What We Care About
From social enterprise, to the high number of Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) in our area, to the environment, to opportunities to make Uplands the best it can be – this page is a forum for all the issues that are of concern to us in Uplands. If there’s something you think our Uplands Labour Councillors should be aware of, or if you’d like to propose a campaign around a particular issue, please get in touch! As a member of the Uplands Labour Party, you are also welcome to contribute an article to this page. Our members and elected representatives regularly post updates on the thing we care about, on the issues affecting Uplands, and what is being done to address them. Please browse the articles below.
A Great Day for Diversity in Democracy!
I have been chairing the WLGA’s working group on Diversity in Democracy since the previous chair, the formidable Cllr Debbie Wilcox, was elevated to the House of Lords in 2019. Debbie was the first female leader of the WLGA council, a great advocate for equality, and...
read moreLet’s Try UBI!
At our meeting on 3rd December 2020, Swansea Council became the first in Wales to join the UBI Lab Network's campaign for a pilot of Universal Basic Income in the UK. I am so proud to have proposed this motion, after adapting the wording from a draft provided by UBI...
read morePension Credit – Find Out to Help Out!
At Council on 4th November 2020, Cllr Alyson Pugh and I proposed a motion committing the council do deliver a Pension Credit take-up campaign. The motion text explains how this benefit is so under-claimed. Running this campaign was an election pledge which Cllr Nick...
read moreWorking for Diversity in Democracy and Kinder Politics
Overwhelmingly, older, white men are elected for public roles while other types of people are very unlikely to even put themselves forward. Two ideas help this situation continue. FIRST is the concept of: “the best person for the job”. Would you ever pronounce...
read moreBe A Councillor!
Wales-wide conversations about how to increase diversity in our elected organisations have concluded that most people have a very, very poor understanding of exactly what local councillors do. We desperately need more women, people of different ethinic minorites,...
read more“Austerity Kills”: Budget speech ahead of International Women’s Day
Cllr Louise Gibbard, Dunvant, gave a fantastic speech at council this week in support of the Labour administration's proposed budget for 2020/21. With her kind permission, we've published it here: Thank you presiding member for allowing me to speak and also for...
read moreCrime & Safety Update 6.3.20
Here are some issues we're working on at the moment. Discussions with police are planned and we'll publish further updates as progress is made: We have had discussions with residents on Terrace Road who’ve been badly affected by repeated incidents of car vandalism. ...
read moreParking Pains
We all know what our ideal parking scheme for Uplands and Brynmill would achieve, but the eternal problem is that any measures which push an unwanted group away (like the university's commuters) would have unintended consequences for a group we want to help (like...
read moreComing Soon: “Living Streets”, Uplands!
“I’d love to see Gwydr Square in Uplands (where the Uplands Market takes place) turned into a pedestrian, no-traffic zone”, said an email I received from a resident in February this year, who had originally contacted me about general traffic concerns. If I had £1 for...
read moreGreen Fairness
The council’s Policy Development Committee (PDC) for Poverty Reduction, chaired by Mary, is working on a policy to ensure that the benefits of green infrastructure are enjoyed by all our communities. It has been known for a long time that Swansea is a county of two...
read morePolicy Development Committee: Poverty Reduction
The Policy Development Committee (PDC) for Poverty Reduction, chaired by Mary, meets monthly as either a formal, public meeting or an informal working group, to discuss ways to improve life for people on low incomes and to develop policies that will help. PDCs are...
read moreBroadway Junction
The Broadway junction has been an area of known traffic congestion for many years. Being such a key route for schools and colleges, the afternoon build up typically starts around 3pm on term time weekdays, creating problems for everyone, particularly those who rely...
read moreThe Perennial Parking (and Speeding) Problem
Why do we have huge parking problems in Uplands? Students. That’s one way of looking at it. Another is: Why do we sometimes have no parking problems in Uplands? Students. When students depart, remaining residents can park. Other areas of Swansea are chock-a-block...
read moreClimate Emergency Declared by Swansea Council
There is an argument that the vast majority of global warming is caused by large companies, and the governments of nation states including the UK keep letting them get away with it. Decisions made by a relatively small unitary authority cannot begin to address even...
read moreWhy Were They Waiting?
At the last Council meeting it was great to see so many people in the public gallery asking well-considered questions. Engagement like this is great for Swansea and the Council. Why was the gallery so full? Principally because the Council was due to vote on a...
read moreHMO Policy Success: 60 Bernard Street!
Last year, a planning application to convert the former Tofts Building at 60 Bernard Street into a 17 unit student accommodation block provoked a lot of local opposition. Nick and Mary campaigned against it, but before it went to Planning Committee it was thrown out...
read moreExtreme UK Poverty – in Uplands and Beyond
At full council, January 2019, I presented a Motion on Addressing Extreme UK Poverty, drawing on the recommendations of Prof Philip Alston (the UN's Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, who toured the UK in November 2018 and wrote a statement...
read moreAnti Trump and Anti Racism Campaigning
In July 2018, members of Uplands Labour took an active role in organising Swansea's response to the UK visit of Donald Trump. This included a demonstration in Swansea City Centre on Thursday 12th July, as well as crowdfunding for coaches to take protestors to London...
read moreHouses in Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) continue to be a problem in Uplands
A mixed outcome for Uplands at the last Planning Committee meeting. The application to turn the former Twizzle Lodge into an 8 unit student accommodation block was approved, despite the objections of many residents and representations made by councillors. Cllr Mary...
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