Mark Drakeford warned he faces a lifetime ban from dozens of pubs
Richard Evans, local democracy reporter
The chairman of a pub watch organisation says outgoing First Minister Mark Drakeford will never be welcome in dozens of pubs covered by the scheme.
In December 2020 the West Conwy Pub Watch wrote an open letter to Mr Drakeford informing him he was banned from certain pubs in Conwy after some landlords deemed new Covid restrictions as too extreme.
The move came following the introduction of rules which included a ban on alcohol sales in hospitality settings as well as a 6pm curfew.
Mr Drakeford announced he would be stepping down as First Minister this week after five years at the helm of Welsh Government.
Not welcome
Phil Ashe, chairman of Llandudno Pub Watch and the vice-chair of West Conwy Pub Watch, said Mr Drakeford would struggle to get a pint in Conwy after he steps back from frontline politics.
He said: “Mark Drakeford is not welcome in our pubs, and he never will be because of the damage he caused all the pubs during the pandemic.
“We currently have 90 odd members, and Mark Drakeford is still barred. Most pubs and businesses are still struggling because of him. Everyone in the pubs is extremely happy he has resigned.
“We just seemed to be a punching bag for all his policies, and since we’ve come out of Covid, he has done nothing to help the businesses recover, and now going into a cost-of-living crisis, he goes and puts a 20mph speed limit in place, which has caused massive problems for our industry.
“All he has done is damage the tourist industry over the last five years.
“There’s not a chance he’s getting a beer in Conwy.”
Personal abuse
At the time, Blaenau Gwent MS Alun Davies attacked the decision to ban the First Minister from pubs in the north of Wales as “personal abuse”.
Mr Davies took aim at a front page by the Daily Post newspaper which read ‘Barred: Do not allow this man on the premises’ alongside a picture of Mark Drakeford.
“This is appalling,” Alun Davies said. “I questioned this decision today but to publish nasty and vicious personal attacks such as this is disgusting. You should be ashamed.”
He later said that he believed in “decency in public discourse” and those defending the attack should be “ashamed” for “defending this personal abuse”.
The Welsh Government has declined to comment.
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I’m no Laboursupporter but this is just despicable. I am personally grateful to Mr D for keeping us as safe as possible. Conwy landlords are selfserving ifall they think about is their pockets. Inote that Conwy’s pubs are still open.
I agree. It’s a very childish thing to do.
Just another Tory stunt
I hate to be that guy, but there is a typo in the last word you typed….
All the pubs are owned or run by Torys ,well I never knew that
Hilarious
I agree, sounds like a witch hunt
Petty people who’d sell their country down the river if they could sell their products for an extra fiver.
Remember that was Conwy. To
which country [if any] do you think most of them would be loyal?
Run by saes
Yes, too true! After all, the Rhondda, Swansea and Cardiff is jam packed with Welsh speaking, Welsh people 🙄
Who would?! They already do. Conwy and Llandudno are full of colonialist settlers who see Cymru as a cow to be milked. Can we know the names of the pubs so we can boycott them?
Mark Drakeford,before he became First Minister was well known for whooping it up in the drinking dens of the north’s costa geriatrica.
Well I’m a Plaid voter, but I’d be happy to serve him a pint if he came into my work.
He’s a decent man, with decent values, who acted correctly, according to the best available expert advice at the time.
I’ll drink with Drakeford.
What a small petty minded childish move. This is playground 101, you cant come to my party cos you smell. And they would be happy to contribute to the spread of a deadly airborne visas that killed over 220K in the UK and caused millions to suffer from long covid. Just peachy eh.
Really, get a grip on life pubs, I would like to see the list published so I can avoid them.
Virus, not visas
I bet none, literally NONE of those pubs are locally owned! Colonialism at it’s worst! OFNADWY!!!!!
You would know all the Welsh people that work east of The Bridge then and all those who holiday over the border?
Methinks the pub owners doth complain too much. Obnoxious lot!
Yes please publish a list of these pubs so we can avoid them.
I suspect that no matter what Mr Drakeford did, these people would not be happy.
Surprise, surprise – the area is Conservative.
