sight

The prime minister has told members of his party that Welsh Labour may have lost sight of some of the principles of devolution before it was thrown out of power in a historic election defeat.

On Saturday morning Andy Burnham addressed the first Welsh Labour conference since May’s Senedd election.

He suggested the previous Labour government did not do enough to pass powers down to communities, and said it was “hard” to accept the party was no longer in power after 27 years of running the Welsh government.

In a subdued speech, the UK Labour leader said he wanted to see “one Labour team” where “everyone” was “signed up and on the same page.”

Labour lost to pro-independence Plaid Cymru, which is now running the Welsh government.

Burnham spoke ahead of the publication of a review of what went wrong at the election.

Since he became prime minister he has been lobbying the Welsh government to devolve more powers to local councils.

“Somewhere along the way perhaps we lost sight of some of the principles that drove devolution in the first place.

“We probably stopped listening as much as we should have, and actually stopped driving power down into every Welsh postcode which is what the vision to me really should always have been about – about people and places.”

He said the party would accept its defeat and “come back stronger” with a “vision for a stronger Wales in a fairer United Kingdom.”

Burnham said he wanted to achieve the sense of a “one Labour team for Wales” where the party is “pulling in the same direction”.

“Where I’m pulling with you and not creating problems for you or going against what Ken or colleagues want to achieve.

“We will put forward a vision for communities up and down Wales, as well as giving Wales a stronger national voice.”

Addressing the event at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Burnham said he loved “everything about Wales”.

He said his last visit to Wales – to Aberfan – left the “biggest mark”.

Referencing the fight for justice in the years after the disaster, Burnham said he wanted a “country where all people and all places are treated fairly and with dignity”.

He said his vision for the country is a “reindustrialised nation with revitalised high streets”.

Burnham said Labour should be “immensely proud” of the things it achieved in Wales – including free school meals, free prescription and the creation of Transport for Wales.

The prime minister said he wanted to show how “being in the UK is good for Wales because of the partnership that we can develop together”.

Burnham said he had put the full devolution of employment support on the table with the Welsh government.

The Lions tour of Australia last summer was Russell’s third but the first in which he was the undisputed king of the 10 jersey. Leading the Lions to a series win down under was a fitting reward for one of the greatest players to ever pull on a Scottish jersey.

He laughs off questions about his career entering its final throes in typical Russell style, but there is a hint of frustration that the topic keeps coming up, probably because he feels there is so much left to do in the time he has left.

Title wins with Glasgow Warriors and Bath, a European final with Racing 92, three Lions tours and 95 caps for his country – Saturday will be his 100th international across Scotland and Lions Tests – is an impressive body of work, but finally winning something with the national team would surely top it all.

We know what Scotland can do at their best. They welcomed an England side on a 12-match winning run to Murrayfield in the last Six Nations and took them apart. They put 50-points on a French side that had looked on an unstoppable march to the Grand Slam.

They put seven tries on Argentina in Cordoba in the summer and, despite going down to South Africa the following week, the Scots ran in four tries and could have scored a few more as they gave the world champions an almighty scare in Pretoria.

At their best, they are a match for anyone, but their best often eludes them at the critical point in tournament rugby. How do Scotland make the step from a very good side to a title-winning one?

“It’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” Russell responds to a question he has been asked many times before.

“From the summer, we were really good against Argentina when we got into the 22 and we were really good at executing there. The percentage was really high.

“We actually had more chances, I think, or more entries against South Africa, but the conversion rate was a lot lower, probably half of what we had against Argentina. So, how to capitalise and convert when you get into the 22 is probably the main growth that we need to have.”

IT’S just over a month since James Bourne’s brother Chris gave him the gift of life – with his kidney.

And in his only interview, musician Chris has revealed the Busted rocker felt the positive effects of the surgery immediately after waking up.

“We were in adjoining rooms that were identical and we both had a clock on the wall at the end of our beds which was driving us both insane as we waited to go into ­surgery,” Chris says.

“When James went in, he said he had trouble reading the clock.

“But when he came out of the ­operation and was taken to his room, he could see the clock.

“The whole process of receiving a new kidney isn’t as instant as that.

“But for some things, it’s pretty instantaneous. It’s incredible.”

Updating Busted fans on James’s ­condition, Chris — who is in a six-week recovery period — adds: “James is doing really well.

“The surgeon was so happy. He said to me, ‘You’ve given your brother a Bentley/Rolls-Royce kidney’.

“Hopefully I’ve got a Bentley left and not a banger.”

It was just over a year ago that James’s life was turned upside down and he was told by doctors he needed to go into hospital for urgent tests.

The news landed just as Busted were one day away from starting their tour with McFly, and James asked Chris to step into the fold.

Chris says: “We didn’t know anything was wrong with James.

“He called and said: ‘Hey mate, you’re up.’

“He said he’d been advised not to tour and to have some tests. It was a shock to everyone.

“I drove to Southend, where James was, and he said: ‘Just learn as many Busted songs as you can.

“When I saw him I could tell that he wasn’t OK.

“I obviously knew a lot but it was trying to learn which riffs and which chords he played on what songs.

“They’d been in full production rehearsals for three weeks when this happened.

“It felt like a Freaky Friday nightmare.”

Chris joined James’ Busted bandmates Matt Willis, Charlie Simpson and tour drummer Eddy Thrower in Leeds the following day, just 24 hours before the first night of the tour in Birmingham.

“Everyone was in disbelief,” Chris says.

The first two shows went without a hitch, with Chris doing James proud.

It was on the third show, at London’s Wembley Arena, that Chris received the devastating news of the extent of James’s ill health.

He says: “Our sister Melissa is a make-up artist and we’d met up at Wembley. She got a phone call and she burst into tears. James was in a really bad way.”

Chris and his siblings, Melissa and Nick, all put themselves forward to be kidney donors — with Chris overhauling his lifestyle on the road to ready himself.

“We all got tested and the results came back and I was the leading contender,” Chris says.

“In the family group chat I put the Lord Of The Rings meme, the one where it’s King Theoden and he says ‘Rohan will answer.’”

During this time, Chris was on tour with Busted and he admits he struggled with taking his brother’s place.

“I was sleeping in suites with his name on, the wardrobes had his clothes in them,” Chris explains.

“There was a part of me that didn’t want to be in the limelight. Like I was basking in my brother’s illness.

“It was a really difficult time.

“I felt so overwhelmed I said I couldn’t sing James’s part. I had to work hard to keep it together.

“During one show, Busted fans had arranged to wear masks of James’s face. It came from a place of love but it overwhelmed me. I had to turn around and try to keep it together.”

The brothers then faced an agonising wait until October 3, when they were cleared for surgery.

“I didn’t sleep the whole night,” Chris recalls.

“In the morning, I didn’t really want to wake my brother up because there’s no point in him being awake while I’m going down.

“As I was leaving, he came out and it was funny.

“We didn’t say anything. We looked at each other and just fist-bumped.”

After Chris’s five-hour surgery, James was taken down to receive his kidney.

Chris adds: “When James came out and I found out that it had all gone well, it was the biggest relief. It was a weight I’d been carrying for a year.”

Chris says the family are now looking forward to spending Christmas together, with the kidney transplant giving them all a sense of hope for the future.

“I’m looking forward to doing normal stuff with James, playing music, hanging out,” Chris explains.

“It’s done.

“It’s gone as well as it could and now we can try and move on.”

Robbie is Oz to the races

ROBBIE WILLIAMS had the world at his feet as he performed in the middle of the crowd at the Melbourne Cup.

The Brit was the headline performer at the annual Australian horse race.

And he delighted the audience with a set featuring Feel, Rock DJ, Angels and Let Me Entertain You.

Robbie was dressed in a striking all-red outfit for the performance, which was watched by almost 100,000 fans at Flemington Racecourse.

Robbie is currently on tour Down Under, ahead of a well-earned break for the first half of 2027.

But then he will kick-off a summer of performances, beginning with a headline set at the Isle Of Wight Festival next June.

By the looks of this, the punters there will have a blast.

A perfecth days for Queens

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE are preparing to pop the champagne as their new record, Perfecth, is on course to become their second No1 tomorrow.

And in an exclusive chat, frontman Josh Homme has opened up about the final track on the album, Run Away From The Mob, which features Dave Grohl on drums.

Dave recorded his part way back in 2013, but Josh admitted he didn’t feel ready to finish the song until they started making Perfecth.

“It comes from [sixth album] Like Clockwork,” Josh revealed.

“It didn’t make sense for that record, and I didn’t understand this song. You know, some flowers take a long time to bloom.

“You can’t force open the petals of a flower, and you hope that’s what you have. I also think this is a really good example of everyone in Queens at their best.

“And Dave is so good at doing exactly what needs to be done as a drummer.”

Looking Lively

HER last high-profile public appearance was at the World Cup final in July after her dispute with Justin Baldoni.

But there was no wiping the smile off Blake Lively’s face as she returned to the party scene in this navy sequinned dress.

The Gossip Girl star was snapped in New York on Tuesday as she arrived for a jewellery brand launch.

She certainly added some sparkle . . .

Jade debut sets record

JADE THIRLWALL has made history as the first member of a British girl group to have a solo track with no featured artist chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Her breakthrough single, Angel Of My Dreams, has become a US hit – two years after its release. But that’s not been a surprise for the former Little Mix star, who said she kept being told it was going to have a resurgence.

Jade, whose track was given a boost when Kylie Jenner walked to it at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show last month, said: “I actually do think that enough people thought that enough to speak it into existence. I’d seen a psychic who said the same thing, and an astrologer.”

Jade was in Little Mix for over a decade until they went on hiatus in 2022, but reckons there’s more love for them now than ever – and she hopes they could one day headline Glastonbury.

She told The Pop Pod: “I could see that happening for sure. When the Little Mix medley comes on, people go crazy for it.

“All these places that we didn’t get to go to properly and they’re craving it. There’s a nostalgia people want.”

ANTHONY JOSHUA has given his fans an insight on Snapchat into the music he uses to inspire him before a fight, as he prepares to take on Tyson Fury at ­Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11.

And I have to admit, our AJ is a nostalgic man.

From So Solid Crew’s Dilemma 2 to Dizzee Rascal’s Creeper Freestyle, AJ is loving the old-school, with some added R&B classics in there, including Jaheim’s Just In Case.

Looking at the sheer size of Tyson though, I’d be much more inclined to have added Iron Maiden’s Run To The Hills.

NOEL GALLAGHER, Lily Allen and Brian Eno were among the stars in the room as U2 returned to the stage in an exclusive concert for the BBC at London’s Tate Modern on Tuesday.

The gig, which airs on BBC Two later this month, saw them ­perform several of their hits, plus songs from 16th studio album Carnaval De Luz, out November 13.

JOHN LEGEND has confirmed he is performing on the Sunday night of Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard on December 6.

The Barclaycard pre-sale starts today, where card holders can get ten per cent off tickets, with the general sale starting Friday.

See you there.

RAYE vowed she would not release another studio album until she found her true love, after spending her last release singing about ­wanting to land a partner.

But fans of the star won’t have to wait for her to ­complete Tinder before they get some new songs.

The Where Is My Husband! singer has joined the voice cast of Benny Safdie’s film Lizard Music – and will write songs for it.