDENTS

Annwyl Mark,

In the words of UK Labour Leader, Keir Starmer, “across the last twenty-four hours, we have heard heart-breaking stories and the scale of the injustice caused by the fatally flawed results system has become clear. Young people right across the country, in every town and city, feel let down and betrayed.”

His views have been echoed by the interim leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey who said that the system has led to “some utterly unfair outcomes.”

Both were referencing the downgrading of results in England where 40% of A level results were lower than predicted.

In Wales, 42% of results were downgraded, leaving pupils angry that they have suffered at the hands of a flawed system.

If the criticism from your parties in England is to mean anything other than political game-playing, you and the Education Minister must now reassess your approach as a Welsh Government to ensure that no pupil is disadvantaged in what has already been an anxious year.

Pupils who were awarded lesser grades than the teacher assessments in A level and AS exams should be upgraded to the teacher assessment grades.

Further, this should be used as the mechanism for awarding GSCE results and this should be communicated to learners today for peace of mind.

In these extraordinary times, we must be ready to respond with unprecedented action in the interest of fairness and pupil welfare.

I am copying this to the Education Minister and to your UK Party leaders who have made these comments.

Yn gywir,

Adam Price AS/MS,

Sign here: http://www.partyof.wales/support_welsh_students?recruiter_id=172282 

UNMEASURABLE SUCCESS ?

Newport’s 19th century Market which has served the city well, through good and bad times and two world wars, is to undergo yet another redevelopment. 

This redevelopment may be the final blow, as most to the remaining stallholders are in the process of moving out and the builders will soon  begin work to transform the market into a multi-million pound, multi-purpose centre.

Some of the market stalls will remain but the redeveloped market will include apartments, offices, a food court with pop-up units and a performance space. 

Newport city council has described the redevelopment as “potentially the largest market redevelopment in the UK” and it says it will create a “24-hour working/living space”.

This all sounds good, but, the poor old market has been managed to death by the City / Town Council who could never leave it alone. 

Years of faffing about with the buses / bus routes near the site of the market has not helped. That it managed to survive so long is close to miraculous.

If you live in various parts of Gwent or are intimately familiar with your home community, then over the years you will have noticed that redevelopment / regeneration comes and goes in phases, in any particular community or town.

Regeneration schemes will have cleaned areas up, built in cycle routes, created transport plans, pedestrianised streets, reopened them to traffic, re-pedestrianised them and (as is the case in Newport and no doubt elsewhere) made certain streets shared space with both cars and pedestrians (this is not as crazy an idea as it sounds, and it actually works) and so on. 

Parking has been restricted, created and removed, made it free and charged for it, bus lanes have been created, removed and the hours when bus lanes operate varied. 

Now this is all well and good and may reflect the latest trend in regeneration and development, but at the end of the day has it made the places where we live, work and shop any better? 

The one question that tends not to be asked, and hence not answered is: Has the regeneration process or scheme increased or generated wealth in our communities or provided people with the opportunities to get jobs, to go into business for themselves or generate wealth? 

One of the unintended features of redevelopment is that quite often it is (or is perceived as being) driven from the top down i.e. by elected bodies whether they be Town or County Councils or the Senedd. 

Regeneration is a process that merely consults, usually after the plans have been drawn up rather than before, during and after - any process run this way runs the real risk of becoming deeply flawed. 

Local communities and towns and cities of South Wales have over the years has been the recipient of much grant aid, development and redevelopment schemes and initiatives - how can we measure success? 

Measuring a regeneration schemes success should be a key factor in any regeneration scheme. 

This is the key question that needs to be asked - after the cement and the paint has dried, after the development / redevelopment / regeneration professionals have banked the cheque and moved on - have the various schemes made a difference. 

I mean beyond any immediate physical improvements to the environment, have they made a real difference when it comes to wealth generation in the area affected by the regeneration scheme and can the people who live here actually see and benefit from the change? 

If the end result is in reality a makeover, and the targeted community is no better off, save for being bereft of the 'regeneration funds' that have been effectively hoovered up by professional regeneration companies - some of whom make a good living out of regeneration - then we should ask is this success? 

