#henry-tufnell-mp — Public Fediverse posts

LABOUR WIPEOUT: Only Gower and Cardiff East left standing in Wales if an election were held tomorrow, YouGov model says

If a general election were held tomorrow, Labour would be left with two MPs in the whole of Wales, and one of them would be Gower’s Tonia Antoniazzi, according to YouGov’s new seat-by-seat model.

Swansea West, Neath and Swansea East, Llanelli, Aberafan Maesteg and Bridgend would all go. Across Wales the map is carved up between Plaid Cymru, projected to win 15 seats, and Reform UK on 14. The other Labour survivor is Cardiff East.

The projection comes from YouGov’s MRP, a model that takes a very large national survey and works out how each of the 632 seats in Great Britain would vote. This one is the pollster’s first since Andy Burnham entered Downing Street, built on nearly 17,000 interviews between 23 August and 18 September.

Across the UK it makes Labour the largest party in a hung parliament on 241 seats, down 170 on 2024, with the Conservatives on 130 and Reform UK on 123. YouGov says that is a marked recovery for Labour on its model a year ago, which had Reform close to a majority.

Wales is the exception. Labour won 27 of the 32 Welsh seats in 2024. YouGov’s central estimate now gives it two, which the pollster says would be the party’s worst Westminster result in Wales since 1906, and it notes that any “Burnham bounce” visible in England is far more muted here. The 32nd seat, Monmouthshire, is a narrow Conservative gain.

YouGov’s seat-by-seat map for all 632 seats in Great Britain. Zoom in for south-west Wales. Source: YouGov plc, 2026, © All rights reserved

Seat by seat: Gower held by three points, Neath and Swansea East gone by 11

Gower: Antoniazzi 26%, Reform 23%, Plaid 17%, Conservatives 15%. A three-point hold in the seat she has represented since 2017, and where she was among the first Labour MPs to call on Keir Starmer to go after May’s Senedd result.

Swansea West: Plaid 31%, Reform 24%, Labour 17%. Torsten Bell, the Treasury minister who took the seat in 2024, would be third, seven points behind Plaid.

Neath and Swansea East: Reform 34%, Labour 23%, Plaid 18%. The biggest projected Reform lead in the region, 11 points over Carolyn Harris, who backed Starmer to stay in May when Antoniazzi did not.

Aberafan Maesteg: Plaid 33%, Reform 30%, Labour 20%. Stephen Kinnock, the Secretary of State for Wales, would be third in his own seat. YouGov names him alongside Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant in Rhondda and Ogmore as cabinet ministers trailing both Plaid and Reform.

Llanelli: Plaid 34%, Reform 33%, Labour 11%. A one-point fight between Plaid and Reform, with Nia Griffith’s Labour a distant third.

Bridgend: Reform 23%, Labour 23%, Plaid 20%. A dead heat on the rounded figures; YouGov’s underlying numbers put Reform just ahead of Chris Elmore.

Further west the picture is steadier for the incumbents who are not Labour. Ann Davies would hold Caerfyrddin for Plaid on 43% to Reform’s 27%, and Ben Lake’s Ceredigion Preseli is one of the safest seats in Wales at 51%.

Two others are on a knife edge. In Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, the Liberal Democrats’ David Chadwick trails Reform 24% to 23%. In Mid and South Pembrokeshire, Reform leads on 28% with Labour’s Henry Tufnell fourth on 18%.

Why YouGov says the Reform seats are the shakiest

The model comes with a health warning of its own. YouGov says 37% of all seats are decided by five points or less, and that rises to two thirds of the seats Reform wins, which makes them vulnerable to tactical voting. Its research suggests around two thirds of Lib Dem and Green voters would switch to Labour in a straight Labour v Reform contest, enough to overturn Reform’s lead in most of those seats.

Locally that matters most in Neath and Swansea East, Bridgend and Mid and South Pembrokeshire, the three seats where Reform is projected to take a Labour seat directly. It does nothing for Labour where the challenger is Plaid.

YouGov also warns against reading too much into any single seat: the model works from demographics and past voting, cannot yet prompt for candidate names, and is less reliable where local factors are strong.

A general election is not due until 2029. But the model lands four months after Plaid Cymru won the Senedd election and formed a Welsh Government, and it suggests the shift of Welsh voters away from Labour in May has not reversed with the change of Prime Minister.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

SWANSEA: Gower MP Tonia Antoniazzi calls on Keir Starmer to step aside, as Swansea East’s Carolyn Harris backs him to stay
Where the two Swansea MPs stood in May.

SENEDD ELECTION: Rhun ap Iorwerth to lead Plaid minority government after historic victory ends 27 years of Labour rule
The May result the new model echoes.

REFORM WALES: Neath-born former teacher Helen Jenner is the party’s new Senedd leader
Reform’s change at the top in the Senedd this week.

More on Welsh Labour

STARMER RESIGNATION: Kinnock backs Burnham for PM as local Labour MPs react

Labour MPs across the area have paid tribute to Sir Keir Starmer following his resignation — with one already backing Andy Burnham to replace him.

Aberavon MP Stephen Kinnock, a government minister and the son of former Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock, was quick to throw his weight behind the frontrunner.

