Bench Across Britain: After 100 years of dominance, will Labour retain its grasp on Wales?
The Welsh electorate has travelled in one direction for the last 100 years.
Labour always win more votes and seats than their rivals in Wales but, floating our parliamentary bench on a barge across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, we discover not everything is as tranquil as it seems in this stunning beauty spot.
The 20mph speed limit, wind farms and waiting times on the NHS are all matters raised by people who are not happy with Labour’s record in the Senedd.
The first person we meet is Reuben Jones, who works at the local barge hire company adjacent to the aqueduct.
“I’m a transgender person,” says Reuben. “I’m very unhappy with the state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts at the moment. There are a lot of issues with the education system, a lot of problems with the health care system.
“Neither the Conservatives nor Labour have made a concentrated effort to stand up for trans people in the UK.”
Cain Hughes and Reuben Jones
‘Equal society’
Labour have been criticised by JK Rowling for their stance on Transgender issues. The author accused the party of being “dismissive and often offensive towards women fighting to retain their rights”.
Labour have restated their plans to “modernise” the gender transition process, but Reuben feels Plaid Cymru have more to say and “are interested in an equal society and want to stand up for transgender rights”.
“I understand in certain women’s groups concerns about their safety,” Reuben adds. “I do empathise with that. But at the same time, they want to erode the rights of transgender people, which is not the right thing to do either.”
Navigating our green bench across Thomas Telford’s breathtaking aqueduct, the Llangollen Canal narrows to the width of our boat with a sheer drop on one side down to the River Dee which sparkles innocently 120ft below my feet.
Paul Otteson and his wife Susan
Once across to the other side, we find retired project manager Paul Otteson, from Carmarthenshire, a man who loves the Welsh countryside and is angry about plans to build wind farms in Llandovery, where he is from in South Wales. His main concern seems to be what is going to happen with the cabling from the turbines.
“We know we need electricity, but there has to be a better way of doing it,” he says. “Recently, they had a vote in the Senedd, and it was a tie. And the Labour casting vote was against burying cables. So, obviously, Labour are not in my good books at the moment.”
The vote was split between Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru who voted for the more expensive option of laying the powerlines underground and Welsh Labour who voted against that, over concerns it would make the project unviable.
Hilary Thomas
‘Best ideas’
But walking down the same towpath, retired bed and breakfast owner Hilary Thomas says: “We need more electricity. We need more solar panels. We need more wind farms. We need a tidal barrage in Wales down on the Bristol estuary there. Anything that keeps the cost down.”
In her mind, Hilary says she has flip-flopped over whom to vote for and still hasn’t decided who has “the best ideas”.
There have been 25 years of devolution in Wales and Labour have always been the largest party, so just as in the rest of Britain the incumbent Conservatives are being judged for their record in government, in Wales so too are Labour.
As we continue upstream and speak to others, Labour’s record on the NHS comes under attack. Some of their spending is described as “wasteful” but the most common topic of conversation is the roads, which many complain aren’t much faster than the waterways since the Welsh government introduced its 20mph speed limits.
‘Money wasted’
Reaching the Telford Inn we meet master and lady of the house Robert and Sarah Kinton-Chittenden, who are happy, after serving lunch, to take a rest on our bench, which is now providing extra seating in their beer garden.
“Very comfy. I can see why they nod off in parliament,” says Sarah, pressing down on the green upholstery. They talk about lower speed limits impacting on tourism to their pub, failure to tackle immigration and the state of the national health service. “That needs sorting out,” says Sarah.
“Massively,” agrees Robert.
“Because so much (money) went on this 20 mile-an-hour (speed limit), however much it was. I don’t remember the statistics,” says Sarah.
“It’s £35m,” adds Robert.
Robert and Sarah Kinton-Chittenden
“Something that could have been put into our national health. You know, it’s wasted now,” says Sarah.
Robert picks up again: “No doubt they’ll spend another £35m putting it back, so that’s £70m wasted. It could have gone into hospitals and schools. Ridiculous. What a waste of time.”
The Welsh government estimates it would cost £5m to reverse some of the reduced speed limits.
The couple agree with the argument made by Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru that Wales is owed £4bn to compensate for the decision not to build HS2 all the way to Manchester, which would have helped people travelling to North Wales.
