Wales (Cymru)

The Welsh first minister, Vaughan Gething, has expressed regret over the donations scandal that has beset his first weeks in office but rejected a fresh allegation that he may have committed perjury in statements made to the UK Covid inquiry concerning deleted messages.

In an interview with the Guardian, Gething said it was important not to “get lost” in controversy that drew attention away from the business of running Wales and winning the general election. He vowed to show “resilience” in the face of attacks on him.

Seven weeks into his leadership, Gething continues to face criticism for taking £200,000 from a company whose owner was convicted of environmental crimes, with Labour insiders warning the scandal is critically undermining his authority.

The Senedd will have more politicians and a new voting system from 2026, after the plans cleared their final hurdle in the Welsh Parliament on Wednesday evening.

Senedd members (MSs) voted to increase their numbers from 60 to 96, from the next election to Cardiff Bay.

Welsh government top lawyer Mick Antoniw said it was a chance to "strengthen the very foundations of our parliamentary democracy".

But the legislation was opposed by the Welsh Conservatives - Darren Millar said it was “deeply flawed” and would “only serve to undermine our democracy”.

On Tuesday morning, Nation.Cymru revealed a major scoop which, if true, shows that Vaughan Gething misled the Covid-19 Inquiry when he gave evidence to it. A leaked iMessage emerged in which Gething states, “I’m deleting the messages in this group. They can be captured in an FOI [Freedom of Information request] and I think we are all in the right place on the choice being made.”

During the Covid-19 Inquiry hearings in Cardiff in March, its lead counsel Tom Poole KC quoted an email sent to the private secretaries of all Welsh Government ministers in April 2021, stating the need for good record-keeping. Gething said in his response, “so I understood that we’d kept and maintained all the information that we should do, and it would be made available to this inquiry.”

Some of the most exciting artists from across the planet join Wales’ finest – including Cate Le Bon and Lleuwen – in the just-announced line-up for this year’s Llais Music Festival.

Llais is one of the world’s most unique festivals dedicated to the instrument that we all share – the voice. All those craving connection and a joyful, enriching experience this autumn are invited into the halls and spaces of Wales Millennium Centre to escape into Cate Le Bon’s crackling musical brain, transcend earthly bounds with Ganavya’s South Asian incantations, or get lost in hypnotic desert grooves of Somali icon Sahra Halgan.

From the a cappella harmonies of Sweet Honey in the Rock and the microtonal majesty of Le Mystere des voix Bulgares to a quarrymen’s choir accompanied by instruments fashioned from slate and oak… it can only be Llais.

Members of the Senedd will vote on plans for more politicians and a new voting system following a final debate on reform legislation later today.

All political parties will take part in the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill vote which if passed will see the number of MSs increased from 60 to 96 by the next Senedd election in 2026.

The Senedd reform package was agreed between the Welsh Labour Government and Plaid Cymru.

Supporters of the major overhaul say the extra politicians are needed in order for the Welsh Parliament to function effectively.

It would not be right for Labour to take leftover donations to Vaughan Gething from a company owned by a man convicted of illegally dumping waste, a member of his cabinet has said.

Mick Antoniw said if it was up to him he would not want the party to accept any unspent cash from Dauson Environmental Group (DEG).

The counsel general, who is the Welsh government’s most senior legal adviser, said any money could be given to charity instead.

The Electoral Commission has said any extra cash would go to the UK Labour Party.

The UK Government is being urged to pay towards making hundreds of tips and former coal tips safe – as nearby communities say they are “living in fear” of landslips.

Recent data (November 2023) reveals there are 350 unsafe coal tips across 14 Welsh local authorities areas, an increase of over 50 since 2021 due to the rapidly changing climate.

The information was collected by the Coal Tips Safety Taskforce, established after a landslip at a disused coal tip in Tylorstown, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in February 2020.

Plaid Cymru’s Delyth Jewell has said that coal tips are the legacy of the country’s industrial history which predates devolution, and causes anxiety for nearby communities.

In a motion to be debated in the Senedd today (Wednesday 8 May 2024), Plaid Cymru has called upon the Labour Welsh Government to introduce legislation to effectively monitor tips, ensure preventative work to avert danger and remedial work to reduce existing risks.

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader has called for the UK Government to introduce a Ukraine-style visa scheme to help displaced people in Gaza to join family in the UK.

Liz Saville Roberts raised the plight of one of her constituents, who wants the introduction of the scheme to allow her Palestinian family to escape the conflict in Gaza and come to safety in the UK.

Emily Fares, from Llwyngwril in Gwynedd, has multiple family members trapped in Gaza, half of whom have now fled Rafah.

Ms Fares told her MP that the family have left for Al Mawasi, but that “there is no building there for them to stay”, “no food provisions”, “nowhere to go to the toilet, nowhere to wash”, adding that they are “utterly destitute”.

