Latest news with #NationalWaterfrontMuseum
Wales Online
a day ago
- Sport
- Wales Online
Swansea Half Marathon best pictures as thousands of runners tackle 13.1-mile course
The Swansea University Swansea Half Marathon made its return on Sunday offering runners a scenic and fast-paced coastal course through Wales' second-largest city. Starting at 9am from the Copr Bay Bridge near Swansea Arena the race featured a fully closed-road route open to both first-timers and seasoned runners. The 13.1-mile course saw thousands of runners pass through Singleton Park, the historic Brangwyn Hall, and Swansea Castle ruins, before heading towards the National Waterfront Museum. The route continued along the Swansea Bay coastline for five miles before looping back to the finish line at Swansea Arena. Hundreds of the participants took the opportunity to run for various causes, sporting tops from and raising money for charities such as Cancer Research Wales, Crisis UK, Prostate Cymru, and Wales Air Ambulance. This year's event also featured the popular Front Runner City 5 Miler, offering a shorter, more accessible race option. Take a look at some photos from the day of the thousands of participants and spectators who came out in force in Swansea and see if you can spot yourself.
North Wales Live
24-05-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Live
Protesters take to the streets of Swansea and Cardiff
Protesters took to the streets of Cardiff and Swansea to express their anger at cuts to benefits. The campaigners say changes to the Personal Independence Payment system and the health part of Univeral Credit will leave them unable to work and closer to poverty. The campaigners, who say the Labour government in Westminster isn't listening, wore Rachel Reeves masks, carried placards and flags and spoke to the assembled groups. Their slogans included 'Welfare not Warfare', 'Stop Disability Benefit Cuts' and 'Pip Cuts Kill'. Phil Coleman, 58, from Pontardawe, had a successful career as a maintenance technician at the National Waterfront Museum, in Swansea. However, now he suffers from long-Covid and cannot work. He now depends on benefits and his savings as his only source of income. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here Phil said: 'I've got long Covid, and I got long Covid three years ago. Before that, I was a very fit, healthy person, and I've paid tax and national insurance for 40 years. 'So I feel I've already paid into the system. So I think it's absolutely atrocious now that the benefits of some of the most vulnerable people in society are being cut.' He added that any reduction in the benefits he is receiving would mean poverty for him. Phil explained: 'I'm on a benefit, I'm on employment support allowance, which is not a lot of money. It's great and I'm lucky that I've got savings because I've worked for 40 years and I am actually using my savings because the benefit is not enough to live on. It's as simple as that. It [reduction in benefits] will plunge me into poverty, basically.' He said: 'I'm 10 years off retiring. I've been denied early retirement on grounds of ill health because at the moment I've been told, 'Well, you've got long Covid, you could get better.' "I also have a heart problem that was caused by long Covid. So I can't retire early. If likely I lose my benefit… that's my only income at the moment.' Ben Golightly, 34 suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and currently receives PIP for his condition. However, he is worried he might not be able to keep up his 'independence and dignity', if these payments are taken away from him under the proposed changes. He said: 'It makes a huge difference. Without it, I'd be unable to keep the house in shape because I wouldn't have any help. Most days I don't have the energy to cook so it's just bread and butter, but I get like, a delivery of food once a week. 'If I need to go somewhere, if I can't manage the walk to the bus stop that day, I take a taxi. Just all those things that make it more expensive to be an ill or disabled person. PIP goes some way towards making sure I've got that independence and dignity basically.' Ben added that his PIP benefits allow him to keep on top of the work his condition prevents him from doing. He said: 'I have an illness called ME or CFS and that limits my energy, it fluctuates, but most days I'm just sitting down. So I have a lot of difficulty with energy, with concentrating, things like keeping the house tidy, going shopping, cooking food, they're all things that I struggle to do. 'One thing I use PIP for is just to get my kitchen and bathroom clean, I pay someone to come in and do that weekly because that's just something I can't keep on top of due to my condition.' Ben feels that the Labour UK government has 'absolutely ignored' its disabled subjects. He said: 'I think it's scandalous,a so-called Labour party doing this and they're saying they're consulting with disabled people, they're not, they've absolutely ignored us. 'There's one consultation for the whole of Wales with limited tickets and disabled people are asking where it is, so we can plan our journeys and where we're staying. We're not going to know until the day before. Half the questions on the consultation, they're not even up for discussion, like the most important half, so they've made their minds up about it, they're not listening to disabled people.' Olivia Golightly, whose partner is disabled, says the PIP benefit money goes a long way in helping her partner get through the month. She said: 'She needs a lot of help with different things. She has a job, she works but getting a bit of benefits helps paying for numerous trips to hospitals, doctor appointments, additional things that she needs. 