Welsh Political News

Mae Grwp Cynghorwyr Plaid Cymru yn Sir Gâr wedi creu gwefan ar gyfer yr etholiadau lleol fan hyn. The Plaid Cymru councillors group on Carmarthenshire council have created a new website for their election campaign, you can visit it here.

Mae Des Browne, y Gweinidog Amddiffyn, yn annog trafodaethau gyda’r Taliban. Mae’r strategaeth o drafod gyda therfysgwyr - yn gyfrinachol os nad yn agored - wedi bod yn rhan o draddodiad polisi Prydain ers dyddiau’r gwrthryfel gwaedlyd ym Malaysia yn y 50au. Ond methiant yn y diwedd fu’r cadoediad a’r trafodaethau gyda’r arweinwyr guerilla yno. [...]

Yn ystod yr wythnosau nesaf bydd cyfeiriadau a rhifau ffôn cartrefi Aelodau Seneddol o Gymru yn Llundain yn cael eu cyhoeddi am y tro cyntaf.  Mae hyn yn sgil cais o dan y Ddeddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth, mae’n debyg gan newyddiadurwr yn gweithio i’r cyfryngau yng Nghymru, yn enw tryloywed.  Ym mis pum mlwyddiant y penderfyniad [...]

Yr wythnos ddiwethaf cyhoeddodd y Blaid ‘gomisiwn ar degwch’.  Pwrpas comisiynau ydi datblygu polisiau manwl. Ond mae ganddyn nhw swyddogaeth bwysig arall, sef dangos yn glir pa werthoedd mae mudiad yn ei ystyried yn sylfaen i’w wleidyddiaeth.  Yn achos y Blaid mae’r syniad o degwch – o chware teg – wedi bod yn eithaf canolog [...]

With the money markets plunged into yet more turmoil and the future of capitalism hanging in the balance, is Gordon Brown beginning to question the wisdom of the light-touch (i.e. soft-touch), principles-based (yeah, right) system of financial regulation he ushered in with the Financial Services and Markets Act that created the FSA.  Today Northern Rock announced that a third [...]

With the money markets plunged into yet more turmoil and the future of capitalism hanging inthe balance, is Gordon Brown beginning to question the wisdom of the light-touch (i.e. soft-touch), principles-based (yeah, right) system of financial regulationhe ushered in with the Financial Services and Markets Act that created the FSA.  Today Northern Rock announced that a third of its [...]

Yn hwyrach eleni fe welwn y trydydd ymgais yn ein hanes i ddeddfu’n gynhwysfawr  ynglyn a’r iaith Gymraeg.  (Dwi ddim yn cyfrif Deddf Uno 1536 ymhlith y rhain, gafodd ei basio gan Senedd Lloegr heb fod yr un Aelod o Gymru yn bresennol).  Tri chynnig gafwyd hefyd yn Quebec cyn creu’r  Siarter Iaith Ffrangeg ym [...]

Duw a ŵyr pam, ond ‘roedd gwefan y BBC yn datgan wythnos diwethaf fod yna fwyafrif solet yn erbyn dwyshau datganoli er bod y ffigurau yn dangos mwyafrif fechan o blaid.   Pwy all ddyfalu pa resymeg sydd yna dros y ffaith bod y Gorfforaeth wedi dewis y cwmni Llundeinig ICM i gynnal eu harolwg er [...]

For a number of years now I’ve noticed how difficult it is for me to follow conversations in a noisy environment. Some times this has its advantages, at other time it’s very inconvenient.  I tend to sit out PMQs these days, partly because you never learn anything new and partly because I can’t hear a [...]

New Labour’s capitulation to the super-rich has been one of the most consistently exasperating features of policy-making for the last decade-and-a-bit.  Most of this happened when Gordon Brown was Chancellor and many of the principal beneficiaries, like Ronald Cohen of the hedge fund Apax, were both personal friends of his and big Labour donors.  Blair’s [...]

