A cafe and treatment rooms are amongst the features set out in the proposal

A former chapel which dates back to 1803 could become a health and wellness facility under new plans. The Crescent Wellness Club has submitted an application to convert a Grade II Listed building, formerly Wesleyan Chapel and The Masonic Hall, on The Crescent in Wisbech into a health and wellness centre and cafe.

The applicant said it is is seeking to restore a historic building to its “full potential as a vibrant community hub focused on wellbeing, connection, and shared use.”

The developer added: “The Crescent Wellness Club (applicant’s business name) is a wellbeing and community-focused space in Wisbech, bringing a historic building back into active use while preserving its character. The space will provide a welcoming and inclusive environment supporting physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, alongside community and creative use.”

The application also wants to use the health facility as a community space. The centre would host mental health and wellbeing workshops, therapy and group support sessions, seasonal and community events and creative activities. Occasional event days are proposed to “bring people together”, with part of the profits proposed to be reinvested into local community projects.

If approved, the basement would be used for yoga, Pilates, reformer Pilates, and sound healing meanwhile the ground floor would feature a reception, a cafe offering locally sourced food and therapy and treatment rooms. On the first floor, dance and fitness classes, creative workshops and group wellbeing and therapy sessions are proposed.

If successful, the building would be open between 7am and 9pm on weekdays and from 8am to 6pm on weekends. The cafe would operate between 9am and 5pm and the therapy rooms would remain open between 9am and 5pm.

A heritage statement for the proposals states that the development seeks to “structurally strengthen elements, remove modern un-sympathetic alterations, erect new elements to increase the building footprint and in-turn its usability and reinstate original features”.

The proposals will be considered by Fenland District Council.

Manchester United face Liverpool on Sunday in what is always one of the biggest Premier League fixtures of the season and a win will guarantee Champions League football returns to Old Trafford next season.

There is plenty going on in M16 at the moment. United are targeting third in the Premier League and Michael Carrick is moving closer to landing the head coach job on a permanent basis.

There was another boost this week when Kobbie Mainoo signed a new five-year deal and plans are afoot to reshape the midfield in the summer, with a partner for Mainoo the top priority. So plenty to get stuck into and I’ve answered some of your questions on the current state of play at Old Trafford below.

Click here to find out the latest Manchester United news in our daily newsletter

We run weekly question and answer sessions, so click here to submit your questions, and we’ll answer them next week. Here are the answers to some of this week’s questions:

Michael Carrick has produced tremendous results and we have all seen the positivity. Why are we still looking for another candidate?

Carrick is certainly the frontrunner for this job and, personally, I would be surprised if he didn’t get the job. But United insisted it would be a thorough process back in January and they intend to stick to that.

There are some unknowns around Carrick. He has been impressive, but it is still a small sample size really, and next season will offer a very different challenge, with more games and less time on the training ground.

United have looked at options and done due diligence on head coaches. They are aware some big names aren’t available. It feels like it’s down to Carrick, or going for one of those Premier League-proven options in Andoni Iraola or Oliver Glasner.

They both also have questions to answer in terms of stepping up to a bigger job, so the sensible option here looks to be Carrick.

Will we go for a big-name coach, but I think the job is too big for former players?

And here is the alternative view. I can understand why some supporters still harbour doubts about the 44-year-old. He wouldn’t have got this job in January without his distinguished, 464-game playing career at Old Trafford.

His record at Middlesbrough was okay, but it wasn’t screaming future Manchester United coach. He has taken his chance, however, and I actually think having experience of the club is a benefit. He has been a much calmer presence than both Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, who were swallowed up by the size of the club.

Then there is who qualifies as a big-name coach. Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann, Carlo Ancelotti and Luis Enrique all look to be out of reach for one reason or another.

We’ve seen some impressive Premier League bosses struggle when stepping up from those mid-level clubs recently, so Iraola and Glasner come with risks. That’s why all roads currently seem to lead to Carrick.

Instead of looking for expensive signings, can we not use current players at the academy and give them performance-related contracts?

I think we’ll see more academy players get chances next season. Midfield is certainly an area to watch, with Casemiro leaving and United likely to try and sell Manuel Ugarte.