“I do think there needs to be more money put into Wales and we’re talking an extra few billion because of the lack of high-speed trains,” says Robert. “They spent loads of money and it only goes to Birmingham. There’s already a train to Birmingham and it runs every day. Pointless. Ridiculous!”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Bench across Britain: Behind the scenes
Like several of the people we have spoken to along the river, Sarah and Robert haven’t yet decided where their vote will go.
Read more:
Fractured SNP could mean Labour gains in Scotland
Farming community calls for ‘more support’
Performers and punters weigh up votes in election circus
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Our longboat chugs through a constituency that has been swallowed up in the boundary changes, Clwyd South, now distributed among four other constituencies. A long-time Tory target it was finally stolen from Labour by the Conservatives in 2019.
Polls suggest voters in the countryside region, along with the nearby city of Wrexham, will turn back to Labour – but from our short trip down the canal, we have found quite a number of floating voters.
The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been sentenced to 10 and a half years after he admitted accepting tens of thousands of pounds in cash to make pro-Russian statements to the media and European Parliament.
Nathan Gill had “abused a position of significant authority and trust” and was “motivated by financial and political gain”, said Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb during remarks at the Old Bailey on Friday.
Gill, 52, of Anglesey, North Wales, had previously pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019, corresponding to his time as an MEP.
Nathan Gill is surrounded by media as he arrives at the Old Bailey. Pic: PA
The Old Bailey heard his activities were linked to pro-Russian statements about Ukraine while he was a member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and subsequently the Brexit Party.
Following an investigation by counter-terrorism police, officers said they believe Gill likely took a minimum of £40,000 in cash and was offering to introduce other British MEPs so they could be bribed. Officers also said they believed some individuals in this case had a direct link to Vladimir Putin.
Nathan Gill pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery. Pic: Met Police
Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC previously told the court the bribery offences related to Gill’s association with pro-Russian Oleg Voloshyn, who had been a Ukrainian government official before 2014 and was sanctioned by the UK in 2022.
Gill’s activities emerged in WhatsApp messages after he was stopped at Manchester Airport on 13 September 2021.
He was about to board a flight to Russia to be an observer in elections there.
Bundles of cash recovered
Police said the messages revealed Voloshyn had tasked Gill to make pro-Russian statements on a reward basis. Counter-terrorism officers said the text of some speeches was provided to Gill, which he delivered almost word-for-word.
In other cases, he was paid to offer commentary to news outlets, such as the pro-Russian media organisation 112 Ukraine.
A search of his home in Wales also uncovered thousands in euros and dollars.
Bundles of cash were recovered from Gill’s home. Pic: Met Police
Pic: Met Police
Greed ‘primary motivation’
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, described Gill as being motivated by money.
“It appears… greed was his primary motivation. But I think there’s an element of him that had a pro-Russian stance as well, but only he can answer that question, to be honest with you, he never told us that.”
Gill was interviewed in March 2022 and made no comment. He was charged and appeared in court in February 2025.
Gill said no comment when interviewed by officers in 2022. Pic: Met Police
‘A grave betrayal of trust’
During sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb described Gill’s offending as “sophisticated” and “a grave betrayal of the trust vested in you by the electorate”.
She told him: “You accepted payments from foreign nationals, made statements on important international matters at their behest, utilised scripted material presented as your own, and orchestrated the involvement of other MPs.
“Your misconduct has ramifications far beyond personal honour, which is now irretrievably damaged. It erodes public confidence in democracy when politicians succumb to financial inducement.”
Gill was paid to offer commentary to pro-Russian media outlet, 112 Ukraine. Pic: Met Police
Other UK politicians at risk
Commander Murphy said that police were continuing to investigate other MEPs, including some from the UK.
“What we do know from the conversations with [Oleg] Voloshyn is that Nathan Gill actually offered his services to contact other MEPs, mostly UK MEPs, to also make statements that might be supportive of a Russian position in Ukraine,” he said.
He added: “I do believe that some of the individuals in this case do have direct connections to Vladimir Putin. And I have no doubt that if we were able to, we could follow this trail and it would lead straight to Moscow.”
Commander Dominic Murphy believes greed was Gill’s primary motivation
Gill led the Welsh wing of UKIP between 2014 and 2016 and was a member of the Senedd between 2016 and 2017.
He was an MEP between 2014 and 2020, but left UKIP in 2019 to join Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party – later Reform UK.
Political fallout after prison term
Police have confirmed Nigel Farage has not been part of this investigation, but political rivals have called on the Reform UK leader to launch a thorough investigation.
