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Information about Merthyr Tydfil, UK
Merthyr Tydfil (Welsh: Merthyr Tudful) is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. It is often referred to simply as 'Merthyr'.
The current borough boundaries date back to 1974, when the former county borough of Merthyr Tydfil expanded slightly to cover Vaynor in Breconshire and Bedlinog in Glamorgan. Merthyr Tydfil become a local government district in the administrative county of Mid Glamorgan at that time, although it reverted back to a county borough again on April 1, 1996.
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council is the governing body for the area. It consists of 33 councillors representing 11 wards. During the local government elections of 1 May, 2008, the long-ruling Welsh Labour Party lost its majority control of Merthyr council as a cohort of independents took seats and the Liberal Democrats also made a significant breakthrough. The present composition of the council stands at Independents 15; Labour 10; Liberal Democrats 4; Cyfarthfa Independents 3 and 1 other.
Despite being widely regarded as one of its traditional heartlands, support for the Welsh Labour Party has waned significantly in recent years; as indeed the local election results confirm. In the 2005 General Election there was a 3.9% swing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats and in the 2007 Welsh Assembly Election there was a massive 15.8% swing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats.
The current member of parliament for the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency is Dai Havard, while the Welsh Assembly representative is Huw Lewis AM.
Merthyr Tydfil has a long and varied industrial heritage, and was one of the seats of the industrial revolution (see history below). Since the end of the Second World War, much of this has declined, with the closure of long-established coal mining collieries, and both steel and ironworks. Despite recent improvements, some parts of the town remain economically disadvantaged, and there is a significant proportion of the community who are long-term unemployed.
In Britain today, Merthyr:
- Ranks 13th worst for economic activity.
- Ranks 13th worst for life expectancy: women live on average 79.1 years, and men 75.5. This is lower than the average for England but better than the Scotland and Northern England averages. [1]
- Has 30% of the population suffering from a limiting long-term illness.
A controversial [2][3] Channel 4 programme rated Merthyr Tydfil as the third worst place to live in Britain in 2006 following areas of London.[4]
However, in the 2007 edition of the same programme, Merthyr had `improved` to fifth worst place to live.
The town is located in a South Wales Valleys environment just south of the Brecon Beacons National Park, and this, along with the town's rich history, means it has huge potential for tourism in Wales. National Cycle Route 8 passes through the town. The Brecon Mountain Railway is easily accessible by cycle and car. Merthyr is also on the fringes of Fforest Fawr Geopark designated in 2005 in respect of the area's outstanding geological and cultural heritage. The borough has recently been awarded European Funding as part of the Interreg Collabor8 project and will be working in partnership with the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority to promote the region across Europe.
The Taff Bargoed Valley is increasingly becoming an area for outdoor activities and is home to Parc Taf Bargoed and the Summit Centre (formerly Welsh International Climbing Centre). Settlements of interest include Bedlinog and Treharris.
The Merthyr Rising of 1831 were precipitated by a combination of the ruthless collection of debts, frequent wage reductions when the value of iron periodically fell, and the imposition of truck shops. Instead of using normal coin of the realm, some Ironmasters paid their workers in specially-minted coins or credit notes, known as "truck". These could only be exchanged at shops owned by the same ironmasters. Many of the workers objected to both the price and quality of the goods sold in these company-owned shops.
There is still controversy over what actually happened and who was to blame. It was probably more of an armed rebellion than an isolated riot. The initiators of the unrest were most probably the skilled workers; men who were much prized by the owners and often on friendly social terms with them. They also valued their loyalty to the owners and looked aghast at the idea of forming trade unions to demand higher wages. But events overtook them, and the community was tipped into rebellion.
The owners took fright at the challenge to their authority, and called on the military for assistance. Soldiers were sent from the garrison at Brecon. They clashed with the rioters, and several on both sides were killed. Despite the hope that they could negotiate with the owners, the skilled workers lost control of the movement.
Some 7,000 to 10,000 workers marched under a red flag, which was later adopted internationally as the symbol of the working classes. For four days, magistrates and ironmasters were under siege in the Castle Hotel, and the protesters effectively controlled Merthyr.[9]
Even with their numbers and captured weapons, they were unable to effectively oppose disciplined soldiers for very long, and several of the supposed leaders of the riots were arrested. Some were transported as convicts to the penal colonies of Australia. One of them, Richard Lewis, popularly known as Dic Penderyn, was hanged for the crime of stabbing soldier named Donald Black in the leg, creating the first local working-class martyr. Alexander Cordell's novel The Fire People is set in this period. A serious political history of these events, The Merthyr Rising was written by the Merthyr-born Marxist writer Professor Gwyn A. Williams in 1978.
The first trade unions, which were illegal and suppressed, formed shortly after the riots. The rising also helped create the momentum that led to the Reform Act. The Chartism movement, which did not consider these reforms extensive enough, was subsequently active in Merthyr.
Many families had had enough of the strife, and they left Wales to use their skills elsewhere. Numerous people set out by ship to America, where the steelworks of Pittsburgh were booming. It only cost about five pounds to travel steerage
The above information was reprinted from the wikipedia under license.
Resources
General Dental Council
37 Wimpole Street,
London,
W1G 8DQ
Tel: +44 (0)84 5222 4141
Fax: +44 (0)20 7224 3294
Email: ces@gdc-uk.org
Web: www.gdc-uk.org
Ethical Guidelines
Ethical guidelines of the GDC
British Dental Association
Web: www.bda.org
The Information Commissioner's Office
Web: www.ico.gov.uk
Dental Practice Board for England and Wales: http://www.dpb.nhs.uk
NHS dentist advice guide: www.adviceguide.org.uk/h_nhs_dental_treatment.pdf
Postgraduate and Specialty training: www.rcseng.ac.uk/ (Maintained by the Royal College of Surgeons)
Healthcare Commission: www.healthcarecommission.org.uk
World Dental Federation on the UK (including a list of all UK dental schools): www.fdiworldental.org/
Association of Dental Implantology: www.adi.org.uk
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