Hiraeth - Welsh Politics

With just days until France goes to the polls and either re-elects 'extreme centrist' Emmanuel Macron for another term or chooses to elect the controversial far right leader Marine Le Pen at the third time of asking, we discuss the issues behind the election with our guests Florent Jarry and Professor Nick Parsons. We look at the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the cost of living crisis...

In this episode we speak with the authors of 'Northern Ireland & Brexit: A Troubled Constitutional Future' Dr Jonathan Evershed (University College Dublin) and Dr Mary C. Murphy (University College Cork) ahead of Northern Ireland's 2022 elections. We discuss their new book and its analysis of the political and constitutional forces unleashed onto Northern Ireland by an apparently unprepared UK Gov...

Continuing our series looking at local government across the country ahead of May's elections, we speak with Richard John, the leader of Monmouthshire County Council about his experience of leading one of the most distinct local authorities in Wales. We touch on the Shared Prosperity Fund, devolution within Wales and why Monmouthshire is the only local authority in the country to own and run a Pos...

At the start of Spring, the two biggest parties of local government, Labour and Plaid Cymru, held their conferences. We catch up with attendees Megan Nia Thomas (Labour) and Radha Nair-Roberts (Plaid Cymru) to discuss the mood in both parties. Afterwards, the Hiraeth team chew the fat on various subjects that arose over March and early April, including the cooperation agreement, buses, the Welsh G...

Former First Minister Carwyn Jones believes that Wales has yet to be polarised on the basis of nationalism and unionism as in Scotland and that there is still time for a reformed British Union to offer Welsh citizens greater autonomy for their country while retaining beneficial elements of the United Kingdom. This short episode features a clip of a speech given by the former leader of Welsh Labour...

With the cost of living crisis becoming ever more apparent, The Bevan Foundation have just published a new report focussing on the problems people on low incomes face finding a home to rent. TLDR: It's not good but to expand on that we are joined by two of the report's authors: Hugh Kocan: https://twitter.com/HughKocan Steff Evans: https://twitter.com/SteffHEvans You can read the report here: http...

In this episode, we speak to three of the authors of Welsh [Plural]: Essays on the Future of Wales, a new book that offers some imaginative, radical perspectives that goes beyond the clichés and binaries that so often shape thinking about Wales and Welshness. Our guests: Darren Chetty: https://twitter.com/rapclassroom Rabab Ghazoul: https://twitter.com/gentle_hq Martin Johnes: https://twitter.com/...

Continuing our season of local government podcasts ahead of the May 2022 elections, we speak to one of the most colourful council leaders of recent times - Jeffrey Jones, former leader of Bridgend County Borough Council and former education lead at the Welsh Local Government Association. We discuss a wide range of subjects from local democracy, levelling up, and a federal Wales and Jeff also bring...

With March 2022 holding February 2022's beer, we take the opportunity to look back on the news from domestic politics in Wales and, of course, touch on the terrible events in Eastern Europe as Russia invades Ukraine. We are joined by Jonathan Williams of UBI Lab Wales and The National to discuss the new not-quite-a-UBI Basic Income pilot for care leavers and the imminent demise of the 'reasonable...

Why is Welsh local government such a complicated mess? Why have so many attempts to reform it failed and why politicians keep saying that they'll try to reform it? It's complicated! Thankfully we have a great guest to discuss this with Ceri and Matt, Steve Thomas CBE who was chair of the Welsh Local Government Association for 15 years and has... thoughts. You can find Steve on Twitter here: https:...

To start our series of podcasts looking at the local government elections that will be taking place across Wales this year, we speak to Cardiff Council Leader Huw Thomas about local government, levelling up and the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal. You can find Huw on Twitter here: And of course you can find all the latest from Hiraeth here: https://twitter.com/HiraethPod If you're enjoying the po...

This is a short interview with Jacob Morris, the journalist at Golwg whose interview with new No. 10 Director of Communications Guto Harri made the headlines in the English & international press last week. We had plans to include it in a larger pod which never quite came together but we wanted to share it with our listeners. You can find Jacob here: https://twitter.com/jacobm_morris Jacob's interv...

With the Six Nations in full swing (which is more than can be said for the sweet chariots), the eternal debates about the future, past, and identity of Welsh rugby are topping the agenda once more. We speak to rugby writer James Stafford and Lewis Eldred, whose thesis on sport and national identity was recently discussed on Podcast Pêl-Droed, about the state of the game both on and off the pitch a...

