Hiraeth - Welsh Politics

It's one of - if not the - most widely recognised histories of Wales. Irrespective of language, religion, or region, almost every child in Wales will have learnt about the infamous Welsh Not. How could a simple board on string, of which few actual examples persist, continue to be a touchstone subject for so many in modern Wales?

Friend of the pod, and Professor at Swansea University, Martin Johnes has just published the definitive analysis of this disputed object. More than just cultural or educational history, the story is one dipped in politics and wrapped in religion and challenges common ideas of who the protagonists and the antagonists were in the ongoing story of keeping yr hen iaith alive.

We're delighted to be joined by Martin to discuss the Welsh Not, and you can find out more from him here: https://x.com/martinjohnes

The book is available to buy here: https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/welsh-not/

Or read for free in PDF form here: https://www.uwp.co.uk/app/uploads/9781837721818_WEB.pdf

As always, you can find the latest from us on the socials @hiraethpod, including BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/hiraethpod.bsky.social

We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

As we come to the end of 2024, we thought it would be a great idea to catch up with friend of the pod and leading independent journalist in Wales, Will Hayward.

We catch up with Will about his own latest developments in terms of addressing an under-served Welsh news space, his outlook on the public and political mood across the country and take a look at the state of the political parties as attention inevitably turns to the Senedd 2026 election.

You can find Will pretty much everywhere on social media but try starting with the below:

Will Hayward Newsletter: https://substack.com/@willhayward

For Wales, See Wales Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/36K7BSmczcZywwqmGT8ALq

Will's website: https://willhayward.co.uk/

As always, you can find the latest from us here: https://x.com/HiraethPod

We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

One of the less well known but perhaps more significant outcomes of the Welsh Labour - Plaid Cymru Cooperation Agreement following the 2021 national election in Wales, was a commitment to "Commission independent advice to examine potential pathways to net zero by 2035...".

Shortly afterwards an expert group was assembled with former Pontypridd Senedd member Jane Davidson chairing, the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) providing the research supported by a secretariat from Welsh Government.

Three years later, the work has been completed and the 'pathway' reports received by Deputy FM Huw Irranca-Davies. So, what next? What will happen with the reports and what were the key recommendations made?

To discuss, we are joined by Jane Davidson and Dr Jack Price of the WCPP.

To find out more about Net Zero 2035, head to:

Net Zero 2035 Wales Challenge Group: https://netzero2035.wales/

and the Wales Centre for Public Policy: https://wcpp.org.uk/publications/?select-programme-type%5B%5D=economy-decarbonisation-and-skills

As always, you can find the latest from us here: https://x.com/HiraethPod

We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

Many of our listeners will share our interest, concern, and confusion about the state of politics in the USA. After the extraordinary times of the pandemic, chaos, and ultimately violence of 2020 Presidential campaign, many hoped for a return to 'normality' if not 'stability' in 2024.

However, it was not to be. We arrive in early November with one of the most extraordinary campaigns coming to an end. The return of Donald Trump as a likely winner, one of the most consequential TV debates in history, the Democratic candidate dropping out mid-race, assassination attempts, hurricanes, the return of Hulk Hogan... the list goes on.

So what to make of it all? Thankfully we have some excellence expertise in the field of American politics here in Wales and our two guests - Dr Joseph Phillips of the Wales Governance Centre, Cardiff University, and Black Hawk Hancock for DePaul University in Chicago - help us to understand the political trends and polarisation beneath the headlines.

Our guests:

Dr Joseph Phillips: https://x.com/polpsychjoe

Black Hawk Hancock: https://blackhawkhancock.com/

As always, you can find the latest from us here: https://x.com/HiraethPod

We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

As you may have seen on our socials recently, we just hosted our first live event with friends of the pod from the That's Devolved! team, and great Cardiff venue, Porters.

Our guest is one of the few Members of the Senedd with high name recognition, with all the good and bad that comes with that - Lee Waters, Member for Llanelli.

Widely considered one of the most intellectually curious and independently minded of the Labour group, he will be forever be linked with the events of the last year which saw him usher in one of the most contested pieces of Welsh Law in the shape of the 20mph default speed limit across the country. His public comments on the controversies surrounding Vaughan Gething's time as Labour leader also put Lee at odds with many inside the party and precipitated a government revolt forcing the then-FM to stand down.

However, as you will hear in this interview chaired by our own Matthew Hexter, Lee has plenty of valuable insight to both the inner workings and outer dysfunctions of our parliament and government machines, and the surrounding political cultures. Enjoy!

