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UK Election Special: Cllr Martyn Hogg (Wales Green Party, Clwyd North)
The UK general election is now in its final stages and while the union-wide result hardly seems in doubt, each constituency and candidate has a story to tell.
Here at the Hiraeth Pod we are recording a series of short interviews with new candidates who are contesting constituencies across Wales. These are new faces on the national scene and will no doubt feature in the 2026 Senedd campaign even if unsuccessful this time around.
We plan to speak to each of the main parties in Wales, which we consider to be the ones standing in every constituency at the start of the campaign (though since then some have fallen away, as you are no doubt aware). So we will be sharing interviews with Conservative, Plaid Cymru, Green, Reform, Liberal Democrat, and Labour candidates as we try to uphold the values of public service broadcasting in the digital age.
In this pod we speak to Cllr Martyn Hogg, who is standing for the Greens in Clwyd North. A new constituency created out of the two Conservative strongholds of Clwyd West and Value of Clwyd that stretches toward the Clwydian Range to the north coast and includes the cathedral city of St Asaph, Denbigh, Rhyl and Colwyn.
You can find the North West Greens on X/Twitter here: https://twitter.com/NWWGreenParty
The candidates in Clwyd North are:
Conservative and Unionist Party: Darren Millar MS
England and Wales Green Party: Martyn James Hogg
Liberal Democrats: David Wilkins
Plaid Cymru: Paul Rowlinson
Reform UK: Jamie Orange
UK Labour: Gill German
As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod
We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.
Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod -
UK Election Special: Cllr Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru, Ynys Môn)
The UK general election is now in its final stages and while the union-wide result hardly seems in doubt, each constituency and candidate has a story to tell.
Here at the Hiraeth Pod we are recording a series of short interviews with new candidates who are contesting constituencies across Wales. These are new faces on the national scene and will no doubt feature in the 2026 Senedd campaign even if unsuccessful this time around.
We plan to speak to each of the main parties in Wales, which we consider to be the ones standing in every constituency at the start of the campaign (though since then some have fallen away, as you are no doubt aware). So we will be sharing interviews with Conservative, Plaid Cymru, Green, Reform, Liberal Democrat, and Labour candidates as we try to uphold the values of public service broadcasting in the digital age.
In this pod we speak with Cllr Llinos Medi who is standing for Plaid Cymru on Ynys Môn, the only constituency unchanged from the boundary review. As leader of Ynys Môn council, Llinos is fronting a local campaign in one of Wales's most independently-minded localities, along with the island's Senedd member, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth.
You can find Llinos here: https://twitter.com/llinos_medi
The candidates in Ynys Môn are:
Conservative and Unionist Party: Virginia Crosbie
England and Wales Green Party: Martin Schwaller
Liberal Democrats: Leena Sarah Farhat
Plaid Cymru: Llinos Medi
Reform UK: Emmett Jenner
UK Labour: Ieuan Môn Williams
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party: Sir Grumpus L Shorticus
Libertarian Party: Sam Andrew Wood
As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod
We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.
Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod -
UK Election Special: Cllr Aled Thomas (Conservative, Ceredigion Preseli)
The UK general election is now in its final stages and while the union-wide result hardly seems in doubt, each constituency and candidate has a story to tell.
Here at the Hiraeth Pod we are recording a series of short interviews with new candidates who are contesting constituencies across Wales. These are new faces on the national scene and will no doubt feature in the 2026 Senedd campaign even if unsuccessful this time around.
We plan to speak to each of the main parties in Wales, which we consider to be the ones standing in every constituency at the start of the campaign (though since then some have fallen away, as you are no doubt aware). So we will be sharing interviews with Conservative, Plaid Cymru, Green, Reform, Liberal Democrat, and Labour candidates as we try to uphold the values of public service broadcasting in the digital age.
In this pod we speak with Cllr Aled Thomas who is standing for the Conservatives - specifically the Welsh Conservatives - in Ceredigion Preseli. Familiar to viewers/listeners of Welsh language current affairs coverage, Aled comes from an agricultural background and is bringing a distinctly Welsh flavour to his campaign.