There is a chance they try and sign three new midfielders, but I think the more likely course of action is to sign two and then use academy options as the sixth first-team option next season. Jim Thwaites impressed in Ireland and could do it, while Tyler Fletcher has been around the first team in the second half of the season. Jack Moorhouse is also well-liked at United.

The other one to watch next season is Shea Lacey. He turned 19 last month and is now a full-time member of the first team squad. He will get minutes next season.

Why would United not keep Casemiro, even if he only plays Premier League games or does 45 minutes in some games? He brings so much experience and knowledge.

There is a lot of love around for Casemiro at the moment and nobody seems ready to say goodbye, but that is what will be happening over the next four games.

The timing feels right. He is 34 now and is going out on a high. He has benefited this season from a reduced schedule, but won’t have that luxury next season.

And the reason he won’t stay for a reduced role is partly that he would probably want more, but mostly because it’s just not value for money. His salary would be around £350,000-a-year next season and with Ineos determined to cut the wage bill, that just doesn’t make sense for them.

Could Mason Greenwood play for Manchester United again?

We get a few questions on Greenwood here and there and you can understand why. He’s had another excellent season in France, with 25 goals and 10 assists in 42 games, but the chances of a return to Old Trafford are pretty much non-existent.

United tried to reintegrate him in the summer of 2023, but the backlash was fierce and they shelved those plans. They can’t and won’t try to do so again, regardless of his ability.

They could profit from a sell-on clause and there has to be a chance he moves on from Marseille, but it’s difficult to see any Premier League club signing him and they would pay the biggest fees.

May Day events took place across the United States in major cities like Seattle, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington DC.

More than a thousand protesters in the Los Angeles May Day Coalition marched through the streets of the city’s downtown in support of workers’ rights.

Meanwhile in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised unions and called for stronger protections for working people at a rally in Washington Square Park.

Brent crude oil surged to US$126 (£94) a barrel after US president Donald Trump announced that he was willing to prolong the blockade of Iranian ports for “months if needed”. This conflict has been billed as a matter of who can absorb the most pain. And Trump is betting on it being the US.

Trump has been rather bullish in his public pronouncements of late, declaring that Iran is in a “state of collapse”. Reports that the country’s inflation rate has risen to 50% from 40% since the war began at the end of February would seem to back this assessment.

The damage done to Iran’s economy will be made worse if the country is forced to shut down oil production due to a lack of storage capacity, something Trump is also confident about. He told Axios: “The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. They are choking like a stuffed pig.”

Now in its eighth week, the conflict is having knock-on effects throughout the region and beyond. Perhaps the most telling sign this week was the announcement by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that it was quitting Opec, the oil producers’ cartel.

Adi Imsirovic, an energy expert at the University of Oxford, believes that while this decision has been brewing for some time – UAE and Opec’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, are at loggerheads over the civil war in Yemen and conflicts in Sudan and across the Horn of Africa. But the war has sharpened political sensibilities across the Gulf. Abu Dhabi has been unhappy about the lack of support from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) after being on the receiving end of intense bombardment from Iran.

Meanwhile, it has chafed under production quotas imposed by the cartel, which it sees as being well short – unfairly so – of its production capacity. When the Strait of Hormuz opens and countries begin to restock their reserves, UAE believes it can cash in on increased demand.

For Imsirovic, the episode reveals something deeper: as the transition by much of the world to retool their economies away from dependence on fossil fuels, big producers like the UAE worry about being left with oil in the ground that nobody wants. Hence the desire to pump out more oil without being constrained by Opec quotas.

À lire aussi :
UAE’s departure from Opec tells a story about the limited future of oil production

Another question inevitably raised by the Middle East conflict and the chokehold that the Strait of Hormuz has over energy markets is why nobody has figured out an alternative route. After all, Iran has been threatening to close the strait whenever threatened since the early 1980s.

The fact is, various countries have figured out an alternative route, writes David B. Roberts of King’s College London; it’s just not big enough to cope. The East-West Pipeline (or Petroline) can pipe oil across the Saudi peninsula at a rate of 5-7 million barrels a day. This compares with an estimated 20 million barrels that transit the Strait of Hormuz in normal times.