'I have to drive her to work. I'm lucky enough to have a flexible job, so it's quite easy for me to take time out. If she has a medical emergency, I can just go to her office and help deal with it. Obviously, if we were in that situation again, I'd have to take time off or unpaid time off to be able to support her.' Treasury Minister Darren Jones came under fire for drawing up an analogy between the disability benefits and pocket money, for which he had later apologised. Olivia said: 'It's not pocket money. So it goes on things like parking, you do not get free parking in Wales, even with a blue badge. We have to drive, I mean if I come to town on my own I cycle and just park my bike anyway I can't do that with her, we can't take the bus. 'It goes obviously on petrol, many trips to the hospital, doctors, she had to buy her own wheelchair, we paid £10,000 for a private surgery because she was not going to get on NHS and she was gonna die. So lots of things like that, just additional things that she needs to support her health.' The removal of PIP would make it harder for herself and her partner, according to Olivia. She said: 'I think it's just going to make things harder, like I said, using our own money for things like petrol costs and so on, but it's lots of little things that go into it, things that I do that she can't do, things that people don't think about or notice. 'It could just be a little housework, but it's a lot of different things. And again people don't realise that. You don't know what it's like to be disabled or to have a partner who is disabled, how much worry, anxiety and stress goes into it.' Felicity Mcgeown, 33, who has mobility and health issues faces a similar problem with her PIP payment. She currently receives the personal and mobility element of PIP but is unsure if she would qualify under the proposed changes. She said: 'I don't know… in a couple of areas I score like two and three, you need four. I do score four, but a lot of it depends on who your assessor is on the day. So you might score certain points one time that you have an assessment, and the next time you might score something differently, and it literally does depend on who's doing it because it's a bit of a tick box exercise. 'Your health conditions may not have changed. They may not even have improved, they might have worsened and you'll still score less sometimes depending on who's doing the assessment. So it is very variable.' Felicity too, says she would not be able to work without receiving her PIP payments. She said: 'My payment helps cover things like the cost of my car to get to my medical appointments and to be able to get out on time. Public transport has been cut in a lot of areas, it's very difficult. 'It also allows me to be able to get out and to work. People think PIP is an out of work benefit,it isn't. Lots of people who are on PIP are in work. My PIP allows me to have equipment and resources available to allow me to be able to work, without my PIP I wouldn't be able to work... That would be pushing you onto a different benefit.' She believes that these cuts have been brought in because the government thinks disabled people are an 'easy target'. Felicity said: 'I think they think maybe we're an easy target, and that they can get away with it basically. But we're not going to let them get away of it, we're going to hold them to account on this. 'It's short-sighted because at the core anybody can become disabled, that's the key thing, anyone can become disabled at any point in their life. The people making these decisions may not think it impacts them now but it could.' She adds the being disabled can cost up to £1000 additionally each month — costs that PIP helps mitigate. Felicity said: 'PIP isn't a work benefit. PIP is there to help cover the additional cost of being disabled. I don't know if you've tried to buy disability equipment, the price is shocking. 'Once you say it's for a disabled person, the price goes up. Sometimes you can get the VAT off with a doctor's letter, but the additional costs per month are absolutely shocking. That is why Scope found that it is on average over £1,000 extra per month.' She added: 'PIP allows me to basically live. To not necessarily need to be in the hospital and to also work. So without that, I don't know what the future would bring.' Rosanna Haigh, who is a disabled designer in Cardiff said: 'Rachel Reeves claims people use PIP 'improperly', yet there is no evidence for this. 'The government says cuts will 'incentivise' disabled people into work — but we don't lack motivation. We lack the privilege of good health, proper medical care, and equal access.' The 28-year-old said: 'PIP is awarded after rigorous assessment. No 'incentive' can override the reality of severe illness or impairment .Cutting this support will worsen poverty, deteriorate health, and make sustainable employment even less possible. 'I have qualifications, a strong work ethic, and I miss working. But pushing myself before I was ready nearly killed me. PIP gave me space to heal. If the goal were truly to support us into work, programmes like Access to Work would be expanded, not slashed.'
