gair rhydd Monday November 28 2011 | freeword – Est. 1972 | Issue 965
“The coalition refuses to change course even in the face of evidence”
Afternoon tea with Ed Miliband Luke Slade & Sophie Gidley Political Editors Contemplating an interview with Ed Miliband is rather daunting. After considering pages and pages of possible questions any sense of anxiety seems to disappear when you’re finally in the room with him and he asks for a scone and cup of tea. He is, after all, just a man who so happens to be leader of the opposition. Regardless of your political stance, it is difficult to deny the sense of reverence that surrounds
Sandwich success Hannah Pendleton News Editor Issue 964 of the Gair Rhydd re-
Ed Miliband’s character. Even at first glance, he commands a space and draws an interest. After fulfilling other official engagements in Wales, he arrived in an undistinguished Ford to open a new office for Jenny Rathbone, Assembly Minister for Cardiff Central. Such a modest arrival from a leader who wants to be the working class hero. His face through the passenger seat window was like a television screen moving through the street. The façade was broken when his driver stepped out of the car, a man
no working class person would instantly warm to: tall, aloof and public school. After the pomp and circumstance that entails from such an event, he made his way into a side room where he was to have an interview with a couple of humble political editors. If it is possible to be both warm and brooding at the same time, then this is the impression Ed Miliband achieves, and it is much to his advantage. He is a tall man with slight hands but a firm handshake - a character of refreshing ambivalence.
As we took a seat, scone and tea served, we were curious to know why he chose the Labour Party, especially since, during his youth, his older brother, David, was already paving the way to becoming a politician. “I grew up in a Labour household,” he said, taking a sip of tea, “so that obviously informs your politics. “In the end I chose the Labour party, well not in the end, but because I believe in a fairer, more equal, more just society and I felt that Labour was the best party to
achieve that. “One of the foremost experiences for me when I was growing up was the miner’s strike in 1984-85 when I was 14, which effected Wales a lot. I just felt there was such unfairness about what was being done to a specific group of workers who seemed to be fighting against the odds and not being listened to. So I think it’s experiences like that which helped shape my politics and who I am.”
ported on student concerns over the lack of ingredient information available on food packaging within Cardiff Students’ Union. Following the publication of the story, the Union has taken prompt steps to ensure that this information is now clearly visible. Sandwiches sold in the Taf, the Kitchen and the Union shop failed
to display both ingredient information and allergy advice. Although it is not a legal requirement for food which is packaged in-house to contain this sort of information, people suffering from severe allergies had to be very cautious when purchasing these products from the Union. Nick Matthew, Finance and Commercial Officer and Food and Bev-
erages Manager, Mark Cheeseman explained that the Union was in the process of producing a product portfolio which would be available in all of the locations serving food products. Now both ingredients and allergy advice have been incorporated into the Students’ Union food packaging. Nick Matthew was unavailable
to comment on this latest development.
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