Much as I have disagreed with many of Drakeford’s policies and ideas I can’t see the point of banning him from any pub or any other kind of venue. There again he’s not likely to lose any sleep over this kind of petty schoolyard gesturing. Seems like the cancel culture so often linked to the wokish tendency is now spreading quickly through the ranks of the ever so sensitive gammon/colonialist segment of our communities.
Please, cut it out with the ‘wokishness’ crap. Anyone at all concerned with Cymru could easily be dismissed as woke, as it merely means being aware and concerned about issues affecting people. The wokishness you negatively refer to is an alt-right chimera, a hallucination specifically designed by the alt-right as a target to take aim at in an attempt to discredit those who think in any way progressively, and nothing that exists in reality. Sure, there is cancel culture, but that’s a weapon of all comers, whether they be from the right, the left or the centre in politics. Regurgitating… Read more »
Padi I was highlighting the increasing tendency of more than one end of the spectrum of politics and attitudes to close down any kind of debate or interaction. The use of “wokish” rather than “woke” is quite deliberate as it distinguishes those who seek out opportunities to be offended from those who genuinely live their lives in a tolerant and inclusive way. In some ways a bit like cultural appropriation, or the difference between reality and illusion. Take your pick.
Woke = Informed, compassionate, Caring & aware of people regardless of race, cree or religion. What exactly is your problem?
Oh tut you are easily offended. Just like those silly pub landlords.
Mr Ashe, please could you explain to me how the 20 mph speed limit has ” caused massive problems to our industry “. I have a really good imagination, but for the life of me, I can not see how the speed limit on a road would cause problems for a pub. The introduction of the breatherliser I can accept would impact a pub, but the speed limit ? God help landlords now we are moving towards electric cars.
Absolutely laughable cheap shot at Mr Drakeford. He was a far better leader than England or Scotland had during COVID. No criminal investigations around him like Bozo and Sturgeon.
There is no mention of March 23rd 2020 when it was the senior dictator of the Empire Bozo Johno who ordered everyone on this island under his control to ‘stay at home’ and I’m not suggesting he was wrong to do so but the fact is, from that point, Mark Drakeford and Nicola Sturgeon had to engage with the process and cannot be held ultimately responsible until their respective nations are fully independent. Mr Ashe should explain what Johnson actually did to help the pubs in Conwy county and why HE would not be banned from them. I’m going to… Read more »
I have researched Pubwatch (West Conwy/Llandudno) and the list of pubs is pretty comprehensive. Most pubs seem to be members including Wetherspoons. The aims of the organisation are laudable giving all pubs the chance to ban anyone for causing trouble in one. It would be difficult to boycott them because you couldn’t go anywhere. Despite a publican holding the right to exclude for no reason, I would encourage pubs in the scheme to issue a statement in response to the position set out by Mr Ashe that they would not ban Mark Drakeford from their individual premises. Blaming him for… Read more »
I’m not mega convinced that the scheme actually exists in any meaningful way. The company set up for it was struck off in May 2022 and there’s no information I can find about data protection or GDPR compliance or suchlike so it’s hard to know how/if they actually operate. They can only function by holding and processing personally identifiable data so there’s quite strict legal obligations involved.
Usual smoke and mirrors then.
None of the pubs and businesses in Wales benefitted from Furlough then?
No doubt these @rseholes supported Rishi Sunak’s eat out to help out the virus scheme.
Pubs are on the way out anyway, they are just drinking dens for sad old men nowadays.
I’m sure Mark Drakeford will be gutted about not being able to pop out for a swift half pint in Llandudno from his home in Cardiff. Utter f idiots who forget the sacrifices he made personally during the pandemic. Just compare his performance then with Westminster. Not a party or scam PPE contract to his mates to be seen. Good luck Mark. You deserve a rest.
Awful childish behaviour, presumably they would have been delighted with no restrictions, profitable pubs and thousands more deaths. They should have been in England where the Westminster government were all self obsessed and only interested in themselves
I’m also not an admirer of Mr Drakeford , but as a pub Landlord he would be made very welcome in my establishment , even if it was for a soft drink
That’s because you are evidently professional in your trade
It says something of the stature of the man when even people who don’t share his politics are jumping to his defence over this.