He said Sir Keir had pulled Labour “back from the brink” to win the 2024 landslide, and had been “a committed and dignified Prime Minister, always putting country before party”.

Kinnock said he was proud of what the government had achieved, pointing to progress on GP access, a fall in small boat crossings, and better pay and conditions for workers.

But he said the country now needed “a fresh start with a Prime Minister who can inspire public confidence”.

He added: “I believe Andy Burnham has these qualities — and I am excited by the prospect of the positive change his leadership is set to bring.”

Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, confirmed earlier on Monday that he would put himself forward to succeed Sir Keir, and is widely seen as the frontrunner.

Gower MP Tonia Antoniazzi also paid tribute to the outgoing Prime Minister, though she stopped short of naming a preferred successor.

She said Sir Keir had “served our nation with devotion and dignity”, and that she wanted to thank him for his leadership.

“This will not have been an easy decision, but I respect it and support it in the interests of our country,” she said.

Antoniazzi said it was important that the party now came together and continued “to focus on delivering tangible change for the people who we were elected to serve”.

In neighbouring Pembrokeshire, Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell also thanked Sir Keir, saying he had helped to make Britain “fairer, safer, and more prosperous over the past two years”.

Tufnell said his own focus remained on his constituents, with priorities “unchanged” — bringing jobs and growth to Pembrokeshire, improving public services, and tackling the cost-of-living crisis.

Bridgend and Porthcawl MP Chris Elmore, who also served in Sir Keir’s government, said that without his leadership “the Labour Party would not be in Government”. He said Sir Keir had taken the party “from our worst defeat in decades to one of the biggest majorities in our movement’s history” in the space of five years.

Elmore pointed to stronger employment rights, children lifted out of poverty and the railways being brought back under public control, and said that for Sir Keir it had “always been country first, party second”.

Swansea West MP Torsten Bell, also a government minister, said Sir Keir had “turned around our party” and given “huge service to our country”, both as Prime Minister and as a former public prosecutor. He pointed to stronger workers’ rights, rising wages and falling waiting lists, adding that the party now owed the country “a redoubling of our efforts to build a better Britain”.

Several other Labour MPs in the area had not commented publicly by Monday afternoon, among them Llanelli’s Dame Nia Griffith and Swansea East’s Carolyn Harris.

Sir Keir announced on Monday morning that he would step down as Prime Minister and Labour leader, having “heard the answer” of his party on whether he was the right person to lead it into the next election.

He will remain in post until a new leader is chosen, with nominations opening on 9 July and a successor expected before Parliament returns on 1 September.

The resignation follows months of pressure that intensified after Labour’s heavy losses in May’s elections, and after Burnham’s by-election victory in Makerfield last week.

It comes as Wales adjusts to its own changed political landscape, with Labour having lost power in the Senedd in May for the first time since devolution.

For the area’s Labour MPs, the coming weeks will shape not just who leads their party — but the direction of a UK government many of them serve in.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Keir Starmer resigns as Prime Minister
The resignation and the wider Welsh reaction.

SOCIAL MEDIA BANNED: Under-16s to be blocked from popular apps — here’s what it means for Welsh teens

Weeks before Westminster made its move, Swansea had already made up its mind.

When the local MP asked, eight in 10 people who answered his survey backed some kind of limit on children using social media. A packed public meeting at the Guildhall said much the same.

On Monday, the UK Government caught up with them.

Children under 16 will be banned from social media apps including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and X, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced.

The rules should become law before Christmas and take effect in spring 2027. Messaging apps like WhatsApp won’t be included.

It is one of the biggest changes to childhood in a generation — and for families across Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot, it has been a long time coming.

A debate that started here months ago

This has been a live issue across the area since the spring.

Back in May, Swansea West MP Torsten Bell held an “emergency” public meeting at the Guildhall after the subject filled his postbag more than any other this year.

The room was standing-room only. Parents spoke of children glued to screens for hours. Teachers described what they see in the classroom every day. Charity workers laid out the growing evidence on children’s mental health.

Afterwards, Bell surveyed his constituents and found 80% backed some form of age limit. “Swansea’s voice has been heard loud and clear,” he said, “and Swansea backs a ban.”

Local MPs had already been pushing in the same direction. Tonia Antoniazzi and Henry Tufnell were among more than 60 Labour MPs who had called for a ban before the government acted.

What actually changes

So what does the ban mean in practice?

From spring 2027, social media companies won’t be allowed to let under-16s use their apps at all. Accounts already held by younger teenagers will be switched off or paused.

A child won’t be able to get around it with a parent’s permission — the ban applies either way.

There’s a second part to it. On gaming sites and other services, under-16s will be stopped from livestreaming themselves — broadcasting live video — and from being contacted by strangers. The government says these are the features that put children most at risk.

For 16 and 17-year-olds, those same restrictions will be switched on automatically, though they can choose to turn them off.

And so-called AI “companion” chatbots — apps designed to act like a virtual boyfriend or girlfriend — will be locked to over-18s.

What stays the same

This is not a ban on being online.

Children will still be able to message friends and family on apps like WhatsApp. They’ll still watch videos, play games, read the news and use school and learning sites.

The government has promised a short list of exceptions covering things like educational tools, shopping and music apps.

