My eldest son did very well at Brynteg School and is now at Cardiff University. My younger son has also done well there and is currently in the Sixth Form.

Like most schools, it has its strengths and weaknesses, but has an impressive list of names in its Alumni List, especially rugby stars, that include:

• JPR Williams
• Gerald Williams
• Mike Hall
• Neil Boobyer
• Rob Howley
• Gavin Henson
• Phil Price
• Rhys Webb

In fact, it has been described as “the greatest rugby player factory Wales has ever known”

Also on the Alumni list are a couple of prominent politicians – but their legacies are unlikely to be seen as anywhere near as glorious!

Most in Bridgend will know of Carwyn Jones – Bridgend AM and First Minister. Sounds impressive, but as time goes by his leadership of Wales, or rather his lack of it, is becoming the stuff of infamy rather than fame. He is now widely characterised as having just one standard response to any issue:

“Blame London for Everything” 

This has certainly been his response whenever we attempt to engage him in the fracking debate, and seems to be what he expects all Welsh Labour politicians – especially in Bridgend – to do whenever possible. Our attempts to engage local Labour councillors in the fight against the Bedroom Tax meets a similar response. They seem to think that letting people suffer at the hands of the callous Tory Bedroom Tax can only be good for them when it comes to election time. But such cynical callousness underlines just how much Labour are now little more than Red Tories.

Until recently, you may not of heard of the other political heavyweight from Brynteg’s alumnus.

Maria Miller.

Born in Woverhampton, but brought up in Bridgend and educated at Brynteg, that education led her to join the Conservative Party at the age of 19 and on a journey as a career politician that has now been revealed to be of the very kind that repulses us all, and makes us despair for our democracy.

The truth of her criminal ripping off of the taxpayer is, perhaps open to some further debate and investigation, but here is a pretty generous viewpoint:

Some suspect the extent of her nose-in-the trough activities could be many times worse than this, and yet she still, as I write, has the full backing of conspirator-in-chief David Cameron.
Meanwhile, Caroline Lucas MP, goes on trial for a peaceful protest against ecocidal fracking. This is going viral on Facebook:

This makes us proud to be in the Green Party, if not so proud to be from Bridgend. Bridgend has, of course had little to do with true blue Tories like Miller since 1987, when its last Tory MP was voted out. The Bridgend electorate now has to decide how to deal with the Red Tories of Carwyn Jones’ Welsh Labour. We cannot keep relying on our rugby players to give us any sense of pride!

Andy Chyba