The Abu Dhabi crude oil pipeline, which takes oil from the Habshan onshore field in Abu Dhabi and runs to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman handles less than 2 million barrels per day. Both pipelines have been damaged by Iran during the war. And both were operating before the Strait of Hormuz was closed, so the idea that these pipelines can replace the strait is not feasible.

À lire aussi :
What alternatives do Gulf states have to the Strait of Hormuz?

Trump assassination attempt

It was shocking and depressing to read of another apparent attempt on the US president’s life – the third in two years – at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday. It was the first of these dinners that Trump had attended since 2011 when he was famously the butt of Barack Obama’s jokes in the by-now familiar comedy “roast” that is traditionally a highlight of the evening.

A man armed with two guns and a knife attempted to enter the ballroom where the dinner was being held, so the principals were evacuated and the dinner broke up in disarray. It later emerged that the would-be assassin had written a “manifesto” in which he revealed his hatred for the US president.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed what she called “hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump”, which she said had “helped to legitimise this violence and bring us to this dark moment”. She pointed the finger at the US Democrats and “some in the media”.

Seeking to link the assassination attempt to political rhetoric is a pretty direct attack on the first amendment to the US constitution, which protects free speech, writes Eliza Bechtold, a US constitutional law expert at the University of Oxford. The Trump administration has a track record of lionising the first amendment when it suits them (the January 6 US Capitol rioters were characterised by some as peaceful protesters exercising first amendment rights). But attacking the media or the Democrats for their criticisms of Trump’s administration is, writes Bechtold, a denial of everything the first amendment was designed to do.

À lire aussi :
Trump uses assassination attempt to justify his assault on first amendment rights to free speech

But not everyone in Trump’s Maga movement is now singing from the authorised songbook, writes Clodagh Harrington of the University of Cork. First it was Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a fervent Trump fan in the House of Representatives, now a bitter critic – who jumped ship in 2025, largely due to what she sees as his mishandling of the Epstein files.

More recently, it has been former Fox host Tucker Carlson, who has gone from introducing Trump at election rallies in 2024, to apologising to the US public for “misleading” them into voting for Trump. For Carlson, it’s the Iran war that flies in the face of one of Trump’s core election promises: no new wars.

Mind you, Harrington notes, Carlson’s move may also be dictated by a dream to launch his own presidential run in 2028. A TV personality running for president? Well, it has been known.

À lire aussi :
Is Trump losing the support of his Maga base?

The Moon moves into sync with Jupiter, bringing clarity around goals and visions. Gain a new perspective today.

Taurus, Aries and Gemini, this placement is all about sharing your ideas with those who matter. It’s tieme for brainstorming and deep conversations.

Don’t be afraid to make waves, and maybe even rock the boat. You’re developing by leaps and bounds, so don’t let anyone hold you back.

Ahead, you’ll find all star signs’ horoscopes for today: Saturday May 2, 2026.

Like checking your horoscope every morning? You can now sign up to our free daily newsletter to get a personalised reading for your star sign delivered straight to your inbox.

To order your unique personal horoscope based on your time, date and place of birth, visit patrickarundell.com.

Aries

March 21 to April 20

Whereas yesterday, when your thoughts and emotions could have been more intense, there’s an opportunity today, as the Moon arcs towards the vibrant Jupiter, to view things in a different light. It may be that a heart-to-heart with someone close over the weekend can also help you to gain a different perspective, but in a positive way. It will feel good to move on.

Head here for everything you need to know about being an Aries

Taurus

April 21 to May 21

Jupiter has been helping you over the last nine months to think about things in different ways, and also to gain additional knowledge, but also to share your great ideas too. And today, it could be really joyful to share your insights with someone in a way that can help them too. Close relationships can seem less on edge today, and with a greater sense of mutual give and take.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Taurus

Gemini

May 22 to June 21

Over the last few days, you’ve been able to appreciate the solid citizens in your world, but there is still a feeling that new and more exciting opportunities can open up for you. And yet what you can do is blend this optimism today with some practicality, particularly when you’re considering resources or any ways or ideas you have to improve your financial situation.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Gemini