What teenagers themselves think

The young people who’ll actually be affected aren’t all convinced.

When BBC Wales visited Morriston Comprehensive in Swansea last month, pupils pushed back.

Ruby, 14, said it was easy for older people to want rid of social media because they grew up without it — but her generation hadn’t.

Indy, 13, said that growing up now, social media felt “vital”. Their classmate Alex, also 13, thought a ban was too harsh, arguing the responsibility should be shared between children, parents and the apps themselves.

It’s a feeling the government’s own research backed up. Across the UK, children were far more likely to want certain features restricted than to want apps banned outright — and only around three in 10 supported a full ban.

A city that’s already worried — but not united

Back at that Guildhall meeting, the mood in the room captured the national split in miniature.

There were parents who wanted action now, certain that social media was harming their children. There were others who doubted a ban could ever really be enforced — and worried it might just push young people somewhere worse.

The worries aren’t hard to understand. According to the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and the regulator Ofcom, one in five children in Wales spends more than seven hours a day looking at a screen. Most children aged three to five already have their own social media profile.

And the harm isn’t abstract. In March, a school warned pupils they could face expulsion over abusive TikTok posts that caused real distress.

Will it actually work?

That’s the question hanging over everything — and it’s the one the Swansea meeting kept coming back to.

To make the ban work, apps will have to get much better at checking how old their users really are. That could mean scanning a face to estimate someone’s age, asking for ID, or working it out from how an account behaves. The regulator Ofcom has been told to report back on the best way to do it by October.

Most adults shouldn’t have to do anything, the government says — but some will be asked to prove they’re over 16.

The doubters point to Australia, which brought in an almost identical ban in December. Six months on, 70% of parents there told officials their children were still on the banned apps, and not a single fine has been issued.

The experts are cautious too. Prof Amy Orben, of the University of Cambridge, said a ban was unlikely to make a big difference to children’s wellbeing in the short term, pointing to Australia, where most young people are still online.

A ban could still change attitudes over time, she said — but called it an admission that efforts to make social media safe had failed, adding that she felt “a deep sense of disappointment” about it.

Others were blunter. Prof David Ellis, of the University of Bath, said the ban was “based on worry, not evidence” and risked pushing teenagers towards less safe corners of the internet while letting the social media firms “off the hook”.

The numbers behind the headline

The government’s big claim is that nine in 10 parents support a ban. That figure is worth a second look.

It comes from parents who chose to respond to the consultation — people already motivated enough to take part. In the government’s own representative survey, the figure was lower, at around three-quarters.

And children, as the Morriston pupils showed, are far more divided. The point worth holding onto is that the people the ban is built to protect are often the least sure about it.

The Welsh questions

Closer to home, the ban throws up a few knots that don’t quite apply across the border.

In Wales, 16 and 17-year-olds can already vote in Senedd and council elections — old enough, in other words, to help pick a government. Yet under these plans they’d have spent their younger teens shut out of the very apps where a lot of that debate now happens.

There’s a question of who’s in charge, too. The internet is governed from Westminster, so the ban itself isn’t a decision for Cardiff. But schools and children’s services are run by the Welsh Government — and that’s where a ban actually plays out, day to day.

Wales has already gone its own way once. When England moved to make schools phone-free, First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth ruled out a Wales-wide ban and left it to each school to decide.

The Welsh Government said it was “committed to doing all we can to protect children and young people from the harmful impacts of social media”, and would wait to see the outcome of the consultation.

The thing the apps give that’s easy to forget

There’s one more Welsh wrinkle, and it came from children themselves.

When researchers asked young people across the UK what they’d miss, Welsh children pointed to two things in particular: keeping in touch with friends in the countryside, where everyone lives far apart, and having somewhere to practise the Welsh language.

For a teenager in a village in rural Carmarthenshire, an app isn’t just a time-sink. It can be the difference between feeling part of things and feeling cut off — exactly the balance the government says it’s trying to get right.

What happens now

For families, the short answer is: nothing yet.

The government says parents and children don’t need to do anything before the changes land in 2027. More detail is promised in July, including possible overnight “curfews” on apps and limits on the endless scrolling that keeps children glued to their phones.

There may be an upside to all the uncertainty. Dr Catherine Sebastian, of the health charity Wellcome, said nobody yet knew how the ban would affect teenagers’ mental health — so Wellcome will fund studies across the country to find out, working with young people themselves to design them.

Whether the ban protects children or simply pushes the determined ones somewhere harder to see is the question now hanging over all of it. It’s the same question a Swansea Guildhall full of parents and teachers was asking back in May — and the answer still isn’t in.

If you’re worried about a child in your life, support is available through Childline on 0800 1111.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

SOCIAL MEDIA: ‘Swansea backs a ban’ says MP Torsten Bell as survey finds strong local support
The Swansea West MP found 80% of those he surveyed backed some form of age limit.

Packed Swansea public meeting hears parents’ fears about social media and their kids
Inside the Guildhall meeting that drew parents, teachers and residents.

First Minister rules out Wales-wide ban on phones in schools
The Welsh Government has left the decision on school phone bans to individual schools.

Bridgend school warns pupils could face expulsion over abusive TikTok posts
The real-world consequences of children’s social media use in our schools.