How do you make regeneration projects work beyond the tick box list of the regeneration schemes managers? 

One key component that is often ignored or marginalised during the regeneration process is the communities greatest resource - its people.

If we truly want to build and develop strong sustainable communities, then any regeneration scheme should from the start and at every stage of the process. We don’t need regeneration professionals coming into an area and engaging in a largely token consultation process. 

They should directly talk to local people (who are an asset to the process) rather than at them, and actually find out what they would like to be done, what they actually want for their community and their town.

If you are reusing or renovating old buildings then any regeneration scheme needs to ensure that old buildings can make a sustainable contribution after the regeneration scheme is finished. 

If we do this rather than merely making a token gesture towards public consultation, then any regeneration schemes will, with hard work, really begin to deliver tangible benefits to our communities. 

Regeneration schemes and projects should be bottom up rather than the top down. 

The bottom line should be when spending public money, work it extra hard and squeeze out every single possible benefit and maximise the impact locally of the regeneration process and make every effort to build in local benefits into the tendering process - whether by employing local people, using local resources, local skills and local input. 

Now a plea for a more people focused and community driven regeneration is not driven by nostalgia or about living the past - we have to re-image our urban spaces for the 21st century - but not at the expense of the people who live and make their living within them. 

 

As had been said elsewhere, regeneration should be a process rather than a cash extracting event, that delivers unmeasurable success. 

EBBW VALE AND BEYOND...

It is quite simple really - decisions about railway infrastructure development and spending upon our railways need to be made here in Cymru / Wales, not in Westminster. This already happens in England by default, and in Scotland and Northern Ireland by design. For this to happen in Cymru / Wale then full control of our railways, network rail operations and the network rail budget needs to be devolved to the Senedd.

11% of UK railways, 1% of Network Rail spend...

Thats the first step, a. Full control of planning processes in relation to infrastructure, full control of the all of the railways in Cymru / Wales and full control of network rail and the network rail budget for Cymru / Wales would simply be the first step towards actually giving our embryonic democracy all of the toolset required to do the job properly. 

While that’s not necessarily the relatively easy bit it would be a significant start. The slightly more difficult bit is electing a government that will actually use said tools to actually do the job - of improving, and developing our railway infrastructure.  We simply can not rely on Labour in Wales or any of the other Westminster focused / based political parties to make the case for further powers or to supply the will power and the vision to change things. 

One of the reasons why we have little choice but to use our cars and the M4 to get around Newport (and to go to work) is because of the lack of any reasonable alternative easily accessible means of public transport. Long before Corvid 19 came along, even the Welsh Labour government had finally run out of tired excuses and soft weasel words to hide their inaction and failure to deliver much beyond sound bites and logo laden graphic images. 

A ghost train...

The failure to connect the Ebbw Vale line to Newport means that commuters living in communities in the Ebbw Valley remain unable to travel directly to Newport (and beyond) by train and have little option but to use their cars. They are denied the opportunity of catching connecting trains to Newport, Bristol, London, Cheltenham and beyond as well as possibly travelling slightly more rapidly to Cardiff in the morning and evening as result of the failure to run a fast service direct from Abertillery to Cardiff as originally promised back in 2003. 

This leaves commuters no choice but to drive and feed the congestion of an already at times overcrowded M4. The Ebbw Vale line, at least to Cardiff, which reopened in 2008 (carried a years worth of anticipated passenger numbers in the first four months) has made a real difference to peoples lives. The new rail service failed to connect to Newport from day one despite the implied promises, hints and suggestions made before and since the railway line was reopened that it would. 

Nothing to see here, move along...

Somewhat ironically to all intents and purposes is already operating – as trains already run by stealth on occasions from Ebbw Vale into Newport and vice versa when regular maintenance occurs. The rail line and the signalling work fine – what we need is a regularly timetabled rail service - now rather than later. Long overdue decisions about our infrastructure could make a real and significant difference and begin the process of providing realistic alternatives to everyday car use. 

Elsewhere in our SE, the construction of new railway stations at Caerleon / Ponthir, Llanwern and Magor - with well planned walk routes, and ample safe, secure park and ride facilities would also make a real difference. Any railway stations should also include decent facilities - along with the reinstatement of a more functional bus service (that's directly connected to the new railway stations). 