Cancer

June 22 to July 23

You’ve been given food for thought about managing your time, particularly as there seems to be quite a few competing considerations. But one thing you can feel today with the Moon in the warm and affectionate part of your chart and her link back to the supportive Jupiter in your sign, is a sense that whatever path you choose, you will be supported and protected.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Cancer

Leo

July 24 to August 23

The newly arrived Venus and Uranus in the most social of sectors are going to bring some sparkle and effervescence to your interactions in times to come. But today, it could be just a moment of connection or deeper thought that helps you to understand something that may have just been holding you back a little bit for some while, and that can feel really uplifting.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Leo

Virgo

August 24 to September 23

Radical Uranus is pushing you to step outside your comfort zone, shake things up, and approach your connection to the wider world in a fresh and exciting way. But it’s your timeless ability to analyse and structure information in a practical way which can impress someone you encounter today, along with your can-do attitude, and cheerful friendliness.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Virgo

Libra

September 24 to October 23

Even if you are working within a budget, there’s going to be part of you that may want to squeeze from that some kind of extra slice of enjoyment or treat. This could be something relatively inexpensive, but after quite a period of being very disciplined, a much more liberated side of you needs to come out, which may see you snaffle something more lush.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Libra

Scorpio

October 24 to November 22

Whilst you may have been considering some relationship dynamics yesterday, and you could still be processing these, you can just feel much more carefree today as the Moon in your sign forges a lovely link with the exuberant Jupiter, which is exalted in its current home in your fellow water sign of Cancer. This combination is perfect for feeling more happy-go-lucky.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Scorpio

Sagittarius

November 23 to December 21

There’s a wonderful sparkle in the part of your chart that sees you connect to others, but particularly those people who are not only charismatic but also genuine and relatable. So why have you been working through some sensitive thoughts over the last 24 hours? Well, the Moon is in the tenderest part of her journey, but is more supported today, as you’ll be too.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Sagittarius

Capricorn

December 22 to January 21

Last June, when the fortune bringer Jupiter returned to your sector of relating for the first time in many years, you may have hoped that significant developments around relationships would follow, and they may have done. It’s just that, ironically, your ruler, Saturn, inhibited his potential, but not so today, when a friendly, perhaps even flirty conversation, can add uplift.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Capricorn

Aquarius

January 22 to February 19

There’s an unfair archetype about Water Bearers that you must be quirky and out there. And yet, the chances are, if this is within you, it will start to come through increasingly in the months to come, now that your modern ruler is in such a playful, mischievous location. But you can use that sense of fun to adjust and adapt to even tricky work-life issues, as today can show.

Head here for everything you need to know about being an Aquarius

Pisces

February 20 to March 20

Yesterday may have coincided with some more intense discussions or conversations. This may have led to something being pushed into the open. And now it’s been ventilated, you can start to see things in a different way and release whatever it was that was occupying your emotions. Indeed, more novel ways of dealing with home and family issues will become a theme.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Pisces

Your daily Metro.co.uk horoscope is here every morning, seven days a week (yes, including weekends!). To check your forecast, head to our dedicated horoscopes page.

Head here for this week’s tarot horoscope reading, and see what the cards have in store for you!

Check out the tarot horoscope reading for the month of May here.

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MORE: Daily horoscope May 1, 2026: Today’s predictions for your star sign

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Game show Name That Tune began in the mid-1950s, originating in the United States on NBC Radio in 1952.

It sees contestants pitted against each other as their music knowledge is put to the test.

ITV is reviving the series, which last aired in the late 1990s, with TV star Alison Hammond set to host.

ITV reviving iconic show Name That Tune after 28 years with Alison Hammond

The British version first aired on UK TV back in 1976 and became a 15-minute slot on the popular entertainment series Wednesday at Eight, which went on to become London Night Out.

However, because the game was so popular, producers Thames Television decided to turn Name That Tune into a half-hour weekly series in 1983.

From 1976 until 1983, it was hosted by Tom O’Connor, with Lionel Blair taking over in 1984 until the series was dropped from the ITV schedules in 1988.

In 1997, the series was revived on Channel 5 with Jools Holland as the host for two series in 1997 and 1998.