You can find Aled here: https://twitter.com/CllrAledT
The candidates in Ceredigion Preseli are:
Conservative and Unionist Party: Aled Thomas
England and Wales Green Party: Tomos Barlow
Liberal Democrats: Mark Williams
Plaid Cymru: Ben Lake
Reform UK: Karl Robert Pollard
UK Labour: Jackie Jones
Workers Party of Britain: Taghrid Al-Mawed
As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod
We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.
Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod -
GE2024 - A manifest disappointment?
With all of the manifestos now published and it being written in black and white what the parties are pledging to deliver if elected to government in May, are electors excited about the prospects on offer? In short, not particularly. With Labour clearly on course for a massive victory in May, even their manifesto is surprisingly safe, with the emphasis on reducing electoral risk over inspiring the masses.
So what should we think of the manifestos on offer? Is there any innovative thinking behind any of them? Should we expect them to address the cost of living difficulties facing citizens across the UK in 2024 or the local or global economic and environmental crises that risk wellbeing for us all?
To discuss, we have a tremendous panel of guests:
- Meg Thomas - Policy and Research Officer at Disability Wales - https://twitter.com/meganniathomas
- Lowri Jackson - DeputyDirector for Communications for the Royal College of Physicians - https://twitter.com/LowriRhiannon
- Libby Davies - Account Manager at Grayling, and former Senedd and Parliamentary Affairs Officer at the Farmers’ Union of Wales - https://twitter.comLibbyDavies_
- Matthew Denney - is a barrister and Chartered tax advisor at Bevan Buckland LLP - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-denney-aa074729/
As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod
We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.
Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod -
Danny Blanchflower on the the 2024 UK General Election Campaign
As listeners of the pod will know, during major events on Britain we like to fire up the Blanchsignal and invite New Hampshire's & Wales's very own Professor Danny Blanchflower to join us to chew over the latest news.
And with the UK General Election now in full swing and the UK economy still largely swinging downwards, we have plenty to talk about. We discuss the party manifestos, the leadership of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, Wales Plc, steel-making in Port Talbot and The Former Guy who used to be the President of the United States.
You can find Danny, once again, on Twitter/X here: https://twitter.com/D_Blanchflower
And the tweet he mentions in the pod here: https://x.com/D_Blanchflower/status/1799934040142713199
As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod
We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.
Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod -
Who cares for the carers?
The UK General Election is full swing and promises are being made by politicians and parties right, left, and centre. However, what really matters in government is delivery, especially for those who need it most. So as we head into Carer's week, we take a look at the policy landscape and lived reality of carers in Wales with our special guests:
Jo Phillips - https://twitter.com/SwanseaPCForgJo is a full time unpaid carer for her adult son. She is also the Vice Chair for the West Glamorgan carers partnership board and is one of the carers rep on the West Glamorgan Regional Partnership Board. She is also a volunteer trustee for Swansea parent carer forum.
Dr Catrin Mair Edwards - https://twitter.com/CarersTrustWalCatrin is Head of External Affairs at Carers Trust Wales, where she leads on policy, research, involvement and social impact, and is Chair of Mudiad Meithrin, the Welsh language early years and childcare provider. She’s a ‘mam’ to three and lives in Cardiff with her family.
Rob Simkins - https://twitter.com/CarersWalesRob is the Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Carers Wales, the national campaigning charity for unpaid carers. He is responsible for ensuring the voices of unpaid carers are heard at the highest level of policymaking in Wales and across the UK.
As always, you can find the latest from us @hiraethpod on most social media, including Twitter/X here: twitter.com/HiraethPod
We hope you find this podcast interesting and useful. Please do send feedback, it's always great to hear what our audience thinks.
Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you have enjoyed it, please leave us a nice rating or comment on your podcast app or on YouTube and, if you are able to do so, please consider supporting our work from just £3/month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod