Keir Starmer defends mentioning Wales only once in 11,500 word essay
Keir Starmer has defended mentioning Wales only once in a 11,500 word essay.
Labour leader in Westminster said it was “about the issues that matter most to working people across the whole of the United Kingdom” in response to criticism.
Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts the essay, which has “one solitary mention of Wales”, was evidence that the Labour Party’s “two decades in Welsh government barely registers on his radar”.
In his essay The Road Ahead, published by the Fabian Society think tank, Starmer attacked what he called the “multi-headed hydra of nationalism” that he said is “pushing apart our country and tearing at the social fabric”.
He also said: “We are proudly patriotic but we reject the divisiveness of nationalism.”
In the essay, the Labour leader set out what he stands for and how he wants to change the UK, ahead of his party’s conference.
Though Wales is the only country in which Labour is in government, it is mentioned once in the essay, as he discussed the challenges faced by the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘United Kingdom’
In an interview with ITV Wales, Starmer said: “The essay is about the issues that matter most to working people across the whole of the United Kingdom, and they’re based actually on my reflections on the visits to places I’ve been including in Wales, so actually lots of Welsh families have got their fingerprints on that pamphlet.
In response, a spokesperson for Welsh Labour said: “First Minister Mark Drakeford, along with other leading Labour figures will focus on Labour’s role in Wales, and in power across the UK, in the coming days.”
In response to the essay Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts said: “Keir Starmer’s 14,000 word essay? Don’t bother searching for ‘Wales’ – we only receive one solitary mention.
“Yet again, the Westminster Labour leader shows that his party’s two decades in Welsh government barely registers on his radar”.
But former Welsh Government minister Alun Davies defended the essay.
He said: You don’t have to put the word ‘Wales’ into every sentence! Surely we can engage in some political dialogue about values and priorities without this constant sense of being the victim? #VictimhoodCymru”.
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No, he is saying all 4 nations are exactly the same and he still ignored the Welsh Labour government instead of using them as an example of how they would lead the UK. His reply is an insult to Wales, to the Welsh government and to our intelligence.
I thought Labour were the party of radical federalism?
The way they treat Duffield they are closer to radical trans-ism !
You don’t have to put the word ‘Wales’ into every sentence!” – of course you don’t. But in an essay of 11,500 words, a couple of dozen would have been nice
Boy is on the ropes and he’s not even running anything. Rayner may be a bit like a rabid dog at times but I’d like to see her put into that leadership role just to see Boris get even more tongue tied. She’d be more likely to chase the hot air merchant on the issues that really matter although she too sees any form of nationalism through a highly centralist prism. So Wales’ best bet is not to back any horses at Westminster, just give them all a hard time !
Imagine attacking nationalists when we are more left wing than Labour. English Labour are way too close to the tories for me to ever consider voting for them.
So why is Starmer’s English nationalism OK and our Welsh patriotism evil? I’ll tell you why – for English people ‘Britishness’ and ‘Englishness’ are the same thing. And the fact is that the English would prefer it if the Welsh, Scottish and Irish simply ceased to exist rather than selfishly and inconveniently continuing to do so. There is a name for what they really want – cultural genocide. In terms of attitude towards the so-called ‘union’ and the Celtic nations I don’t see any real difference between him and the Tories or anyone else in the English Labour party for… Read more »
Back to the future …
“For Wales, see England” says Starmer.
Keir Starmer defends the indefensible as usual in his drawl cardboard cutout way. He should understand in his London ivory tower, that Wales matters rather than making lame excuses. And instead of English Labour arrogantly assuming, as done in the past, that the Welsh people’s vote & loyalty was automatic and like ants were theirs to control and only needed once every General Election will be the reason why Labour voters here are haemorrhaging to join our independence movement to free Wales from the shackles that chain us to a failing Tory-run Britain. #YesCymru 🏴. #WalesMatters 🏴 #CariadCymru 🏴❤️ #Ymlaen… Read more »
I’m not available for comment Keir…… call me when London Labour policy is to pay Wales our stolen HST2 differentials.
More than happy Keir Starmer does not mention Wales more than once in his essay. Wales is not his business. For Westminster read England on the vast majority of issues.
Wales is Mark Drakeford’s business and I’d be complaining bitterly if Starmer was making any pronouncements about Wales.
Keir Starmer is nothing to do with wales 🏴 kick all English party’s out of wales that’s the Tories Labour and all Brexit party’s stop being little Englanders and and be proud to be welsh it’s time for a new wales 🏴
I’m glad we need to keep Cymru well away from tory Starmer.
It is worth reading his essay with an eye to what he is unable to say. He can’t say anything about our future relationship with Europe, immigration or the need to eliminate GDP growth in favour of sustainability.
….because too much of his potential electorate supports Brexit, opposes immigration and is sceptical about the urgency to address environmental breakdown.