The new series will be its first return to television since then.

The new series, hosted by Alison Hammond, will see contestants go up against each other as their music knowledge is put to the test in a series of fast-paced rounds.

It will feature tracks from the world’s best-loved artists and bands from across every genre – all building towards the finale. 

Name That Tune is currently in its fifth season in the U.S, presented by 30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski.

The show’s band will also be performing in the new UK version, made up of a group of elite musicians who have performed with some of the world’s biggest stars, including Adele and The Spice Girls.

Alison said:  “As a massive music lover, my biggest challenge as a host will be trying not to grab the mic and start singing along when one of my all-time favourite tunes comes on!

“And trust me… that will take serious self-control!

“I grew up absolutely loving the original show, so being part of this now feels like a real full-circle moment.

 “I cannot wait to get into the studio, put the contestants through their paces, and see who really knows their music.

“And let me tell you, being joined by the super-talented Name That Tune band, who’ll be belting out some of the biggest songs on the planet in their own unique, electric style… oh, it’s going to be next-level.

“Bigger, louder, and more feel-good than ever, this is going to be EPIC!”

 Katie Rawcliffe, Director of Entertainment, Reality & Daytime at ITV, added: “Name That Tune is such an iconic brand, we are excited to be bringing this refreshed global format to the UK audience.

“It’s a fun family series that not only sees contestants challenged in the studio, but viewers can play along with all the family, providing a unique playlist that spans generations.”

ITV’s 7 Up series to conclude in 2026 after 62 years

The news comes as another classic ITV series is set to end this year after more than six decades.

Referred to as the Up series, it began back in 1964 with 7 Up, which follows the lives of ten boys and four girls in England when they were seven years old, and has followed up with them every seven years.

The series has been produced by Granada Television for ITV, which has aired all of the films except 42 Up, which was broadcast on BBC One.

The final film, called 70 Up, will join the participants for the last time as they reflect on their triumphs, trials and tribulations and what happened to their hopes and dreams.

Recommended reading:

Jo Clinton-Davis, controller of factual ITV and commissioner of 70 Up said: “The 7 Up story is much more than a TV documentary, it’s a document of our times.

“A truly distinctive landmark piece of film-making that has become part of our cultural fabric.

“In the evolving stories of our cast we see the universal themes of life play out. It is the series that made me want to get into television.”

Will you be watching Name That Tune when it returns? Let us know in the comments.

She successfully prosecuted child killer Mark Bridger as one of Wales’ leading barristers. Now Elwen Evans faces an altogether different type of case to resolve

On almost any metric the university sector is changing. Declining participation rates, rising costs, and changes in policy relating to international students have hit the sector from multiple directions.

Higher education bosses have warned no institution is immune to pressures. That is being shown in participation numbers particularly in Wales. The 2025 cycle saw the second-smallest proportion of 18-year-olds applying to university from Wales.

Early indications are that this has flatlined in the current year, bucking the UK-wide trend for increased participation rates. The gap in 18-year-old participation between Wales and the rest of the UK is, sector authorities say, a very significant concern.

Hundreds of jobs have been cut at universities across Wales triggering fears about their sustainability but also the offer to students.

Students themselves will, from September, face fees of £9,790 for undergraduate courses plus the cost of housing and expenses.

One of those tasked with solving not only her own institution’s approach to all those problems, but now as a spokesperson for all nine Welsh universities, is Elwen Evans. Formidable is probably the only appropriate word with which to introduce her.

She is regarded as one of the UK’s leading criminal barristers. During her legal career she was involved in some of the most high-profile criminal cases in Wales in recent years including prosecuting Mark Bridger, the murderer of April Jones, and defending the owner of the Gleision mine where four men died.

As King’s Counsel, a Recorder, she has been a bencher of Gray’s Inn since 2006. Between 2002 and 2015 Ms Evans was the head of Iscoed Chambers in Swansea.

