Port Talbot Residents Against Power Station

I went to a protest this morning in Port Talbot ( having recovered from my awful day of suffering from food poisoning on Friday) against the wood chip burning plant set to be erected in Port Talbot. The campaigners- Port Talbot Residents against Power Station, are taking the Westminster Government to court, claiming on their latest newsletter that ' it is morally unjustifiable for the Government to build more power stations in Port Talbot when the town is already failing EU air quality health standards on a regular basis.'

I have raised such concerns on an Assembly level, and will continue to so. I also believe that Wales should have the power to decide whether planning is granted for developments which are bigger than 50 mw.

Many residents turned up, but I was glad to see Brian Gibbons AM present, who must be concerned with the way his Labour colleagues in Westminster are dealing with the situation ( and his colleague Hywel Francis, perhaps, who was not present today) I noticed that when the crowd endorsed taking the Government to court, Brian Gibbons clapped in approval. Is this another sign of a divergence of opinion between Labour in Cardiff Bay, and Labour in Westminster?

I hope to raise the issue again this week at the National Assembly because the Environment Agency now has the license to operate the power station and to regulate it. There is an ongoing court case, yes, but if there are ways that we can pursue this matter via the Assembly, then I will do my utmost to represent the voices of the people of the area.

Another day campaigning...

I am far too tired to blog of substance this evening after being on the campaign trail in Port Talbot and Neath Constituency all day today. Many people were out today for Bank Holiday( oh, they have lives! I am jealous!)- probably at the beach or enjoying a family day out. As a result it wasn't the most productive of days for canvassing, although we did meet quite a few supporters here and there!


I am going to a protest organised by Unison tomorrow at Neath Port Talbot Hospital regarding the cuts in staff cleaning hours by the private company OCS Limited. This is just another issue in a long line of New Labour failures with regards the Health Service.

140 workers are taking part in a day long strike, and the demonstration takes place at 9.30am if you are in the area and fancy coming along to support the workers....