PROFESSOR DYLAN JONES-EVANS

The Oxford English Dictionary describes hypocrisy as “behaviour that does not meet the moral standards or match the opinions that somebody claims to have”.  Earlier this week, an excellent article by the Western Mail’s travel correspondent Rhodri Clark suggested that the Welsh Government’s recent behaviour in relation to its transport policy did not meet the moral standards or match its opinions on carbon emissions. Last June, the new Welsh Government announced that it would be freezing new road building projects as part of its plans to deal with the carbon emissions with an expert panel being appointed to review all road projects in Wales.  As a result, several road projects that had already been approved were cancelled, most notably the Llanbedr bypass in Snowdonia which was needed because of the serious congestion caused by tourists in the summer.  Yet, whilst smaller schemes have been scrapped because the Welsh Government wants to tackle climate change, it is continui...

One of the most important economic reports that is published annually is also one that is often overlooked by many politicians and policymakers despite its findings being relevant to the vast majority of businesses in the UK. The “State of Small Business Britain” report from the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) reviews a range of research and analysis to present an annual review of the trends affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. For 2021, it is not surprising that the report has focused on the challenges that many small firms have faced in coping with COVID-19 but it also examines the opportunities to strengthen the sector as we finally emerge from the pandemic especially in terms of what is termed the ‘Triple Transition’ namely business digitalisation, adoption of net zero practices and the upgrading in productivity. What does the report tell us? Not surprisingly, one of the major findings is that SMEs have been in financial difficulties during 2021 with an i...