A video of this event is available here: https://youtu.be/VZbWZRaWIFY

Our partners:

That's Devolved: https://x.com/ThatsDevolved

Porters Cardiff: https://x.com/Porterscardiff

As always, you can find the latest from us here: twitter.com/HiraethPod

We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

After what can only be described as a catastrophic UK General Election which left the Conservatives without a single MP in the country, it could be expected that the mood inside the Senedd group and wider party in Wales would be sombre.

However, due to the new UK Labour Government's surprisingly troubled first 100 days and the drama and trauma surrounding the Welsh Labour Government so far this year, the Conservatives see plenty for potential to rebuild.

To discuss the state of the party in Wales, reflect on the UK election result, the current leadership contest, the rise of Reform UK, and the prospects for the next Senedd election, we are joined by James Evans MS, Member of the Senedd for Brecon and Radnorshire.

You can find James on X/Twitter here: https://x.com/JamesEvansMS

As always, you can find the latest from us here: twitter.com/HiraethPod

We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

It is the end of an era in Wales. Arguably the world's first industrial nation, we are now on the cusp of being largely de-industrialised as 300 years of melting iron comes to an end with the extinguished blast furnaces in Port Talbot.

We discuss the politics of this extraordinary national moment as well as a round up of the political party conferences this Autumn, the Labour Party's expenses criticism, the Conservative Party's leadership election, and the rise of Reform UK as they turn their eyes to national elections in Wales and Scotland in 2026.

We also make some bold predictions, some criticism of sitting MSs, and discuss the looming issues on the political horizon in Wales.

You can find your hosts here:

Matthew Hexter: https://x.com/hexter101

Ceri Davies: https://www.instagram.com/ceriscastles/

Richard Martin: https://bsky.app/profile/mimosacymru.bsky.social

The ITV Wales education story: https://www.itv.com/news/2024-10-03/welsh-government-accepts-need-to-improve-guidance-on-teaching-reading

As always, you can find the latest from us here: twitter.com/HiraethPod

We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

18 months after his election as leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth has seen the party through some difficult times (such as the revelations of poor conduct inside the party that led to the Prosiect Pawb report and recommendations) and some celebratory ones (such as the party's success in both Caerfyrddin and Ynys Môn in the UK-wide general election in 2024).

As the party resets in the the Senedd following their early termination of the Cooperation Agreement with Welsh Labour and turns its attention towards the campaign for the next national election in 2026 and its new voting system and constituencies, what are the top priorities for 'the party of Wales'?

We discuss all this and more with Rhun, who you can follow on Twitter/X and all the other socials: https://x.com/RhunapIorwerth

As always, you can find the latest from us here: twitter.com/HiraethPod

We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

The 'England and Wales' justice system has already been in the news for all the wrong reasons in 2024. Many years of underfunding and uneven and unsuccessful policy have left it creaking. Against a backdrop of underfunding, crumbling court estate, and widening legal deserts, the new UK Government's first major act in the sector has been to engage in widespread early release in prisons to manage capacity. It is a sector on the brink of crisis.

Of course here at the Hiraeth Pod we call it the 'Wales and England' justice system and in the latest of our pods examining the reality in Wales, we're delighted to be joined by The Law Society to discuss their latest report 'From Caernarfon to Caerdydd: Re-imagining Justice in Wales 2030' that takes a Wales-centric view of these issues.

We discuss the fundamental issues here, ongoing debates about devolution to bring Wales into line with Scotland and Northern Ireland, the total absence of separate data for Wales's justice sector, the legal aid crisis, and the barriers to entering the profession for poorer students.

You can find a copy of the report on the Law Society's website: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/about-us/law-society-wales/reimagining-justice-2030The Law Society Wales: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/about-us/law-society-wales/And on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-law-society-wales-cymdeithas-y-cyfreithwyr/

Previous podcasts about the justice system in Wales:The Welsh Criminal Justice System, on the Jagged Edge: https://youtu.be/wNBjmkh8NFEJustice and Youth Justice for Wales: https://youtu.be/RyLbtSjclcM

As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod

We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod

We kick off September in the same way that political parties and campaigners all across Wales are doing, with eyes on the new proposals for Senedd 'super constituencies' that will be contested in the 2026 Welsh general election.

The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru's remit from the Senedd has been to find a robust way to pair off our 32 UK Parliament constituencies and create 16 'super constituencies', from which six Senedd Members will be elected on a PR list system, similar to our current regional list system.

But this is not an easy task, and the timeline is extremely tight for this kind of work. So we're delighted to be joined by BDCC CEO Shereen Williams to introduce the proposals and discuss the details of the project.

- Find the proposals here: https://www.dbcc.gov.wales/

- Follow the DBCC on socials: https://linktr.ee/democracycymru

- And Shereen is here: https://x.com/ShereenWilliams

As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod

We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod