Saturday, February 28, 2026
On the trail of Richard Burton
They say that in 2025, to mark the centenary of the great man’s birth, the county of Neath Port Talbot curated two walking trails showcasing his old haunts, and two Blue Plaques were unveiled along the routes, one at Richard Burton’s birthplace and the other at the former home of his mentor and adoptive father, Philip Burton.
The two walking trails bring together a number of sites associated with Richard’s formative years, namely 'The Birthplace Trail', based in Pontrhydyfen, where Richard was born, and 'The Childhood Trail', in the town of Port Talbot, where Richard grew up:
From here, visitors follow the main road along to the Miners Arms pub (now the Pontrhydyfen RFC Clubhouse), where Burton’s parents met and married, before looping back along Penhydd Street, where many of Richard’s family lived. The actor would make frequent trips to visit his family here throughout his career, even bringing along his wife Elizabeth Taylor on several occasions (the actress reportedly dubbed the village, 'Pontrhyheaven'). The route also takes in Bethel Chapel, now home to a beautiful café, where 800 people gathered to mourn after the actor’s sudden death at the age of 58.
Like 'The Birthplace Trail', 'The Childhood Trail', which takes fans around Richard-associated sites in the town of Port Talbot, doesn’t have a specific order, but a nice starting point is the Taibach Community Education Centre on Margam Road. This former youth club is where Richard starred in some of his earliest productions, honing his craft before his big move to theatres in London’s West End.
Other stops on this route include Richard’s sister’s home on Caradog Street, where the young actor lived during his school years (Richard’s mother died when he was just two years old), and Taibach Library, where a young Richard developed his ferocious appetite for reading and poetry. A nice spot to end the walk is at the peaceful Talbot Memorial Park, where a flowerbed-flanked monument to Burton features a poem penned by the actor about walking in the hills surrounding the town.
Labels: lochist
Friday, February 27, 2026
The devastating impact of year of UK aid cuts
Last February, the prime minister confirmed that the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) would fall from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent by the end of 2027 – in a move justified as helping fund higher defence spending in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But in a joint statement marking the anniversary, 93 leaders from the UK’s international NGO sector described families in war-torn regions losing access to shelter, food and clean water and lifesaving health and reproductive programmes across Africa and Asia facing closure.
"As leaders of the UK INGO sector, we write to mark this grim anniversary and the devastating impacts of the cuts in the last year – and urge the UK government to restore the UK’s position as a principled, reliable and ambitious development partner," the group says. "Over the past year, we have witnessed first-hand the consequences of these short-sighted cuts."
Romilly Greenhill, chief executive of Bond, the UK network for NGOs, said the past 12 months had: “left more people without essential access to water, sanitation and shelter – they have also left us all vulnerable to a world with more disease, conflict and climate disasters.”
The cut is worth around £6 billion a year by the end of 2027. The last time that aid was at such a level was in 1999, when roughly 600 million people faced chronic hunger globally – compared with about 735 million today.
The government’s own equalities impact assessment for the 2025-26 reductions found that women and girls, people with disabilities, children and communities affected by conflict would be hardest hit. Rose Caldwell, CEO at Plan International UK, which focuses on the rights of children around the world, said: “The decision to cut UK aid a year ago was a devastating blow to children, who were already facing increased challenges from climate change and conflict, disrupting their childhoods and learning. We know both from experience and the government’s own assessment that when aid is cut, women and girls suffer the most."
The paper has joined a coalition of MPs and charities, in calling on the prime minister to protect HIV funding and help end the Aids pandemic by 2030:
A recent analysis by the Centre for Global Development suggests Britain is on course to shrink its aid budget faster than the United States. The think tank projects UK ODA will fall by around 27 per cent between 2024-25 and 2026-27, compared with an estimated 23 per cent drop in US development spending over the same period, after Congress softened some of Donald Trump’s proposed reductions. The US president returned to the White House in January last year and instantly slashed his country's aid spending.