Wales Online
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
Protesters take to the streets of Swansea and Cardiff
Protesters take to the streets of Swansea and Cardiff Large groups demonstrated their anger at Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer Campaigners gather to demand the Labour government scrap plans for cuts to disability benefits (Image: Mark Lewis ) Protesters took to the streets of Cardiff and Swansea to express their anger at cuts to benefits. The campaigners say changes to the Personal Independence Payment system and the health part of Univeral Credit will leave them unable to work and closer to poverty. The campaigners, who say the Labour government in Westminster isn't listening, wore Rachel Reeves masks, carried placards and flags and spoke to the assembled groups. Their slogans included 'Welfare not Warfare', 'Stop Disability Benefit Cuts' and 'Pip Cuts Kill'. Phil Coleman, 58, from Pontardawe, had a successful career as a maintenance technician at the National Waterfront Museum, in Swansea. However, now he suffers from long-Covid and cannot work. He now depends on benefits and his savings as his only source of income. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here Phil said: 'I've got long Covid, and I got long Covid three years ago. Before that, I was a very fit, healthy person, and I've paid tax and national insurance for 40 years. 'So I feel I've already paid into the system. So I think it's absolutely atrocious now that the benefits of some of the most vulnerable people in society are being cut.' Article continues below Phil Coleman used to have a successful career as a maintainance technician (Image: Shaurya Shaurya ) He added that any reduction in the benefits he is receiving would mean poverty for him. Phil explained: 'I'm on a benefit, I'm on employment support allowance, which is not a lot of money. It's great and I'm lucky that I've got savings because I've worked for 40 years and I am actually using my savings because the benefit is not enough to live on. It's as simple as that. It [reduction in benefits] will plunge me into poverty, basically.' The protest in Cardiff (Image: Mark Lewis ) He said: 'I'm 10 years off retiring. I've been denied early retirement on grounds of ill health because at the moment I've been told, 'Well, you've got long Covid, you could get better.' "I also have a heart problem that was caused by long Covid. So I can't retire early. If likely I lose my benefit… that's my only income at the moment.' (Image: Mark Lewis ) Ben Golightly, 34 suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and currently receives PIP for his condition. However, he is worried he might not be able to keep up his 'independence and dignity', if these payments are taken away from him under the proposed changes. He said: 'It makes a huge difference. Without it, I'd be unable to keep the house in shape because I wouldn't have any help. Most days I don't have the energy to cook so it's just bread and butter, but I get like, a delivery of food once a week. 'If I need to go somewhere, if I can't manage the walk to the bus stop that day, I take a taxi. Just all those things that make it more expensive to be an ill or disabled person. PIP goes some way towards making sure I've got that independence and dignity basically.' Ben Golighty, feels the government has not thought of people like him while coming up with the cuts (Image: Shaurya Shaurya ) Ben added that his PIP benefits allow him to keep on top of the work his condition prevents him from doing. He said: 'I have an illness called ME or CFS and that limits my energy, it fluctuates, but most days I'm just sitting down. So I have a lot of difficulty with energy, with concentrating, things like keeping the house tidy, going shopping, cooking food, they're all things that I struggle to do. 'One thing I use PIP for is just to get my kitchen and bathroom clean, I pay someone to come in and do that weekly because that's just something I can't keep on top of due to my condition.' A protester in Cardiff (Image: Mark Lewis ) Ben feels that the Labour UK government has 'absolutely ignored' its disabled subjects. He said: 'I think it's scandalous,a so-called Labour party doing this and they're saying they're consulting with disabled people, they're not, they've absolutely ignored us. 'There's one consultation for the whole of Wales with limited tickets and disabled people are asking where it is, so we can plan our journeys and where we're staying. We're not going to know until the day before. Half the questions on the consultation, they're not even up for discussion, like the most important half, so they've made their minds up about it, they're not listening to disabled people.' Olivia Golightly, who cares for her partner who is disabled (Image: Shaurya Shaurya ) Olivia Golightly, whose partner is disabled, says the PIP benefit money goes a long way in helping her partner get through the month. She said: 'She needs a lot of help with different things. She has a job, she works but getting a bit of benefits helps paying for numerous trips to hospitals, doctor appointments, additional things that she needs. 