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Reply | Ricky Jones
at 15:08 17 Aug 2025
We’ve seen a lot of claims about two tier justice this week, most of them coming from politicians who’re are using the case for their own ends.
The Secret Barrister has published an article concerning the Ricky Jones trial and what is likely to have taken place. It’s a lengthy read, but it looks like one of the aspects of case against Ricky Jones was proving Jones state of mind, specifically that
The person believed that violent disorder would be committed,
and
The person believed that his act would encourage the commission of violent disorder.
We’ve all seen what happened, but if the Prosecution were unable to prove Jones's beliefs and his state of mind about his acts encouraging the commission of violent disorder the case is not proven. It didn’t take the jury long to acquit Jones, so they must have been pretty unanimous in their decision making. There also a useful comparison with the Lucy Connolly case.
In my opinion, Jones has got away with it due to defence strategy.
Unlike the US where there’s a huge amount of prosecution and defence scrutiny around jury selection, in the UK it’s a random selection. [Post edited 17 Aug 15:09]
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Reply | One in one out
at 22:48 8 Aug 2025
Because it was incompatible with existing legislation. You can’t flog a dead horse! |
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Reply | Another Brexit referendum
at 22:49 7 Aug 2025
I think trying to govern in an arrangement like we have in Wales is lot more complicated than in many other countries of a similar size.
Between 2010 and 2024 we had a Conservative government in London (who ultimately control the purse strings ) and a Labour government in Wales who were diametrically opposed to each other. Both were undermining each other and seeking to score points against the other to the detriment of the Welsh people.
Wales has deep rooted deprivation and is amongst the poorest parts of the U.K., we have more social deprivation and an older population and these are factors which require more money to address. Some will say Wales was getting a fair share of the resources, others will say that wasn’t the case and sight HS2 and the poverty etc.
If I am being honest, I think the money was a factor, but I also think the Welsh government have got some things very wrong. To prosper we need an excellent infrastructure and the lack of foresight in failing to build a relief road around the Brynglas tunnels is staggering. The 20mph speed limit is another example, it was a manifesto commitment and people should have taken that into account when they cast their vote, but the way it was introduced was very heavy handed and there was little scope for discretion or common sense. 20mph limits are here to stay, they are popping up all over the place in England, but they are more tailored to particular areas which is what we needed to do. The increase in the number of AM’s is also a poor decision.
There’s been some good work to address poverty and social issues, but they need to be considered with everything else that’s going on. I think Transport For Wales will eventually improve the railway passengers lot as the new trains come on stream, but that will take time against a background of long term under investment. The South Wales Metro will also make a big difference to some of the poorest valley communities and improve their connections with Cardiff, as the benefits start to come to fruition in the metro area out we need to see greater investment in South West Wales which will build on the Swansea Bay development project.
I don’t think some of the personalities involved like Vaughan Gething have helped the WG either. |
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Reply | Probity in government - optics still not great
at 18:24 7 Aug 2025
The I is published by the Daily Mail Group, so we should be cautious as there may have been a political spin put on the story. IF the facts are as they have been portrayed then while she hasn’t done anything illegal, it doesn’t look good.
The house is currently up for sale for just short of £900k, if she gets that according to The I she’ll pick up around £300 k more than she paid for it - I’d hope some serious CGT would be due for the exchequer. [Post edited 7 Aug 18:27]
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Reply | Tommy Robinson
at 08:34 7 Aug 2025
It’ll all come out in the wash, that area is likely to be subject to massive cctv coverage and they should be able to piece together most of the incident. |
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Reply | Petition - Improve breast screening uptake for women in Wales
at 21:20 6 Aug 2025
I genuinely don’t understand why women aren’t taking advantage of the opportunity to get screened, it’s a potential life saver.
It’s not just breast cancer screening though, the uptake rate for bowel cancer screening is 65.9% which is crazy when you think you can do the test without leaving the comfort of your own home.
I was talking to a woman yesterday whose husband was diagnosed with bowel cancer after taking a screening test - he was 52 and had no symptoms. He’s now had surgery and is getting the care he needs and hopefully will make a full recovery, but it came as a huge shock to him and the family. Screening saves lives - get it done.
For us chaps, Prostate Cancer Cymru hold PSA blood test events around Wales at regular intervals. Basically, it’s a simple appointment at a mass testing day which can cater for 400 people, you pay £10 for a blood test, they do the test and e mail you back with the results a few days later. There’s no need to have symptoms, you just pay and off you go.
The South Wales events had already taken place, the only remaining events are in North Wales after the summer, but ther3 should be more next year.