I want to know the.list as I’ll be banning them from my lists to visit
Can we have a list, for those of us who really support the NHS, to avoid them all.
Petty and childish on the part of the association. They need to grow up. They don’t deserve support. I’m happy to buy MD a pint but not in Sir Conwy.
Isn’t he teetotal?
Barring someone for no reason should result in licences being withdrawn.
There is one thing you can say about Mark Drakeford he certainly stuck to his guns when he believed something was for the good of the people. We know he didn’t make popular decisions but you have to admire him for his determination. I don’t remember him making any U-turns like the tories do almost every week. I don’t vote Labour but I wish him a happy retirement even though, sadly, he lost his wife.
I think the various licencing Authorities plus the local magestrates may well find the public might have something to add at the renewal meetings.
Reasons for refusal of entry and access may be challenged . Discrimination legislation as well as public opinion are other avenues that will open these folk open to scrutiny.
Laughable politcising from Janet Finch-Saunders Fan boy , Phil Ashe( who at least twice failed to at council elections – could n’t even get elected to a parish council as a Conservative candidate.
Also brings the pubwatch scheme
Into disrepute by such childish statements on Mark Drakeford.
I didn’t think it was legal for children to run pubs.
Could not organise p up in brewery let alone a pub
Please tell me which pubs so I can avoid going to them.
All the comments, shaming pubs not serving mark drakeford , goes to show none of you had your livelihood affected,
“Phil Ashe, chairman of Llandudno Pub Watch and the vice-chair of West Conwy Pub Watch…” and newly elected Tory councillor, it would appear:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GAP4qacWEAA87ZX?format=jpg&name=4096×4096
Apparently this odious Tory owns “several pubs”, but I can find no reference to exactly which ones unfortunately.
Fountains in Mostyn Street Llandudno seems to be one.
https://www.conwy.gov.uk/en/Business/Licenses-and-Permits/Assets/documents/Daily-Weekly-Licenses/2023/Daily-applications/Phillip-Ashe-Fountains-114-Mostyn-Street-Llandudno-LL30-2SW.pdf
Llandudno football club another
https://www.conwy.gov.uk/en/Business/Licenses-and-Permits/Assets/documents/Daily-Weekly-Licenses/2023/Daily-applications/Philip-Scott-Ashe-Peter-Robert-Kenway-Llandudno-Football-Club-OPS-Wind-Arena-Builder-Street-West-Llandudno-LL30-1HH.pdf
(looks to be the licensee rather than owner of Fountains)
Well , Chwarae teg., Mr Ashe finally got elected as a parish councillor after at least 2 attempts and getting nowhere, shame his attack on MD used the pubwatch as cover for such a political act,
West Conwy Pubwatch dissolved May 2022. Unless another organisation now exists that has these 90 members.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12350345
Give it a rest If The Conwy pubs banned Boris Johnson you would be all cheering. Im sure MD does not give a dam to this but it got you all going lol
They wouldn’t though. The only people who go in for this sort of performative attention-seeking are the people who think Boris Johnson is a great bunch of lads.
He’s welcome in my home for a pint of homebrew any day, my pleasure.
Landlords acting like little kings and tinpot dictators and wonder why pub trade is dying.
I wonder sometimes if the people in the comments are naturally stupid or if they work hard at it. Drakeford single handedly crippled the hospitality trade in Wales. He received millions from Westminster, specifically for the hospitality sector. Instead of dishing out the money asap, he sat on the cash. Handed it out in dribs and drabs. It was too late for many. In my local Town of Pwllheli 3 pubs closed. He deserves more than being banished from places he’d never visit. The mealy mouthed, pudding faced b******.
Totally agree with what you say, pity that there’s this born stupidity amongst these comments, but there you are – welcome to Wales and the most illiterate voting people in the northern hemisphere!
3 pubs closed in Pwllheli!! Most of them closed before Covid, as well you know,if you’re local. Nothing like twisting the truth.
[email protected]
I seem to remember Mr Drakeford is tee total so a ban won’t overly concern him
Here’s Mr Ashe talking on in GBBies.
https://twitter.com/TalkTV/status/1334205234143506436
Don’t mean anything, at 20mph he’s never going to North Wales once he’s retired.