Welsh Labour MSs accuse Starmer government of rolling back devolution
More than a third of Labour members of the Welsh parliament have launched an extraordinary attack on Keir Starmer’s government, accusing it of rolling back devolution.Eleven Labour Senedd members (MSs) wrote to the prime minister and Labour leader claiming his administration had been either “deeply insensitive” to Wales or guilty of “constitutional outrage”.They expressed “increasing concern” about what they said was the UK government’s failure to devolve further functions to Wales, including justice, policing and the crown estate.The move is being seen as further evidence of a dramatic decline of Labour in Wales.Labour has dominated Welsh politics for a century but lost the Caerphilly byelection in October, coming third.
The party is trailing behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK in polls before next year’s Senedd elections,The catalyst for the letter is the UK government’s Pride in Place scheme that allocates cash to councils – including in Wales – for town centre improvements such as fixing bus shelters and providing bins,The letter highlighted that regeneration was a devolved matter and said the move by the UK government was “at best deeply insensitive, at worst a constitutional outrage”,It said: “This is a UK government programme operating in a wholly devolved area that is being designed and delivered from Whitehall,Why is the UK government directly funding Welsh councils to fix bus shelters, reopen park toilets, and provide bins?”The letter added: “If this was being done by a Tory government, we would be calling for a judicial review.
This must never happen again.Wales needs and deserves to be treated as an equal part of the UK and the UK government has a responsibility to act to deliver this equality.”The letter continued: “We have increasing concern about the failure to move forward with agreed steps to devolve further functions to Wales.“In opposition we raised expectations of reform of the Barnett formula [the mechanism under which the UK Treasury allocates funds to Wales], devolution of rail infrastructure, policing and justice and of the crown estate.Not only is the [UK] government not progressing these but it is rolling back the existing devolution settlement.
”No members of the Welsh government signed the letter but it made it clear the first minister, Eluned Morgan, had spoken to Starmer about the issue.The UK government did not appear to back down, with a spokesperson saying: “We’re working hand in hand with the Welsh government to deliver real change for communities across Wales in partnership.Providing well-targeted funding will help achieve this – with Pride in Place putting local people in the driving seat to decide their priorities, whether that’s their high street, local businesses, or community spaces.Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotion“It provides extra investment on top of the record funding we’ve already given to Wales, as we make sure communities get the support they deserve.”Political opponents claimed the row showed Labour in Wales was in crisis.
Describing the letter as “extraordinary”, Mabon ap Gwynfor, a Plaid Cymru MS, said: “Labour in Wales falling apart just months before a crucial election.It tells you everything you need to know about a party in complete disarray, with no influence whatsoever over their London colleagues.“The cracks inside Labour are now clear for all to see.This is a party split and lacking confidence in its own leadership, while communities in Wales are left paying the price.”Jane Dodds, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: “If Labour’s representatives in Wales have lost faith in Labour’s MPs in London, it tells you everything about how little grip the party has on devolution.
”A Conservative party spokesperson said: “Labour are in chaos.”
EU looks at legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China
The EU is considering legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China to insulate Europe from future hostile acts, the industry commissioner, Stéphane Séjourné, says.He made his remarks as the European Commission unveiled a €3bn (£2.63bn) strategy to reduce its dependency on China for critical raw materials amid a global scramble caused by Beijing’s “weaponisation” of supplies of everything from chips to rare earths.The ReSourceEU programme will seek to de-risk and diversify the bloc’s supply chains for key commodities with a funding initiative to support 25-30 strategic projects in the sector.It will include new rules to stop scrap aluminium leaving the bloc, recycling of magnets used in car batteries and a new €2bn a year fund backed by the European Investment Bank to support industries diversifying away from cheap Chinese supplies
Historic Smithfield and Billingsgate markets find new home in Docklands
After almost eight centuries at the heart of life in the capital and a period where their future lay in doubt, the historic Smithfield and Billingsgate markets are to get a new home on a former industrial site in east London.The proposal by the City of London Corporation – the governing body that runs both sites as well as the Square Mile financial district – would relocate the markets to Newham’s Royal Docks.The announcement comes just over a year after the corporation voted to permanently close Smithfield meat market and Billingsgate fish market when it pulled the plug on a planned £740m relocation to Dagenham, blaming rising costs.At the time, it said it was no longer planning to build a joint replacement location, a decision that would have spelled the end of centuries of meat and fish trading in the capital. Instead, it had offered financial support to the traders to help them find new premises
Amazon and the tightening grip of capitalism | Letters
Yanis Varoufakis argues that Amazon marks a shift to “technofeudalism”, claiming its ownership of digital infrastructure forces capitalists, governments and users to pay it economic rents (How Amazon turned our capitalist era of free markets into the age of technofeudalism, 27 November). This rests on an idealised view of capitalism. Early capitalism saw similar dynamics: the East India Company, backed by the British state, controlled trade routes, exploited resources and wielded political power, enabling it to charge above-market prices for commodities such as tea and spices.In Capital, Karl Marx noted that English landlords helped establish capitalism by dispossessing peasants and commodifying land. They earned monopoly rents from their exclusive control of this productive resource – a portion of surplus value originally created by exploited labour and first appropriated by industrial capitalists before being transferred to landowners
Anti-immigrant material among AI-generated content getting billions of views on TikTok
Hundreds of accounts on TikTok are garnering billions of views by pumping out AI-generated content, including anti-immigrant and sexualised material, according to a report.Researchers said they had uncovered 354 AI-focused accounts pushing 43,000 posts made with generative AI tools and accumulating 4.5bn views over a month-long period.According to AI Forensics, a Paris-based non-profit, some of these accounts attempt to game TikTok’s algorithm – which decides what content users see – by posting large amounts of content in the hope that it goes viral.One posted up to 70 times a day or at the same time of day, an indication of an automated account, and most of the accounts were launched at the beginning of the year
The Clippers’ chaotic unravelling leaves Chris Paul as its most painful casualty
Pull out your Los Angeles Clippers bingo cards. Anyone have the square marked “owner and star player accused of skirting the salary cap through improper means”? Go ahead and stamp that one. How about “losing 14 of 16 after a hopeful 3-2 start”? Mark it. And yes, you can fill in “other star averaging nearly 27 a night at age 36 – including a 50-piece against the Detroit Pistons, one of the league’s best teams”. The box reading “Clippers fans tearing out their hair at alarming rates and contemplating shameful, fairweather defections” is probably safe to cross off, pending review
Maro Itoje eyes World Cup glory after England dodge big guns in 2027 draw
Maro Itoje has set his sights on Rugby World Cup glory in Australia in 2027 after England were handed a potentially favourable path through the tournament when the draw was made in Sydney on Wednesday.England, who have risen to third in the world rankings after an 11-match winning streak, emerged on the other side of the draw from the reigning world champions, South Africa, the three-times winners New Zealand and France.England are in Pool F with Wales, Tonga and Zimbabwe at the expanded 24-team event with Italy, Australia, Ireland and Argentina possible opponents in the last 16 and beyond.“Our ambition is to do very well and win this tournament,” Itoje, the England captain, said. “But to do that we know we have to make sure we get our preparation right and the next two years leading to the World Cup is massive
Comedian Judi Love: ‘I’m a big girl, the boss, and you love it’
Fran Lebowitz: ‘Hiking is the most stupid thing I could ever imagine’
My cultural awakening: Thelma & Louise made me realise I was stuck in an unhappy marriage
The Guide #219: Don’t panic! Revisiting the millennium’s wildest cultural predictions
From Christy to Neil Young: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Susan Loppert obituary