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Liz Truss still hasn’t contacted me since becoming PM over two weeks ago, Mark Drakeford says

20 Sep 2022 3 minute read
Liz Truss photo Joe Giddens, PA Wire. Mark Drakeford (right) Picture by Doubledoppler (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Liz Truss still hasn’t contacted Mark Drakeford since becoming Prime Minister over two weeks ago, he has said.

The First Minister conceded that Liz Truss had not “had the first week that she would have expected” but said that Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron had phoned the leader of the Welsh Government on the day they had been appointed.

“I hope that it will not long be delayed before she does find an opportunity to speak with the elected leaders of other Parliaments in the United Kingdom,” he said.

Mark Drakeford was famously critical of the lack of contact he had received by Boris Johnson throughout his premiership, and particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and signalled in the Senedd that he was equally unimpressed by Liz Truss.

He was responding to Senedd Member James Davies who noted that it was “hugely important to the Welsh people that you and the new Prime Minister work together with mutual respect from both Governments to tackle the shared challenges that people face”.

“I know at times, First Minister, you had, shall we say, a complicated relationship with the previous occupant of No. 10 Downing Street,” he added.

“So can we have assurance from you and your Ministers that you’ll work constructively with the Prime Minister and her Government in a constructive manner to produce the best outcomes for the people of Wales in what will be very challenging months ahead?”

‘Appetite’

Mark Drakeford responded: “I welcomed the appointment of the latest Prime Minister—the fourth in six years—and I hope that it will be possible to conduct relationships between the UK Government and the other nations of the United Kingdom in that spirit of mutual respect,” he said.

“There has been no opportunity as yet to test the appetite of the new Prime Minister for such an approach.

“I think it would just be fair for me to say that, on the day that he was appointed, the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, telephoned me and telephoned the First Minister of Scotland, and the same thing happened on the first day that Theresa May was appointed and the day that David Cameron was appointed.

“Now, I understand that the new Prime Minister has not had the first week that she would have expected and that business as usual has not been characteristic of recent days, and now the Prime Minister has left the country.

“But, I hope that it will not long be delayed before she does find an opportunity to speak with the elected leaders of other Parliaments in the United Kingdom.”


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G Horton-Jones
G Horton-Jones
2 years ago

What did you expect.???

hdavies15
hdavies15
2 years ago

Aw come off it boys and girls. Lizzie was busy rehearsing her reading from a book with whose contents she is quite unfamiliar before her bit part at the big day. Then off to USA to mix with seriously important people to prove that she is also good at being “big”. Already showing signs of having spent too much time admiring and absorbing the insolent style of her predecessor.

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
2 years ago

Her henchman will tell us our fate on Friday…

Steve Duggan
Steve Duggan
2 years ago

When is he going to realise Truss and her right wing government care little for Wales and even less for his position. If they had their way there would be no Senedd and we’d all be back down the mines making them profits in their free market, zero regulation, ungreen, economy.

Aled Rees
Aled Rees
2 years ago

Time to wake up Mark

Frank
Frank
2 years ago

“Liz Truss hasn’t contacted me”. No big loss there then!!

Fi yn unig
Fi yn unig
2 years ago

As long as Truss ignores ‘attention seeker’ Nicola and ‘low energy Jeremy Corbyn’ Mark, she can shoulder ALL the blame for all failures pending and certainly not seek to pin any blame anywhere else. Tories in Wales and Scotland needn’t waste time in their respective chambers asking their First Ministers to work constructively with THEIR dull, dreary, disdainful and ignorant leader. We all know where THAT work is found wanting.

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
2 years ago

Don’t you just adore the Tory Wales respect agenda. How many times did you hear former PM Boris Johnson say that he was in regular contact with the Welsh Government only for to be a barefaced lie. Or ex-Welsh Secretary Simon Hart, who often claimed to have a good working relationship with Mark Drakeford when in fact was actively undermining devolution & Wales on behalf of Whitehall. And now we have defacto ruler PM Liz Truss, who prefers to call First Ministers Mark Drakeford & SNP, who are both democratically elected leaders of Wales & Scotland from a far childish… Read more »

Gareth Wyn Jones
Gareth Wyn Jones
2 years ago

It is just pathetic, a bit of self respect man

SundanceKid
SundanceKid
2 years ago

Sorry but these pronouncements that he hasn’t heard anything from the monarchy or the Prime Minister are just getting embarrassing now.

Does he not understand that they do not respect him enough to contact or consult with him?

Has it not dawned on him that Wales is not treated like an equal in this union and never will be?

As nice as Drakeford is, we need someone with more mettle to defend Wales’ interests.

Drakeford is a unionist and likes to play “nice”. He has gone as far as he is prepared to go in protecting our country.

Last edited 2 years ago by SundanceKid

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