In our customary end of month review of the month, we talk Sue Gray, Johnson's woes, Ramsay to Rangers, the 90s Sleaze Revival and the cost of living crisis. You can follow Hiraeth for all the latest news, pods and videos here: http://www.twitter.com/HiraethPod or at http://www.walespolitics.com If you're enjoying the pod, please consider becoming a Patron: http://www.patreon.com/HiraethPod

Hiraeth is an independent Welsh podcast focussing on politics, policy and current affairs within Wales and looks at events beyond our borders from a Welsh perspective. Podlediad Cymraeg annibynnol yw Hiraeth, sy’n canolbwyntio ar wleidyddiaeth, polisi a materion cyfoes yng Nghymru ac yn edrych ar ddigwyddiadau y tu hwnt i’n ffiniau o safbwynt Cymreig.

Welcome to Byraeth, our short(ish) form analysis pods for each of the Hiraeth podcasts on our main podcast feed. This week we’re taking a look at broadcasting, specifically public service broadcasting, in the UK and the potential impact of changes proposed via unconsulted-upon tweet by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, Nadine Dorries. For Hiraeth we spoke to former Cha...

Following the UK Government's tweeted announcements about the end of the BBC's Licence Fee funding model, we speak to two experts (Bethan Sayed, formerly Chair of the Senedd Culture Committee & Tim Hartley, former Head of Corporate Affairs at S4C) about the impact this could have on broadcasting and media here in Wales. Our guests: Bethan Sayed: https://twitter.com/bethanjenkins Tim Hartley: https...

With a major election on the horizon and the UK Government still at odds with the European Union and many citizens on Ireland with regards to the now infamous Northern Ireland Protocol, we speak to SDLP Member for South Belfast in the Northern Ireland Assembly Matthew O'Toole about the state of Northern Irish politics. Matthew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewOToole2 The SDLP: https://twitte...

However you define it, infrastructure plays an essential role in the lived experience of citizens, success of the economy and health of the environment. Following the announcements of the creation of the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales (NICW) and the Infrastructure Investment Strategy from the Welsh Government, we speak with a panel of experts to discuss whether the government is (ahe...

We are starting to see greater divergence in the political cultures of Wales and the UK in many ways but one of the most visible is the different directions of travel with regards to elections and voting. Wales (similarly to Scotland) is following a path to greater inclusivity and proportionality while lowering the minimum voting age to 16 while the UK Government is pushing voting restrictions, mo...

In our last of pod of 2021, we take a look at questions and observations from guests, listeners and the wider Twittersphere about the events of the year and what to expect (or not to expect) for 2022. Strong analysis, weak puns and another dangerous wager... enjoy! Your hosts: Matthew Hexter: https://twitter.com/hexter101 Ceri "The Viking" Davies: https://twitter.com/ceritheviking Richard Martin:...

Nearly four in ten Welsh households struggling to make ends meet as we head into the second Covid Christmas. The Bevan Foundation's recent 'Snapshot of Poverty in Wales in Winter 2021' report illustrates the scale of the problem of poverty and how the pandemic has made the situation worse. We speak to the report's author, Dr Steffan Evans. You can find Steff on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/St...

With the sustainability of our domestic economy coming under more and more scrutiny and the climate crisis an ever-looming concern, the concept of circular economies is gaining traction among policymakers and campaigners. We speak to three of the leading experts in this field in Wales about what steps we would need to take to make our economy more successful and sustainable and whether Christmas a...

After his second reshuffle of 2021, Keir Starmer now has a new-look shadow cabinet mixing new and familiar faces. Our resident Labour expert runs the rule over Starmer's decisions and their merits/demerits for the prospects of a revival of support in England, the waning fortunes of the Welsh PLP and the left/soft-left factions and the seemingly broken relationship between Starmer and his deputy, A...

In this pod, former Scottish Labour parliamentary candidate Keiran O'Neill speaks to us about the state of Scottish politics and specifically the Scottish Labour Party, gridlocked between the dominant pro-independence politics of the SNP and the Boris-backing British nationalism of the Conservative and Unionist Party. Find Keiran on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/KeiranON And for the latest blo...