COLUMN: How ‘Trump’s war’ impacts us all

With the Senedd elections just over a month away, Labour's lead candidate, Ian Parry, believes his hometown of Welshpool could lead the way on community-led energy projects to reduce the impact of war.  

"Last month, my local Labour Party branch – Welshpool Branch – passed a motion condemning Donald Trump’s illegal war on Iran, which, so far, has resulted in significant loss of civilian life across the Middle East. 

While Reform and Conservative Party leaders initially demanded that Britain engage in the conflict and blindly follow Trump into oblivion, I am proud that our UK Labour Government has shown restraint and will not be engaging in yet another of America’s forever wars.

The UK government in my opinion must be careful to ensure we are in no way complicit in this war. While the Senedd has no say in the direction of foreign affairs, it can use its voice to demand Britain remains out of this conflict.

Trump has engaged in a form of foreign policy that our MP Steve Witherden correctly branded as “international gangsterism”, one that undermines global security and international law.

He has threatened some of our closest partners including Canada and Denmark (over Greenland), and he has mocked the sacrifices that brave British troops made in Iraq and Afghanistan. Across both wars, 636 people made the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives.

And now his actions have upended the global economy. Gwynedd Maldwyn is a rural constituency, and many households across our communities rely on oil to heat their homes. The cowboy profiteering some of these private companies have engaged in, instantly raising the price of oil and forcing families into financial distress, I strongly condemn.

I welcome the relief package announced, the £3.8 million the Welsh Government will distribute to households across Wales. I want to make sure this money is going to all those households in need. With the cost-of-living, not many have the disposable income to afford hundreds of pounds being added onto their heating bill.

Rather than spending hundreds of millions or even billions fighting foreign wars, we should invest that money into protecting people’s pockets. We should invest that money into promoting renewable energy, and financially encourage consumers to switch to renewable means of heating their homes – the only way to fully insulate ourselves from being reliant on future fluctuations in the price of fossil fuels.

While Plaid Cymru abandon long standing climate pledges, and while Reform across Gwynedd Maldwyn will champion “Drill Baby Drill”, following Trump down whatever path he takes us. The facts tell us that increasing oil output in the North Sea will not make the slightest dent on a commodity in which the price is set globally.

What will really get energy bills down in the fairest, most sustainable way will be local, community-led energy projects. Projects owned by the local people with profits reinvested back into the community.

Welshpool could be a pioneer. This is what the Gwynedd Maldwyn Welsh Labour Candidates will be fighting for."