In 2015 she combined legal work with being head of the College of Law and Criminology at Swansea University. She then became the institution’s pro-vice-chancellor before becoming vice-chancellor of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

In 2015, when she entered the world of higher education, universities were still expanding. Few places was it more evident than in Swansea with the boom of the Bay Campus changing even the physical appearance of the city. By August last year when she took over as chair of Universities Wales, tasked with representing the interests of Wales’ nine universities, the climate was radically different.

Since taking over she has been clear that while universities should be, and are, an integral part of Welsh life the changes are, in her words, complex and urgent.

Wales will need an additional 400,000 graduates by 2035. While recent UK figures, though, show there were 619,360 applicants – a record high – and 40.7% of 18-year-olds applying for university the percentage in Wales was much lower. Here only 32.1% of 18-year-olds were making an application.

Only the northeast of England performs worse on that measure. The mature market – classed as those aged 25 and over – also continued to decline.

In Wales the gap in higher education participation between the most and least disadvantaged is wider than elsewhere in the UK.

With those warning signs on the horizon, and given her career to date and reputation, why, I ask, did she made the decision to move away from practising law?

She admits she had “kept her hand in” when she was head of Swansea’s law school but when she became pro-vice-chancellor the workload, and perception of two high-profile jobs, meant she felt she had to stand back.

She retains her practising certificate just in case, she says. “I still can’t quite sort of bring myself to sort of stop that identity. Because I think once you’re a lawyer, a trial lawyer, you’re always a lawyer.

“Strangely enough some elements of being a lawyer have been quite useful in the sort of new role.

“I enjoy [the new role] because you really feel you are potentially making, if it goes right, a difference that impacts on your students, your staff, your places. So that’s a real privilege to be doing that.

“If you get it wrong then it’s quite a responsibility but one’s working with fabulous teams of people, whether it’s Universities Wales [or] whether it’s within one’s own university.

“There are some wonderful people working in the sector and it’s really great to be working with them to try and make that difference.

“In a trial you’re really only, if it goes right [or] if it goes wrong, you’re impacting on that case. In the context of universities it’s possibly a different sort of impact.

“I think it’s been clear that the sector has faced challenges for some time, and it’s become increasingly evident, but it’s a great sector to be in because at the end of the day education is absolutely at the heart of any community, any country.

“So for me at least trying to have some role in helping to understand what those challenges are, but more significantly, what the steps forward may be that bring sustainability, that enhances social cohesion, social mobility, participation, trying to play however small that role is, I think, is a real privilege.”

She says her own journey, from west Wales to renowned barrister, is proof of what education can do to change lives.

Coming from a first-language-Welsh farming family her father, now 94, was an apprentice carpenter while her mother, 96, left grammar school at 14 to go home to help run the farm, holding a certificate in dairy farming.

She, however, got a double first at Cambridge.

“I never plan. I have not planned my life. I’ve just tended to sort of go… I went to Cambridge, did my Bar finals in London because you had to do them then. In London there was only one place you could do them. Then did my pupillage in London and then came back to Wales,” she says.

When I ask if her motivation is to give the same chance sto the next generation of Elwen Evanses she replies with a smile: “Well I wouldn’t wish a next generation of Elwen Evans is on anyone. But for that next generation of young people so that they can have those opportunities to take decisions that sometimes are not the expected ones.

“I’ve taken a lot of decisions that are not the obvious sort of career choices and I think I’ve been able to do that because of the power of education.

“So it sounds a bit twee but, ultimately, it is the power of education, whatever type suits you, that really gives you the ability, I think, to thrive in your chosen world of operation.”

But one of the questions facing the students of today is whether the expense is worth it – particularly in light of a changing work world along with the growth of AI and subsequent changes in job prospects in particular fields.

“The sort of levels of debt that some students are experiencing you can see that that becomes a real question mark in their heads. ‘Is this really what I want to be doing?’

“I think that’s become more acute more recently but it was clear, I think, that there were some big questions that needed to be asked and addressed.

“And it’s an entirely non-political point but if one looks for example at the current government in Wales they’ve commissioned a significant piece of work, ‘The future of tertiary education in Wales five challenges and a call for evidence’, and they’ve identified areas of participation in equality, financial sustainability, demographic change, economic delivery, competition, and collaboration as areas that need to be the subject of a call for evidence.