'I have to drive her to work. I'm lucky enough to have a flexible job, so it's quite easy for me to take time out. If she has a medical emergency, I can just go to her office and help deal with it. Obviously, if we were in that situation again, I'd have to take time off or unpaid time off to be able to support her.' Treasury Minister Darren Jones came under fire for drawing up an analogy between the disability benefits and pocket money, for which he had later apologised. Olivia said: 'It's not pocket money. So it goes on things like parking, you do not get free parking in Wales, even with a blue badge. We have to drive, I mean if I come to town on my own I cycle and just park my bike anyway I can't do that with her, we can't take the bus. 'It goes obviously on petrol, many trips to the hospital, doctors, she had to buy her own wheelchair, we paid £10,000 for a private surgery because she was not going to get on NHS and she was gonna die. So lots of things like that, just additional things that she needs to support her health.' The removal of PIP would make it harder for herself and her partner, according to Olivia. She said: 'I think it's just going to make things harder, like I said, using our own money for things like petrol costs and so on, but it's lots of little things that go into it, things that I do that she can't do, things that people don't think about or notice. 'It could just be a little housework, but it's a lot of different things. And again people don't realise that. You don't know what it's like to be disabled or to have a partner who is disabled, how much worry, anxiety and stress goes into it.' Felicity Mcgeown depends on her PIP money to be able to work (Image: Shaurya Shaurya ) Felicity Mcgeown, 33, who has mobility and health issues faces a similar problem with her PIP payment. She currently receives the personal and mobility element of PIP but is unsure if she would qualify under the proposed changes. She said: 'I don't know… in a couple of areas I score like two and three, you need four. I do score four, but a lot of it depends on who your assessor is on the day. So you might score certain points one time that you have an assessment, and the next time you might score something differently, and it literally does depend on who's doing it because it's a bit of a tick box exercise. 'Your health conditions may not have changed. They may not even have improved, they might have worsened and you'll still score less sometimes depending on who's doing the assessment. So it is very variable.' Felicity too, says she would not be able to work without receiving her PIP payments. She said: 'My payment helps cover things like the cost of my car to get to my medical appointments and to be able to get out on time. Public transport has been cut in a lot of areas, it's very difficult. 'It also allows me to be able to get out and to work. People think PIP is an out of work benefit,it isn't. Lots of people who are on PIP are in work. My PIP allows me to have equipment and resources available to allow me to be able to work, without my PIP I wouldn't be able to work... That would be pushing you onto a different benefit.' She believes that these cuts have been brought in because the government thinks disabled people are an 'easy target'. Felicity said: 'I think they think maybe we're an easy target, and that they can get away with it basically. But we're not going to let them get away of it, we're going to hold them to account on this. 'It's short-sighted because at the core anybody can become disabled, that's the key thing, anyone can become disabled at any point in their life. The people making these decisions may not think it impacts them now but it could.' She adds the being disabled can cost up to £1000 additionally each month — costs that PIP helps mitigate. People were visibly angry at their local MPs in Swansea (Image: Shaurya Shaurya ) Felicity said: 'PIP isn't a work benefit. PIP is there to help cover the additional cost of being disabled. I don't know if you've tried to buy disability equipment, the price is shocking. 'Once you say it's for a disabled person, the price goes up. Sometimes you can get the VAT off with a doctor's letter, but the additional costs per month are absolutely shocking. That is why Scope found that it is on average over £1,000 extra per month.' She added: 'PIP allows me to basically live. To not necessarily need to be in the hospital and to also work. So without that, I don't know what the future would bring.' Rosanna Haigh, who is a disabled designer in Cardiff said: 'Rachel Reeves claims people use PIP 'improperly', yet there is no evidence for this. 'The government says cuts will 'incentivise' disabled people into work — but we don't lack motivation. We lack the privilege of good health, proper medical care, and equal access.' Article continues below The 28-year-old said: 'PIP is awarded after rigorous assessment. No 'incentive' can override the reality of severe illness or impairment .Cutting this support will worsen poverty, deteriorate health, and make sustainable employment even less possible. 'I have qualifications, a strong work ethic, and I miss working. But pushing myself before I was ready nearly killed me. PIP gave me space to heal. If the goal were truly to support us into work, programmes like Access to Work would be expanded, not slashed.'
