Lee Waters

Column published in Llanelli Herald on 8th November 2017 Securing economic growth in Llanelli, when we are living through such unpredictable times, is one of the greatest challenges facing me as an Assembly Member. One of the things I’ve argued for is something called the ‘Foundational Economy’, or put another way, looking after what we’ve got on our doorstep: the industries and businesses that are there because people are there. The food we eat, the homes we live in, the energy we use and the care we receive. This isn’t a small part of our economy. It accounts for four in ten jobs, and £1 in every three that we spend. With that in mind, it makes sense to me that to stimulate our economy, we need to strengthen our public services and make smart investments in our communities. But this isn’t happening. Instead of investment, we have had seven years of austerity - the longest period of sustained cut-backs that I’ve witnessed in my lifetime. And despite the hardship th...

Column published in Llanelli Herald on 3rd November 2017 It’s said that the two red lines which run the length of Westminster’s debating chamber are exactly two sword-lengths apart, to prevent spontaneous duels breaking out between opposing frontbench MPs. The physically-drawn ‘battle’ lines must act as a constant reminder of the need for a ‘them’ and ‘us’ approach. And sometimes it shows - the circus that is Prime Minster’s Questions lacks any genuine debate, and is all the poorer for it. As a new politician - only elected for the first time last year - I find this perpetually combative approach limiting. True, there are big differences between the ideologies of the main parties and - personally - I’d only ever want to stand for election on a Labour ticket. But there are a number of times when politicians from different political backgrounds agree, and too often a stubborn allegiance to party politics can get in the way of working together and achieving change. So, ...

Column published in Llanelli Herald on 27th October 2017 I fondly remember looking for empty bottles of Corona to claim back the 10p from the pop man. Well, it seems this kind of scheme could be coming back. It’s now called a Deposit Return Scheme and its one of the ideas for reducing rubbish on our streets that I’ll be discussing at the joint Litter Taskforce I’ve set up with the Council. The benefits of this sort of scheme hit home when, following one of my Big Clean-Up events in Bigyn, I was told that - of the 40 black bags of litter we collected - half was recyclable.  Almost all of these recyclables were plastic bottles or tin cans. That these were found on streets, kerbs and in hedges, suggests that they are viewed by many people as throwaway objects and it’s a massive waste. Plastic is particularly harmful. It doesn’t break down or decompose - when thrown on land it makes the soil less fertile and when thrown in water it chokes our ponds, rivers and oceans and har...

Speech in National Assembly on 25th October 2017 For me this isn’t an issue about fire coming out of my taps or earthquakes These are clearly issues that would need to be sorted out before fracking could be permitted. But I want to make the broader point on what this debate is about Our whole way of life, since the second industrial revolution has been built upon access to energy derived from fossil fuels. We have built a materially-prosperous society on that However, as a matter of logic, if it is based on a finite natural resource, there is surely going to come a time when that reaches it limit. I’m not anti technology, far from it, I’m very open to the idea that through innovation we can find ways of improving our life that is consistent with respecting the planet's boundaries. However, I do worry that most of us are in denial about the impact that human behaviour has had on the environment and impacted its ability to sustain us in the way of life we have come to assume is...

Llanelli Star column published on October 18th 2017 I was very impressed by my visit to the chemists in Burry Port last week where Rachel Davies is pioneering new services in the community. There are now eight different services - including flu-jabs and warfarin tests - being delivered in Burry Port that elsewhere are only available from a doctor. Very many services can be delivered more conveniently and efficiently in a local setting. We need to be doing more things like this to take pressure off GPs and hospitals.  From the number of Doctor’s surgeries in this area that are closed to new patients, we know that GPs are under great pressure, and it is set to get worse. Health board managers are gearing up for further difficulties in Llanelli as Doctors get closer to retirement and they struggle to attract new GPs into the area. We are training more Doctors and are having successes in creating new types of surgeries, like in Kidwelly, where GPs and pharmacists work a...

Column in the Llanelli Herald on October 13th As a member of the Assembly’s powerful Public Accounts Committee I get to put Wales’ leading decision-makers on the spot. This week I got a chance to scrutinise the Chief Executive of Sports Wales. Wales being a small country, I know her a little from my last job and I hold her in high regard. But she was before me to account for her organisation’s performance over the last year and this wasn’t personal In the last 12 months Sports Wales has seen its Chair and Vice-Chair sacked after a boardroom revolt, and a critical internal audit report warning the Chief Executive that she risked damaging the reputation of the organisation over the handling of contracts. There were tough questions to be asked. You can watch the encounter online the Senedd TV website. But as well as the obvious questions one issue that has had a direct consequence here in Llanelli occupied my mind. Over the last couple of years the future of our local f...

Column in Llanelli Star on 27th September 2017 People say that the definition of madness is to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. So it must be madness to spend £1.1 billion on 15 miles of new motorway just south of Newport when we already know the outcome: traffic will go up, the motorway will clog up, and the same voices will be calling for yet more money to build yet more road. The Road Haulage Lobby are already saying it needs another lane - before it is even built! We can’t keep building our way out of the problem of congestion when we know that roads simply fill up again before too long. Our society is dominated by the car and I think it’s time we changed that. Instead, we need to spend the small amount of money we have, doing things that will enable and encourage us to make journeys using other means. Our public transport system is in dire need of an overhaul and our local roads are jammed with people driving very short distances. ...