Latest news with #MimsDavies
Wales Online
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
England's only Welsh language school 'could close' as Welsh Government withdraws £90k funding
England's only Welsh language school 'could close' as Welsh Government withdraws £90k funding Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain, in Ealing in London is the only Welsh language school outside of Wales Pupils at Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain/London Welsh School in 2023 (Image: London Welsh School ) The future of a Welsh language school in London is said to be in doubt if the Welsh Government withdraws its funding. Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain, in Ealing in London, has been teaching children in the capital to become bilingual in both Welsh and English for seven decades. However, the school fears it will lose a £90,000 Welsh Government grant. The school had been receiving funding via the Cymraeg 2050 strategy, a Welsh Government strategy to achieve one million Welsh speakers by 2050. The school has reportedly received this grant for many years, but has now been told it will be withdrawn by March next year. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here The Welsh Conservatives say the school's funding was never intended for formal education. Losing it will mean closure, it is claimed. A source close to Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain said: "The decision to cut funding is abrupt and unjust. Not only have we been given less than a year's notice, but the funding is being withdrawn part-way through an academic year — an approach that is both unreasonable and deeply disruptive. "It leaves teachers in a position of anxious job uncertainty and families with no viable school alternatives. Article continues below "The closure of the school would mean losing a unique educational setting, a deeply rooted community, and a proven model of cultural and linguistic transmission. "The school is already doing everything the Cymraeg 2050 strategy sets out to achieve: creating fluent speakers, embedding Welsh in daily life, and building an intergenerational community around the language. "Re-directing funding elsewhere would not only dismantle this success, but require years of investment to even begin replicating it — with no guarantee of the same results." Conservative shadow Welsh secretary Mims Davies said: "This is yet another example of these two Labour governments working in tandem to fail Wales. "It is appalling Labour is continuing to shoot down opportunities both in Wales and beyond with their policies on independent schools and now withdrawing this funding. "For the sake of all of our young people, I urge these governments to wake up and stop failing our youngsters." The issue was brought up in the Senedd by independent MS Rhys ab Owen. He said: "The grant of £90,000 to Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain, the London Welsh School, will come to an end in March of next year, in the middle of the school's academic year. "The school is clear: without that £90,000, the school will close, and thereby bring to an end 70 years of Welsh education in London. "The school has ensured generation after generation of Welsh speakers. For such a small figure £90,000, the implications are huge for the school—teachers will lose their jobs, children will have to leave the school in the middle of an academic year, and the impact will be huge on the broader London community. "It would be a great shame if the school had to close because the Welsh Government wasn't providing £90,000 to them." The school, originally founded in 1958 by a group of parents who sent their children to Welsh lessons in London, began with 30 pupils. In 2015 it moved from Wembley to Ealing and has started new initiatives to bring in income and pupils, including a mother and toddler group, a before and after school club and hiring out hot desks to parents to work from inside the building. Article continues below In 2023, the school said it had seen its number fall as families returned to Wales post-pandemic. You can read about that here. The Welsh Government has been asked for comment.
The Independent
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Government's £445m for railways in Wales branded ‘peanuts' by Tories
The Government's £445 million funding for rail projects in Wales has been branded 'peanuts' by Shadow Wales Secretary Mims Davies. The investment in Welsh rail announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her spending review on Wednesday will be spent on new stations and upgraded railway lines, and delivered through both direct funding and additional money for the Welsh Government. However, Ms Davies branded the sum 'paltry' and said the Government was 'short-changing' Wales. The Conservative frontbencher asked Wales Secretary Jo Stevens: 'Does the minister prefer peanuts, cashew nuts, or simply scraps for Wales? 'The fabled two Labour governments in lockstep is simply a myth for voters. 'Changing rail classifications and short-changing Welsh communities is a true reality. 'Is the minister concerned by today's reported peanuts, because when did she become aware of just over £400 million, the paltry settlement to come to Wales? 'How will it be split to Welsh Government? How does she think it compares to our Government's £740 million on rail alone?' Responding, Ms Stevens said: 'Her party was in government for 14 years when Wales got 1% of the rail enhancement budget, when it has 11% of the whole UK network. 'Her party are responsible for the historic underfunding of the Welsh rail and we'll hear from the Chancellor this afternoon about what this Government is going to do about it.' Liz Saville-Roberts, Plaid Cymru's leader in Westminster, also accused the Government of reclassifying the Oxford- Cambridge line as an England and Wales project, rather than England only. She said: 'The Secretary of State for Wales joined Plaid Cymru in condemning the Conservatives for denying Wales £4.6 billion in rail funding. 'Now she's in government, she's waxing lyrical about 10% of that, and content with moving the goalpost to deny Wales a further £300 million by recently classifying the Oxford-Cambridge line as benefiting Wales. I don't know how they make this up. 'Does she oppose this new injustice? Or was she ignored? Or is it her mission to see Wales short-changed?' Ms Stevens reiterated her previous response to this accusation that the Government had only been correcting a publishing error and that the Oxford-Cambridge line was always considered an England and Wales development. She said: 'I listened very carefully to the question, and I'm sure she would not wish to unintentionally mislead the House. 'This was an error on the Oxford-Cambridge line. This was an error by the Conservative government in the 2021 spending review. 'And as she knows, heavy rail infrastructure is reserved, not devolved. Like every heavy rail project in England, Barnet consequentials do not apply. 'The UK Government fund from which East West Rail is being funded is also directing funding projects in Wales, like the redevelopment of Wales's busiest station, Cardiff central, improvements to level crossings in north Wales and upgrading the South Wales Relief Link.'
