Labour MS defends ‘one solitary mention of Wales’ in Starmer’s 11,500 word essay
A Welsh Labour MS has defended the decision of Keir Starmer to include “one solitary mention of Wales” in a 11,500 word essay.
Alun Davies, who represents Blaenau Gwent said you “don’t have to put the word ‘Wales’ into every sentence” in response to criticism of the Labour Westminster leader from Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts.
The Plaid MP said it was evidence that Starmer’s 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, the country is mentioned once in the essay, as he discussed the challenges faced by the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Inspired by the ambition of Wales and New Zealand, and the experiences of the pandemic that kept our minds and bodies healthy, Labour would put wellbeing at the heart of government decision-making,” Keir Starmer says.
‘Don’t bother searching for Wales’
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”.
Alun Davies 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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Welsh Labour needs to become Llafur, co-operating with other Labour groups but having the independence and thereby greater influence.
I am not surprised.The labour party is england inward looking in particular the hampstead and islington set I wonder why no mention of the NHS in Wales and how well the welsh government are doing .Keir could have used what the welsh government is doing in Wales
as the labour blue print for the rest of the union.
“Sense of being the victim” – Mr Davies has a valid point in some respects, as a nation we do act the victim. Though this is perfectly understandable considering our 700 years of being controlled by our neighbour without much say in the matter ! However, we must now change – as a nation we have so much potential we don’t need to play the victim, that implies we need them – we don’t. Let’s focus on plugging our strong points and put aside our grievances.
Agree, focus on ‘where to now and ideas on how to’.
So Cymru is little more than an afterthought to UK Labour. What a surprise!!
Starmer is a joke, he’s a complete loser when it comes to being the leader of the opposition, he is part of the establishment, since he’s taken over, Labour have lost 1000’s of members, finances are back in the red, continual purges of left leaning members and policies, they are nothing but tory shills, not a socialist among them. back to the days of tory or tory lite.
On the one hand Starmer uses Tory tactics to blame nationalists for dividing the UK, then on the other said recently that he would not interfere in any Plaid/Welsh Labour Senedd deals . Man flips more than an MP does their second home.
No you don’t have to put the word ‘Wales’ into every sentence….but it would be nice if the word ‘Wales’ appeared in uk labour documents occassionally 😉 PS. when Davies was in plaid and before he became a witless stooge for the uk labour party he described labour in Wales as “gangsters” ….https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=1073625852709076&_rdr
Leigh , Davies has gone through several flips and a few flops since leaving Plaid. Didn’t he start off as a bit of a radical with Cymdeithas ? Obviously a bit of a poseur who has yet to finalise his favorite pose, yet to come.
Ermine?
Alun Davies, like a loose cannon, never had any balls.
So this what Wales means to English Labour. One solitary word. And as usual have excuses galore from Unionist lapdogs like MP Alun Davies quoting: “We don’t have to put Wales in every sentence.” This attitude is the reason Wales gets stepped on and abused over and over and over……………… Let’s not delude ourselves. It’s English Labour for England. And why I am puzzled why Welsh Labour & voters haven’t put clear Welsh water between them and their English puppet master in London, because its obvious now they are turning a blind eye when it comes to Tory attacks &… Read more »
To add. Why does Welsh Labour MS’s (Not MP as stated. Apologies) always defend the indefensible.
I think English Labour in London despise the idea of a Welsh Nation as much as the Tories do. After all, they were the architects of Welsh Devolution in 1997, and we all know what a mess that was and still is.
We in wales have got to stop being little Englanders and and be proud to be welsh kick all English party’s out of wales that’s the Tories Labour and all Brexit party’s it’s time for a new wales 🏴
The UK is finished Wales 🏴 Scotland 🏴 and Ireland 🇮🇪 have got to be independent stop being little Englanders and and be proud to be welsh it’s time for a new wales 🏴
The Labour Party have been a disgrace to wales for over 50 years valleys people have got to get in real world and stop being little Englanders and and be proud to be welsh and start fighting for your children and grandchildren future and that in a new wales 🏴