PEMBROKESHIRE: Wales vs Westminster showdown looms over Trump’s ‘space wars’ radar — as anti-DARC campaign asks new Plaid government to block it

When the votes were counted after the Senedd election earlier this month, the campaign against Donald Trump’s proposed deep space radar array in Pembrokeshire suddenly had a very different political landscape to work with.

Plaid Cymru — which voted at its national conference in October 2024 to take action against the Deep Space Advanced Radar Concept (DARC) — is now in government. Rhun ap Iorwerth is Wales’s new First Minister. And one of his first cabinet appointments — Siân Gwenllian as Local Government, Housing and Planning Minister — now places one of the most significant planning decisions in Wales’s recent history directly on her desk.

On 14 May, the campaign group PARC Against DARC formally submitted a request to the new Welsh Government to ‘call in’ the DARC planning application — a mechanism that would transfer the decision from Pembrokeshire County Council to Welsh ministers, putting Siân Gwenllian in the chair for a decision that could set Wales and Westminster on a collision course.

The Ministry of Defence submitted its planning application to Pembrokeshire County Council in April for 27 radar dishes at Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy — a short distance from the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the only coastal national park in Britain. The dishes would form part of a system to track and identify objects in deep space, giving the US military capabilities it has publicly described as a tool for dominating space.

The public window to submit objections to Pembrokeshire County Council closes on 20 May. That means anyone who wants their voice heard has days left to act.

Campaigners say the numbers are already stark. Of 498 responses received by the MOD during its pre-application statutory consultation, 401 used PARC’s own template objection email. All other responses summarised in the report were also objections. PARC claims this amounts to a credible 100% of recorded public comments opposing the scheme — a figure the MOD has not disputed.

The jobs argument — which Pembrokeshire West MP Henry Tufnell has used to support the project — is also under fierce challenge. The MOD’s own Environmental Impact Assessment concedes that any jobs created would be of “low numbers” and “not significant” in the context of the county’s 49,000-strong workforce.

PARC says the real picture is far worse. The project would require the evacuation of the 14th Signal Regiment from Cawdor Barracks — a unit the campaign says numbers around 600 personnel. Against that, the MOD’s own documents claim just 40 to 60 new full-time jobs. Even at the most optimistic reading, PARC argues that amounts to a net loss of between 340 and 580 local jobs — and that most of the claimed new posts would be filled by US personnel rather than local workers.

The MOD argues the regiment was already planning to relocate by 2028. PARC disputes that too, pointing to a decades-long history of on-off closure plans at Cawdor Barracks stretching back to 2009 — with the regiment declared for closure and then reprieved multiple times. Former MP Stephen Crabb described it in Parliament as a “long drawn-out on-off, on-off discussion.”

Plaid Cymru’s opposition to DARC is well established. In April 2024, Plaid MS Cefin Campbell — who was re-elected for Sir Gaerfyrddin at this month’s election — tabled a statement of opinion in the Senedd opposing the development. Nearly a third of all sitting members signed it. Plaid MP Liz Saville-Roberts also tabled an Early Day Motion against DARC in Westminster.

“Plaid Cymru has a long and honourable history of promoting peace around the globe and opposing militarism at every level,” Campbell said at the time. “We cannot therefore support the construction of DARC and give space to American militarism on our land.”

Even the previous Welsh Government under Eluned Morgan called for a pause to the project in April, citing Trump’s “contempt for our country” as making the US an unreliable partner. Campaigners said at the time it didn’t go far enough — but with Plaid now in the Senedd, they believe they finally have a government willing to go further.

PARC is preparing a 150,000-word formal objection, covering visual impact, wildlife, health concerns, socioeconomic impacts and what it calls the MOD’s “maladministration of public consultations.” The group has been gathering signatures on a petition — which has passed 19,000 — and has clocked up more than 160 news articles covering the campaign since 2024.

Campaigners say the new Planning Minister is heading for a baptism of fire. “The election of the new Welsh Government is a huge and seismic development from our perspective,” PARC said. “We know that the party in control of Wales has a proud history of standing up for the people of Wales and standing for peace.”

The planning application is open for public comment at Pembrokeshire County Council’s online planning portal until 20 May. PARC’s one-click objection tool for residents is available at parcagainstdarc.com/call-it-in.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Planning application lodged for 27 giant radar dishes at Brawdy
Our report on the MOD formally submitting the DARC planning application in April.

Welsh First Minister calls for halt to Pembrokeshire space radar project
Eluned Morgan’s call for a pause — and why campaigners said it didn’t go far enough.

Game of Thrones star urges voters to back Plaid or Greens to block DARC radar
Jerome Flynn’s call to arms ahead of the Senedd election.

TENBY: MP demands Welsh Water answers after boy hospitalised swimming in sea — as iconic North Beach loses Blue Flag for third time

Tenby North Beach has lost its Blue Flag status for the third time after its water quality dropped from “excellent” to “good” — triggering a furious response from the area’s MP and fresh calls for Welsh Water to be held to account.

Henry Tufnell, Conservative MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, has written to Welsh Water chief executive Roch Cheroux demanding an urgent plan to prevent further pollution incidents, after a young boy was hospitalised with sickness and diarrhoea following a swim in the sea at Tenby last week.