If free-market fundamentalists’ belief in the invulnerability of capitalism hasn’t already taken a bit of a battering of late then it seems another even darker cloud is on the near horizon. Type in ‘credit default swaps’ to Google news and you’ll soon see what  mean.  Swaps were invented in 1995 by someone at J.P. Morgan and somehow [...]

Llywodraeth y Cynulliad ydi’r unig un ym Mhrydain â chyfrifoldeb statudol i hyrwyddo datblygu cynaladwy.  Mae yn eironig felly bod ganddi gartref  ar lan un o’r datblygiadau mwyaf anghynalwadwy ac annemocrataidd y chwartef canrif diwethaf: Morglawdd Bae Caerdydd.  ‘Roedd fflatiau mwd aber yr afon Taf  yn edrych yn hyll i’r Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Nick Edwards.  Ond [...]

Yn etholiadau cyntaf Senedd Ewrop ym 1979, blwyddyn y Pla chwedl Gwyn Alff Williams, cafodd Mebyon Kernow bron 10% o’r bleidlais, dim ond ychydig yn llai na Phlaid Cymru.  Dyma hefyd oedd y flwyddyn orau erioed i Union Democratique Bretagne gan iddynt ennill tua 6% o’r bleidlais mewn etholiadau lleol,tra chwalwyd Plaid Cymru ar gyngor [...]

Rhodri Glyn Thomas’ announcement that £600,000 will be available over three years to create a daily Welsh language newspaper has led to the usual accusations of treachery. But is this obsession with the printed press putting medium before content at a time when that exact medium is itself being sidelined by the lure of the [...]

Mae rhyw fath o gymhlethod hunaniaeth wedi nodweddu’r BBC yng Nghymru ers y cychwyn:  ‘rhanbarth cenedlaethol’ – ieithwedd sy’n atgoffa dyn o’r Undeb Sofietaidd - oedd Cymru o fewn corfforaeth Brydeining o1953 tan ddyfodiad datganoli.  Mae’r BBC, fel darlledwr dwyieithog, yn anorfod yn cyflogi nifer fawr o siaradwyr Cymraeg.  Mae hynny, yng ngwydd rhai, yn [...]

Since when has the Co-operative Party been a platform of sectarianism? Oh, since Leighton Andrews addressed them an hour and a half ago….  Embargoed until: 19.30hrs - Friday, 1st February Labour will fight Plaid in its heartland says Leighton Andrews Speaking to the South West Wales Co-operative Party in Llanelli last night (February 1st) Labour AM Leighton Andrews [...]

The beauty of being-in-government is that ideas can become reality, and that reality in turn reshapes our ideas.  A few weeks ago I wrote in Golwg about the need for Wales to nation to honour its ‘living greats’ in the same way as Japan has done since the 1950s with its national ‘living treasures’ programme.   So it [...]

Pe bae mil tri chant o blant yn marw bob blwyddyn o newyn mi fyddai na derfysg ar y stryd. Ond gan taw oerfel sydd yn lladd tri chant ar ddeg, a’u bod nhw yn hen a methedig, mae tlodi tanwydd rywsut wedi osgoi hyd yma yr adwaith mae’n ei haeddu. Ond efallai bod hynny [...]

It’s reported that the Chancellor is going to make a statement tomorrow on changes to his proposals for capital gains tax following strong lobbying by the CBI, FSB and others.  However, another possible consequence of the changes has had little profile and that is its implication for second-home owners and the negative implicationsfor the housing [...]

We vote this afternoon on whether to hand over another massive chunk of Lottery money to plug the Government’s shortfall in its Olympics funding package.  The Alliance of local authorities in traditional industrial areas has forecast this means that Carmarthenshire alone will lose £6.5 million as a result of the Olympics lottery raid.  Plaid will [...]

