11/05/2017 BBC Wales Today

Welsh Labour distances itself from the UK party's leaked draft

Party leader Tim Farron in Cardiff as the Welsh Liberal Democrats

And creating power from local rivers - why many small,

community energy schemes say they're in deep water.

It's the document which is dominating the general

election campaign tonight, but the Labour Party in Wales

has distanced itself from the leaked UK manifesto.

The party here says it will publish its own

manifesto which will be - in their words -

But how different can it be in a UK-wide election?

Here's our political editor, Nick Servini.

Senior figures from Welsh Labour heading to crucial talks

There was supposed to be a week to go.

Instead, the First Minister, Carwyn Jones, hit a wall of reporters

And this is what is in it about Wales -

Just a short statement saying it is proud of the Welsh Labour

Government and it will work to protect public services.

Welsh Labour quickly responded by calling it

an old version and said a distinct manifesto for Wales would be

published, that would be a completely different document

And after the leak showed major rises in public

spending across the UK, the Welsh party's statement took a different

angle, saying it takes a responsible approach to finance.

It says, we have made tough but fair spending decisions

throughout the last decade of shrinking budgets.

The Welsh party has been stressing its own identity

Welsh Labour really have tried to distance themselves

from Jeremy Corbyn's campaign on this.

I think, if you look at the polling, Jeremy Corbyn is seen as a much less

popular leader than Carwyn Jones among voters in Wales.

This is an election that's being framed all about the leadership.

Carwyn Jones will want to project authority, experience from

his eight years in Government here in the Senedd.

In the middle of an election campaign, when there are politicians

all over the place, to get them to talk about most issues is,

We've contacted most of the Labour candidates across Wales,

and the vast majority didn't want to speak to us about this.

The way this document has been leaked in chaotic fashion is clearly

You haven't yet seen the Welsh version and that has

That hasn't been leaked to the press, so there will be

an opportunity next week for people to see the exact version

Because, obviously, since devolution, we've had

Plaid say the internal leak shows some in Labour were more focused

on damaging Mr Corbyn than anything else.

While the Conservatives called it a shambles.

The leaked manifesto proposes the renationalisation

of the railways, as well as removing the cap on public sector workers

How did that go down in Gower, the UK's most marginal constituency?

The housing benefit, yes, I think should be restored.

They can't get mortgages, they can't get homes, they can't rent.

I am in agreement with a lot of the things, but I don't think

they are going to come about because they haven't said

where the money is going to come from, have they?

And tonight, after talks on the Labour manifesto came

to an end, the First Minister again stressed that the Welsh

But also stressed the areas of shared passions throughout Labour.

Both men probably also agree that today would have been best

A man's been arrested on suspicion of murder

by police searching for a missing woman near Rhyl.

43-year-old mother of two, Tracey Kearns, from Kinmel Bay, has

Police are carrying out inquiries in the area,

Tracey's mum reported her concerns to North Wales Police yesterday

after Tracey failed to meet a friend as arranged.

We have not found Tracy, and today we've arrested a 40-year-old man,

who was known to Tracey, on suspicion of murder.

The man tasked with turning around the health board

which covers North Wales after it was put in special measures

says supervision could be lifted later this year, after improvements.

However, speaking exclusively to BBC Wales, the chief executive

of Betsi Cadwaldr admitted performance in some areas

There's a whole range of waiting times I think

Whether it's infections that are avoidable, or patients that

might have a fall in our care, or patients who might

I think people shouldn't wait some of the lenghts that they're waiting.

And when they're in our care, I don't think they should expect any

Plans for a Swansea Bay tidal lagoon would be approved by

That was the party's message as it launched its general

Leader Tim Farron said the party can present a more

From Cardiff Bay, Carl Roberts reports.

Tim Farron and some of his Welsh Lib Dem candidates

taking a stroll around Cardiff Bay this morning.

Mr Farron fears that the general election will be

And he told party activists today that he was in Cardiff to change

the tone of the election and present a more hopeful future than,

he says, the Conservatives are offering post-Brexit.

Mr Farron's visit to Cardiff Bay today coincides with a pledge

to build a tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay.

The Lib Dems want to add to the one Welsh seat they hold at Westminster,

His visit to Cardiff today comes a week after the Lib Dems lost

The Liberal Democrats would approve the building of the Swansea Bay

The scheme's developers say electricity generated

by the six-mile lagoon would power 150,000 homes for 120 years.

The party says it would then want to see tidal developments

around the coast of Wales - in Cardiff, Newport and Colwyn Bay.

Before the project can go ahead, though, UK Government ministers

would have to agree a deal on the level of subsidy required

And a marine licence would also need to be approved.

Quite frankly, some of us are fed up with constantly reminding

the Government that they need to take action on this.