The same week, Natural Resources Wales issued a no-swim alert at Lydstep Haven — just a few miles from Tenby — due to concerns over water quality on 6 May, with warning signs still in place as late as 11 May.

Welsh Water subsequently clarified that the Lydstep incident was not linked to their infrastructure. NRW confirmed on 6 May that the no-swim alert at Lydstep was caused by a damaged privately owned sewerage system discharging onto the beach — not a Welsh Water overflow. Welsh Water said they had not spilled in the Tenby area for the preceding two months.

In his letter to Welsh Water, dated 12 May, Tufnell described the situation as “extremely concerning” and said Welsh Water’s poor environmental performance now posed “a serious risk to the health and wellbeing” of his constituents and visitors to the area.

“A situation like this has serious implications for our local economy, which relies heavily on tourism, particularly during the summer months when visitors rightly — and wisely — come to enjoy Pembrokeshire’s beaches,” he wrote. He asked Welsh Water to set out what immediate steps it would take to address the incidents at Lydstep and Tenby, and how it would ensure Pembrokeshire’s bathing waters were safe for everyone.

The loss of Tenby North’s Blue Flag was confirmed in today’s 2026 Wales Coast Awards, announced alongside the retention of Blue Flag status for a string of Swansea and Gower beaches. Pembrokeshire County Council did not apply for the Blue Flag for North Beach this year because the water quality had fallen below the required standard. Blue Flag beaches must meet the highest water quality thresholds — “good” is not sufficient to qualify.

The beach is one of Tenby’s most famous — used for Ironman Wales and the town’s Boxing Day Swim, and central to Tenby’s identity as one of Wales’s most celebrated coastal destinations. It previously held Blue Flag status for more than 25 consecutive years before first losing it in 2022.

This is the third time North Beach has lost the award. It failed to retain Blue Flag status in 2022 and 2023 when water quality dropped from “excellent” to “good”, recovered, and has now slipped again — raising serious questions about whether the underlying causes were ever fully resolved.

Water quality at Tenby North is tested by NRW each summer, with samples assessed for two types of bacteria. Welsh Water said the samples that triggered the downgrade were taken in July and August last year — and crucially, said there were no storm overflow spills in the area in the weeks leading up to those dates.

A Welsh Water spokesperson said: “These bacteria can originate from a range of environmental sources. Improving water quality is a shared challenge and progress will only come through coordinated action across sectors. Factors such as rural land use, urban runoff, industry, soil erosion, illegal misconnections and private septic systems all play a part.”

The company added it is investing more than £2.3 million a day to improve its services, including £2.5 billion between 2025 and 2030 on environmental improvements across Wales. NRW said it is actively investigating the reason for the drop in water quality, but no cause has yet been determined.

Owen Derbyshire, chief executive of Keep Wales Tidy, said the news was disappointing and described Tenby North as “an important local beauty spot and key tourist attraction.” He said the organisation was committed to working with authorities to help restore the beach’s water quality and regain its Blue Flag standing.

The area’s recent pollution history adds to the concern. In July 2024, Welsh Water reported a burst rising main near Tenby that sent sewage into the River Ritec, prompting NRW to declare an “abnormal situation” at Tenby South Beach, Castle Beach, North Beach and Penally Beach. Public warning signs were erected before being lifted after repairs and testing.

Tufnell said he would be speaking at the Broad Haven Paddle Out Protest on Saturday — part of a national day of action by Surfers Against Sewage across more than 50 locations — and said he would continue doing everything within his power to hold Welsh Water to account.

Tenby Castle Beach and South Beach have both retained their Blue Flag status in the 2026 awards — Castle Beach having held the award for an impressive 25 consecutive years — making the loss of North Beach’s flag all the more stark.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

SWANSEA: Four of Swansea’s beaches once again fly the Blue Flag — as the city’s marina picks up the award too
Caswell, Langland, Port Eynon and Swansea Marina all retain their Blue Flag status in 2026.

GOWER: Protesters to rally at Caswell Bay this Saturday as data reveals Welsh Water’s worst decade for pollution
Surfers Against Sewage mobilise across Wales this weekend as Welsh Water’s pollution record comes under scrutiny.

Welsh Water told to pay £45m for ‘unacceptable’ sewage failures
Ofwat found serious and unacceptable breaches in Welsh Water’s sewage operations.

PORT TALBOT: Aberavon beach wins prestigious Seaside Award
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PEMBROKESHIRE: Planning application lodged for 27 giant radar dishes at Brawdy as campaigners say Morgan’s intervention doesn’t go far enough

A planning application for the controversial Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability installation at Cawdor Barracks in Pembrokeshire has been formally submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council, as the project becomes one of the most politically charged issues of the Senedd election campaign.

The Ministry of Defence lodged the application on 23 March, following a statutory pre-application consultation period that ran from 23 February to 22 March 2026. Pembrokeshire County Council will now determine whether to grant planning permission for the scheme, which would see 27 radar dishes — each approximately 15 metres in diameter and 21 metres tall — installed at the former RAF Brawdy site.

