Aston Martin pledges to build electric cars in UK
While our recent poll showed they are more likely to support Welsh independence than any other age group, the political views of our young people vary widely. Ffion Lewis found out more
ASTON Martin has given a muchneeded boost to the South Wales carmaking industry after pledging to build all its electric cars in the UK from 2025.
The luxury car-maker said its electric SUV models will be manufactured at its factory in St Athan, near Llantwit Major, while its battery sports car will be made at its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire.
This is instead of the vehicles being built at German plants owned by its partner, Mercedes-Benz, which owns a fifth of the firm.
Aston Martin plans to launch hybrid versions of its cars from this year, followed by battery-only models from 2025.
Executive chairman Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian billionaire who led a bailout of the company last year, told the Financial Times: “The SUV will be built in Wales and the sports cars will be built here [in Gaydon].”
The UK plans to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, with hybrids prohibited from 2035.
A number of manufacturers have announced commitments to shift from electric and diesel engines.
Ford announced last month that it would sell only electric cars in the UK and Europe by 2030.
This came two days after Jaguar made the same pledge from 2025.
Mr Stroll claimed Aston Martin was “way ahead of our rivals, and all because of our partnership with Mercedes”.
Ferrari has pledged to release hybrid cars by 2030, while Bentley plans to go fully electric by the same date.
No timelines have been set for pureelectric cars by McLaren or Lamborghini.
Aston Martin has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
A total of 4,150 cars were sold in 2020, a third fewer than a year earlier, although bosses had already said they wanted to sell a smaller number of vehicles in the hope of regaining greater exclusivity for the brand.
Losses before tax in 2020 rose to £466m compared with a £120m loss a year earlier.
Over the past year, the South Wales manufacturing sector has been dealt a series of hammer blows.
In September, Ford’s long-standing Bridgend plant shut with the loss of some 1,600 jobs.
There was a further blow when car maker Ineos caused controversy when it confirmed it was locating the production of its new 4x4 cars in France, rather than Bridgend as had originally been planned.
And another company – Britishvolt – was due to build a giant battery manufacturing facility in St Athan, but decided to relocate to the north of England.
“HE SEEMED brilliant, he was everything you would want, charming and caring.” Those were Rhiannon Morris’s first impressions of her new boyfriend Kane Haines
By the time she ended up in hospital with a perforated eardrum and whiplash following a savage assault, the terrible truth about her violent partner had become all too clear.
Between those two points in time the 28-year-old had been regularly beaten and attacked by Haines in an abusive relationship that left her with black eyes and bruising.
Haines was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment as a result of attacking Rhiannon, who is now trying to rebuild her life with her two daughters.
Rhiannon, from Cardiff, and Haines, 31, began their relationship in 2018 and she described him as “the perfect guy” in the beginning.
But as the couple became closer, Haines’ drinking would come to the fore and he would become violent and controlling. When Rhiannon moved from Cardiff to Barry, where the defendant was from, matters became worse, with Haines moving himself in and refusing to leave.
Describing a “repeated cycle of mental and physical abuse”, she added: “I remember a friend repeatedly telling me he was going to end up killing me if I didn’t leave. I just brushed it off, but looking back I feel he was more than capable.”
On August 31, 2019, Haines attacked Rhiannon at a barbecue where he headbutted her and bit her on the nose. Further attacks took place in November that year, the first of which resulted in Rhiannon being knocked unconscious in front of her daughters.
In the final attack, on November 6, 2019, Rhiannon was beaten so savagely she was taken to hospital to receive treatment for a perforated eardrum and whiplash after Haines had hit her with such force. He then called her and threatened to kill her and burn down her home, she claimed.
She said: “In the end I had to leave our house, I went to the police and moved in with my mother.
“I went in to report the things he did and I was there for seven and a half hours and it was just going on and on. I just thought it was something I was doing. I am not that kind of person, if he could do it to me he could do it to anyone.“
Haines, of Borough Avenue, Barry, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning ABH, assault by beating and sending a communication making a threatening message.
On December 4, 2020, he was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court to 27 months’ imprisonment.
Rhiannon is now trying to rebuild her life and to provide a safe environment for her two children to thrive.
She said: “All I wanted from day one was for [Haines] to plead guilty and to admit what he did was so wrong. I didn’t do this for me, I did it for my children and other women. It doesn’t change anything, he pleaded guilty because he wanted a shorter sentence, not because he was wrong.