For many in the aid sector, the damage is no longer just financial, but reputational too. “The UK’s retreat from its international development agenda will reverse hard-won progress and weaken our credibility and influence on the global stage,” Ms Greenhill said.
These decisions have massive consequences for some of the poorest parts of the world and, as I have blogged before, reduces the UK's soft power and enables other powers such as China to get a foothold in countries that have strategic value to our future defence.
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Are the government scamming students?
The Guardian reports that angry backbench Labour MPs have attacked ministers over the student loans crisis, saying graduates are being “outrageously scammed”.
The paper adds that during a Commons Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday, several Labour MPs joined calls for an urgent shake-up of the “unfair” system, with one describing it as “an absolute dog’s dinner” and another likening the terms to something that a “loan shark” would offer:
Their intervention comes days after the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said there were “problems” with the current arrangements amid growing anger about the plight of millions of graduates saddled with ballooning debts.
At the heart of the row are the estimated 5.8 million people from England and Wales who took out a “plan 2” student loan between 2012 and 2023.
Many graduates are handing over money from their salary every month to repay their loan, but everything that is taken is dwarfed by the interest that is added to their debt, and as a result the sum they owe is getting bigger.
The catalyst for the row was the decision last November by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to freeze the salary threshold for plan 2 loan repayments for three years – seemingly in defiance of the original declaration in 2010 that the threshold would “be uprated annually in line with earnings”.
In recent days, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have outlined what they would do to fix the system, while the consumer champion Martin Lewis and the National Union of Students are among those spearheading the demands for action.
Lewis this week clashed on air with the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, over the issue on ITV. He later apologised.
Alex Sobel, Labour member for Leeds Central and Headingley, said before the debate on Wednesday: “People on the plan 2 student loan are being outrageously scammed and burdened with unattainable debt levels and interest rates on their student loans.”
Jas Athwal, the MP for Ilford South who called the debate, said many believed plan 2 loans and the wider system were “predatory, regressive, kill graduates’ ambitions”, and the “spiralling” interest was stressful for students.
He added: “A whole generation feel bled dry by a system that just keeps taking from them.”
Instead of preparing students to contribute to society and boost the economy, successive governments have created an avaricious system that is penalising those who want to better themselves with a higher education.
Getting rid of the freeze on salary thresholds is not enough, the whole thing needs to be dismantled and rebuilt with the interests of the learner and the country at its heart.
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Reform embracing fracking
The paper says that documents released under a freedom of information request reveal that when Egdon Resources, a British subsidiary of the US fracker Heyco Energy, announced a major gas discovery in Lincolnshire’s Gainsborough Trough last year, Jenkyns reached out personally to the company asking how she “could help with your recent gas find in my county”:
Fracking was effectively banned in England in 2019 because of concerns it could trigger earthquakes. But Jenkyns is keen to bring the practice to Lincolnshire and appears to have met fracking companies at least four times since she first contacted Egdon in June.
In a presentation marked “Confidential”, Heyco downplayed concerns about toxic chemicals found in fracking fluid. It also shared a list of rebuttals to key criticisms of fracking and its benefits over renewable forms of energy, which was tailored to the Gainsborough Trough project, the documents obtained by the Guardian show.
Jenkyns said she was “very supportive of fracking” in her message asking how she could help the company, sent to Egdon’s general inbox in June last year. The company’s CEO, Mark Abbott, responded 11 minutes later, offering to meet her to “discuss the potential for gas in Lincolnshire and the surrounding area”.
Jenkyns is a staunch critic of net zero who has described the concept as a “con” and lodged several objections to energy projects such as solar farms and pylons in Lincolnshire.
Egdon owner George Yates is a Trump donor and member of a century-old New Mexico oil and gas dynasty with strong links to the Republican party. He has previously described net zero as a pseudo-scientific approach to reducing carbon emissions and falsely blamed the UK’s high energy prices on the government’s climate policies.