Elsewhere in Europe where significant housing developments are planned the infrastructure - often railway stations, tram stops and transport hubs are constructed first before any houses are built - but just not here. We should see a real commitment from the new Senedd government in May 2021 to prioritise the addition of  infrastructure before any approval for proposed housing developments is given.

Our transport and infrastructure problems require political solutions and political decisions - something that will not come from the current incumbent inert Labour government in Cardiff Bay. With a post BREXIT (and hopefully a post Corona) world rapidly approaching- some hard sensible sustainable longer term choices need to be made with a degree of urgency - one of those should be to start work on (those parts of) the Metro that will make a real rapid difference to our lives and our communties.

POWER FROM THE PEOPLE

Back in the 1960's people were actually told that by the year 2000 energy would be so cheap that it would be impossible to bill people for it. That never happened, largely as a result of the ideologically driven privatisation of the energy boards created a privatised (effective) monopoly. Once ‘market forces’ set to work we were left with the big six energy suppliers (a cartel by any other name). With weak regulation - despite some periodic and actually very effective work by Westminster parliamentary select committees - the cartel members have been able to get away with much - mostly at our expense (literally). 

We should recognise that this costly experiment has failed - much like the privatisation of the railways. Rolling the clock back to having it all run by the indifferent dead hand of a re-ecentralised post Brexit Brit state is just not a realistic option. That's partially how we ended up in this mess to start with. We need to do something different - firstly we need to make sure that we don't get fleeced over our energy bills by the members of the 'Big 6 Energy Cartel' - who have made fat profits over the years at our expense. 

In Cymru / Wales having recognised that what we have does not work, we need to change the rules of the game and to create a national energy company for Wales to generate sustainable and reasonably priced energy, which can also be part of the solution to create a low carbon society. There is no reason to suggest that similar solutions would not work in parts of England. Ynni Cymru, should be run as a not-for-dividend company at arms-length from the Welsh Government. This would prevent the agencies of the state from skimming profits off the top and ensure that they get reinvested.

A national energy company for Cymru / Wales

This is a vision for energy and the environment for a Wales that reduces its carbon emissions, harnesses its natural resources sustainably, and seizes opportunities in the low-carbon and circular economies. The link between energy and climate change is clear. A number of actions could fall into the remit of Ynni Cymru, including: reducing the cost per unit of energy to homes and businesses in Wales, reducing the consumption of energy in homes and businesses and helping consumers to make informed decisions based on smart metering technology.

Ynni Cymru should be tasked with funding the mass installation, outsourced to local companies, of solar panels on the roofs of households, business premises and lampposts in Wales, beginning with public buildings and social housing. The company would coordinate and facilitate the use of publicly owned land for renewable energy purposes. 

The company could finance the acquisition and development of new large-scale generating and storage capacity, ensuring Wales becomes self-sufficient in renewable energy and becomes a renewable energy exporter. It could boost our energy market by ensuring the development of a national producer cooperative among community energy organisations.

The problem we face is that our energy production and distribution model has been effectively restructured to primarily benefit the big 6 energy cartel members, their interests and their (City) profits. From the perspective of energy consumers and smaller scale energy producers, or anyone who wants things to change the problem is that all the Westminster focused political parties have happily bought into this cartel dominated model of energy production and ownership (or perhaps more truthfully were quietly bought).

The reality is that the UK’s cartel dominated model for energy production and distribution is not necessarily the norm everywhere in Europe or around the world. Now contrary to what you might think, and tend hear from Westminster and much of the UK media; realistic alternatives exist and actually prosper, a particularly good example of a balanced and healthy energy mix can be found in Germany. Small may very well be beautiful, even with a geographically sizeable state, especially in relation to energy, in 2012 some 22% of the countries energy came from small scale green entrepreneurs, by 2019 it was 46%.

Community based co-operatives (both urban and rural), farmers and homeowners are part of the 1.3 million renewable energy producers and part of the energy mix. In Germany, citizens’, cooperatives, and communities own more than half of German renewable capacity. Small-scale electricity generation is having a knock on effect encouraging change throughout the energy system.