“I have got this year to build my life back up, back to where it was before I met him and we can get on with our lives. It was just a constant year of waiting. The only relief I have got is he’s not around until he comes out.”
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic abuse visit the Live Fear Free website or call the helpline on 0808 80 10 800.
A HUGE solar panel farm and a park and ride is planned for the south-west of Cardiff near Culverhouse Cross.
The solar farm would generate 65 megawatts of energy, enough for more than 20,000 homes. Large batteries would store surplus energy generated during the day for use at night.
The park and ride would have space for 450 cars, 200 electric vehicle charging points, and would allow commuters to take public transport into the centre of Cardiff.
The Parc Dyffryn development is planned at Vianshill Farm, south of the A48 and about a kilometre away from Culverhouse Cross. Currently the farm is mostly used for cattle grazing.
Cenin Renewables, the Bridgendbased company behind the plans, says the solar farm will help Wales’ goal of generating 70% of electricity from renewable energy by 2030.
Martyn Popham, managing director of Cenin Renewables, said: “We are committed to developing Parc Dyffryn, a combined renewable energy and biodiversity management area, and have assembled a progressive team which I am proud to lead.
“Each new solar farm is different but in our view it requires a clearly laidout vision, with consideration of the location and environmental characteristics of the site and existing biodiversity.”
The plans also include footpaths and cycle routes through the woodland around the site, as well as joining up with the neighbouring Dyffryn Gardens, botanical gardens run by the National Trust.
Cenin is currently consulting the public on its plans, before applying for planning permission. More details can
be found on the website parcdyffryn. com.
Because the solar farm counts as a “development of national significance”, the Welsh Government will decide whether to give permission, rather than the Vale of Glamorgan council.
Mr Popham said: “Solar energy is now one of the most cost-effective means of generating electricity in regions with a strong solar resource. It is also the fastest-growing renewable energy source worldwide.
“Wales is seeking low-carbon energy generation with the nation’s target of
one gigawatt of locally owned energy production – which we, as a Welsh developer, are assisting to deliver.
“We know this change is driven both by the Welsh Government’s ambition on tackling the climate challenge and promoting sustainability, exemplified by the Well-being of Future Generations Act.
“We are committed to engaging with our local community and would invite any questions to be submitted via email or using the Contact Us section on our newly created website. We view our plans passionately and hope you will too.”
“I DON’T think anyone in their right mind can say that politics in Wales is working right now.”
These are the words of 20-year-old Dan Edwards, of Cardiff, but in many ways they reflect what is coming across clearly in so many political polls.
Like many others, our St David’s Day poll – as reported in the Echo last week – highlighted many ways in which Wales is divided: in terms of political affiliation, support for independence, gender and social class. Yet nowhere is the polarisation of opinion more stark than when it comes to age.
Young people aged 16 to 24 are far more likely than any other group to want independence for Wales, far less likely to vote Conservative, are resolutely pro-EU and by far the most critical of how governments in Wales and Westminster have handled coronavirus.
That anger at the way governments have handled coronavirus perhaps reflects how much harder people working out of bedrooms in cramped shared houses, or deprived of university expensive educations which they are saddling themselves with debt to pay for, have found the repeated lockdowns.
And so, is it really surprising that poll now show young people are the main group pushing for change, campaigning for a future different to the only one they have known?
It is also wrong to say that young people are apathetic and disengaged.
Young people may be the least likely to say they are “absolutely certain to vote”, with only 43% choosing that option.
But the vast majority say they are likely to vote.
On a scale of 0 (certain not to vote) to 10 (Certain to vote), 77% chose an option above 5 indicating they plan to vote. This is not so different to other age groups.
“I don’t think anyone in their right mind can say that politics in Wales is working right now. Or if it is working, it’s only working for a small number of people,” says Dan Edwards, a 20-year-old politics student at Cardiff University.
Dan is one of the 40% of Welsh 16 to 24-year olds who support independence as a way of getting the change they believe the nation needs.
He thinks the increased support for the movement has been born out of a lot of issues facing young people and the country today – one of which being the Brexit referendum.
“And I think this is where the shift has come, a lot of young people now realise that perhaps a challenge to the status quo is what Wales needs.”
Dan was 16 at the time of the EU referendum in 2016 and so was unable to vote.
Yet undoubtedly, the results will have a staggering effect on the next few decades of his – and other young people’s – lives.
“For me, and I think for a lot of other young people, the outcome of the EU election in 2016 definitely had a huge impact on the independence idea,” he said.