An email from Abbott to Jenkyns and other Greater Lincolnshire county officials after the meeting said the group discussed “the potential of shale gas in the Gainsborough Trough” and “how to build support for its development”. The existence of the field has been known for more than a decade.
The email also included a list of next steps from the meeting. Abbott said he would explore the possibility of a visit to a US shale operation for the group and help set up a meeting with Yates and his daughter Lauren when they were next in the UK.
In a video posted to Facebook on the same day as her meeting with Abbott, Jenkyns praised the gas find, calling it a “no-brainer”.
As a party, Reform have taken the same view as Donald Trump, that net zero is a con. They have openly advocated fracking. No doubt, if they are to gain power or influence in Wales, this will be on their agenda here as well.
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Reform seeking to copy Trump's victimisation and persecution agenda
The paper says that Zia Yusuf, introduced as “the shadow home secretary” at a press conference in Dover, said mass deportations carried out by a planned UK Deportation Command would not trigger the same kind of violent showdowns seen in the US because “policing is done by consent” in the UK. He also described the number of migrants arriving in the country as an “invasion”.
His remarks came as Reform set out plans to tackle immigration, including mass deportations, expanded surveillance powers and a ban on the conversion of churches into mosques.
The party also wants to scrap indefinite leave to remain, replacing it with a renewable five-year work visa and dedicated spouse visa. There would also be a new rule mandating automatic home searches for anyone referred to the Prevent counter-terrorism programme by three “separate, corroborating authorities”, the party said.
Yusuf said the proposed UK Deportation Command would have the capacity to detain 24,000 people at any one time and deport up to 288,000 annually, operating five flights a day.
This incendiary and inaccurate language is a clear attempt by Reform to gather support by stirring up community division, hatred and suspicion, their proposed solutions contain echoes of 1930s Germany and threatens the sort of state-sponsored violence and racism now rife in the USA. Reform's policy is a charter for authoritarianism and conflict.
Monday, February 23, 2026
Custom union reset needed
The news site says that the research by leading economists Nicholas Bloom, Philip Bunn, Paul Mizen, Pawel Smietanka and Gregory Thwaites concluded that the impact of leaving the European Union has been large, persistent and cumulative:
The report found that, compared to similar advanced economies, the UK has suffered significantly weaker growth since the 2016 referendum.
According to the study, business investment is now 12–18% lower than it would otherwise have been, employment is 3–4% lower, and productivity has fallen by around 3–4%.
The authors of the report argued that the damage has built up gradually over time, driven by prolonged uncertainty, higher trade barriers, reduced demand, and the diversion of management time away from productive activity.
The economists noted that while early forecasts anticipated economic costs, the long-term impact has been deeper and more drawn out than many predicted.
Labour’s election manifesto ruled out signing up to the existing EU customs union despite growing calls among some Labour MPs.
In December, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer repeated that his government was not planning to rejoin the EU’s customs union despite the deputy prime minister saying countries in similar unions see a boost to their economies.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats say the findings of the new report confirm that leaving the single market and customs union has created “costly red tape, weakened trade links and undermined investment”.
With Wales particularly reliant on manufacturing, agriculture, food exports and small exporters, the party argues that restoring closer trading ties with the EU will support jobs and growth.
The Welsh Lib Dems are calling on the UK Labour Government to negotiate a new customs union with the European Union to reduce trade barriers, support exporters and provide long-term certainty for businesses.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said: “This new report makes clear that Brexit has delivered a slow-burn hit to our economy, cutting growth by up to 8% and hammering investment and productivity.
“Across Wales, we see the consequences every day. Farmers face extra paperwork to sell into Europe, small manufacturers struggle with supply chains, and businesses that once traded seamlessly across the Channel are drowning in red tape.