“Plaid Cymru has said that they would look at a review of the funding model, sustainability of the funding model not just of course for the institutions but also for the students, and how are you going to maintain the students?”

Aside from a change in the makeup of the Senedd, and the political groupings, a non-Labour-led government for the first time in devolution could well change an awful lot more after May 7.

Careful throughout our conversation to walk the pre-election tightrope of not sharing any opinion at such a volatile time she says: “My sense is that all of the parties, in whatever combinations and whatever colours, recognise the significance of education and so I think being able to work and seek to help influence and shape policy and any policy changes that may be considered appropriate from day one.”

So what, I ask, could be done to make the sector sustainable.

“I think what we’re looking for is a structure in place and an operationalisation of what we are doing that is financially sustainable by which I would mean thrives for the future. So that you’ve got places where your students can go and have that fantastic experience that higher education gives but it’s part of a really big ecosystem of education and of course of prosperity and nation-building and all of those things that would I hope help underpin Wales’ future under whichever colour of government we get.

“We’ve been quite careful in positioning our asks in the manifesto. We’re asking for that independent review of university funding student support, an independent review of degree apprenticeships, an independent commission on participation.

“We don’t want to come to the table saying: ‘We think we’ve got the answers to this and we know what the solutions are’.

“We want to convene and be part of a convening a conversation about what the options are.

“I think there’s a wide range of possibilities but an awful lot of that will depend on the policies of the next government in Wales.

“It’s an unbelievably complicated landscape because of that jagged edge between England and Wales because although we are devolved as education in Wales as a sector we obviously have an awful lot of cross-border involvement and engagement and of course global involvement as well.”

Does she think the worst, in terms of redundancies, has now passed for Welsh universities? “I can’t comment on individual universities because that’s very much within the patch of those individual vice-chancellors and their governing bodies and so on and the decisions that they need to be making.

“But for me success is ensuring that we get to a place where all of us as a sector are thriving and not having to put energy and time and focus into: ‘What are we doing in this year?’. Let us look at that medium-, longer-term horizon.

“In a world where there is so much change going on, whether it’s in Wales or broadly globally, and after the pandemic we owe it to the students of today and the future to try and ensure that there is a stable, secure environment within which they can look to achieve their ambitions.

“It was education that gave me, I think, a wonderful life and a range of opportunities. It is what unlocks the door to a lot of life chances isn’t it? And I think we need to be looking at the ways we can ensure that all of the young people in Wales have that opportunity.

“I do have a thing around hierarchy. It’s not all about academic success is it? It’s not all about going to university and it’s making sure that there are opportunities for all the young to achieve their objective.” For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.

The point has been made that universities have become too focused on their approach as businesses, rather than their role in places or to their students. Is that fair?

“I understand the point but the reality is that is where policy has driven them because you can only operate if you are financially sustainable and so that has become an inevitability. I don’t think any of us find that the space where we would have chosen to be,” she says.

“It’s a real challenge at the moment and I hope I don’t sound too trite in saying this but the time of challenge also gives the opportunity to look at things differently and I think that’s a part of the landscape that having a review into these different things may help shape because you can’t assume that what we did 10 years ago is necessarily going to be the shape of the future.”

As if to demonstrate just how interwoven higher education is when we meet in central Cardiff, from the windows surrounding us, two universities and a higher education college are within our eyelines.

Does she have faith in the future however it will look? “I absolutely have faith in the future because we have to have faith in the future and people will always be wanting to achieve their ambitions and have the opportunity to reach their dreams won’t they? Whether it will look the same way it looks now? Probably not.

“I think things will look different but in a sense that’s why we’ve got a different sort of structure in Wales, the tertiary sector.

“Universities will absolutely be at the heart of that future but it has to be at the heart and the future of our graduates but also of Wales. To be a strong, this isn’t a political point at all, but I think to be a strong country into the future we need strong universities, we need successful education, we need to drive prosperity, we need research and innovation that is going to position us where we should be.”

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Clare McAlister told of the family’s heartache amid a rehousing struggle, with their home in Harthill, North Lanarkshire, no longer suitable for husband Thomas’ needs.