Edit - petition signed. [Post edited 6 Aug 21:35]
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Reply | Tommy Robinson
at 13:13 6 Aug 2025
I’ve no idea how the footage for the airport business came in to the public domain, but it shouldn’t have as it potentially prejudices a trial. That’s the law.
Edit - just seen the comments re a police officer being under investigation. [Post edited 6 Aug 13:14]
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Reply | Another ill thought out policy
at 22:51 5 Aug 2025
There’s a lot of detail missing from that report. Some of the schools which have closed or are closing are blaming the VAT, but they have struggled financially for a number of years and are operating on numbers well below their capacity. A school operating on less than 60% of its maximum number is going to experience a lot of fiscal turbulence.
Business Matters magazine is owned by a guy who was formerly a member of the Conservative Party. |
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Reply | Tommy Robinson
at 22:23 5 Aug 2025
There may be footage, but the police shouldn’t release it because it’s potential evidence in a future court case. |
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Reply | Another Brexit referendum
at 21:49 5 Aug 2025
For me, I think talking about another referendum is too early. We’ve been out just about 5.5 years and we have to give it more time to see how things settle.
The Brexit deal served up by the Conservatives was in many ways poor. Boris lied about a number of things to get the deal over the line and Sunak and Starmer have come behind him and agreed some changes with the EU which some people are happy about while others aren’t. One of the big problems is that many people had different ideas as to what Brexit looked like and David Davis claims about it being an easy deal to strike were a nonsense.
The EU dug in and negotiations were very difficult. I think that was partly attributed to personalities involved at the time on both sides, but I’d say our politicians who were playing to a particular wing of press made negotiations much more difficult.
Given that there was more support for Brexit amongst the older generation, as time passes some of them will pass away and with the voting age being lowered to 16 that could significantly change the picture. What we can’t have is a vote every 10 or 15 years about joining or leaving the EU. We have to allow enough time to see how it pans out, if it’s a disaster enough time needs to be left so people can see the issues for themselves and learn lessons but not so much time that it causes irreparable damage than can never be repaired, if Brexit works well then we won’t need to worry.
Anyone who proposes a second referendum will likely enable British expats in the EU to vote (they were ineligible last time and I think Cameron will rue that decision) and that should add several percentage points towards rejoin, a younger electorate could also shift the vote. I know my kids would vote to rejoin and I know a bunch of older people who want to retire to the sun,
Immigration was the big issue for many voters, but if anything it’s got worse since Brexit. We’ve replaced Eastern Europeans with non EU citizens.
We could end up in a situation where the majority of people want to rejoin, but we have a Brexit government courtesy of Reform. We’ll know more in 2029. What we can’t have is regular flip flopping and chopping and changing. [Post edited 5 Aug 22:24]
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Reply | Another ill thought out policy
at 18:44 5 Aug 2025
The payment in advance is only benefitting the very wealthy because they are the only ones who can pay in advance. The additional tax revenue will be less than initially anticipated, but it’s still going to be substantial.
The Telegraph have been going on about the closure of private schools and blaming the government, but in many cases the closures have nothing to do with this government. Some were previously announced, some are schools which have received poor inspection reports, some have had falling number quite a while and have become unviable because they are well below capacity, it’s been that way for a while and the losses are mounting.
A number of years ago someone I know put their child into a private school. They were shocked when they were called in to a parents meeting to learn that the school was skint and that it would close at the end of term, so private schools closing is nothing new (especially as the number of children entering education is decreasing) however in this case a seriously wealthy parent got his cheque book out and bailed the school out! |
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Reply | Good news story
at 18:11 5 Aug 2025
If our government agencies have no right to enter French territorial waters without permission how on earth are we going to return them to France? |
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Reply | Rees-Zammit
at 19:49 1 Aug 2025
I don’t blame him having a go and chasing the dream. We knock people for having no ambition and then we knock people when they have a go and fail.
I never thought he’d make it in the first place because it’s a massive ask, learning to play a game at that elite level when you’ve never played before, especially when you’re in your 20’s.
There are less than 2,000 professional players and practice squad players in the NFL, so the odds were always stacked against him and anyone else for that matter. |
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Reply | Louis Rees Zammit
at 13:34 1 Aug 2025
Agreed.
There’s been a lot of negativity on line and carping in about his “failure” to “make it” in the NFL, but the odds were always against him and tbf to him he’s got off his backside and given something different a go. He should be commended for having a crack at the NFL. He’ll probably come back fitter, bigger and stronger than before he went and hopefully it won’t be too long before he’s back playing rugby for Wales. |
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