First Minister brands Andrew RT Davies ‘absolute disgrace’
Emily Price
The First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford has branded the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies an “absolute disgrace” over Tory messaging surrounding the new 20mph default speed limit.
Speaking in the chamber during FMQs on Tuesday (September 19) Mark Drakeford said the leader of the opposition was “determined not to tell the truth” with his characterisation of the new road regulation as a “blanket ban”.
The First Minister said: “Some people have already concluded it’s not that he doesn’t understand, it’s just that he’s determined not to tell the truth, and that is a disgrace, an absolute disgrace, in someone who holds the office that he holds.”
His comments came in response to a question from MS for Newport East, John Griffiths who said the Welsh Conservatives must be “called out” for “debasing democracy”.
Mr Griffiths said: “What we’ve seen is a distortion of the debate from the Welsh Tories—for example, trotting out this line repeatedly that it’s a blanket ban, when we know that there will be exceptions.
“And that is part of a pattern, First Minister, a pattern coming from the top, from the leader Andrew R. T. Davies—for example, pretending that asylum seekers coming to Wales would receive cash handouts from the Welsh Government.
“It’s part of a pattern, First Minister, and it’s part of a pattern that is distorting and debasing our democracy. We must call it out.”
Mark Drakeford replied: “The leader of the opposition appears to believe that by simply continuing to say something that is not true, he can make it true.
“If it were a blanket ban, they would not have been able to do that. That is why it is simply untrue to keep repeating, no matter how many times it is explained, no matter how many times the leader of the opposition knows that what he is saying is a distortion of the truth.
“The position is it is a default speed limit, with the ability of local authorities, which local authorities are exercising, to amend that speed limit on roads where they know that that is the right answer for their local populations.”
Intervention
Although the leader of the opposition attempted to intervene, he was told to wait until it was his turn to put questions to the First Minister.
Mr Davies opened his line of questioning by asking Mark Drakeford for an apology on behalf of the Counsel General, Mick Antoniw who last week posted a Tweet accusing the Welsh Tories of being “happy” about people dying in road accidents.
The Tweet has since been deleted and although the leader of the opposition said he was grateful for its removal he still hadn’t heard an apology from for the offensive post.
The First Minister said: “I understand, the Counsel General took the tweet down immediately and has since acknowledged that he would not have expressed it in that way had he been in a position to give it further consideration.”
Mr Davies replied: “I’m grateful that that tweet was taken down, but I didn’t hear an apology to the people that it was aimed at. Ultimately, it was a very offensive tweet, to say the least, to say that we would wish to see children being injured.
“But it’s been taken down. I had hoped that you as First Minister might have apologised on behalf of the Counsel General, but, obviously, that’s not forthcoming.”
Vote
Last week, the Welsh Conservatives forced a vote in an attempt to block the new default speed limit coming into force on restricted roads in Wales at the weekend.
The Party were not successful with Labour and Plaid Cymru voting in favour of the new road regulation.
A petition calling for the new 20mph speed limit became the most signed Senedd petition in history on Monday night and now stands at over 170,000 signatures.
During FMQs, Tory MS Tom Giffard asked would the the First Minister commit to rescinding the “disastrous” 20mph scheme following the number of the signatories supporting calls for the limit to be scrapped.
The First Minister said simply: “No.”
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MD should make RT stay behind after Senedd and write out ‘I Must Stop Lying’ a thousand times…
One dog two trees, ha ha ha..
Redacted, binned, censored…
RT can’t write. His pointing finger is so atrophied it cannot hold a pen any more
Not with you, context please. The first two comments have been ditched which knocks things out of kilter a bit…more than nine strikes and you are out…it does not help the discourse…Beth Bynnag !
Sorry, got you! ha ha ha…
Well, well, Penblwydd Hapus Mr Drakeford of yesterday…so many gifts…20mph, is that why it was rushed?… calling RT an ‘absolute disgrace’ and being clapped for it…being plain nasty and rude to Rhun…and having the slate wiped clean on here…call me a cynic but it stinks…not only that but he’s younger than me !
Anyone can sign that petition and give a Welsh postcode. The figure means absolutely nothing other than it’s a slightly more successful campaign of lies by the Tories compared to their usual nonsense.
You dreamer.
I’ve been out on the roads and it’s quite clear there’s no blanket ban. District distributors are still 30mph (except where they pass a school where they are 20mph for a short stretch). It feels really slow but it’s no hardship. I’ve done about 5 journeys since the act came in. Cumulatively, I’d be surprised if it had added more than 20 seconds to any of those journeys. It only has any effect whatsoever on the first and last half miles of any journeys
Well said. It all smacks of an orchestrated anti Cymru campaign if you ask me.
So, traveling a bit faster in a few areas is more important than saving lives? Forty years ago a child rushing between parked cars rushed in front of my son, she did not look in her haste, he was doing 23mph had no chance to miss her, she died. Forty years on he, although completely exonerated, he has never got over this, get your priorities right, lives are more important than one saving a few minutes drive time.
ART is a pathological liar, with an aversion to the truth and commom sense.
Not on his own. Plenty more like him in that Senedd, mostly Unionists of the red/blue mix.
Could someone please explain what is “disastrous” about the new default speed limit?
In what part of the country has disaster ensued?
Indeed. And while we’re here, could someone please explain what on earth is a Welsh Conservative? An oxymoron (ocsimoron) maybe.
I think for some the disaster was that it wasn’t a disaster, quite the opposite in fact…
Just my experience ..,.drove from Pembrokeshire to Abergavenny today. Negotiated some new 20mph limits with no drama (traffic complying, no tailgating). Also encountered some retained 30mph limits where I assume local councils have deemed it appropriate. All seemed calm, and sensible. Traffic flowing fine. Yes, it was a minor inconvenience to have to drive slower through some sections, but happy to do that to improve safety for everyone.
Well, well someone’s been busy deleting comments.
Too many anti MD comments to leave up as it was his birthday…
N.C being kind to an old man !
28 comments have been ‘disappeared’ !!
Starting to feel a bit like Erich Honecker’s East Germany prior to the fall of the Berlin wall.
Scrap the senedd- this just shows how much of a joke it is full of clowns
That goes also for Westminster 🤡 ?