Lee Waters

Anthropic warns it may pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity” and “provide meaningful assistance to malicious actors seeking to develop chemical, biological, or other dangerous weapons” www.ft.com/content/a6c4... ‘

It’s been nearly six months since the Senedd elections some clear patterns have emerged Here’s my take nation.cymru/opinion/duw-...

I’m watching Amazon Prime and drowning in gambling ads If you are a problem gambler it must be excruciating Why are ads for smoking banned but not for gambling?

For those interested in Welsh politics & #devolution, this is a characteristically shrewd piece by @waterslee.bsky.social on the fledgling dynamic of the current Senedd: Plaid struggling to adjust to minority govt while Labour works out whether to be a constructive or obstructive opposition #senedd

Good journalism isn’t free. I’ve signed up for an annual subscription, perhaps you should too?

Plaid are finding governing hard; and Labour is finding opposition hard too. My piece for @walesgovernance.bsky.social blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/thinking-wal...

Could @equityuk.bsky.social build an alternative platform to Spotlight?

Saying one thing, doing another

Great encapsulation of conservatism. “Well I got mine so who cares what happened to anyone else?” bsky.app/profile/jord...

Some wisdom here from Mark Drakeford on how to persuade decision makers to do something different policyunstuck.castfromclay.co.uk/p/stop-telli...

In 1971, 80% of British 7 year olds went to school on their own; today it’s unthinkable. As Meyer Hillman (who has died) pointed out, we’ve removed children from danger rather than removing danger from children – and filled roads with polluting cars on school run www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Geometry hates cars

Every private conversation in Westminster: "Well the triple lock obviously has to go at some point". Every commentator on Burnham: "completely mad to propose getting rid of triple lock - political suicide".

These are all still officially Welsh Labour policies. Not that you’d know it.

If you add in £130m losses on “Reform TV” (aka GB News) the effective subsidy of Farage’s party from just four men tops £200m. You just have to join the dots app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/75017/...

"The answer may lie in the reality that the centre will only devolve power if it is used in a way it approves of." - Lee Waters for @labourlist.bsky.social 👇 labourlist.org/2026/09/devo...

Westminster remains reluctant to surrender power. Cardiff Bay remains reluctant to reform itself. My piece for @labourlist.bsky.social labourlist.org/2026/09/devo...

Westminster remains reluctant to surrender power. Cardiff Bay remains reluctant to reform itself. My piece for @labourlist.bsky.social labourlist.org/2026/09/devo...

@waterslee.bsky.social very much in line with your blog posts. NPTC voted for it but can’t have it because the work needs to be done in Swansea. TFW budgeted for it but can’t pay for it because it’s technically rail and therefore not devolved and DfT won’t approve it.

"Despite the hopeful rhetoric, we seem to have another [PM] who does not appear to appreciate the devolved context... [He] should make it explicit that he understands it’s for the Senedd & Welsh Government to decide the regional pattern in Wales, not the UK Government." nation.cymru/feature/the-...

The devolution double-standards, and how it lets us off the hook nation.cymru/feature/the-...

The devolution double-standards, and how it lets us off the hook nation.cymru/feature/the-...

There's a deal to be done on devolution between Andy Burnham and Rhun ap lorweth. Here's why... amanwy.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-...

Should be essential reading for Andy Burnham. The UK gov forcing devolution from the Senedd to 22 local authorities would be constitutionally reckless and illiterate AND counterproductive for Burnham’s policy aims.

Some thoughts on Burnham, Manchesterism and Wales amanwy.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-...

Some thoughts on Burnham, Manchesterism and Wales amanwy.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-...

Why does devolution to Wales face a different test to distributing powers to other parts of the UK? amanwy.blogspot.com/2026/09/ther...

'"we have to be evidence-based ... really important to look at what are the costs & benefits of making change," said [Welsh SoS]... Trouble is there’s already been a huge amount of work testing the case for change which seems to have passed evidence-hungry MPs by' amanwy.blogspot.com/2026/09/ther...

Why does devolution to Wales face a different test to distributing powers to other parts of the UK? amanwy.blogspot.com/2026/09/ther...

Why isn't there an industrial strategy for the hairdressing sector? 200,000 workers, mostly women, holding high streets and communities together. Interesting idea in a piece on the hollowness of the obsession with Manchesterism onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Unfortunately there’s only one plausible next step for Infantino if his reign at FIFA does come to an end: Group Chief Executive of the Welsh Rugby Union…

There’s a fresh debate about whether it’s worth still having a separate Secretary of State for Wales If you are in any doubt about the value of the role read this candid interview with former office holder Simon Hart www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/ministers-re...

I’m sorry the Welsh Secretary has been sacked from Cabinet. Instead of letting Eluned Morgan take responsibility for Labour’s performance in May’s election she should have resigned at that point and taken shared ownership of the result - we kept being told it was a ‘Partnership in Power’ after all

But in Wales the Inquiry reports there was no fraud, no conflicts of interest, no corruption concerns • No VIP lane • No reports of conflicts of interest • No suspected or attempted fraudulent PPE procurement • No cases reported to police or prosecutors www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

While there is no doubt that Andy Burnham gets decentralisation, it is not yet clear if he understands the interplay with national identity. All the signs are though that voters do✍️ Lee Waters wp.me/p8Mk4U-1oRi

For those interested in Welsh politics, this is an interesting piece by @waterslee.bsky.social on what a Burnham govt might mean for Wales - esp. in relation to the debate within Labour between advocates of further devolution to, & of decentralisation within, Wales #devolution #senedd

What we know about what Andy Burnham means for Wales Trying to fill in the blanks… amanwy.blogspot.com/2026/07/watc...

From our latest (and final... perhaps!) pod, Lee questions the lessons that the Labour Party in Wales is - or isn't - taking from the devastating losses for the party in Scotland. from which is has never recovered. @lauramcallister30.bsky.social #Wales #Cymru

NOTHING will prepare you for this 45-second story arc. From "I'm just doing this because I love the flag, it's totally grassroots, and I'm not part of anything political"... to who actually gave him the flags the night before. Anyone who believes it is an innocent movement needs to see this.

🧵

A truly bizarre article about Reform and the Heartland Institute that astonishingly omits to mention that Heartland is funded by and represents the US oil industry.

“For Farage, being close to the US president is an end, not a means. It is a kind of social revenge” - excellent column by Janan Ganesh in the FT on.ft.com/4m5JKdJ

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - George Santayana

That's even better! Temporary art is a living thing www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A virtue of a necessity. I suspect Welsh VCs will resist, until they can't. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Dockless bicycles become the ‘winners’ of London’s Tube strike on.ft.com/3V5Cp31

British NIMBYism is truly a sight to behold. “We are rejecting this solar farm, because one time I saw an electric vehicle on fire, which reminded me that decades ago a coal mining disaster killed lots of children”.

Basically every trip in London is fastest by bike, it’s remarkable