Powys County Times
11-06-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
Government's £445m for railways in Wales branded ‘peanuts' by Tories
The Government's £445 million funding for rail projects in Wales has been branded 'peanuts' by Shadow Wales Secretary Mims Davies. The investment in Welsh rail announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her spending review on Wednesday will be spent on new stations and upgraded railway lines, and delivered through both direct funding and additional money for the Welsh Government. However, Ms Davies branded the sum 'paltry' and said the Government was 'short-changing' Wales. The Conservative frontbencher asked Wales Secretary Jo Stevens: 'Does the minister prefer peanuts, cashew nuts, or simply scraps for Wales? 'The fabled two Labour governments in lockstep is simply a myth for voters. 'Changing rail classifications and short-changing Welsh communities is a true reality. 'Is the minister concerned by today's reported peanuts, because when did she become aware of just over £400 million, the paltry settlement to come to Wales? 'How will it be split to Welsh Government? How does she think it compares to our Government's £740 million on rail alone?' Responding, Ms Stevens said: 'Her party was in government for 14 years when Wales got 1% of the rail enhancement budget, when it has 11% of the whole UK network. 'Her party are responsible for the historic underfunding of the Welsh rail and we'll hear from the Chancellor this afternoon about what this Government is going to do about it.' Liz Saville-Roberts, Plaid Cymru's leader in Westminster, also accused the Government of reclassifying the Oxford-Cambridge line as an England and Wales project, rather than England only. She said: 'The Secretary of State for Wales joined Plaid Cymru in condemning the Conservatives for denying Wales £4.6 billion in rail funding. 'Now she's in government, she's waxing lyrical about 10% of that, and content with moving the goalpost to deny Wales a further £300 million by recently classifying the Oxford-Cambridge line as benefiting Wales. I don't know how they make this up. 'Does she oppose this new injustice? Or was she ignored? Or is it her mission to see Wales short-changed?' Ms Stevens reiterated her previous response to this accusation that the Government had only been correcting a publishing error and that the Oxford-Cambridge line was always considered an England and Wales development. She said: 'I listened very carefully to the question, and I'm sure she would not wish to unintentionally mislead the House. 'This was an error on the Oxford-Cambridge line. This was an error by the Conservative government in the 2021 spending review. 'And as she knows, heavy rail infrastructure is reserved, not devolved. Like every heavy rail project in England, Barnet consequentials do not apply. 'The UK Government fund from which East West Rail is being funded is also directing funding projects in Wales, like the redevelopment of Wales's busiest station, Cardiff central, improvements to level crossings in north Wales and upgrading the South Wales Relief Link.'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Government's £445m for railways in Wales branded ‘peanuts' by Tories
The Government's £445 million funding for rail projects in Wales has been branded 'peanuts' by Shadow Wales Secretary Mims Davies. The investment in Welsh rail announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her spending review on Wednesday will be spent on new stations and upgraded railway lines, and delivered through both direct funding and additional money for the Welsh Government. However, Ms Davies branded the sum 'paltry' and said the Government was 'short-changing' Wales. The Conservative frontbencher asked Wales Secretary Jo Stevens: 'Does the minister prefer peanuts, cashew nuts, or simply scraps for Wales? 'The fabled two Labour governments in lockstep is simply a myth for voters. 'Changing rail classifications and short-changing Welsh communities is a true reality. 'Is the minister concerned by today's reported peanuts, because when did she become aware of just over £400 million, the paltry settlement to come to Wales? 'How will it be split to Welsh Government? How does she think it compares to our Government's £740 million on rail alone?' Responding, Ms Stevens said: 'Her party was in government for 14 years when Wales got 1% of the rail enhancement budget, when it has 11% of the whole UK network. 'Her party are responsible for the historic underfunding of the Welsh rail and we'll hear from the Chancellor this afternoon about what this Government is going to do about it.' Liz Saville-Roberts, Plaid Cymru's leader in Westminster, also accused the Government of reclassifying the Oxford-Cambridge line as an England and Wales project, rather than England only. She said: 'The Secretary of State for Wales joined Plaid Cymru in condemning the Conservatives for denying Wales £4.6 billion in rail funding. 