April 2009: Devolution, independence and constitutional navel gazing? – “Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There’s just too much fraternising with the enemy” – Fee for all top-up fees scrapped – Welsh patients to “top-up” healthcare.
English is a Welsh Language
In March 2009, as Welsh broadcasting suffered from further cuts in ITV Wales’s programme output for Wales and the prospect of five years of budget cuts at BBC Wales, the Institute of Welsh Affairs mounted a defence of English language television programming for Wales in English is a Welsh Language: Televisions’s crisis in Wales.* Its sixteen essays were part elegy for past glories, part cri de coeur as a nation’s visibility to itself was allowed to wither, and part affirmation that the problem can and must be solved. Its opening chapter was by the broadcaster and Chair of the IWA, Geraint Talfan Davies.
Speaking up for Wales
John Osmond reports on the political relevance of a weekend conference that took a backward glance at 1960s Wales:
Assembly Bwletin Cynulliad March 2009
March 2009: Welsh MPs: Skills and strong Welsh brand key in global economy – Engage with science – Cameron visits south Wales – Wales could go nuclear.
Assembly Bwletin Cynulliad February 2009
February 2009: 9romotions all round, but nothing for Dafydd Wigley – Bid for new housing powers: the Assembly’s bid for further powers over housing – Welsh ambulances fail to meet targets again: a North-South divide revealed – Severn tidal power schemes: Energy Minister unveils possibilities.
Planning needed to meet growth in demand for Welsh-medium schools
John Osmond considers the main recommendation of an IWA study: The Assembly Government should enforce its requirement that Welsh local
Borrowing powers sidelined
John Osmond looks at the implications of a Scottish row for future funding of the National Assembly:
Welsh Climate Change Challenge
Cathy McLean provides a reality check on the Assembly Government’s carbon emission targets:
Assembly Bwletin Cynulliad December 2008
December 2008: Politics in 21st century Wales: leading figures discuss the future of their parties – “The crowd gives the leader new strength”: the Labour leadership contest is shaping up – The Valleys Job Crunch: the economic downturn takes hold – Plastic Bag Levy: should shoppers pay?