Defence minister Al Carns, a former colonel in the Royal Marines, said Gill’s actions were “a disgrace”. He added: “I just think wherever we see Russian influence in UK politics, it’s got to be weeded out.”
Read more from Sky News:
Zelenskyy reacts to peace plan
Europe cannot reject Trump’s plan
Britain warns Russia over spy ship
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said “a traitor was at the very top of Reform UK”, referring to Gill, but also launched a direct attack on Mr Farage by calling him, and his party, “a danger to national security”.
“Nigel Farage himself was previously paid to be on Putin’s TV channel, Russia Today, and said he was the world leader he admires the most.
“We must all ask – where do his loyalties really lie? We need a full investigation into Russian interference in our politics,” he said.
Reform UK, which previously kicked Gill out of the party, said in a statement: “Mr Gill’s actions were reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable. We are glad that justice has been served and fully welcome the sentence Nathan Gill has received.”
Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, welcomed Gill’s jail sentence “for his acts of betrayal in taking bribes from Russia”.
In a statement, she said: “If the former Reform UK leader in Wales was part of a broader, co-ordinated effort to advance Moscow’s agenda within our democratic institutions, then the public deserves to know the full truth, and how far Russian money and influence reached into Nigel Farage’s inner circle.”
Britons buying cocaine on a Friday night could be inadvertently funding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The National Crime Agency has revealed a billion-dollar money laundering network is operating in 28 towns and cities across the UK.
Couriers collect “dirty” cash generated from drugs, firearms and immigration gangs, which is then converted into cryptocurrency.
Officials say these illicit transactions have a direct link to “geopolitical events causing suffering around the world”.
This network was first exposed because of Operation Destabilise – and to date, 128 arrests have been made, with more than £25m in cash and digital assets seized.
A poster put up in motorway service station toilets by the NCA. Pic: PA
According to the NCA, the enterprise is so prolific that it purchased a bank to facilitate payments that supported Russia’s military efforts and helped sidestep sanctions.
Posters have been put up in motorway service stations to target couriers, which warn it is “just a matter of time” before they will be arrested.
The NCA’s deputy director for economic crime, Sal Melki, has warned the threat posed by this money laundering network is significant.
He added: “Cash couriers play an intrinsic role in this global scheme. They are in our communities and making the criminal ecosystem function – because if you cannot profit from your crimes, why bother.
“They are paid very little for the risks they take and face years in prison, while those they work for enjoy huge profits.”
Mr Melki went on to warn that “easy money leads to hard time” – and earning just a few hundred pounds through laundering could lead to years behind bars.
Sal Melki
The NCA says Operation Destabilise has already had an impact in criminal circles, with some members of the network now reluctant to operate in London.
Those involved in the money laundering effort have also started to charge higher fees – reflecting the difficulty of cleaning ill-gotten gains.
Cryptocurrencies are often regarded as a haven for criminals because they are perceived to be anonymous, but it is possible to trace these transactions.
Chainalysis is a company that monitors suspicious activity on blockchains, a type of database that keeps records of who sends and receives digital assets – as well as how much.
Its vice president of communications Madeleine Kennedy told Sky News: “Public blockchains are transparent by design, which makes cryptocurrencies a poor vehicle for money laundering.
“With the right tools, law enforcement can trace illicit funds – whether they’re connected to drug trafficking, sanctions evasion, or cybercrime – and use those insights to disrupt networks and recover assets.”
Read more:
Sky News joins police raid on Turkish barber shop
Crypto scammer jailed after UK’s biggest Bitcoin bust
Ekatarina Zhdanova. Pic: NCA
Last December, a global investigation led by the NCA smashed two networks whose money laundering activities were prevalent in 30 countries.
Bundles of cash were seized during raids, with detectives describing Smart and TGR as the invisible link between “Russian elites, crypto-rich cybercriminals and drug gangs in the UK”.
One of the network’s ringleaders, a Russian national called Ekatarina Zhdanova, is currently in custody in France and awaiting trial for separate financial offences.
Security minister Dan Jarvis added: “This complex operation has exposed the corrupt tactics Russia used to avoid sanctions and fund its illegal war in Ukraine.
“We are working tirelessly to detect, disrupt and prosecute anyone engaging in activity for a hostile foreign state. It will never be tolerated on our streets.”
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024