A senior Labour source has confirmed to Nation.Cymru that messages deleted by Vaughan Gething related “100%” to the handling of the Covid outbreak by the Welsh Government.

The First Minister has been accused of misleading the UK Covid Inquiry by concealing the fact that he deliberately deleted records of conversations with other ministers.

Nation.Cymru exclusively revealed how four years ago, when ministers were making crucial decisions about the management of the outbreak, Mr Gething told ministerial colleagues he was deleting messages on a group chat.

During First Minister’s Questions, the then Health Minister admitted in response to both Welsh Conservative Senedd group leader Andrew RT Davies and Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth that on August 17 2020 he sent a message to fellow ministers that said: “I’m deleting the messages in this group. They can be captured in an FOI [freedom of information disclosure request] and I think we are all in the right place on the choice being made.”

The emergency departments at a number of Welsh hospitals are under "extreme pressure" as they warn that patients can expect to wait a "considerable time" if it is not an emergency. The warning has been issued by Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB that covers the Rhondda Cynon Taf, Bridgend and Merthyr Tydfil areas.

The health board has issued a statement that said: "The most seriously injured and ill patients are prioritised. This means that, even if you are there before someone else, if you have a less serious condition, you will face an extended wait."

The hospitals in affected include the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil and the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend. The health board is urging people to consider alternative treatment options before the emergency department.

Evidence has emerged that Vaughan Gething misled the UK Covid Inquiry and the Senedd by concealing the fact that he deliberately deleted records of conversations he had with other ministers.

As a witness to the Inquiry, the First Minister insisted that messages had been deleted from his mobile phone not by him, but when it was serviced by the Senedd’s IT department.

But a previously undisclosed message that has been leaked to Nation.Cymru proves that he admitted deleting conversations he had with ministerial colleagues on a group chat.

In a text message posted to the ministerial group chat on Monday August 17 2020, when he was Health Minister, Mr Gething wrote: “I’m deleting the messages in this group. They can be captured in an FOI [Freedom of Information request] and I think we are all in the right place on the choice being made.”

Wales will solve its social, economic and housing crises through remembering our common worth.

If we want to heal our nation, give individuals the chance to thrive, to build a Wales which attracts ambitious people, from across the world, then we need to treat people and communities with the knowledge that they have the answers to their particular challenges, to understand that it is not the place of centralised government – be that in Westminster or Cardiff – to manage a problem.

One of the connecting features of both Conservative and Labour governments is a need to control and dictate how our communities operate. The answer to overcoming these errors in political ideology comes from society re-finding its solidarity.

High profile artists including Luke Evans, Katherine Jenkins and Michael Sheen have signed a letter calling for emergency cross-border funding for the Welsh National Opera (WNO).

The orchestra and chorus are under threat of being made part-time following funding cuts, which supporters said would be devastating for the nation.

175 high profile figures from the arts and entertainment sectors – including Sir Simon Rattle, Ruth Jones and Catrin Finch – have criticised what they describe as the “dismantling” of Welsh National Opera.

Monday 6 May marks 25 years since the first election to Cardiff Bay and the start of Welsh devolution.

It followed a referendum two years earlier where a narrow majority of voters backed setting up the then National Assembly, now renamed as the Senedd, with some powers transferred from Westminster to Wales.

What impression has devolution had on people in Amman Valley, Carmarthenshire, about 50 miles from the heart of Welsh politics?

"We're situated at the edge of two counties and it feels like we get the last of the share," according to Steve Holloway, 47, captain of Brynamman rugby club's darts team.

A site in Gwynedd has been ruled out of a plan for new nuclear power stations.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in 2022 that the UK government was "looking to build" a small nuclear reactor (SMR) at Trawsfynydd.

But a UK government organisation set up to co-ordinate the industry believes the site does not have enough space for its first phase of work.

Great British Nuclear (GBN) said Trawsfynydd, which had an operating nuclear power plant until 1991 "might not be able to deploy quite as quickly as some other potential sites".

March saw the highest rate of the potentially “dangerous” disease called whooping cough in a decade, Public Health Wales warned. Statistics revealed there were more cases in Wales in one week of March 2024 than the whole of 2021 and 2022 combined. Pregnant women and those with young children are being urged to get a vaccine as the disease, also known as the 100-day cough, continues to spread in the community.

Public Health Wales figures show there were 55 reported cases of whooping cough in 2021, 55 in 2022, and 199 in 2023. But in the four weeks from 4 March there were 315 cases. This included 122 cases in a single week, starting 11 March – more than 2021 and 2022 combined. And the actual numbers are likely far higher, as many cases go unreported.

Welsh and UK Labour have refused to answer vital questions about the £200,000 donation that First Minister Vaughan Gething accepted from a man convicted of environmental offences. The row over the donation has overshadowed the first few months of Mr Gething's leadership.

