With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass

IN A question to the Welsh Economy Minister this week, I asked what he thought were the reasons for being optimistic about the Welsh economy: what awaits the young people here other than staggering rent hikes, stagnant wages and dearth of opportunity?
I did so following yet another publication from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) — one in a series of publications in recent months — in which the glaring weaknesses within the Welsh economy were thrown into very sharp relief.
The figures showed that rates of unemployment in Wales were 4.6 per cent — this is 1.6 points up on last year and compares to a UK-wide rate of 3.9 per cent.
LUKE FLETCHER pours scorn on Labour’s betrayal of the Welsh steel industry, where the option of nationalisation was sneered at and dismissed – unlike at Scunthorpe where the government stepped in


