Geoff Ryan reports on the ongoing campaigns both in support of, and hostile to, refugees at the Stradey Park Hotel near Llanelli. The Welsh Labour Government has declared that Cymru …
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Category archives: Articles
Strike! Our collective future depends on this moment
Introduction “Public sector workers are not on strike because they want to break the system. They’re on strike because the system is broken.” – Mick Lynch, RMT leader, Aberdare, 21-01-2023 …
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Abolish the prince of Wales. Let’s build a democratic republic.
In 1952 Britain was a largely deferential society that enforced a stifling conformity. When Elizabeth II reached the throne, neither Wales nor the Welsh language had any constitutional status. The …
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Jubilee 2022 – what next?
Symbols are important. They shape our perception of who we are. The in-your-face symbol of our subjugation is the monarchy. But it’s more than that. At a time when the …
Who is Russell Goodway? Cardiff’s Arena “mastermind” and puppetmaster
If you ask one or two in the know about Cardiff Council and its machinations, it’s quite possible you’ll hear words to the effect of ‘It’s not Huw Thomas who …
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A pacifist’s perspective on the war in Ukraine
This is a speech that Rhun Dafydd, chair of Cymdeithas y Cymod (Fellowship of Reconciliation) delivered to the Undod’s Senedd giving his input as a pacifist about the war in …
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From land grabbing to the housing crisis: Nid yw Cymru ar werth
Real Wild Estates Company and the French mega-corporation L’Oreal Groupe, recently met to discuss plans to buy up land to rewild. They are explicitly looking to profit from forms of …
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2022 is the year for action
Annwyl Gyfaill, I’m writing this open letter as a call to action. It’s been floating around my head as I recover from Covid and a year of protest like no …
What’s rural Wales’ problem?
Rural Wales is in trouble. Probably more trouble than in living memory, and from forces and trends that are unlikely to disappear any time soon. Economic dysfunction is old hat …
Covid-19 in Wales: 18 months of social murder
Image by youtookthatwell This week, a major parliamentary report has heavily criticised the UK’s initial response to the Covid-19 outbreak, calling it one of the UK’s worst ever public health …
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The case for free school meals in Wales – NOW
When the pandemic required the majority of schools to shut their doors in the spring of 2020, it laid bare some very unpleasant truths about the extent and depth of …
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Wales is not for sale: We need special housing measures to defend our communities
Below is a translation and adaption of the speech I gave to the ‘Wales is Not for Sale’ rally on the Trwyeryn dam on the 10th July. I’ve added some …
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“Freedom Day”: a very British self-deception
The new English Health Minister Sajid Javid has announced that on the 19th of July Boris Johnson will stand in front of the English people, barefaced, and proclaim “freedom”. England …
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Beyond the “trans debate”: an introduction to lost context
Following recent transphobia in the Welsh independence movement and at Cardiff University, a member of Merched Undod gives context to the “trans debate”, trans oppression and the ideology of Trans …
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Professor Silvia Federici on socialism, feminism and care (video)
This discussion was recorded on Sunday 2nd May 2021. Here’s the original blurb for the event: Silvia Federici is a feminist writer, teacher and militant. In 1972 she was cofounder …
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What now?
At some point late in the day yesterday, Vaughan Roderick apparently commented that Welsh Labour are one of the few social democratic governments left in Europe. At face value this …
A Problem called Abolish
The most depressing incident of the election campaign for me was receiving a piece of Abolish the Assembly ‘literature’ through our post box. It was a leaflet calling for the …
In conversation with Sioned Williams – “I don’t come from a family of politicians, but I do come from a political family”
“It is key that the Left explains to its supporters that a vote for Labour is effectively a wasted one when it comes to the second vote.” With the election …
The Rhondda’s Next Step by Leanne Wood – a review
“The Welsh make and remake Wales day by day and year after year. If they want to. ” – Gwyn Alf Williams Where stands socialism in turbulent present-day Wales? A …
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Housing for Wales, not holiday homes
On Saturday, November 21st, three ‘Wales is not for Sale’ rallies were held by Cymdeithas yr Iaith addressing the issue of holiday homes – in Llanberis, Aberaeron and Carmarthen. We …
Criminal Legal Aid in Wales
Dan Newman and Roxanna Dehaghani The criminal justice system of England and Wales is broken, according to the best-selling Secret Barrister. Decades of underfunding, exacerbated by the UK government’s austerity …
Undod stands in solidarity with Gypsy Roma and Traveller communities
Undod stands in solidarity with Gypsy Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities, and with the protestors in Bristol who have this past week been brutalised by police whilst resisting the Crime, …
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Women United
The following are speeches made at the vigil for Sarah Everard and Wenjing Lin, two young women killed as a result of male violence in the last month alone. People …
The Fight for the Northern Meadows: A Salutary Tale for Today’s Wales
On the 3rd of March there will be a debate in the Senedd on the demand for an independent inquiry into the site for a Velindre Cancer Centre. Here Tessa …
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Radical independence cause makes gains in Catalonia
Radical independence forces made significant gains in last week’s parliamentary elections in Catalonia, as the pro-independence vote shifted measurably to the left. Turnout declined because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but …
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Militarism in Wales
An article that first appeared in Welsh on the Cymdeithas y Cymod website in January 2021 to note that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has come into …
A social wage for parents and carers, a national carers’ pension, and a National Care Service for Wales
If ever there was a time when childcare, and care work more generally, has been thrown into the spotlight then the current pandemic is definitely it. In addition to unexpected …
The Land that Lost its Values
For those who grew up in Aberystwyth and the surrounding area, the National Library is a building and institution that is integral to the landscape and the memory it shaped. …
Save the Paddle Steamer – letter to the press
Tomorrow, Cardiff Council’s Planning Committee will consider an application to demolish the Paddle Steamer, a historic establishment in Butetown, for social housing. Campaigners have made a simple ask to engage …
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Back to Thatcher for the National Library: Shredding our Heritage
Prospect Trade Union, National Library of Wales Thirty years ago, in the days of Margaret Thatcher, the Welsh Office conducted a review of the National Library of Wales and concluded …
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