The planning application arrived just weeks after First Minister Eluned Morgan sparked headlines by calling for the UK to halt its involvement in DARC, citing Donald Trump’s conduct and questioning whether the US remained a reliable partner. Morgan, who is also Welsh Labour’s lead Senedd candidate in the Ceredigion Penfro constituency where the site is located, stopped short of opposing the project outright — calling only for a pause while Trump remains in office.

Anti-radar campaign group PARC Against DARC — Pembrokeshire Against Radar Campaign — responded on Thursday, welcoming Morgan’s intervention but saying her position fell far short of what was needed to stop the scheme.

A spokesperson for the campaign said the issue was “clearly in the minds of voters for the upcoming Senedd election” and may have been “reported back to Morgan from the doorsteps.” The campaigners said they feared Morgan could simply reverse her position if re-elected, and argued that calling for a pause was a far weaker stance than the outright opposition the project deserved.

Their response came with sharp words for Henry Tufnell, the Labour MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, who broke ranks with Morgan to defend the scheme and cited jobs for the local area as a key factor in his support.

The campaign said it was “absolutely unbelievable how out of touch Henry Tufnell is on the whole DARC debate,” and claimed the MOD’s Environmental Impact Assessment showed that direct local employment from the scheme would amount to a maximum of 20 permanent roles, with the remainder of the operational staff made up of US personnel.

However, the MOD’s own public consultation materials, distributed to around 2,390 households in the area in August 2024, stated that the scheme would bring a permanent presence of up to 100 UK military and civilian personnel to the site, along with up to 120 short-term construction jobs. The campaign disputes those figures, arguing the full EIA tells a different story about the proportion of roles that would go to local people.

Swansea Bay News has not independently verified the campaign’s interpretation of the EIA, and the MOD has not responded to their characterisation of the jobs figures.

The campaign also alleged that the public consultation on the scheme had not been properly publicised to local residents. However, documents from the MOD’s pre-application consultation report — submitted as part of the planning application — show that community newsletters were posted to 2,390 households via Royal Mail in August 2024, and that two public drop-in events held in Solva and St Davids in September 2024 drew more than 420 attendees, with 305 feedback forms returned. A further newsletter was distributed to an extended area when the statutory consultation opened in February 2026.

The MOD’s consultation documents also include photomontages showing what the radar array would look like from locations around the site. Seen from the local road to Brawdy, several dishes are clearly visible above the hedgerow. From Trefgarn Owen to the north, the full array of dishes appears strung across the open skyline. From Penycwm village, dishes are visible above the rooftops.

The campaign alleged that the MOD’s EIA had confirmed the visual impact of the scheme would be adverse from the majority of assessed viewpoints, and substantially adverse from at least a fifth of them. Swansea Bay News has not independently reviewed the full EIA.

PARC Against DARC said it believed deep divisions had now opened within the Labour Party over the issue, and that Morgan’s intervention was a sign she was aware of the political risks heading into the May 7 election. However, the campaign also acknowledged what it described as Morgan’s bravery in publicly criticising Trump, noting his track record of targeting critics.

Both Plaid Cymru and the Wales Green Party have opposed DARC since the project was announced. A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said Morgan’s intervention was “nothing but a last-ditch attempt to cling on to her seat,” pointing out that the party had consistently called on the UK Government to prioritise rebuilding European ties in response to Trump’s foreign policy positions.

Plaid passed a motion formally opposing DARC at its annual conference in October 2024 and tabled a parliamentary motion in Westminster in March 2025. A Statement of Opinion tabled in the Senedd in January 2025 by Plaid MS Cefin Campbell attracted signatures from 15 members of the Welsh Parliament, including several Labour MSs — among them Cardiff North MS Julie Morgan, Swansea East MS Mike Hedges and Aberavon MS David Rees. The motion called on the Welsh Government to commission an authoritative independent impact assessment of the DARC scheme.

Wales Green Party leader Zak Polanski welcomed Morgan’s comments, writing on X that standing up to the US “must mean more than words,” and calling for closer ties with EU neighbours.

Downing Street has not changed its position. A spokesperson said this week that the DARC programme “will secure long-term jobs in Pembrokeshire and Wales, and help protect essential satellite communication.”

The Ceredigion Penfro constituency, which covers the Brawdy area, is expected to be among the more competitive seats on 7 May, with Plaid Cymru fielding a strong candidate against Morgan.

PARC Against DARC is urging people to vote for parties opposed to the project at the Senedd election. More information, including the campaign’s consultation response and lobbying resources, is available at parcagainstdarc.com.

As Swansea Bay News reported yesterday, the DARC programme is designed to detect and track objects in deep space up to 36,000km from Earth, forming part of a three-nation network alongside installations in the US and Australia.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Welsh first minister calls for halt to Pembrokeshire space radar project over Trump’s “contempt for our country”
Eluned Morgan said the US under Trump was no longer the reliable partner it once was.

Pembrokeshire barracks named as preferred site for new deep space radar
Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy was confirmed as the UK’s preferred location for the DARC installation in 2023.

TENBY: “Tenby has been let down” — councillors demand more police on streets as stabbing sparks fury over rising youth disorder

Elected councillors in Tenby have issued an angry call for more visible policing in the town after Tuesday night’s railway station stabbing — with one saying the town has “been let down” and another warning that many residents no longer feel safe in their own community.