A disabled Scots dad, who was fit and adventurous before a stroke nine years ago left him paralysed, has been “trapped” upstairs in his family home for years. Thomas McAlister’s family blame “systemic failures” for the 66-year-old’s diminished quality of life.

In 2017, Thomas, then aged 57, suffered a stroke while behind the wheel of his car after a fishing trip near Lockerbie. The dad-of-two was rushed to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, before being transferred to St Johns Hospital in Livingston where he spent three months recovering.

The tragic stroke left the left side of Thomas’ body paralysed. Now, his speech is “very little” and he can only feed himself independently if the food is cut up small. His wife Clare, daughter Krisheron, and son Byron have become his full-time carers.

The family’s life has “never been the same”, says wife Clare, 62, who is “living in constant fear”.

Speaking to Glasgow Live, Clare told of the family’s heartache amid a rehousing struggle, with their home in Harthill, North Lanarkshire, no longer suitable for Thomas’ needs.

Claire said: “Before falling ill, Boyd (Thomas) lived an active life, he liked to keep himself busy. Now he is bedbound, and for the past five years has been trapped in his upstairs bedroom after the stairlift we had installed was removed as it was no longer safe for transfers.

“It is absolutely heartbreaking, he is completely isolated, it’s soul destroying.”

In May 2025, Thomas fell seriously ill and contracted sepsis. A 999 call was made immediately by a doctor who assessed him at home, however, the family claim it took crews over three-and-a-half hours to remove him from the property, during which time he suffered three cardiac arrests.

Clare – who sleeps on a mattress on the floor next to her husband’s bed – say the family are “living in constant fear” of another life-threatening incident, as there is “no safe evacuation route” for her husband.

The family have lived in their Harthill home for around 30 years, but now require a single-storey property with enough space for Thomas’ hospital bed and equipment.

Clare continued: “A new home all on one level would be life-changing for us, it would eliminate so many problems. Boyd requires 24-hour care, someone needs to be nearby in case of emergencies, or to hear him should he need anything.

“Over the years he has been completely isolated from family life. We try our best, we really do. You know, last Christmas we ate our dinner on an ironing board just so we could all be in the same room as Boyd. I’d hate for him to ever be left out, it breaks my heart.”

It is understood that North Lanarkshire Council offered the family a newly built property in June 2024 however, it was declined as it “did not meet Boyd’s needs”, and according to Clare, had stairs.

“Boyd has not been outside in five years, he has missed hospital appointments and has been advised to only attend in emergencies”, Clare added.

And son Byron said his dads mental health has “deteriorated significantly, he has little to no stimulation.”

The family blame “systemic failures” for Thomas’ decline in livelihood, and claim communication has “broken down” with the council’s housing and social work teams.

A council housing project, delivering 26 new homes for the local community, is currently underway on Laburnum Road in Viewpark, North Lanarkshire. One property will be a four-bedroom bungalow, a home which would be suitable for the McAlister’s who have been on the housing list for several years.

Though, despite enquiring, the family claim they were told that the property – which is due to be complete by January 2027 – is already earmarked for someone else. The setback has left Clare and her children “heartbroken”.

North Lanarkshire Council confirmed that the McAlister family have been offered “a flexible care package” but Clare insists on caring for her husband at home. She added: “Don’t get me wrong, I do long for the life we once had, but Boyd is not a burden. He is my husband and we will continue to look after him. It’s our family’s love that has kept us going over the years.

“There has been failures here since day dot, in 2017. It’s made me lose faith in people – it’s the full sector as a whole really.”

A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “We recognise this is a difficult situation for Mr McAlister and his family, and our priority is to work with them to find a solution that meets his assessed needs as quickly as possible.

“Mr McAlister requires highly adapted, wheelchair-accessible accommodation. A newly built property which met these needs was offered in June 2024, however this was declined by the family.

“We continue to work closely with them, however their request for a four-bedroom, bungalow-style property significantly limits the options available, as this type of accommodation is extremely scarce. Despite this, we are actively exploring both existing housing and new-build opportunities to find a suitable solution.

“Our social work team have also offered ongoing support, advice and a flexible care package, but the family have chosen not to take this up and prefer to manage care themselves at present.”

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