“I remember being really engaged in the run up to it, and after seeing the result 16-year-old me was like ‘the only way now to solve this is independence’ and that’s how I became interested in it.
“I wouldn’t say it’s as black and white as that now, but it’s what started it.
“The Brexit referendum was good in that it engaged young people and piqued their interest but the division it has caused has been unsavoury.”
In 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU by a majority of 52% to 48% and it’s difficult to think of a result that has been more divisive.
While on the surface the division looks to be between the leave and remain campaigns, the real division comes between younger and older generations.
In our poll, 67% of 16-24 year olds said that in hindsight, Britain was wrong to leave the European union.
To compare, just 33% of people aged 65+ said Britain was wrong to leave. However the overall picture was still very divided with 40% of respondents saying Britain was right to leave compared with 46% who thought it was a bad decision.
Another issue that starkly highlights how disenchanted young people are becoming with the way the UK is governed is their view of the way the coronavirus crisis has been handled.
No-one can yet know for certain how much effect this will have on the future political choices of a generation but it clearly does show that right now younger people are more politically engaged, more restless and more determined to see change than conventional political analysis suggests.
In our poll, 47% of respondents voted that the Welsh Government had handled the coronavirus pandemic well, compared to just 33% who gave the same answer for the UK government.
The government’s respective leaders polled similarly, with 40% of responses voting that Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford had handled the pandemic fairly well, compared with just 29% for Boris Johnson.
Leena Sarah Farhat, 23, is the Liberal Democrat Senedd candidate for Clwyd South.
“The way I see it is that people my age are part of the devolution evolution. We are the generation who have grown up with devolution and know no different,” she said.
“There is a large population of people who remember Wales before devolution and so without realising it don’t understand what it means – whereas our generation have never known anything else.
“I think younger people now are very aware of where power is being held and exactly who has control over what, whereas it’s much more likely that the older generation might not realise these things. Although I think this is changing, there is definitely that understanding coming through and I think this year has emphasised that.”
“I think this has definitely come from a want for change, and I am adamant about that,” said Leena.
She says that’s it wrong to think that this desire for change is simply about wanting independence for Wales.
“However, what I would say is that when it actually boils down to it, a lot of people are still pretty soft about independence.
“I think a lot of people would be interested in seeing more powers devolved before we move to complete independence.
“Independence is a symptom of other issues so why not try and resolve those.”
She says there is definitely a change in young people being more engaged with politics and ignored by the political process.
“For a long time young people weren’t being taken seriously, and even now a lot of the time, in the situations I find myself in, I’m the youngest person in the room or in the conversation,” said Leena.
“One of the main things is that there is a lack of dialog between young people talking to politics, but also our politicians don’t tell young people their rights and that then creates a division or a gap in understanding.
“I think young people often bear the brunt of that.”
Yes Cymru, which has recruited 15,000 paying members, is often cited as being the public face of the changing attitude towards independence.
But 15,000 members alone would not make a dent in any election or referendum.
It’s the idea of being “indy-curious”, and the growing number of people in that category, that 17-year-old Lloyd Warburton says is perhaps the most important shift in how people now feel about independence.
Our poll itself showed no headline change in the number of people supporting independence but a clear fall in the number saying they would definitely vote against it.
Lloyd, whose coronavirus statistics have helped keep the nation informed throughout the pandemic, is pro Welsh Independence himself but thinks the notion that people suddenly switch from being against the movement, to advocating it is misguided.
“Independence is definitely something that is being thought about now, but I don’t think those who have always thought ‘no’ to it are now going to suddenly switch to ‘yes.’ It’s more gradual than that,” he said.
“I think a lot of people see Westminster as centuries old and not really moving with the times.
“The way society operates has changed, devolution is well promoted among young people. In schools, games or trips or anything are always by the Welsh Government, it’s far less so about the UK government.
“I think young people see devolution as more efficient in a lot of ways too. The Welsh Government were the first to introduce the plastic bag charge - and in the Senedd laws can be passed much quicker.”
The Senedd Elections in May will be the first time Lloyd will be able to vote. He says that while it’s great young people will be given the opportunity, there is still a long way to go in terms of engagement.
“I think more recently, in the last two or three years, activists like Greta Thunberg have really whipped up young people in engaging in big issues,” he said.
“In terms of the Senedd Election, it depends on how the 16-24 year olds vote and how they turn out. The 16-18 year old vote is great, but on their own they’re not going to change things.