Citizens’ owned energy in Germany involves:  

• Private individuals or farmers (jointly or individually) invest in energy facilities
• The investment is made with the citizens own capital, which gives a certain level of control over the project
• Citizens own at least 50 percent of voting shares
• Citizens have a connection to the region where the facility is operated

In Berlin, a cooperative (Burger Energie Berlin – literally Berlin Citizens Energy) continues to strive to take control of the capital's electricity grid with some 35,000km of underground cables. The cooperative is a free, cross-party coalition of citizens who are committed to a sustainable, sustainable and democratic energy policy in Berlin. Members have one vote regardless of the amount their deposit and anyone who wants the power network to be in civil hand, is welcome.

Burger Energie Berlin - literally Berlin Citizens Energy

Ordinary Berliners have invested their cash in the venture with the intention of producing a reliable 100 per cent renewable energy supply. The aim is to promote the integration of renewable energy into the grid and to invest a portion of the profits from this directly into the transition to renewable energy. After some serious campaigning, on the 5th March 2019 the Berlin electricity grid was awarded to Energie Berlin. 

This is grass roots energy generation that has potentially the power to change the nature of the energy supply system (in Germany and elsewhere). The aim to build an energy grid that is better handle the rise of green power and allows local use of locally produced energy. This may well be a case of small being both beautiful and perhaps deeply disturbing from the perspective of Westminster and Cardiff Bay something that can be both community beneficial and community owned. 

There is no practical reason beyond ‘thats not the way its done here’ why people living here and Wales could not benefit from membership of citizen owned energy co-operatives. In Germany, there is a deliberate promoted policy of energy transition (or ‘Energiewende’) – this is a very different approach to what is practised in these islands (at least south of the Scottish border). For a start the ‘Energiewende’ is driven by a desire to reduce and eliminate any dependency on nuclear energy.

The introduction of the Feed-in-tariff (EEG) in 2008 was an important part of this process, along with (post Fukushima) the almost unanimous across the board political commitment to a wide range of targets (in 2011) which included a commitment to reduce energy demand (with a 50% reduction in primary energy use by 2050) and the achievement of an 80% renewable electricity share of total consumption (by 2050). This has resulted in a significant uptake of renewables in Germany.

The real striking difference is that the operation of the grid in Germany means that generated renewable electricity is used first and that distribution network operators (DNOs) are also seeking to reduce demand. This is so radically different from the way the energy is generated, distributed, exported and used here in our country that it no doubt, at least from their limited perspective, quite understandably frightens Westminster focused politicians, the civil shrive and the city.

A significant difference, aside from the scale and pattern of investment (in Germany), is that small businesses, co-operatives, individual households and local authorities benefit from investment distributed by a network of local banks (again something we pretty much entirely lack here in Wales). The whole thing has been supported by the KfW (state investment bank) to the tune of 23.3 billion euro in the area of environment and climate protection.

These developments are a million miles away from the so-called ‘Free market’ for energy that exists in the UK, which is pretty dominated by the ‘Big 6’ energy cartel members. The fact that some former politicians have found rather rewarding post political career employment within the energy sector may be co-incidental but suggests that there is little desire for improvement within Westminster and perhaps a complete lack of understanding of the concept from any Labour in Wales government(s) be they previous, current or future. 

The way the current set up works, it is difficult to imagine ‘a Government’ at most levels (at least outside of Scotland in the UK grasping the concept, the practicalities and real possibilities of genuine community owned beneficial energy generation projects. Pending some real change in the way energy policy works we are all pretty much trapped with a real lack of meaningful choice or realistic alternatives when it comes to customers securing domestic energy from the big 6 cartel members.

What we have had over the years has been visionless New Labour, Conservative-Lib DeM and then Conservative governments in Westminster, which have remained hand in glove with despotic oil and gas-producing regimes in the Middle East ( aside from the vassal like relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia ) who have had has little real interest in renewables. Teresa May’s wobbly and unstable Brexit fixated Westminster government, along with its predecessor continues to actively work to pull the rug out from under the renewables sector by cutting the feed in tariff something that has cost highly skilled jobs here in Wales.