Fresh criticism for Reform MS after white discrimination claim in Senedd
Emily Price
Concerns have been raised that a Reform Member of the Senedd is once again “pushing the limits” of acceptable conduct in the Chamber after claiming that white people in Wales are being racially discriminated against.
During Questions to the First Minister on Tuesday (July 14), Caerdydd Penarth MS Joe Martin called on Rhun ap Iorwerth to provide an update on what the Welsh Government was doing to promote equality in Wales.
The 28-year-old went on to argue that employment schemes that offer opportunities specifically to ethnic minority groups were “explicitly racist”.
He said: “Put plainly, it is anti-white discrimination, and the Welsh people will not sit idly by as we are racially discriminated against in our own country.
“First Minister, will it be your Government that delivers the return of race-blind meritocracy in Wales?”
Mr ap Iorworth responded saying the Reform MS was “pushing the limits of what the Llywydd would deem acceptable in the Chamber”.
He said: “The Member chooses to focus on the colour of skin.
“I would choose to focus on the fact that there are many people who don’t have opportunities because they live in poverty; because they happen to come from a background that has not made those opportunities open to them, as they are to somebody as privileged as I have been.”
During the exchange, Reform’s Chief Whip Llyr Powell was heard heckling and gesturing with his hands raised, while the group’s leader, Dan Thomas, sat quietly beside him.
Former Llywydd and current Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary Elin Jones was seen with her head in her hands before gesturing across the Chamber.
The newly appointed Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies appeared to briefly nod when when the First Minister suggested Mr Martin was pushing boundaries.
Immediately after Mr ap Iorwerth’s remarks, Chief Executive and Clerk of the Senedd Manon Bonner could be seen on Senedd TV cameras whispering to the Llywydd.
The Presiding Officer has faced criticism over his handling of Mr Martin since taking on the role of the Senedd’s official referee at the start of the new parliamentary term.
In June, Mr Martin made a series of remarks during a debate in the Chamber that sparked a walkout by Welsh Government Ministers and MSs from Labour and the Green Party.
The Reform MS had cracked jokes about Welsh children being unable to read and claimed that nurses were signing up for universal credit because their jobs were being given to workers from India.
Mr Martin had been rebuked by the Llywydd the same morning for making derogatory remarks about Sudanese asylum seekers.
The intervention came after ministers complained that the Reform MS had breached the Senedd’s standing orders.
In response, the Presiding Officer issued a warning to all Senedd Members that they should follow the Senedd’s rules on appropriate conduct.
The warning was later reissued directly to Mr Martin.
Political sources in Wales told Nation.Cymru there were mixed views on the Llywydd’s handling of proceedings.
Some believed he should adopt a firmer disciplinary approach, while others suggested he was deliberately seeking to avoid “giving oxygen” to controversial comments.
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I’m white. I don’t carry a lifelong grudge about people who aren’t white having the audacity to exist because I’m not a future domestic terrorist.
I find that Dan remaining stoic during this shenanigans to be remotely positive and maybe the discussion that Rhun and Dan shared may have rubbed something good on to the reform leader.
Are there really schemes in Wales that are racially based? Extraordinary if true. Sure he’s lying though.
It is clear that Reform are intent on following the same disruptive tactics they used as the Brexit Party in the European Parliament, where they were most notable for wrongly claiming expenses. The Senedd, like the European Parliament, actually has a purpose in working to put in place and review legislation to improve the lives of its people, not to provide photo opportunities for social media posts. Nigel Farage was actually on the European Fisheries Committee, and despite various publicity stunts, only ever attended one committee meeting, where he could have actually fought for British Fishers. Are Reform MS’s actually… Read more »
You don’t have to be white to be Welsh.
Judging by past news reports this Joe Martin is determined to make himself noticed no matter how absurd some of his ideas are. It is clear that he does not mind making a fool of himself or maybe he is just naturally unintelligent.
Sounds like he possesses both traits.
Reform UK are thoroughly horrid. Like most far-right parties, they are clueless and always play the victim card. If in a football match, I would show these clowns the red card; they, on the other hand, would argue it should be white.
They are quite happy to claim that white working class people are being disadvantaged, but we had a class system in this country long before any equality and diversity schemes came into being. Success was never measured by merit in this country, it was by birth and seeing people like Boris Johnson become Prime Minister shows it is very much still the same. Chucking DEI (as they call it) in the bin is not going to magically accelerate social mobility for white working class people and they know it, it’s just a distraction so they can strip away workers rights… Read more »
I am not religous but i do know the words of the Lords’ prayer and i would like to quote one line from it. ‘Deliver us from evil’.
Neither am I, but would add verse 26:11 from Proverbs.
“As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.”
They really do play the saddest of victim in the most pathetic way. This isn’t how Welsh politicians should be behaving in the Senedd.
What an absolutely sad and vile bunch of failures.
Get the ridiculous heckling done with, get the time wasting victim card playing done with and get these useless individuals away from our government.
They may be suitable for the zoo that is westminster but we don’t want them in our country.
Is anybody really surprised that this is how Reform operates, their only remit is to sabotage whoever is trying to govern Wales, they have no policies that stand up to scrutiny, they are a bunch of ex tory losers,
Should not The Presiding Officer act far more firmly?
Fine them. Attack their wallets and watch how fast they lose interest in being an MS.
All these frail liberals crying and pulling their hair out should give it a rest