To say that the NE Wales changes proposed by the Metro will be transformational is to undersell it. Enhanced connectivity will bring the people, jobs, housing, and resources of NW England and NE Wales even closer together and perhaps Cardiff even further away?

Even though I’m not sure I agree entirely about the level of ‘joy debt’, this thread is outstanding and well worth a read for anyone.

Fel bob tro, nid bwriad y neges yw’r peth (er bod problemau sylweddol gyda hynny hefyd…) ond y ffaith nad oedd Cymru hyd yn oed wedi croesi meddyliau'r rhai sy'n gyfrifol ar lefel y DU.

I’ve yet to hear a coherent argument that flying from, say, Edinburgh to London City, is morally justifiable.

One of the points that strikes me in these stats is how the argument that an increased numbers would give a bigger pool to pick ministers doesn’t really fly when you have splits like this.

Killer image choice here by @willhaycardiff.bsky.social Is it Farage welcoming Wales to the reform fold? Or is it Starmer waving goodbye to a Wales now sailed by Plaid? Ambiguous enough to feed the reader’s biases, the same recipe used in politics at the moment. (I just hope it’s real not AI…)

Definitely a ‘naughty kids on the back row vibe to this…

Polls seem to be shuffling about this ‘3 way split’ but I’ll be surprised not to see at least a couple of Greens if only as a “left wing protest” vote. A sort of 28-2-28 split would be a real kingmaker situation if they can ‘anoint’ the biggest group (who govern with a conf & supply with the other)

The replacement of the A494 Dee Bridge in Deeside will leave the current bridge unused. With some ambition we could have a linear park just like the Castlefield one but we will probably just demolish it.

Why on earth there hasn’t been a decent bit of work to identify an accessible, multi-modal, efficient electric bus design which we could then just copy/paste is beyond me. Someone across the world must be doing it right, right?

This is literally throwing the EV mandate in the bin and, crucially, removes any incentive for the UK-based car industry to invest to innovate. The UK will be the dumping ground for dirty vehicles that other places have outlawed.

(Totally misleading heading btw) The change here is that UK car manufacturers can kick the can of change down the road and avoid innovating. Mortgaging the future for today is never the right choice.

(Declaration of Interest: I am a community councillor) In case you missed the front page splash, @senedd.cymru's Local Gov & Housing Ctte has just published a report on Community & Town Councils. These reports can be dry, but this is drier than most I can't help but feel it misses the mark. (1/x)

The two issues that really seem to be cutting through at the moment are the Crown Estate and HS2. Both speak to a broad sense of Wales getting a bad deal. Danger that if the plan is for a faux UK-WG Labour feud and victory close to the election the die may have been cast and people’s minds made up.

This sort of thinking makes Westminster seem like a cult - as if the power is imbued in the building and not the act of governing.

The data set @yougov.co.uk have now allows them to align views on minor celebs with someone’s perspective on the Ship of Theseus.

People routinely underestimate the work involved in ‘just’ merging organisation in to another. Without proper work to change both you end up with ‘two organisations in a trench-coat’ and horrible inefficiency.

This is where we really miss @hiraethpod.bsky.social Some clear opportunities missed by the boundary commission to go with BangCoMôn Fflecsam Gwyn Wyn Ceredigilong (obviously)

Cymraeg!

Colled enfawr o ‘bŵer meddal’ ond mae’n iawn - fydd y World Service ar gael… Pam? Beth ydy cost i’r BBC am cael Ifan Jones Evans ar lein yn Awstralia?

Schrödinger’s devolution: support something when not in power in Westminster, against it when you are. (Not an exclusively Con phenomenon, see HS2, Crown Estate, oh and St David’s Day Bank Hol).

Not unexpected but sad to see such an effective and passionate MS step down.

I would disagree with several of the criticisms here - there is a marked difference between mergers and just throwing a trenchcoat over three organisations and hoping they work as one.

With no reference to party politics; a disadvantage of the new system is the loss of the regionals. North Wales has some really engaged regional MSs who give fair time and thought to the whole region. They’re now going to be confined to their constituencies which I for one feel is a shame.

This whole series is excellent and valuable for understanding #welshpolitics but this episode reflects a little the view of those who enjoy the cut and thrust of debate and argument. As a smaller country with a focus on collaboration and community, we do tend towards more subtle influencing.

There’s always a debate between whether politics is the art of doing things or getting things done. LW is clearly a ‘doing things’ guy.

Tariff changes which exclude folding bikes. If you want an example of the value of lobbying this is it.

The FM’s decision to stand in Ceredigion & Pembs seems like a really risk strategy. Lab is unlikely to have the highest no of votes so she risks being called a runner up FM or even that because she would have ‘lost’ under FPTP the new electoral system is a fix.

Whatever your political colour the sentiment in this article is astonishing. Unless there’s some huge turn around in sentiment, Welsh Labour are in for a huge shock in 2026 - risking losing votes from all quarters.

🚴‍♂️ Do you cycle to work? If so, we’d love to hear what motivates you! By replacing just 1 car trip with cycling for 200 days, we could save half a tonne of CO2 annually. 🚗 Driving: 271g CO2/km 🚌 Bus: 101g CO2/km 🚲 Cycling: 21g CO2/km (14.8g for e-bikes) cyclinguk.org/cycling-carbon-footprint

The integration of learner travel (school & college buses) is such an important part of this. We could easily get to a point where the current cost is invested in a bus network for all, and those in full time education (inc apprenticeships) travel free 24/7 on public transport bringing independence.

This is absolutely gutting - we need more well thought out discussion like in Wales, not less. But their podcast archive will be a legacy well worth anyone’s time. Diolch i chi gyd.

The Holyhead port issues are huge for the economy of both Wales and Ireland as well as local businesses. But it’s been telling how this vital (“UK Land Bridge”) route disruption has been left to WG to lead. In the past there would definitely have been UK ministers commenting and trying to take over

@hiraethpod.bsky.social after hearing all the south wales focus apologising in the excellent metro episode…. the whole Wrexham LDP situation is fascinating, speaks to policy and democratic mandate, and would be an interesting element if you do a local gov episode.

Here’s a list of villlages which have the same or lower populations than have been saved by the 20mph so far. For some perspective on how impactful this was.

Really lovely article in @bylinescymru.bsky.social and so reflective of the impact that can be had locally if people engage and stand up for their milltir sgwar - not at the expense of other communities, but to delight them.

Every time I travel to Cardiff I’m shocked there’s no signs or facilities to get people off the A470 and on to the Metro way before Cardiff itself. Could be such a benefit for people travelling from the North.

In case anyone is looking for an example of anecdata, cognitive bias, and the challenges of data driven policy making:

I’ve figured out why Bluesky feels like old Twitter: in old Twitter you had individuals but very few companies or organisations. So you’d have someone who worked for Dept of Juggling giving their views and sharing info not just retweets from the official accounts. Far more authentic but didn’t last.

The political breakdown of this data might give food for thought to the current trend to chuck Welsh Gov climate change policies under the bus perhaps?

This is absolutely true. We now have a huge number of 20mph streets in Wales, all with different design requirements, which can be remodelled to make a Welsh style of streets which put people first.

@forwalesseewales.bsky.social is really brilliant: funny, informative, and the right kind of irreverent. Definitely on its way to being one of my top 5 podcasts related to the 1888 Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Take it from me. Choosing follow all from a Starter Pack is a big mistake. Timeline swamped and I’ve literally been pruning ever since.

You know that thing at work where no one can agree whose job it is so everyone has to come to the meeting, and you’re just sitting there thinking: why do we need 3 people to do this?

Maybe I just caught it on a good day but the new 'you can get on the train if it's here' approach at Euston felt almost human... no scrum, no stress, no people running with suitcases half-turned backwards. Shame @garethdennis.bsky.social had to be defenestrated to get to this.

Shifting to Bluesky has definitely left me in a sort of liminal state. Definitely better over here but so many still left on the other side. Hardly crossing the Berlin Wall but still.

Welsh media in one image: The National Newspaper of Wales referring to our country in the third person.

Everyone should be listening to @forwalesseewales.bsky.social with @willhaycardiff.bsky.social Smart, funny, and insightful. Great discussion this episode about the dangers of blaming another body for things you wanted to do anyway. Good lesson for way Local Gov talks to itself/cllrs about WG.

Brilliant book and voting’s open until April so plenty of time to buy it, read it, vote for it, and read it again!