On Saturday 12 March at the Moody Cow Llwyncelyn, Plaid Cymru Ceredigion candidates launched their election campaign for the Ceredigion County Council election on the 5th of May 2022.

Recent figures by the Office for National Statistics show that Wales has faced highest energy bills in the whole of the UK, with four Welsh local authorities (Ceredigion, Gwynedd, Carmarthenshire, and Powys) in the top ten counties for highest energy bills. 

Heating oil prices have more than doubled in recent weeks, leaving many rural homes facing sky high energy bills. Heating oil prices are linked to oil prices more generally, and following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prices have increased rapidly. Costs are now sitting at 155.35p a litre, up from 68.66p on 24 February, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, according to Boiler Juice. This is an increase of 126 per cent. 

MPs and Peers have gathered to show support for The AnyBody and EveryBody Campaign #ChangeTheStory. 

The campaign, designed by The Hearts Minds and Genes Coalition are working to remove the stigma and misunderstanding that surrounds eating disorders. Eating disorders are serious, biologically based mental illnesses deserving of equal clinical and research funding to that given to other complex diseases. The coalition want to ensure that no-one with an eating disorder need experience shame or guilt, and everybody should have timely access to specialist services.

Plaid Cymru’s Treasury spokesperson Ben Lake MPhas today (Thursday 3 February) described the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s measures as a “sticking plaster on the growing societal wound that is fuel poverty”.

He criticised the measures for “pushing the price rise on low-income households down the road” and urged the Government to “re-evaluate its decisions” saying that tax hikes and welfare cuts are “simply not what households or businesses need right now”.

Households will face a record energy bill increase of 54% from April after Ofgem lifted the cap on default tariffs to £1,971.

Ben Lake MP, Co-chair of the APPG on Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency, has signed a cross-party letter to the UK Government calling for a range of financial support measures to address the current energy crisis. 

Following a record increase in October 2021 to the price cap, energy bills are set to increase again significantly in April across the UK, and could reach as high as £2000 for the average household, an increase of £700 compared to today’s prices.  Experts have also said that these prices are likely to be sustained for two or more years. 

This week the Urdd celebrates 100 years! Wales as a nation has benefitted greatly from an organisation that not only has helped to protect the Welsh language, but has also brought many happy memories.

The organisation’s contribution to the nation’s young people over generations is priceless. The Eisteddfod stage has provided school children with a platform to gain skills and develop their confidence from a very young age, and several have gone on to have very successful careers on national and international stages. The sports clubs and societies provide opportunities for keeping fit and for competing on local and national levels.

The Welsh Government has announced a £600,000 grant to the National Eisteddfod to support the use of the Welsh language in our communities.

The news comes at a time where there were concerns for the additional costs that will arise due to inflation, rising costs and the pandemic, as additional Covid 19 measures will be needed to ensure safety on the Maes. 

Unadopted roads are highways which have not been brought under the wing of a local council, to be maintained by them alongside the rest of the highway network. Privately owned, they are often the responsibility of housing developer or local residents.  

There are approximately 25,000 kilometers of unadopted roads in Wales, and it’s been estimated the cost of bringing all unadopted roads in Wales serving five or more properties up to the minimum standard would be £1.56 billion (based on a price of £600-per-metre). 

Ben Lake MP has written to the Prime Minister, calling on the Government to take urgent action on food waste.   

Two million tonnes of fresh, unsold food is wasted in the UK every year. Funding to help farmers and food producers get this food to frontline charities has now ended. If the funding were to be extended, it could create an additional 53m meals for vulnerable families. Without it, the food will be needlessly wasted – thrown into biogas digesters, sent to landfill or simply ploughed back into the fields.  

The letter is part of the #FoodOnPlates campaign, run by FareShare, the UK’s largest food redistribution charity. They are calling on the government to commit to vital food waste funding ahead of next week’s Comprehensive Spending Review.  

Ben Lake MP has today pledged their support for the Long Live the Local campaign to help pubs and breweries in Ceredigion recover and thrive. Ben Lake joins over 125,000 people who have signed the petition so far, including 123 in Ceredigion alone. 

Ben Lake MP is calling on the Government to lower VAT & Business Rates for pubs and for an overall reduction in Beer Duty. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on brewers and pubs throughout the UK and continues to do so as the sector tries to kickstart its recovery. The sector needs an immediate boost and the fact that a local pub adds £100,000 to its local economy, creates jobs and acts as a social hub, underlines how directly investment in the form of lower VAT, Business Rates and an overall cut to beer duty can help pubs and their communities to recover. It will also boost Britain’s world class brewing sector, a homegrown manufacturing success story that brews over 80% of the beer we drink.