Four teenagers aged between 13 and 17, all from the Pembroke area, were stabbed at Tenby railway station on Tuesday evening after serious disorder broke out involving a large group of youths. All four have since been discharged from hospital, with British Transport Police confirming their injuries are not considered life-threatening or life-changing.

A 16-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and both remain in police custody as the investigation continues.

Superintendent Jon Cooze of British Transport Police said the force had launched a thorough investigation and was keeping an open mind as to the background of what had happened. He thanked Dyfed-Powys Police colleagues for their quick actions at the scene and urged anyone who witnessed the incident or the events leading up to it to come forward.

“We understand the concern an incident of this nature will have caused in the community,” he said, “and while we believe it to be an isolated incident, passengers will notice an increased presence of officers in the area who are there to provide reassurance.”

He also asked the public not to share or speculate on footage circulating online while detectives concentrate on their investigation.

But the stabbing, serious as it is, has proved to be the breaking point in what councillors say has been a worsening pattern of youth disorder in the town — one they say police have repeatedly failed to address.

Reports on social media suggest trouble had been building throughout the day, with large numbers of youths gathering on North Beach. Earlier the same evening, Pembrokeshire County Council was forced to close the public toilets near the multi-storey car park after a gang of youths vandalised them.

One resident described the situation as having become “intolerable for weeks.” They said groups of up to 15 youths had been regularly causing havoc in the multi-storey car park, playing rugby in the road, climbing on bus shelters and screaming — and that police had been called several times without result. “There’s never an officer available in our area,” they said. “It’s not good enough.”

Another resident said hundreds of teenagers had been arriving in Tenby by train from across the county during recent days, vandalising toilets, stealing from local shops and abusing and attacking passers-by. “Transport for Wales and the police should be monitoring it,” they said. “With social media, AI and other systems, this behaviour should have been prevented before it escalated.”

Cllr Williams, county councillor for Tenby’s North ward, said the violence itself was not new — only the use of knives. He told the Tenby Observer he had emailed Dyfed-Powys Police about related concerns approximately three weeks ago and had not received a response. Officers are due to visit him at his home on Thursday, when he said he would be making “a very strong argument for a far more visible police presence in Tenby.”

“Tenby has been let down, despite an ever increasing precept being imposed upon us,” he said. “We have a right to feel safe in our community, and I know many that no longer do so.”

He noted that a CCTV monitoring system once operated from Tenby Police Station but that the station now appears to be closed. He said he would also be discussing the town’s needs with the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Cllr Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, county councillor for Tenby’s South ward, described the stabbings as a shock but said the wider problem of anti-social behaviour was well known. He pointed to Dyfed-Powys Police’s summer Operation Lion initiative — which brings additional officers into the town during the peak tourist season — and said he now believes it needs to be extended to other busy periods such as school holidays.

“We know that an increased police presence is an important part of keeping communities safe,” he said. “I will work with all parties to keep Tenby safe and encourage the police and PCC to do all that they can to ensure that this is a one-off incident.”

Tenby Town Council, speaking through Mayor Cllr Dai Morgan, said the behaviour seen this week does not reflect the town’s values or those of the overwhelming majority of its young people. The council called for more visible policing “particularly during busy periods, to provide reassurance to the community and to act as a deterrent to further incidents,” and said it would continue to work with police, Pembrokeshire County Council and partner agencies on longer-term solutions.

Henry Tufnell, MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, said he was deeply saddened by the events. “My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of those involved,” he said. “I know our community will be deeply shocked by these events, but we are all so grateful for the vital services of the emergency first responders on the scene.”

Samuel Kurtz MS, Senedd member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, called for zero tolerance on knife crime. “This kind of violence has no place in our communities and cannot be accepted under any circumstances,” he said. “Those responsible must face the full force of the law. We all deserve to feel safe where we live.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 916 of 07/04/26. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

TENBY: Four teens stabbed at railway station as two arrested and line closed
Our original report on Tuesday night’s stabbing at Tenby railway station.

LLANELLI: Police crack down on North Dock anti-social behaviour hotspot as spring season begins
Officers move to address disorder at a well-known trouble spot as warmer weather arrives.

SWANSEA: Police impose 48-hour dispersal order on city centre after Easter holiday disorder
Officers respond to disorder in Swansea city centre over the Easter break.

Tonia Antoniazzi and Henry Tufnell among 60 Labour MPs to back call banning social media for under 16s

The MPs have joined a growing push to ban all under‑16s from using social media, warning that children are being exposed to addictive platforms and harmful content on a daily basis.

The joint letter says that children are becoming “anxious, unhappy and unable to focus on learning” because of the sheer amount of time spent online.

The MPs point to research showing the average 12‑year‑old spends 29 hours a week on a smartphone, much of it on platforms they say are “designed to be addictive”. They warn that mental‑health referrals are soaring, with more than 500 children a day being sent for anxiety support in England alone.

The letter argues that the burden shouldn’t fall on parents, but on tech giants, who they say must be forced to enforce age limits properly.

The push follows a major move in Australia, where new laws now block under‑16s from having accounts on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Meta says it removed around 550,000 accounts in the first days of the crackdown.