During his campaign to become leader against Jeremy Miles he took £200,000 from a company called Dauson Environmental Group - whose owner David Neal was given a suspended prison sentence in 2013 for illegally dumping waste on a conservation site. Mr Gething repeatedly lobbied for that company and on the same day they made the donation to him they also put in an application to build a solar farm which will require Welsh Government approval.

Just 11 months before the donation was made, Dauson was given a £400,000 loan by the Welsh Government-owned Development Bank of Wales. Mr Gething was the economy minister at the time the loan was granted. Any money left over from Mr Gething's campaign will be donated to the Labour Party.

Farmers leaders have welcomed the announcement of plans for a Ministerial Roundtable to consider changes to the Welsh Government’s controversial Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).

Thousands of Welsh farmers turned out to protest against the SFS, the government’s proposed scheme to replace the EU’s common agricultural policy, earlier this year.

The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca Davies announced the launch of the roundtable in a written statement on Friday.

In it he said: “We have had a seven-year conversation to design a future farming support scheme that works for Wales.

60 Ft Dolls drummer Carl Bevan is to sell off items donated by Cerys Matthews, Manic Street Preachers, Skindred and more to raise money for charity.

The 60 Ft Dolls were a key part of the Welsh music scene during the Cool Cymru era – a time when the band’s hometown, Newport, was dubbed “the new Seattle” by the New York Times in the 1990s.

Carl, now a renowned landscape artist, with exhibitions selling out within minutes of opening, has organised – The Great Welsh Art / Rock and Roll Auction to honour the memory of his friend and mentor, sculptor Dominic Gubb who tragically passed away during their 2022 exhibition together at the age of 54.

The auction will see proceeds raised shared between the fund set up in his memory at Afon Taf high school, in Merthyr, where he taught for 30 years, and Llamau, a leading homelessness charity supporting young people and women.

A woman who had to travel from Wales to England for an abortion says it made her experience more traumatic.

Katie, 35 and from Cardiff, was thrilled to be pregnant with her first child, but a routine scan found a significant abnormality meaning her baby could not survive.

An abortion locally would have involved giving birth in a labour ward full of mothers and newborn babies, and Katie had to travel over the border for a surgical procedure.

In Wales, most health boards refer women needing surgical abortions after 18 weeks for treatment in England.

The Church in Wales is taking a further step towards changing its rules so same-sex weddings can take place in its churches.

Since 2021 it’s been possible for gay couples who have exchanged wedding vows in a civil ceremony to have their new status blessed in a church service. But so far the necessary constitutional move has not been made to permit weddings themselves.

According to the Church in Wales’ own rules, all three of its sections – clergy, bishops and lay members – must approve such a change, each by a two-thirds majority.

But while senior figures are confident that the clergy and bishops would approve the change, they have not been sure of the lay section, a significant number of whom maintain the conservative view that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

Now a national service is being organised at Llandaff Cathedral to commemorate people who have suffered exclusion from Christian communities because of their sexuality or gender identity.

The National Theatre has released a short film starring Michael Sheen and other high profile actors to celebrate the release of the 100th NT Live performance.

The milestone was achieved earlier this week with the broadcast of the much-loved London venue’s production of Nye starring Michael Sheen.

As many of us work towards independence, we need a vision of what a free Wales might be like. A broad agreement on the fundamental aspects of our national identity and goals, which can be shared across the political spectrum. This would form a foundation of shared values that can exist above the cut and thrust of everyday politics and exclusionary practices. And it must include the Welsh language.

I feel there must be a commitment to making Wales a fully bilingual nation. The Welsh language is at the core of our history and identity. Without Y Gymraeg, who are we? On that basis, how do we ensure the revival of Welsh as a truly community language? That means a language used in every aspect of life: in the home, the workplace, and social settings. We will need to have policies that address every aspect of the use of our language.

The Deputy President of NFU Cymru has rubbished claims by a leading environmentalist that livestock farming in Wales is doomed.

Gareth Clubb is the director of WWF Cymru, but he stresses that an article published on his blog is a personal view that has not been endorsed by his employer. In it, he argues that changes in eating habits will lead to the demise of the Welsh livestock industry within a few years.

He referred specifically to protein molecules produced by precision fermentation – a technique that allows alternatives to meat to be created by tissue from live animals.

But Abi Reader of the NFU, a third generation farmer herself who farms near Cardiff, said: “Gareth’s comments have not been received well at all by our members. I think it just goes to show how out of touch he is with the situation on the ground, and with reality in terms of how people in this world feed themselves. It’s not news that anyone wants to be hearing at the moment.”

Talks over the future of steelmaking in south Wales have broken down as unions have refused to agree to Tata Steel's restructuring plans.

Unions said the company had disregarded the impact of the changes on workers, their families and communities.

Both blast furnaces in Port Talbot are expected to close this year with 2,800 jobs lost across the UK as a result, and all those employed at the blast furnaces leaving their roles by the end of the year.

A Tata Steel spokesperson said it has put forward an extensive offer that includes an enhanced employee support package and a generous proposal for a skills and retraining scheme.