His hard-hitting critique of the Welsh Governments record also includes criticism of the traditional opposition parties that he describes as “can be bought off with an odd bit of pork barrel”. Turning his attention to the Labour cabinet, he states: There is no clear articulation of what the Welsh Government is trying to achieve”, in no small part to the lack of leadership from First Minister, Bridgend AM, Carwyn Jones, who he argues has not demonstrated a consistent drive to get a grip of the machinery of Government or set a coherent framework for the diffuse agendas of his ministers.

Mr Waters argues that the politics of Westminster make it politically impossible for Plaid Cymru to form a coalition with the parties in power in Whitehall.
He claims Plaid leader Leanne Woods decision to put the case for independence at the front and centre of her partys platform makes the chances of another One Wales coalition with Labour seem remote.

Arguing that the lack of a threatening opposition takes the pressure off a first minister who appears to be coasting, he writes: The cumulative impact is to give Carwyn Jones breathing space…. Even though he does not have an overall majority of AMs at his command, the First Minister isnt worried about being defeated.

To date Labour has been able to pick off opposition parties to agree ad hoc deals to get its annual budget through… In exchange for the odd bit of pork barrel they seem content to let him carry on. If politics is about gaining and exercising power, they clearly have not read the memo.

This last point needs to be our clarion call!

The License holders [3] are proposing two main processes for extracting gas; Coal-bed Methane[4], which involves drilling down to, de-watering and often hydraulically fracturing[5] the coal seam and Underground Coal Gasification[6], whereby coal seams are set-alight underground in an effort to produce and collect synthetic gas which can be burnt at the surface.
Both technologies have attracted controversy in the US and Australia where the industry has been associated with water contamination[7] and environmental degradation[8].
Communities across South Wales are organising in response to the threat posed by these new technologies. Throughout July the Frack Free Wales coalition [9], in conjunction with Swansea-based campaign group Safe Energy Wales[10], will be holding a series of public meetings in threatened areas[11].
Lyn Blythe, campaigner with Frack Free Wales said,
‘The scale of what is being proposed in South Wales is astounding. For coal-bed methane extraction to be viable, thousands of wells will need to be drilled. What is seems like a few innocuous exploration wells in the Bridgend and Swansea area is the beginning of a process that will completely industrialise the South Wales countryside.’
She continued,
‘We are particularly concerned about underground coal gasification. The whole of Swansea Bay and the Loughor Estuary have been sold off. The Gower Peninsula is one of the most beautiful places in the world, communities treasure these bodies of water and are not going to sit back and let some gas company set fire to the coal under either.’

[1] UK map of licenses
http://frack-off.org.uk/extreme-energy-fullscreen/
[2] DECC onshore licenses: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/63948/licensed-blocks-on.zip
Underground Coal Licenses: http://coal.decc.gov.uk/en/coal/news/categories/Licensing/Licensing.aspx
[3] Dart Energy, UK Methane, Coastal Oil and Gas, Eden Energy, Cluff Natural Resources, Clean Coal Ltd
[4] Coal Bed Methane: The Evil Twin of Shale Gas
Frack-off.org.UK/coal-bed-methane-the-evil-twin-of-shale-gas
[5] What is Fracking?
http://frack-off.org.uk/faq/what-is-fracking/
[6] Underground Coal Gasification: Hellfire and Damnation
Frack-off.org.UK/underground-coal-gasification-hellfire-and-damnation
[7] Carcinogens found in CBM project
News.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/carcinogens-found-in-csg-project-20110828-1jg77.HTML
[8] UCG pilot project groundwater contamination
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/coal-gas-company-banned-in-queensland-for-contaminating-groundwater/story-e6frg9df-1226090511694
[9] www.frackfreewales.org
[10] https://www.facebook.com/FrackedSwansea

TOUR DATES:

Wales Green Party has announced that Andy Chyba will be their lead candidate to contest the European Elections to elect Wales’ MEPs in 2014.

Andy Chyba was previously a secondary school teacher for twenty years before moving into the lifelong learning sector. Chair of the thriving Bridgend Green Party and a passionate campaigner for social justice, Andy is committed to working alongside colleagues in Europe to reform the system from within. Speaking about the issue he said:

“Given the short-sighted and unnecessary policies of the current coalition which make the poor and disadvantaged pay off the debts of the rich; and given the complete abandonment of working people and treacherous endorsement of austerity by Labour; it is more vital than ever that the people of Wales have representation that actually shares their traditional values of equality, community and caring for the land of our fathers.

Wales has done well out of UK membership of the EU, receiving ￡2billion for regeneration schemes between 2007 and 2013; directly helping close to 30,000 businesses and 10% of the population – money that would not have been coming from any other source. Continued membership is vital to protect us from the excesses of the three major parties.

The issues that face all of us today, whether they be financial reform or the environmental protection have a far greater international dimension – retreating into jingoism is the not the solution. A vote for me is a commitment to say YES to a referendum on EU membership, YES to remaining within the EU and YES to EU reform”

Andy has been a prominent anti-fracking campaigner representing Vale Says NO! And a co-founder of the Anti-Fracking Network. Given the current government’s reckless pursuit of fracking, Andy is keen to take the issue on at a European level.

