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BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Senior Labour MSs face three-way selection fight
Welsh Labour risks losing at least one more big hitter at next year's Senedd election because of a three-way fight for selection in a south Wales for the new Afan Ogwr Rhondda constituency mean three significant figures are being pitched against each other, including the deputy first minister and the woman that won Rhonnda for Labour in Irranca-Davies and Buffy Williams will also face the deputy presiding officer David Rees in the party ballot to decide who will get the best spots on the area's Labour Labour said it would not comment on the selection battle. Labour is already facing a major shake-up after the next Senedd election, with more than a third of current Labour MSs having made the decision not to stand for re-election next first ministers Mark Drakeford and Vaughan Gething are among those standing down. Parties are currently in the process of drawing up lists for each of the 16 new constituencies for the next Senedd can nominate up to eight candidates per constituency, with parties to be rewarded with seats according to the percentage of the vote they Labour would expect to win two of the six seats available in Afan Ogwr Rhondda, it might struggle to win a three of the six seats in any given constituency would roughly require around 36% of the party members will now vote again to decide who will take the first, second and third place on the list in the constituency, with a result is expected in the coming are already indications from some within the party of a degree of anger were Williams, one of the party's highest profile women politicians – to miss would be "fury", said one source. Williams claimed one of the biggest scalps of the 2021 Senedd election, winning Rhondda back from the former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood with a 19% vote previous year she had been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to communities in Welsh Labour said it was committed to a "diverse slate of candidates" in its selection across Wales's 16 new Senedd constituencies, the Welsh Labour government abandoned plans last September to force parties to ensure at least 50% of candidates were were concerns about their lawfulness and whether the Senedd had the power to make the MS Irranca-Davies has emerged as an important figure in the current government set up, taking on not only the duties of deputy first minister under the leadership of Eluned Morgan, but also the rural affairs brief in which he has sought to placate protesting said last November that he had "listened" after making changes to controversial tree-cover requirements to qualify for subsidies. A former MP, he has served as a minister at Westminster. Rees has been MS for Aberavon since 2011 and deputy presiding officer for the past four years. His current constituency contains the Port Talbot normal circumstances Labour would have realistic hopes of winning three seats in the constituency, but as another source put it: "These are not normal circumstances."Senior figures in Welsh Labour are very concerned about losing voters to Plaid Cymru, while some of the recent announcements from Reform leader Nigel Farage suggested they were now also turning their attention to wooing traditional Labour supporters. A poll last month suggested that Labour had fallen to third behind Plaid Cymru and polls had suggested the three parties were neck and neck. At the next election there will be 16 new constituencies made of up of mergers of existing seats and a system of proportional Ogwr Rhondda takes in the former Aberavon, Ogmore and Rhonnda constituency party of the three MSs are on the party ballot because they were nominated by their respective areas: Rees in Aberavon, Irranca-Davies in Ogmore and Williams in Rhondda. A Labour party spokesperson said: "Welsh Labour has committed to putting forward a diverse slate of candidates, including women, people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, those identifying as LGBTQ+, and Welsh speakers amongst other underrepresented communities."
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NHS Rolls Out £1.7 Million Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease
(Bloomberg) -- One of the world's most expensive medicines will be used to treat some patients with sickle cell disease in England using the state-funded National Health Service. Manhattan's Morning Commute Time Drops With New Congestion Toll Trump Paves the Way to Deputize Local Police on Immigration Housing Aid Uncertain After Trump's Spending Freeze Memo Trump's Federal Funding Pause Threatens State Financials How the 2025 Catholic Jubilee Is Reshaping Rome The one-time gene-editing therapy Casgevy, developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Crispr Therapeutics AG, has a list price of £1.7 million ($2.1 million), but England's drug cost regulator said it has negotiated a lower, undisclosed price. About 1,700 people could be eligible for the therapy, which aims to repair genetic code, although it's likely only about 50 patients a year will receive it given the complexity of the treatment. Sickle cell disease affects the red blood cells and causes extreme pain, organ damage and can shorten a patient's life. Only some patients with the disease will be eligible to receive Casgevy. The treatment is designed to work by editing the faulty gene in a patient's bone marrow stem cells. The cells are taken out of the bone marrow, edited in a laboratory and infused back into the patient — after which the results have the potential to be life-long. Since it's discovery more than a decade ago, Crispr technology has been expected to bring about a revolution in medicine. The decision announced Friday reverses an earlier rejection in draft guidance from the regulator. The treatment will be rolled out under a so-called managed access program, where more data is collected to help the regulator — the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence — understand the longer-term benefits before it re-assesses the drug. England has a stringent process to assess the cost-effectiveness of new medicines, and NICE decides which drugs will be available free to patients on the NHS. With the health service under growing financial pressure, the regulator has faced recent criticism over its refusal to accept some cancer medicines. Still, the UK was the first country to approve Casgevy in 2023 and the treatment is already available to a smaller group of patients with a serious form of beta-thalassemia, a hereditary blood disorder that requires repeated transfusions. The treatment for sickle cell requires chemotherapy, meaning it's likely only patients with the most severe and progressive problems will benefit, said David Rees, professor of pediatric sickle cell disease at King's College London. Despite his concerns, he said it 'offers a really important new treatment option.' 'Excitingly, advances in gene editing are happening very rapidly at the moment and it seems likely that cheaper, safer and more effective forms of gene editing will emerge for sickle cell disease over the coming years,' he said. Indy Pass, the Anti-Vail Seasonal Ski Ticket, Is Gaining Fans The Internet Almost Killed Barnes & Noble, Then Saved It What America's Tech Billionaires Really Bought When They Backed Donald Trump Musk Pitches New Narrative as Tesla Sales Fall Forget Factories, Small US Towns Want Buc-ee's Gas Stations ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