“Wales cannot afford to carry on with weaker growth and lower wages. We need a serious reset in our relationship with the European Union. A new UK-EU Customs Union would cut trade barriers, boost confidence and give Welsh businesses the certainty they desperately need.
Keir Starmer has performed so many u-turns it is astonishing that's still able to walk in a straight line, however, where it really matters, on the customs union, a move that could boost the UK's economy, he has completely lost his way. This is one u-turn Labour need to embrace.
Sunday, February 22, 2026
An increased risk of flooding
The paper says that the figures show the number of homes being built in risky areas is on the rise, with a previous analysis showing that between 2013 and 2022, one in 13 new homes were in potential flooding zones:
The research comes with the government under huge pressure to deliver new affordable housing, amid signs that the climate breakdown is accelerating.
Data published by the insurer Aviva reveals that of the 396,602 new homes recorded by the Ordnance Survey in England between 2022 and 2024, 43,937 are in areas of medium or high risk of flooding, while 26% of new homes have some risk of flooding.
Emma Howard Boyd, former chair of the Environment Agency, who advises Aviva on climate policy, said the government’s target to build 1.5m homes this parliament could create pressure to build in areas at high risk of flooding.
She said: “We don’t want to be building today’s houses in places where they will become ever more at risk of flooding. Defra [the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs] and the Ministry for Housing need to be working close together to make sure our housing targets aren’t preventing what we know is needed to protect future and existing homes from future levels of flooding.”
Aviva’s data also shows that by 2050, one in seven (15%) of the homes built between 2022 and 2024 will be at medium or high risk of flooding and almost a third (30%) will face some kind of flood risk, as more extreme rainfall is predicted as a result of climate breakdown.
The government said the analysis does not factor in flood defences which are already in place, though this was disputed by Aviva, which said it does.
Experts have said London’s flood defences, for example, need to be urgently updated to protect the city.
The research comes after a Guardian investigation last year found that millions more homes in England, Scotland and Wales are facing devastating floods, and some towns may have to be abandoned as climate breakdown makes many areas uninsurable.
That analysis revealed the extent of concern in the insurance sector as larger areas of housing and commercial property become at a greater risk.
New guidance in Wales has sought to address this problem. It is time England followed suit.
Saturday, February 21, 2026
A history trail in Mumbles
The walk has twenty points of interest, and stirred memories of a walking tour I helped write back in the 1980s. It starts with Clement's Quarry, one of a number of limestone quarries in Mumbles between 1806 and 1902, which is now a long stay car park, when it is not hosting the workmen and their equipment for the recent flood defence works.
The Dairy car park across the road was originally the site of The Elms, built in 1850, and was in turn a private house, a hotel and in the 1860s and 1870s, refreshment rooms for the Mumbles railway terminus and offices. Later it was a skating rink before housing a dairy and bottling plant.
An interesting fact is that although, while standing on Oystermouth Square at low tide you can see the remains of oyster dredgers or skiffs on the beach, Oystermouth itsef is not named after the oyster trade that briefly flourished in that area, and once attracted Gladstone to sample its wares, but from the Welsh name for the area, Ystumllwynarth, which appears in early Medieval Welsh literature and derives from Ystum Lluarth, meaning a "place of entrenchment on a hill".
The White Rose pub on the corner opposite was once the favoured watering hole of the actor, Hywel Bennett, when he was in the area. Private Eye editor, Ian Hislop was born in the area, while Catherine Zeta Jones, Bonnie Tyler, Archbishop Rowan Williams, Rugby player Geoff Wheel, Dylan Thomas and Kingsley Amis all have associations with Mumbles.
The steps alongside the cottages are the beginnning of a path that can take you to the top of Mumbles hill, which is a nature reserve and once housed a battery dating back to 1844. You can also see the remains of second world war gun emplacements.
Labels: lochist
Friday, February 20, 2026
Are Starmer's defence spending promises enough?
