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Freepost Fury and Flat-Pack Outrage as Wales Keeps Woods Open, Coffee Tender Brews, and Lammy Trims Juries in Backlog Blitz
Freepost Fury, Flat-Pack Outrage
Former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood suggested voters return party Freepost envelopes with plain-paper thoughts and no personal data, a petty cash tap that denies campaigns fresh names for the spreadsheet. She did not name a target, but the timing follows a Reform UK mail blitz in Wales textured with a Nigel Farage letter, a data hungry survey, and a QR code asking for a People's Army. Supporters toyed with the idea of making the returns heavier, critics called the tactic underhanded, and Wood replied with #StopTheFarRight and a weary smile. The ICO notes parties can mail you via the electoral register unless you object. This lands after Reform UK was scolded for letters styled as local missives from a man who did not live in Caerphilly, where their candidate lost by 3,848 votes. When persuasion fails, there is always the franking machine.
Wales' Woods Still Open, Coffee On Tender
Natural Resources Wales has launched a hunt for new operators at Bwlch Nant yr Arian near Aberystwyth and Coed y Brenin in Eryri National Park, after closing its own catering and retail at three sites and putting 265 jobs at risk. NRW blames brutal funding and a return to its core mission of nature recovery, climate action, and pollution control. Trails, play areas, parking and toilets remain open, with temporary refreshments at Bwlch Nant yr Arian and a similar stopgap sought for Coed y Brenin. The long search will run through a competitive dialogue until Summer 2026 with adviser Newmark and is open to community groups and commercial firms. Translation, the forests are open, the cappuccino is outsourced, and the buzzwords are pollinating nicely.
Lammy’s Jury Trim, Backlog Blitz
David Lammy is set to pitch a justice overhaul that would expand non jury trials to tackle a crown court backlog nearing 80,000 cases, reserving juries for the gravest offences and public interest matters while more mid tier cases go to a single judge. The Ministry of Justice says it will take much of Sir Brian Leveson’s review on board and insists delays will not vanish even with record courtroom sitting, as attrition rises and victims walk away. Critics warn of miscarriages of justice and racial bias, while Robert Jenrick accuses Lammy of binning ancient liberties and demands round the clock sittings and funding for idle courtrooms, citing thousands of missed sitting days. Context, only a small slice of criminal cases currently use juries, the vast majority are already handled without them in magistrates’ courts. Justice delayed is justice denied, say ministers. Opponents counter that justice streamlined can mean justice downgraded. Or to put it bluntly, trading twelve citizens for one exhausted judge is a risky bet.
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By IniaesFreepost Fury, Flat-Pack Outrage
Former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood suggested voters return party Freepost envelopes with plain-paper thoughts and no personal data, a petty cash tap that denies campaigns fresh names for the spreadsheet. She did not name a target, but the timing follows a Reform UK mail blitz in Wales textured with a Nigel Farage letter, a data hungry survey, and a QR code asking for a People's Army. Supporters toyed with the idea of making the returns heavier, critics called the tactic underhanded, and Wood replied with #StopTheFarRight and a weary smile. The ICO notes parties can mail you via the electoral register unless you object. This lands after Reform UK was scolded for letters styled as local missives from a man who did not live in Caerphilly, where their candidate lost by 3,848 votes. When persuasion fails, there is always the franking machine.
Wales' Woods Still Open, Coffee On Tender
Natural Resources Wales has launched a hunt for new operators at Bwlch Nant yr Arian near Aberystwyth and Coed y Brenin in Eryri National Park, after closing its own catering and retail at three sites and putting 265 jobs at risk. NRW blames brutal funding and a return to its core mission of nature recovery, climate action, and pollution control. Trails, play areas, parking and toilets remain open, with temporary refreshments at Bwlch Nant yr Arian and a similar stopgap sought for Coed y Brenin. The long search will run through a competitive dialogue until Summer 2026 with adviser Newmark and is open to community groups and commercial firms. Translation, the forests are open, the cappuccino is outsourced, and the buzzwords are pollinating nicely.
Lammy’s Jury Trim, Backlog Blitz
David Lammy is set to pitch a justice overhaul that would expand non jury trials to tackle a crown court backlog nearing 80,000 cases, reserving juries for the gravest offences and public interest matters while more mid tier cases go to a single judge. The Ministry of Justice says it will take much of Sir Brian Leveson’s review on board and insists delays will not vanish even with record courtroom sitting, as attrition rises and victims walk away. Critics warn of miscarriages of justice and racial bias, while Robert Jenrick accuses Lammy of binning ancient liberties and demands round the clock sittings and funding for idle courtrooms, citing thousands of missed sitting days. Context, only a small slice of criminal cases currently use juries, the vast majority are already handled without them in magistrates’ courts. Justice delayed is justice denied, say ministers. Opponents counter that justice streamlined can mean justice downgraded. Or to put it bluntly, trading twelve citizens for one exhausted judge is a risky bet.