Andrew RT Davies says Minister ‘dismissed hard work of Welsh people’ in S4C documentary

The Welsh Conservative have accused a Minister of “dismissing the hard work” of the people of Wales in an S4C documentary.

The programme Prif Weinidog Mewn Pandemig (First Minister in a Pandemic) on S4C had already caused a political fight after Mark Drakeford was heard to call Boris Johnson “really, really awful”.

Now the Conservatives have pointed to comments made by the Mental Health and Wellbeing Minister, Eluned Morgan who is heard saying in the programme “… if you give people an inch, they’ll take a mile”.

She was speaking after the First Minister Mark Drakeford raised the possibility of changing Covid-19 regulations over Christmas.

The First Minister had raised the possibility of changing the law as well as the guidance on bubbling with other households over Christmas, a move backed by Health Minister Vaughan Gething.

“I agree with Vaughan, I think that if you give an inch they’ll take a mile,” Eluned Morgan is heard saying. “Absolute clarity is needed here in the guidance and the regs need to be in the same place.”

Andrew RT Davies said that the comments were a “kick in the teeth” to people in Wales who had followed Covid-19 restrictions.

“The overwhelming number of people in Wales have worked damned hard over these last months, abiding by the rules to get our country back on its feet and out of lockdown,” he said.

“And for a Labour Minister to so casually dismiss their hard work is a real kick in the teeth.

“But people need some hope, and with the three-week review on Friday, it’s high time that he and his Cabinet gave people some – based on data and dates – hope for the future.

“And this is because as much as our fantastic NHS staff and others have rolled out the vaccine and done so much besides, it is the people of Wales that have contributed so much to make an end to lockdown possible.

“We remain the only place in the UK where the press gets addressed before parliament and that’s unacceptable. Indeed, we are the only one still conducting democracy via desktop. It’s not good enough and the First Minister must provide a full roadmap to recovery which families, workers, and businesses in Wales so badly needs.”