“I think it’s great young people are able to vote, I think there are 16 year olds who are far more qualified to vote and have a say than some older people who don’t. I’m surprised it
hasn’t been a thing for longer.
“I think social media has definitely engaged young people, but I don’t think that’s the only way we can do it. I think there needs to be more cooperation between schools and the welsh government in promoting it and sparking interest that way.”
Wanting change doesn’t necessarily mean all young people want independence. Some feel very differently.
In recent weeks, both England and Scotland have announced their routes out of lockdown. The Welsh Government is yet to offer such guidance.
It is reasons such as these that James Wallice, a 21-year-old at Cardiff University, thinks the respective governments handling of the pandemic has highlighted how important the union is.
And, whether they agree with him or not, he thinks young people are more engaged with politics because of how much they have been affected by government coronavirus policies.
“I do think more young people are interested now, and I think Covid has exaggerated that,” he said.
“More people are understanding and are getting involved in bigger discussions around politics. If you’d asked me 10 months I probably would have said that young people aren’t as engaged but I think coronavirus has had an affect on that.
“Covid has proven that we are stronger together and I do think a lot of people are seeing that and how if we work together we can be much more efficient in beating this.
“I also think people probably understand a bit better now, I think the vast majority would now be able to say who the health minister is, or who the secretary of state is, I think people are a bit more informed on these things.”
James says that no matter political standpoint, the face young people are not more engaged in politics should be valued above all else.
“I think the fact young people are engaging in politics and devolution and independence is valued, on both sides of the debate.
“Young people are really ambitious in their politics and while there has been strong and important debates on both sides from a unionist point of view it’s a bit of a pipe dream at the moment.
One of the ways in Which the Welsh Government has committed to listening to and harvesting the opinions of young people is through the Welsh Youth Parliament.
Formed in 2018, the 60 members of the youth parliament are aged between 11 and 18 highlight and debate issues affecting young people on a National Level.
Maisy Evans, 17, from Newport was a member of the first two year session of the Welsh Youth Parliament.
“I think the youth parliament has been great because it shows that young people are engaged in political issues, but I also think it shows that the Welsh Government are committed to the idea of young voices,” she said.
“I think it has definitely had an impact in getting young people to engage. It’s time for young people to have a voice, and to use their voice and I really hope in May young people go out and do this.”
While the tail end of a pandemic might not be the ideal time for a Senedd Election, for many young people it has come at the right one.
If the last year has shown us anything it’s that everything is uncertain. And although Welsh Independence is no longer completely shrouded in mystery, it’s still a way off becoming a reality.
One thing that does seem certain, is that young people cannot be dismissed without thought.
Whether they’ll grown up in an independent Wales or not, they’ll certainly make sure their voices are heard along the way.
Plaid Cymru, perhaps the biggest party advocating for independence, polled second among 16-24 year olds in our poll in terms of who people would vote for if there were a Senedd Election called tomorrow, and third among all age groups.
Independence is a symptom of other issues so why not try and resolve those
Lib Dem Senedd candidate Leena Sarah Farhat
A RELIGIOUS studies teacher is accused of inappropriate behaviour involving a life-size cutout of the Pope in a Harlem Shake video, a hearing has been told.
Former head of religious studies Andrew Phillip Jones is reported to have “simulated sexualised actions” in the video alongside pupils using model penises during their version of the internet craze at Caldicot School in 2013.
In an Education Workforce Council (EWC) hearing opened yesterday, it was heard how the “popular” and “well-liked” teacher was suspended from his position after the “overtly sexual” video was uploaded to YouTube by a pupil.
Mr Jones is also accused of attending a nightclub with a pupil after a prom and sending Facebook messages to three pupils, including inviting one student to lunch and sending a picture of his house.
Mr Jones, who was highly commended during the Wales Teacher of the Year 2012 awards, denies all allegations and denies that his alleged behaviour amounts to unacceptable professional conduct.
Giving evidence yesterday, former deputy headteacher Shane Mock described how he was left “extremely shocked” after being shown the Harlem
Shake video in February 2013, in which “Mr Jones and pupils could be seen dancing with a full-size cutout of the Pope”.
Mr Mock also described how pupils could be seen using model penises taken from family planning kits, adding it was “overtly sexual in the way the students were behaving”.
During a statement read in the hearing, Mr Mock said he had been covering a class for Mr Jones when students started to talk about the Harlem Shake video and blaming one pupil for uploading the video.
