Welsh Liberal blogs

  Jane Dodds and Welsh Liberal Democrats congratulate Ed Davey on Lib Dem Leadership Victory Ed Davey has been elected as the new leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds said:  “I’m incredibly excited to start working with Ed as our new leader, I know he will help communicate our positive liberal message at a time when it’s needed more than ever. “Ed is a friend of Wales understands our nation, our traditions and crucially devolution and the importance of the Senedd elections next year. With more and more people joining our party we have a renewed sense of optimism for the future, something in stark contrast to Boris’ bungled handling of the Covid-19 pandemic” “Ed has championed the cause of the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon which could generate renewable power for 150,000 homes as well as in recent weeks lead the campaign against the carers Covid bonus being taxed.  “We were incredibly lucky as a party to have h...

  we wrap up the Liberal Democrat leadership election, I wanted to thank the thousands of people who have taken part in hustings, sent in questions to the campaigns and engaged in this contest. It’s absolutely right that there is a robust process that properly tests our next leader, and makes sure that whoever wins on Thursday has been put through their paces by the party. Whatever happens later this week, I know that Liberal Democrats will come together and turn our hand to doing what we do best, getting out campaigning and standing up for communities up and down the country. If you haven’t returned your ballot yet then there is still time to vote for me so that we can rebuild our party on solid foundations, and campaign for a fairer, greener and more caring society. That’s my vision for the future of our party, and I know I’ve got the experience we need to deliver it.  With your support, I want to rebuild our party and take on the Tories, and put ...

level, AS, GCSE, Skills Challenge Certificate and Welsh Baccalaureate grades in Wales will now be awarded on the basis of Centre Assessment Grades, Education Minister Kirsty Williams confirmed today (Monday 17 August). The Minister said: Working with Qualifications Wales and WJEC we have sought an approach which provides fairness and balances out differences in the standards applied to judgments in schools. Given decisions elsewhere, the balance of fairness now lies with awarding Centre Assessment grades to students, despite the strengths of the system in Wales. I am taking this decision now ahead of results being released this week, so that there is time for the necessary work to take place. For grades issued last week, I have decided that all awards in Wales will also be made on the basis of teacher assessment. For those young people, for whom our system produced higher grades than those predicted by teachers, the higher grades will stand. Maintaining standards is n...

I am con I am confident that the system overseen by Qualifications Wales (QW) and WJEC, in response to the current   emergency, is fair for students and robust in what it measures and signals to employers and universities.  fid ent  that the system overseen by Qualifications Wales (QW) and WJEC,   However, governments in other parts of the United Kingdom have introduced changes to their systems and we must make sure that these alterations do not disadvantage Welsh students.   Students in Wales, and prospective employers and universities across the UK, can be assured that their A Level grades reflect their work and externally assessed exams.   Almost half the final grade comes from AS Level exams – this is not the situation elsewhere.   Therefore  in building on that completed work, I am giving a guarantee that a learner’s final A Level grade cannot be lower than their AS grade. If a student receives a final grade tomorrow that is below that of the...

  We are calling on the government to offer the Uyghur population asylum in the UK, so that they can flee t   he unthinkable horrors of the situation in Xinjiang and find safety here.   n just the last few months, drone footage believed to be from Xinjiang in China, showed Uyghurs kneeling and blindfolded, waiting to be led onto trains. At the same time, the Chinese Government is also accused of undertaking a  programme  of forced  sterilisation  against Uyghur women.   The situation is abhorrent. Over the course of the last three years, Liberal Democrats have urged the UK government to do more to stop this gross violation of human rights. We have led cross-party letters, parliamentary debates, and parliamentary motions.   We remain clear that the UK has a duty to act.  That is why we have led on a cross-party letter this week to Priti Patel urging her to do the right thing and automatically give refugee status to the Uyghur people. ...

We need to stop arguing and get this money in people's pockets.       Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane  Dodds  has today written to Rishi Sunak, calling for him to agree to not tax the Welsh social care 'thank you' payment.   On 1st of May, the First Minister announced a £500 ‘ Covid  Thank You payment’ for social care staff. This payment was to show appreciation for all the hard work our  hard working  carers had undertaken during the pandemic.   However, almost three months later, this payment still hasn’t materialised. It has transpired that the reason for this is a disagreement over whether the payment will be subject to tax.   This disagreement  mean  that for some the £500 reward could end up being as little as £125, after Tax and National Insurance contributions - should the UK Treasury refuse to waive the traditional tax implications.   In response, Jane  Dodds  has written to the Chancellor - urgi...