Gair Rhydd

The people of Wales have spoken

A report commissioned by the Welsh Assembly has found that the Assembly should be given full law-making powers on devolved areas.

The All Wales Convention established that 47% of Welsh people would vote ‘yes’ in a referendum on boosting the Assembly’s powers, whilst 37% would vote ‘no’. The Ministers of the Assembly are committed to holding such a referendum by May 2011, as long as it is winnable.

Reaching our best-before date

As the world struggles with war, recession and global warming, Oliver Smith gives you another reason to worry yourself sick

Oil has an expiration date. Long have scientists claimed that we will see the depletion of oil in our lifetimes, but in reality we have a more pressing problem than this. It’s called ‘Peak Oil’ and many scientists think we may have already reached it.

Put simply, peak oil is the point at which our oil reserves have reached their highest output and after this point begin to decrease. And to put our current situation into perspective, 33 of the largest 48 oil-producing nations have already hit peak oil and are decreasing in their production of oil.

Inexpensive speech

Damian Fantato looks at the Queen's Speech

Gordon Brown has set out the terms on which he will fight the next election in last weeks Queen’s Speech, and they are firmly economic.

The Queen’s Speech, which takes place at the beginning of each new Parliament and is the government’s legislative agenda for the upcoming year, contained 13 potential laws.

Pulling our Clegg

Chris Williams asks if Nick Clegg was right about the Queen's Speech

Nick Clegg announced this week that the Queen’s Speech should be cancelled and replaced with a programme designed to clean up Parliament.

Good insight Clegg – if we get rid of that one speech and exchange it with another equally meaningless exercise, then that’ll sort out all the problems. Why didn’t anyone see this before? It’s so easy – in fact, if this can sort out Parliament, then what antidote will Clegg be giving to the problem of the economy? Tom Jones cancelling a few gigs and being replaced by a Scouting For Girls DJ set?

Who is Herman van Rompuy anyway?

As the Belgian Prime Minister becomes the President of Europe, Damian Fantato has a look at this unknown man's credentials

Belgian Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, was been named as the first President of the European Union after the 27 EU heads of state gathered in Brussels to find a worthy candidate. He will be joined by Baroness Catherine Ashton, who takes up the position of High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The unanimous appointment of Van Rompuy and Baroness Ashton, who is currently EU Trade Commissioner, is seen by many as being down to the fact that they are consensual politicians with little foreign policy experience.

Benn there, done that

Chris Tarquini talks to Tony Benn, the influential former Labour Minister and current President of the Stop the War Coalition

Anthony “Tony” Neil Wedgewood Benn is often described as the greatest leader Labour never had, and is still, at the age of 84, a prominent and influencial voice on the left-wing of British politics.

Having renounced his inheritied title – 2nd Viscount Stansgate – in a landmark British case, he was instrumental in the creation of the 1963 Peerage Act which allowed peers to renounce their title and gave female and Scottish hereditary peers the right to sit in the House of Lords.