Wales
The Western Mail reverts to an old old type…
The Western Mail, Wales’s National Newspaper, has lost the plot. A front page editorial states: AN EXTRAORDINARY recommendation has been made by eight AMs that would see up to £400,000-a-year spent on translating the written record of every meeting held at the National Assembly into Welsh. We say that at a time when budgets are [...] more »
The red tide returns – Labour win big in Wales.
Labour won 10 of the 21 councils contested in Wales (there are a few issues on Anglesey delaying elections there until next year). Here’s the detail from the BBC. Labour gained 231 seats to get to 576. All other major parties lost. Plaid lost 41 to fall to 158 seats, Tories fell 61 to 105 [...] more »
UK lacks a ‘broader, stabilising and federalising political project’ (or any defence against Scots Independence)…
Great piece from Lallands Peat Worrier (H/T Phil!) who looks at the dilatory effects of the devolution project on the United Kingdom. And he starts with Salmond’s concept of ‘social union’, or ‘killing the union with kindness’: To move from Union to independence is not, on this theory, the foregoing of ties with England, Wales [...] more »
“Pa bryd y cawn fyned i Seion” – the forgotten history of Welsh Mormonism
It’s a fairly remarkable fact that the place outside these islands with the largest percentage population of Welsh descent isn’t Scranton (from the Western Mail), Gaiman (From the Argentina Independent), or the Welsh Tract of Pennsylvania (from Wiki). The winner is Malad City in Idaho. The link is to this year’s Malad Valley Welsh Festival. Here’s Malad City’s Wiki with an [...] more »
The Biggest Issues – what happens when talk radio goes awry?
One day I’ll have time to listen to the Afternoon Play Afternoon Drama live on Radio 4 while sitting on a comfy chair with a hot cup of tea in my hand. Until the mortgage is paid off, I have to settle for dipping in and out every week or two. Last Tuesday’s play – [...] more »
Johnston Press plan for survival: Social, Local, Mobile
The man who launched the BBC iPlayer on-demand service, who then jumped ship into Project Kangaroo before bouncing into Microsoft as a VP for UK Consumer and Online landed as the CEO of Johnston Press on 1 November 2011. Yesterday Ashley Highfield announced his plans to improve the viability of Johnston Press’ stable of 18 [...] more »
The Imperfectionists (Tom Rachman) – an insight into a newspaper that’s maybe not so fictional
‘news’ is often a polite way of saying ‘editor’s whim’ Given the shift from print to online and e-ink, maybe Tom Rachman’s The Imperfectionists was a suitable first first book for me to finish reading on the Kindle. Considering the economic pressures on the newspaper industry, his novel perhaps captures the spirit and soul of [...] more »
John Bercow: What should a 21st century Parliament look like?
The Speaker of the House of Commons was omni-present on the last day of the Political Studies Association conference. After a morning session with NICVA, a post lunchtime session on engagement and impact, he wrapped up the conference by delivering the closing lecture. School children studying politics packed the room, more than making up for [...] more »
McGuinness: “open to using new language, and consider making new compromises”
The deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness spoke last night before the Political Studies Association conference dinner in the plush surroundings of Belfast City Hall. He initially covered the mandatory tourism information, quoting travel guides that say “Belfast is a must see city in 2012” and adding that “Derry city – or as some people call [...] more »
#PSA12 Conference preview and liveblog (Wednesday)
Day two in the Big Brother house Europa Hotel, and the Political Studies Association conference has another full day planned. Throughout the conference, a liveblog will capture tweets (hashtag #psa12) and photos and links to what’s happening. (You can also catch a quick round up of some of yesterday’s events in a previous post.) Prof [...] more »
Round up of Tuesday’s Political Studies Association conference
If you want to get a flavour of the proceedings at the Political Studies Association conference on its opening day, then the Storify collation below will bring you some of the images, tweets and sounds of the day. Particular highlights included: the Opening Plenary with David Blunkett, Peter Riddell and Matthew Flinders; and the late [...] more »
Media, politics and influence in the 19th and 21st centuries
It’s hard to talk about politics without the media encroaching on the conversation. In an after lunch session entitled Media, politics and influence three speakers presented papers that looked at a range of topics. Carole O’Reilly is a historian at University of Salford and talked about the influence (and funding) from municipal councillors that created [...] more »
In Defence of Politics, Politicians and Political Science: Blunkett, Riddell and Flinders
The PSA conference started this morning with an opening plenary involving three big hitters – one each from the world of politics, media and academia: In Defence of Politics, Politicians and Political Science. Each speaker’s 10 minute remarks are worth a listen. listen to ‘David Blunkett’s opening remarks at Political Studies Conterence opening plenary’ on [...] more »
#PSA12 Conference liveblog (Tuesday)
The Europa Hotel lobby was busy yesterday with Irish World Dancing Championship participants rubbing shoulders [Ed - and ringlets] and Political Studies Association conference delegates. The former had ringlets, the latter carried conference guides! Prof Paul Carmichael from the University of Ulster is co-convening the conference. listen to ‘In Defence of Politics’ on Audioboo Throughout [...] more »
Six Nations – yet another boring Welsh Grand Slam?