'Now she's in government, she's waxing lyrical about 10% of that, and content with moving the goalpost to deny Wales a further £300 million by recently classifying the Oxford-Cambridge line as benefiting Wales. I don't know how they make this up. 'Does she oppose this new injustice? Or was she ignored? Or is it her mission to see Wales short-changed?' Ms Stevens reiterated her previous response to this accusation that the Government had only been correcting a publishing error and that the Oxford-Cambridge line was always considered an England and Wales development. She said: 'I listened very carefully to the question, and I'm sure she would not wish to unintentionally mislead the House. 'This was an error on the Oxford-Cambridge line. This was an error by the Conservative government in the 2021 spending review. 'And as she knows, heavy rail infrastructure is reserved, not devolved. Like every heavy rail project in England, Barnet consequentials do not apply. 'The UK Government fund from which East West Rail is being funded is also directing funding projects in Wales, like the redevelopment of Wales's busiest station, Cardiff central, improvements to level crossings in north Wales and upgrading the South Wales Relief Link.'
Wales Online
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
The woman who was called DJ Love Spoon and now has one of Wales' toughest tasks
The woman who was called DJ Love Spoon and now has one of Wales' toughest tasks Mims Davies is a former DJ at a renowned nightclub. Now her job is to rebuild the Conservative Party in Wales Mims Davies MP, shadow secretary of state for Wales, pictured in the Senedd (Image: Mims Davies ) She's the Conservative Party's Welsh representative in Westminster but Suffolk-born Mims Davies' constituency is some 200 miles from Wales' capital city. Yet Byron Davies, the party's chairman, called her an "honorary Welsh girl". Far from the micro-managed answers politicians are accustomed to giving it was in the St David's Day debate in the Commons a few months ago she staked her claim to Wales. She dished out titbits about her nights out in Wind Street in Swansea, how she only left Wales because of her ex-husband's job ("they do say they are exes for a reason"), how a visit to Newport for her passport ended with a tattoo (a butterfly on her foot, one of two she has), and that she had a nickname of DJ Love Spoon. But Mims Davies has a huge and overriding task – to restore faith in a party the electorate in Wales has shown quite clearly it has lost faith in. As the party gets set for its Welsh conference this weekend in Llangollen there is plenty to do. In the 2024 general election all its MPs lost their seats. Some of its senior figures are preparing for a court case about allegedly betting on the date of that election and, to add insult to injury, polls are projecting that their role as the official opposition in the Senedd could be under serious threat. The latest ITV Cymru Wales/Barn/YouGov poll projected that in the new-look 96-seat Senedd they will get just nine seats, placing them fourth in the rankings . You can see that here. She is refreshingly honest as she speaks about her party's prospects, admitting they have lost trust and are at a low base facing multiple threats. She admits that if she does her job well she will have talked herself out of a job because Wales will once again have Welsh Conservative MPs and the pool of people able to be shadow Welsh secretary will vastly increase. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here. Mims Davies' self-confessed love affair with Wales started when she attended the then University of Swansea. Escaping a tough time as a teenager in Sussex she planned to study in Norwich but arriving in Swansea for her interview she was wooed. She met, and later married, a Welshman and describes her children as half-Welsh. Article continues below Mims Davies has been an MP since 2015 (Image: Mims Davies ) While studying here she worked at events at Brangwyn Hall, did work experience at Morriston Hospital's radio station (followed by a job at The Wave), and made money as a DJ at Barons where she got the DJ Love Spoon nickname. Despite being in Wales in the early 1990s she wasn't involved in the devolution campaign – either way – and her journey into politics was when, as a first-time mum, she was angered by the state of the local playground and she went to "nag her local council and then got co-opted onto a parish council". "Coming out as a Tory in Swansea? God no – I wanted friends," she laughed. "I was due to go to Norwich and I ended up at Swansea. I drove up the M4 for the first time – it was the old bridge then but it was the start of a really exciting life for me. It was the city by the sea, the beautiful Mumbles and all of what Gower has to offer, and an amazing nightlife. You would have two buses a week, if you could get anywhere, where I was from and it was so exciting. "There