Barrage divides opinion

Former secretary of state for Wales Peter Hain resigned his Labour shadow cabinet post earlier this year to devote himself to the promotion of a Severn barrage - a project that would provide enough electricity to light up 5 per cent of the nation's electricity and transform the economy of south Wales.

Hain is seeking the backing of the Westminster government which is due to make a decision in the first half of this year

However, there is strong opposition from critics on the other side of the Severn estuary who are looking to the future of the port of Bristol.

The submissions by Hain and the opposition to the Commons energy and climate change committee make interesting reading, as do their different approaches, with Hain's grandiose vision being countered by more practical points.

Hain proclaims that "the barrage will power the UK for more than 120 years, cleanly, securely and sustainably generating as much electricity as four nuclear power stations or more than 3,000 wind turbines.

"It will inject more than £25 billion of private investment into the UK economy (no government money is involved). The region will gain a massive boost to its economy creating 50,00 jobs over nine years.

"Bristol will gain massively from the barrage," he says.

Port Talbot would become the largest deep-water port in north-west Europe, there would be no threat to existing shipping and the creation of a giant 570-square-metre sea lake would produce enormous leisure facilities.

However, SevernNet, an umbrella group which brings together the business and community interests south of the estuary, is seeking to bring Hain's case down to earth.

It is more prosaic in its arguments and starts with saying that "there would be no overall gain for the economy as the temporary economic gain from the construction of the barrage is balanced by the loss from closure of the ports at Bristol and Sharpness and associated businesses.

"The majority of the capital expenditure would leak outside Wales and the south-west [of England] as those areas would not be able to supply all the materials … and manpower for the project.

"The barrage would cause as a minimum a loss of 900 jobs in ports in the operating phase while creating around 1,000 operational jobs - a net gain of only 100 jobs."

SevernNet also fears that the estuary's fishing industry would collapse in England and Wales with 60 job losses and 180 in the marine aggregate industry.

There are, says SevernNet, "alternative options to the barrage which could deliver sustainable energy without such a negative impact on the existing economy."

The battle continues.

----

Here are some new year's suggested resolutions for organisations and people in Wales in 2013.

The Wales Tourist Board: Shelve the strategy of praying for summer sunshine in Wales to attract visitors to our green and pleasant land and its sandy shores.

It's time to look to building new indoor and outdoor projects that don't depend on good weather. The umbrella trade is no substitute either.

Leighton Andrews: The Wales education and skills minster should resolve to stop aping his opposite number in the House of Commons - Michael Gove.

He should ignore Gove's obsession with constantly testing pupils' knowledge and teachers' patience as the way to increase standards.

All Welsh politicians: They should resolve to be more ambitious in attempting to make the best of the devolution by bringing forward projects that gell with the Welsh people.

Because they are closer their communities they can better explain and get acceptance for not always popular plans, as with the smoking ban in public places and charging for plastic bags.

It looks as though the plan to change organ donations in Wales from an "opt-in" to an "opt-out" system - with safety clauses against manipulation - will go ahead, but it will need support from the public.

The left: There are now encouraging signs that the case for socialism is at last being taken up - and why wouldn't it, given the overwhelming evidence that capitalism cannot meet the needs of the people in an increasing global society.

In Wales the Communist Party of Britain and others on the left are putting the case for socialism and the Star's contributors and letter-writers are once again grappling with socialist ideology as writers and readers look not only to the needs of the hour but why, how and if socialism can work. The task now is to move proper political discussion up the agenda.