Ok - I have people staying over for the weekend so forgive me for a post on Thursday. Sam’s back for Wales.. (from the Independent) Whatever. - that’s from Le Monde with the Google Translate here. I don’t think Rougerie is a centre. How many points are Ireland going to beat these idiots by? Foden want’s [...] more »
Plaid’s new leader – a Rhondda woman.
This is a big deal. Leanne Wood is the new Plaid Cymru leader. (From the BBC). A pretty convincing victory: First preferences: Leanne 2,879 Elin Jones 1,884 Dafydd El 1,278 Leanne almost won on the first vote and after transfers won a convincing victory. A few things: 1) The first non first Welsh language leader [...] more »
“I believe that schools are best placed to make decisions in light of what they believe is in the best interests of their pupils.”
So sayeth the Northern Ireland Education Minister, Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd. He’s not, however, speaking about academic selection… Following a 12-week public consultation on GCSE reform, which ended on 30 December 2011, the NI Education Minister has decided to give no direction on whether schools should use unitised or linear GCSEs. [Let the market decide! - Ed] Indeed. From [...] more »
Six Nations – Another boring weekend.
OK – in the prediction contest we have two joint leaders, Johnny Boy and Reader. Neither have gone for Tommy Bowe as top try scorer so it’s still very open. Today it’s Wales v Italy and Ireland v Scotland. Tomorrow England travel to Paris. In the Western Mail Michael Owen hails the best Welsh team [...] more »
“I am delighted to hear that the people of Northern Ireland are the happiest in the United Kingdom”
Some good news! [Peter Robinson will be pleased - Ed] Possibly… According to the Office of National Statistics’ analysis of experimental subjective well-being data from the Annual Population Survey, April to September 2011, the people of Northern Ireland are the happiest in the United Kingdom. In fact the, admittedly subjective, data reveals that the people [...] more »
#CATJRF: Summary of week one conversations…
I suppose Community Asset Transfer is not the sexiest subject in the world around which to convene a conversation, or more accurately a series of small conversations. It’s true also that what I personally knew about asset transfer (community or otherwise) before the last few weeks you could have written on the back of the [...] more »
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Total Politics: Top 20 NI Blogs…
Fair play to Iain, he managed to get over 2,200 people voting in his poll for the top Northern Irish blogs this year… We (just, I imagine) retained our top spot, with Splintered coming straight in at number 2, no doubt his pet subject du jour will have garnered him a lot of fans… I’ve [...] read our review »
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Debating the Churches’ Role in the Peace in Northern Ireland
This morning’s Sunday Sequence featured a substantial debate (about 35 minutes into the recorded programme) on a new book,Religion, Civil Society and Peace in Northern Ireland (Oxford University Press 2011), written by sociologists John Brewer, Gareth Higgins and Francis Teeney. The debate was framed in an opening vignette by presenter William Crawley in uncompromising terms, [...] read our review » -
“It was a trivial problem that… occurs every year”
Just your average family gathering at Christmas, with a bit of an argument about the seating cleaning arrangements… Scuffles have broken out between rival groups of Greek Orthodox and Armenian clerics over a turf war in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity. Bemused tourists looked on as about 100 priests fought with brooms while cleaning the [...] read our review »
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