was so much opportunity in and around the city as well as the beautiful landscape in the city and the sea – it was a whole world that opened up. Where I've got in life wouldn't have happened without the opportunities that opened up for me in Swansea," she said. Now her challenge is being Wales' voice in the shadow cabinet. "People know me as someone with a love of Wales and an understanding of it over the last 30 years but there isn't masses of people to choose from and guess what? It was me. If I was doing health I would be travelling around the country getting to know different hospitals or what's going on. I'm doing exactly the same in Wales – whether it is knocking on doors and learning from my colleagues or going to a Conservative Club. "You get to know your subject and I know a lot about this subject," she said. "My main job is to speak up for Wales in Westminster, for my party in the official opposition, and hold [Welsh secretary] Jo Stevens and the Welsh Office to account. In terms of voices in Westminster I don't feel it's me that's not found my voice. I'm waiting to see, frankly, where the Labour government is. I think they're struggling to be heard. "I hope that people see that there is a credibility. I don't try and pretend to be Welsh but I understand Wales and I'm standing up for Wales and if I do a good job I'm out of a job, I'm very happy with that. I have to balance my own constituency as well but much of these are one and the same issues. Whether sky-high business rates or the tourism tax or the impacts on farming, what the government is doing is affecting Wales, it's affecting my constituency," she said. Mims Davies MP at the despatch box in the Commons Asked about the mood of the party, months after an election wipeout, she said: "I would say in some ways we're a tighter team than ever because, you rightly say, we've got a really big mountain to climb to come back but equally Labour are making such a mess of things, whether it's in Cardiff Bay or imploding and getting things so badly wrong here in Westminster, that actually it's drawing us closer. And we've got a big fight to get heard because of course there's still anger and trust issues with our party. "Let's be honest – we had a massive whack on the nose hence we've got no MPs left [in Wales] but for us to get together and have a plan to fix Wales to really stand out for an inherently Conservative offer, a vision for Wales, we're all really aligned on this," she said. The latest poll Wales put the Conservatives in the Senedd in fourth. "Labour have imploded so badly, so quickly, it's a plague on all of our houses and those other people look like fresh and new. Plaid, who have been propping up Labour for the last 25 years, are apparently the new kids on the block. "Voting Reform may be a great way of getting back at us but that will prop up Labour where people once again are really unhappy and they have no credible plan for Wales. We do. In Darren [Millar] and our team in the Senedd we are unashamedly focussed on holding Labour to account and making sure that where those opportunities to deliver for people actually happen. There has been a tendency to devolve and forget. "You can already say that the First Minister is trying to draw a bridge away from Labour in Westminster because things are going so badly wrong. We have to make sure that we are seen as a credible and the real alternative while people are angry." Mims Davies MP in her DJ Love Spoon era (Image: Mims Davies ) There is just shy of a year to go until the Senedd election. "I think we need to remind people who are looking to Plaid or others – they are the separatists, they're hiding the fact they want another referendum, and they're looking to pull us away. And they're anti-nuclear and many jobs rely on the nuclear sector and the defence sector. So they they need scrutiny as much as we need scrutiny. "We are in uncharted territory with what's happening with the Senedd with the additional politicians," she said, a change her party opposes. "We actually care about Wales. We need to make sure that people understand that we are pro-choice, pro-business, pro-family, pro-Welsh culture and that the way to fix Wales and get rid of that frustration is to vote Conservative. "We've got a year to go. We've got to build trust and we've got to highlight that the NHS has been run in Wales badly. "They've been running the NHS in Wales since Tony Blair was in power and many people have thought it's the Conservatives and are only now waking up to the fact that it's not us. Article continues below "We've got an opportunity here. Yes, it's an incredibly low base and people are cross, but whether it's us standing up for those who've been affected by the grooming gangs or standing up for farmers or the people who have the winter fuel allowance ripped away from them we need to remind people that we are the credible alternative and that we should be given a chance," she said.