He said pupils had also blamed one student for “asking to get the dildos” out of a cupboard.
Mr Mock added he had not been aware the video had been filmed, and that two staff members would usually be present when any video was being made.
During the hearing it was also heard how Mr Jones had reportedly sent around 300 Facebook messages to a pupil, known as Pupil A, and had suggested he visit for lunch one day after learning the student was completing work experience nearby. The messages were investigated by police but were not found to be sexual in nature and a criminal investigation was not pursued.
Presenting the case, Ashanti-Jade Walton also said one message from Mr Jones referred to a former headteacher as a “bitch”, while another referred to sending a pupil to another teacher for a “spanking”.
It was heard Mr Mock became aware of the messages after being approached by the pupil and his father, with Pupil A describing how “he felt guilty if he did not respond”.
However, he said the pupil “did not seem upset or distressed” by the messages.
Mr Mock added: “When you see the volume of messages you can see there would have been several messages at a time, quite a number.”
The hearing also heard how alleged messages were found between Mr Jones and two other pupils known as Pupils B and C, including messages where Mr Jones said he “missed” one student.
In a separate allegation, Mr Jones is also accused of going to a nightclub with a pupil after a school prom. Describing the night, Mr Mock said he believed staff and students had gone into Cardiff after the end of the prom celebrations and added that he could not recall teachers going out after previous prom nights.
Mr Mock said he did not believe the matter went any further in a school examination as it was not felt there was enough evidence to support an allegation.
Mr Jones, who is represented by Belinda Loveluck-Edwards from teachers’ union NASUWT, did not attend the first day of the hearing.
The hearing continues.
TRIBUTES have been paid to Professor Sir Peter Harper, who will be remembered for creating an internationally-recognised centre of excellence at the Institute of Medical Genetics at the University Hospital of Wales campus in Cardiff.
Sir Peter, who died aged 81, was widely recognised for his work on Huntington’s disease, muscular dystrophies, social and ethical issues in genetic testing and the history of human genetics use and abuse in Europe, North America, Russia and China.
He worked in Cardiff from 1971 until his recent death.
Sir Peter was one of the world’s most highly-regarded medical geneticists.
His colleague Professor Julian Sampson said: “His work at the Institute of Medical Genetics in Cardiff brought about major advances in understanding inherited conditions such as Huntington’s disease and muscular dystrophy over his career of more than 50 years.”
Sir Peter was born in Barnstaple, north Devon, where his father, Dr Richard Harper, was also a physician with a strong interest in evolution as related to medicine.
Growing up with a deep love of natural history and of the surrounding Devon countryside, Sir Peter became interested in genetics when he went to Oxford University (Exeter College) in 1957. After completing his clinical training in London in 1964, he determined to try to combine genetics and medicine in his future career.
In 1967 he went to work with a pioneer of the field, Cyril Clarke, in Liverpool. There, his research focused on familial oesophageal cancer, as well as on insect evolutionary genetics.
This led to a two-year Fellowship with Victor McKusick in at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, USA, where he gained an all-round training in medical genetics, as well as making an in depth study of the myotonic dystrophy, which would remain a key area of his research for the next 40 years.
On returning to Britain in 1971, he was offered the opportunity to develop medical genetics from scratch in the rapidly-expanding medical school in Cardiff, where he found that the three million population of Wales gave ideal opportunities for developing clinically orientated genetic research on a range of major disorders, including the muscular dystrophies and Huntington’s disease.
He developed genetic counselling and testing services in the NHS for families with these and other serious inherited conditions.
At a more clinical level, Sir Peter continued to practise general medicine at the University Hospital of Wales for 25 years, while also starting genetic counselling clinics in hospitals across Wales, which were progressively taken on by a growing and able team of younger colleagues.
Outside Cardiff, he was active in professional societies and networks nationally and internationally, such as the Clinical Genetics Society and the Royal College of Physicians; also in the European Society of Human Genetics.
He was awarded a CBE (1994) and a Knighthood (2004) for services to medicine and to medical genetics.
Professor Julian Sampson said: “He always felt exceptionally fortunate to have had the affection and support of his family, particularly his wife of more than 50 years, Elaine, a community nurse in the South Wales valleys, and of his five children, the eldest of whom is a surgeon in Melbourne, Australia, as well as seven grandchildren.
“Outside his professional work his main interests included natural history (especially insects and birds), hill walking and early music.”