You can contact Andy at VoteGreenEU2014 or keep up to date at http://votegreeneu2014.wordpress.com

Our good friend, Frances Jenkins, founder of Frack-Free Wales, eloquently discusses the successes and frustrations of fractivists here in South Wales.

http://frackfreewales.wordpress.com/

– Immigration: some 31 per cent of the population is thought to consist of recent immigrants, when the figure is actually 13 per cent. Even including illegal immigrants, the figure is only about 15 per cent. On the issue of ethnicity, black and Asian people are thought to make up 30 per cent of the population, when the figure is closer to 11 per cent.

– Crime: some 58 per cent of people do not believe crime is falling, when the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that incidents of crime were 19 per cent lower in 2012 than in 2006/07 and 53 per cent lower than in 1995. Some 51 per cent think violent crime is rising, when it has fallen from almost 2.5 million incidents in 2006/07 to under 2 million in 2012.

– Teen pregnancy is thought to be 25 times higher than the official estimates: 15 per cent of of girls under 16 are thought to become pregnant every year, when official figures say the amount is closer to 0.6 per cent.

Among the other surprising figures are that 26 per cent of people think foreign aid is in the top three items the Government spends money on (it actually makes up just 1.1 per cent of expenditure), and that 29 per cent of people think more is spent on Jobseekers’ Allowance than pensions.

In fact we spend 15 times more on pensions – £4.9 billion on JSA vs £74.2 billion on pensions.

More here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/british-public-wrong-about-nearly-everything-survey-shows-8697821.html

AND the survey didn’t even mention the biggest misconception of all – that things will eventually change for the better if we keep returning the big 3 parties to power!

The penny has got to drop sooner or later!

http://votegreeneu2014.wordpress.com/

Thanks,

Andy

The Con-Dems are desperate to take Welfare and Employment rights back to Victorian time – now Gove makes explicit his desire to do the same to Education.

http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2013/07/church-to-take-over-thousands-of-community-schools#.UdcXCDvp5Jk.twitter

Extract:

The Church of England has struck a deal with the Government that will allow it to take control of thousands of non-religious community schools.

Despite reassurances that the character of community schools will remain intact, with no change in religious education, admissions policies or employment terms for teachers, the National Secular Society has expressed grave doubts that this promise will be kept over the long-term.

Executive Director of the National Secular Society, Keith Porteous Wood, said that the move would inevitably lead to a further religionisation of the school system.

Speaking to The Times newspaper, Mr Porteous Wood said: “This will surreptitiously bring the education system under religious control. It will lead to the further alienation of school children who are from non-religious or religiously unconcerned families. Despite now being the majority, they are becoming increasingly disadvantaged in admissions and by the growing religionisation of publicly-funded schools.”

Mr Wood said: “Once schools have been taken over by religious interests, it will be almost impossible to ever bring them back under community control.”

Bishops will have the power to appoint governors at the schools.

At a seminar in Lambeth Palace, Education Secretary Michael Gove once more sang the praises of Church schools, ignoring the unjust admissions criteria and discriminatory employment practices in appointing teachers.

He said: “We would not have so many great state schools in this country without the Church of England. I know the Church does a wonderful job helping to raise educational standards and in providing a safe and loving environment for hundreds of thousands of children.

“However, there is much more we can do together. I want the Church to recover the spirit which infused its educational mission in Victorian times and support more new schools especially academies and free schools to bring educational excellence to the nation’s poorest children.”

Coming next: workhouses and gallows?

https://bridgendgreens.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/milliband-betrays-his-own-father-as-well-as-every-socialist-leaning-labour-supporter-green-left-is-the-home-of-modern-socialism/

https://bridgendgreens.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/are-you-listening-wales-vote-labour-get-tories/

https://bridgendgreens.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/workfare-why-did-so-many-labour-mps-accept-this-brutal-unforgivable-attack-on-vulnerable-people-and-when-will-the-few-remaining-socialists-in-their-ranks-finally-say-enough-is-enough-and-join-us/

https://bridgendgreens.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/council-tax-levy-in-wales-labour-proposing-to-penalise-the-most-vulnerable/

https://bridgendgreens.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/the-green-party-stance-on-the-cuts-to-public-services/

But now the Bridgend CBC have outdone themselves!

In imposing the cuts agenda on behalf of the Con-Dem government they have found a cut that I actually approve of in stripping six senior council officers of their luxury cars.

Well done! But wait, they are obviously feeling guilty for such an imposition on well-paid executives and have decided to ease the pain for them with a compensation package that is going to cost us council tax payers in Bridgend County £107,000 (an average of nearly £18,000 to each of these destitute souls).

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/council-bosses-stripped-luxury-lease-4867581

At present, 11 officers are entitled to a lease car under the scheme but only six do so, at a cost to the authority of £48,000 a year. One entitled officer is due to retire at the end of August and is exempt from the compensation.

The changes will take effect from August 31 and are expected to save BCBC a net saving of £43,000 a year from 2014 onwards.

Councillor Sean Aspey, ward member for Porthcawl West Central, said: The removal of lease cars is not before time. Whoever devised that policy in the first place was looking after themselves and nobody else.

In the long-term it will save the council money but how this came into being in the first place raises some serious questions about whether the council is working for the community or for themselves.

Indeed!!

Andy Chyba

Thursday 11th July – BRUNEL ARMS – PONTYCLUN (next to the station) – 7.00pm

This get together may well become the launchpad for a local Peoples’ Assembly Against Austerity for the Bridgend / RCT area – feeding into Cardiff as a regional centre.

Please support if you can.

Andy Chyba

PS – If you cannot make it but would stuill like to see the film, let me know and I can lend you the DVD