The paper says that an open letter to the prime minister, signed by three ex-defence secretaries, retired senior military chiefs, and former MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove, argues that the UK faces a “1936 moment”, with global conflict likely amid rising tensions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
The letter, published in The Telegraph, calls for defence spending to reach 5 per cent of GDP.
This contrasts with Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to increase it to 2.5 per cent next year and 3 per cent after the next election.
“Our actions fall dangerously short of matching this rhetoric and of meeting our treaty obligations,” the letter reads.
“We are deluding ourselves if we believe Russia and our other adversaries are unaware of this.”
The letter says the UK is ‘deluded’ to think that adversaries aren’t aware of defence budget shortfalls
The government has yet to publish its delayed defence investment plan (DIP), setting out how it will meet its commitments.
The prime minister’s spokesperson insisted on Monday that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was working “flat-out” to deliver the plan “as soon as possible”.
The open letter urged Sir Keir to “commit now to a bold, credible and measurable path to spending 5 per cent of GDP on core defence, providing the certainty our Armed Forces, industry, and our long-standing allies need to deter aggression and secure Britain’s future”.
“You must recognise that we are facing our 1936 moment: global conflict is highly likely if we don’t invest in deterrence now.”
In January, Downing Street refused to deny reports that the MoD faces a shortfall of up to £28bn amid suggestions that a budget black hole had prompted Sir Keir to order an overhaul of the investment plan.
“Recent reports highlight that your Government appears in denial over a stark reality: The Ministry of Defence faces a £28 billion shortfall over the coming years simply to make Britain’s Armed Forces ‘war-ready,’” the letter read.
“This gap—equivalent to nearly half the MoD’s annual budget—threatens to leave our forces under-equipped and overstretched at a time when readiness, already a weakness, is paramount.”
None of this explains where the money is going to come from to meet even Starmer's promises, never mind the sort of expenditure demanded by this letter. Let's hope that the next budget event starts to explain how these objectives will be met.
Thursday, February 19, 2026
U-turn or incompetence? Labour get it wrong again
The paper says that being forced to abandon plans to delay local elections in England with fewer than three months’ notice is not just another policy U-turn by the government, it brings to a head issues of aptitude and judgment:
The rationale seemed sound: avoid electing councillors to bodies that would be abolished under Labour’s reorganisation of local government. The political problem was that 21 of the 30 councils were Labour-led. That created a perception – fair or not – of democratic manipulation.
The elections should have gone ahead. The Electoral Commission last December warned of “unprecedented” uncertainty around them. The commission was clear: “Scheduled elections should as a rule go ahead as planned, and only be postponed in exceptional circumstances.” Changing course late in the day puts their smooth running at risk and piles pressure on staff. In defending their decision last month before retreating on Monday, ministers look unprepared and out of their depth. Even worse, Labour reverse-ferreted after a legal challenge from Nigel Farage. He has taken to the airwaves to crow.
Sir Keir Starmer has U-turned so often that even his own side is starting to doubt his authority. Labour’s plans to postpone elections were made to look like a stitch-up to keep it in control of councils. Whether justified or not, such a perception was fertile ground for Reform. The opposition that really ought to worry the prime minister is in his party’s ranks. Labour MPs fear a damaging narrative taking hold. This is a well-founded concern. One sober thinktank said ministers were playing “fast and loose” with democracy.
Councillors will worry not only that they face elections they thought were postponed, but that they now look evasive. In Labour’s defence, it could be said that the original policy – simplifying two-tier councils with districts and counties into unitary authorities – was a necessary administrative reform. But delaying elections before pushing through the shake up was politically naive. Experts had urged caution, and the Institute for Government warned last year that if polls were delayed, some councillors would end up serving six-year terms.
So many u-turns does nothing for the Prime Minister's credibility, while being forced to pay Reform's legal costs is humiliating. If they had thought this through in the first place then this could have been avoided. However, Labour's instincts in government have always been authoritarian, and cancelling elections for administrative convenience fits nicely into that world view,