Such is the enormity of this project for the renewables

sector in south Wales, we need to get on with it.

Britain can be a better place than the place Theresa May

Tim Farron hopes the electoral tide is turning for his party and wants

the Liberal Democrats to protect Wales against the threat

of a Conservative landslide not seen since the 1980s.

Many of us in the north of England and here in Wales do not need

We remember what it would be like to be taken for granted by that

If you want someone fighting your corner,

then you want someone with an alternative vision

And as the only party that did not back Theresa May's extreme version

of Brexit over Article 50, the Liberal Democrats offer Britain

real hope of real change and a decent opposition.

But one Welsh MP between them is not the Lib Dems' aim.

They lost two of their three parliamentary seats

The Liberal Democrats hope they have weathered

the political storm, though, and can add

to their solitary MP on June the 8th.

The future of many small hydro schemes -

which pump money back into communities -

is in jeopardy due to a sharp rise in business rates.

That's the warning from two industry bodies, who've told BBC Wales that

some green energy projects have seen rate increases up to 900%.

Our environment correspondent Steffan Messenger has more.

For the last year, the villagers of Abergwyngregyn in Gwynedd have

been using their local river to generate electricity

They used to pay ?900 a month as a tax to the local council.

But after a recent revaluation of business rates across Wales

and England, their bill has shot up to over ?2,000 a month.

It's mainly volunteers that run community energy projects like this

Their profits ploughed back into the local area -

the upkeep of the village hall, for instance, or grants

So to see a big chunk of those profits disappear as a result

of this hike in business rates is, for many, hard to take.

I am extremely annoyed - I have done this in good faith

all these years and I expect the money that the hydro produces

This increase is just out of all proportion.

Gwynedd, with mountains and rivers aplenty, has become a hub

for community hydro schemes in recent years.

In Bethesda, where theirs has only just started generating,

they're now predicting they'll make a loss each

month, with no money at all for the local area.

These projects have been set up for community enhancement,

community sustainability, and this is ripping

In Scotland, they have done something about it,

they are giving 100% business rates relief, because they

know it's of benefit to the communities that they serve.

In Wales, there is nothing really for these medium to larger systems.

The British Hydropower Association say a quirk in the way

the rates are worked out is hitting their members

particularly hard, and ultimately a change in the law

In the meantime, the support available to help businesses

pay their way is in the hands of the Welsh Government,

and they believe ministers here could do more.

You have a strategy that sets out your green agenda,

and yet you're standing by while not only hydro

schemes are suffering, but small businesses.

And those small businesses, at some stage, will say,

we cannot afford to pay these rates and therefore, they will abandon

the schemes, and that's the last thing we want.

The Labour-run Welsh government says it is aware of the situation

and is considering whether to offer specific assistance with business

Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems told us they would do that.

While the Green Party said they'd scrap the taxes altogether

Ukip and the Conservatives didn't respond.

Meanwhile, the community energy sector, much favoured

by politicians of all hues, says it's in deep water.

Cardiff Castle looks a little different tonight

as the city gets ready to stage the Champions League final.

It's been taken over by a blue dragon, a giant trophy

and photographs of players ahead of the clash between

Real Madrid and Juventus on the 3rd of June.

Work is well under way as the capital prepares

A look at the weather now, Derek has the forecast.

Greetings. As expected, we have seen a change in the weather today. The

beautiful sunshine in the north this morning, and in Porthmadog, the

temperature soared to 22 Celsius. But the humidity has been rising,

and we've seen a few dark clouds and thundershowers as well. Tonight, a

few scattered showers, rain in parts of South Wales, heavy in places. A

much milder night, lowest temperatures around eight Celsius.

Tomorrow morning, rain and showers around, but some places will try and

brighten up with a little sunshine. Across the rest of the UK, low

pressure will bring plenty of cloud. Rain and showers, heavy, thundery

downpours in parts of England in the afternoon. Fewer showers in

Scotland, some dry weather, the best of sunshine in the west. Top

trumpeters in London, 19 Celsius, much cooler in northeast Scotland.

Plenty of cloud in Wales tomorrow, thundery damp walls possible. A few

miles around the road, next to no rain. Temperatures still feeling

muggy. Tomorrow evening and overnight, longer spells of rain.

Dry interludes as well, and another fairly mild night. Saturday and

improving story, a few showers, heavy in the morning, clearing and

brightening up through the day. Wind is picking up, more showers in the

south west by evening. A spell of rain overnight on Saturday, that

will clear leaving sunshine and showers by Sunday, becoming dry and

feeling fresher. Much more changeable over the next few days

compared to recently, but some sunshine over the weekend.

We'll be back in Breakfast with updates from 6:25 tomorrow morning.

For now, from all the late team, thanks for watching.