The MPs say the UK risks “being left behind” unless it follows suit.

Alongside Antoniazzi and Tufnell, the other Welsh signatories are Ruth Jones (Newport West), Andrew Ranger (Wrexham) and Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire & Glyndŵr).

‘Transformational for our communities’: South West Wales MPs react to £214m Pride in Place funding

While Labour MPs hailed the investment as “transformational” and a “once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity”, opposition councillors in Bridgend voiced frustration that their county had received far less than neighbouring areas.

Swansea

Torsten Bell, MP for Swansea West, said:

“We have won something rare – a massive, over £20 million, long‑term investment in Swansea. This is our chance for people to get involved in improving our city, from regenerating our city centre to boosting all our high streets.”

Tonia Antoniazzi, MP for Gower, added:

“Local people know their area better than anyone else and that is why the government has decided to do this differently. This is our chance to improve our area by making the big decisions for ourselves.”

Council leader Rob Stewart also welcomed the funding, describing it as “great to see this investment coming to Swansea” and urging that Wales must not be left worse off after Brexit.

Neath Port Talbot

Stephen Kinnock, MP for Aberafan Maesteg, said the £20m for Neath Port Talbot was:

“A once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity to invest in our communities. It will be up to all of us to decide how exactly this money is spent – not politicians in London, but local residents, right here in Aberafan Maesteg.”

Carmarthenshire

Dame Nia Griffith, MP for Llanelli, welcomed the £20m for Carmarthenshire, saying:

“This £20 million of new funding will change lives over the next decade and be spent where local people need it most. Local people know their area better than anyone else and that is why the UK Labour Government has decided to do this differently.”

Pembrokeshire

Henry Tuffnell, MP for Mid & South Pembrokeshire, highlighted the £1.5m allocation as:

“A valuable boost for regenerating our local areas, and I’ll be working with Pembrokeshire County Council to make sure that money is used in the best way possible for our community.”

Bridgend

Chris Elmore, MP for Bridgend, announced:

“£3 million from the UK Labour Government for our communities – and you get to help decide how it’s spent. This is a huge opportunity to shape the future of Bridgend and Porthcawl together.”

But the award has drawn criticism locally.

Independent councillor Steven Bletsoe said:

“£3m is very welcome investment into our town centres and that money needs to be wisely spent. But how on earth are we getting eight times less than Aberavon and Maesteg? I simply cannot comprehend this.”

A spokesperson for the Bridgend Independent Group added:

“Of course we welcome an additional £3m but once again Bridgend gets treated less favourably than our neighbours. Maybe our MP should spend less time having photos taken and more time fighting for his constituency.”

#AberafanMaesteg #Bridgend #ChrisElmoreMP #CllrRobStewart #CllrStevenBletsoe #HenryTufnellMP #Llanelli #NiaGriffithMP #Pembrokeshire #PrideInPlace #PrideInPlaceFund #PrideInPlaceImpactFund #StephenKinnockMP #Swansea #ToniaAntoniazziMP #TorstenBell #UKGovernment

Politicians welcome progress on 72-home development in Saundersfoot

Work is progressing rapidly on a major housing development in Saundersfoot, where local politicians have welcomed the early signs of transformation at Persimmon Homes’ new 72-home scheme, Ger-y-Môr.

Set on land off Sandy Hill, the site received planning approval last year from the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and promises a mix of two, three, and four-bedroom homes — including 35% earmarked for affordable rent and shared ownership. Persimmon hopes the development will not only ease pressure on the local housing list, but also support long-term regeneration by attracting families and boosting employment opportunities.

The design incorporates green technologies and ecological features such as solar panels, electric vehicle charging points, and rain gardens. There’s also a sustainable drainage system and wildlife-friendly landscaping to protect dormouse habitats and preserve existing trees and hedgerows. A play area is planned for the centre of the site, and the layout includes an active travel link back to Sandy Hill Road, with improvements to surrounding highways and footpaths also on the cards.

During a site visit this week, Mid & South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell and Cllr Chris Williams, who represents Saundersfoot South, were given a tour by Persimmon’s regional team and shown the early construction progress. The showhome, which they previewed, is set to open to the public later this summer.

“It’s a pleasure to visit a housing development like Ger-y-Môr, not only because of how it will provide new homes for local people, but also because housebuilding is so important to generating economic growth and providing good jobs,” said Mr Tufnell, praising the developer’s engagement with local priorities.

Cllr Williams echoed the sentiment, describing the project as a strong example of “collaboration between planners, developers and the community.” He added: “We need more affordable homes in Saundersfoot, and I’m pleased Persimmon has been able to deliver them here through a collaborative approach. I look forward to seeing the site completed and the positive impact it will have on our community.”

Persimmon Homes West Wales Managing Director Stuart Phillips said he was proud of the progress made since breaking ground earlier this year and welcomed the chance to host two “important community representatives.”

“We are committed to leaving a positive and lasting legacy in Saundersfoot and will keep Henry and Chris updated as we mark future milestones on site,” he said.

#CllrChrisWilliams #construction #HenryTufnellMP #newHomes #PembrokeshireCoastNationalParkAuthority #PembrokeshireCouncil #PersimmonHomes #Saundersfoot