Fe fydd y Wyddeleg yn darfod fel iaith gymunedol bob-dydd o fewn ardaloedd y Gaeltacht o fewn ugain mlynedd, dyna oedd casgliad adroddiad diweddar a gomisynwyd gan weinidogion y Weriniaeth. Un o’r rhesymau am y besimistiaeth gyffredinol ydy’r methiant i greu cyd-destun cymdeithasol i’r iaith tu fas i iard yr ysgol. Yn ardaloedd traddodiadol y [...]

Fe fydd y Wyddeleg yn darfod fel iaith gymunedol bob-dydd o fewn ardaloedd y Gaeltacht o fewn ugain mlynedd, dyna oedd casgliad adroddiad diweddar a gomisynwyd gan weinidogion y Weriniaeth. Un o’r rhesymau am y besimistiaeth gyffredinol ydy’r methiant i greu cyd-destun cymdeithasol i’r iaith tu fas i iard yr ysgol. Yn ardaloedd traddodiadol y [...]

Fe fydd y Wyddeleg yn darfod fel iaith gymunedol bob-dydd o fewn ardaloedd y Gaeltacht o fewn ugain mlynedd, dyna oedd casgliad adroddiad diweddar a gomisynwyd gan weinidogion y Weriniaeth. Un o’r rhesymau am y besimistiaeth gyffredinol ydy’r methiant i greu cyd-destun cymdeithasol i’r iaith tu fas i iard yr ysgol. Yn ardaloedd traddodiadol y [...]

No politician is perfect. We’re human beings who, by definition, make mistakes and misjudgements, have bad days and have fits of forgetfulness like everyone else.  As such, even Cabinet Ministers  should be forgiven for the occasional demonstration of human imperfection.  But Peter Hain’s defence - if it can be so described - that his campaign was in [...]

The Varney Review on Taxation in Northern Ireland has done what once would have been unthinkable and united Unionists and Nationalists in opposition to an unsympathetic London Government.  The forthcoming Assembly Commission on Funding and Finance may end up doing the same in the reverse, with the Treasury disagreeing with a Devolved Administration’s analysis.  This time it was the [...]

In clearing out my mental in-tray after the Christmas recess, I have to take issue with this particular piece of Tory disingenuousness.     On the facts of the case, the Tories are broadly right - though they do slightly exaggerate their case.  By 2010/11, based on current trends, Wales will have the same level of expenditure [...]

After reading Tim Hames in the Times today I’ve decided against penning my own New Year’s Message though I was pleased to see him quoting Ieuan’s twice despite the dodgy spelling.  Instead, looking back at the year in which we took that first momentous step from  opposition into Government - and not just any Government but [...]

Ers ei chreu ym 1995 mae’r Loteri Genedlaethol wedi gwneud cyfraniad cynyddol i adfywhau cymunedau difreintiedig. Efallai mai’r adeiladau eiconig fel y Stadiwm a’r Ganolfan Mileniwm ddaw i’r meddwl yn gyntaf – ond mae miloedd o brosiectau bach trwy’r wald wedi adeiladu ac adfer hyder lleol. Ond mae’r hyder newydd hwnnw yn nawr yn cael [...]

I had to bow out of the Welsh Politician Awards last night because of the early start of the Welsh Grand Committee this morning  back at Westminster.  If reports are anything to go by, it was a wise decision.  Apparently the Secretary of Sate for Wales likened Martin Shipton and I to “Laurel and Hardy”.  [...]

The man whom Vladimir Putin named as his preferred successor has said he wants the Russian President to become his prime minister. Dmitry Medvedev, currently the first deputy prime minister, is the front-runner to win the presidential election in March after Putin endorsed him yesterday.

In a TV broadcast he said he would ask Putin to head a future government: "It's important to continue the course that has been laid out since the end of the nineties. It's not enough to elect a president sharing this ideology. We have to keep the competence of the team formed by the current president".

Putin has not yet said if he will take up his ally's job offer. Some observers feel Medvedev's proposal is just a ploy to help him stave off challenges from rival Kremlin clans.

Putin is due to step down next year in line with a constitutional ban on heads of state serving more than two consecutive terms. But he has previously said he wants to keep a political role.