Natasha Asghar breached code of conduct with ‘blanket’ description of 20mph speed limit
Emily Price
The Senedd’s standards commissioner has found that shadow transport minister Natasha Asghar breached the code of conduct when referring to Wales’ 20mph default as a “blanket” speed limit.
Commissioner Douglas Bain began a probe into the Welsh Conservative MS following a complaint submitted by former transport minister Lee Waters about her description of the controversial speed limit which was rolled out on restricted roads last year.
Use of the word “blanket” by the Tories has been criticised because local authorities have the discretion to impose exemptions – therefore not all 30mph roads are now 20mph.
Ms Asghar has been at the forefront of calls to axe the speed limit and has regularly characterised it as a “blanket” policy in both the Senedd Chamber and her social media channels.
As the complaint about conduct in Plenary was not referred to the Commissioner by the Llywydd, Elin Jones, Mr Bain said he was only able to consider Ms Asghar’s conduct on social media.
He concluded that she had breached rules one, two and three of the Senedd’s Code of Conduct; members must uphold the overarching principles, members must act truthfully and members must not act or behave in a manner that brings the Senedd, or its members generally, into disrepute.
Complaints
Mr Bain is an independent person appointed by the Welsh Parliament to investigate complaints about the conduct of MSs.
Once he completes an investigation, his report is turned over to the Senedd’s Standards Committee for consideration.
Ms Asghar previously sat on the Committee for a separate report against another member regarding use of the term “blanket”.
The Committee concluded that describing the new default speed limit on restricted roads as a “blanket” policy was “imprecise and inaccurate”.
The Committee agreed with the Standards Commissioner that as Ms Asghar had acted in contradiction to the prior report, she had brought the Senedd into disrepute and failed to show the leadership expected of members.
Lee Waters said in his complaint: “It is clear that as a Member of the Standards Committee Natasha Asghar was very well placed to understand the ruling and her decision to keep misrepresenting the 20mph policy was a conscious and deliberate one.”
Douglas Bain concluded: “As an experienced member of the Standards of Conduct Committee it was incumbent of the Member to set a good example and to scrupulously follow the guidance given by the Committee.
“She was a Member of the Committee that agreed the Eighth Report which included the admonition ‘that Members should take care to not intentionally make statements which are imprecise and inaccurate.’
“She ignored that admonition on two occasions within days of the Eighth Report being published. By so doing, she failed to give the leadership required of her.”
He added: “As the Committee agreed in its Eighth Report ‘Untruthfulness, like dishonesty requires some element of deceit, fraud or moral turpitude’.
“Given the circumstances in which the Member posted the comments complained of, I am satisfied that there was a degree of moral turpitude.”
In reaching its decision, the Committee took into account the fact that Ms Asghar was an active participant in the consideration of the previous complaint, despite knowing there were two complaints against her about her use of the “blanket” descriptor, and had not recused herself.
The Committee has recommended that the Tory MS be publicly censured following a vote in the Senedd once she has responded to the findings of the investigation against her.
No apology
Natasha Asghar told Nation.Cymru: “I make absolutely no apology for standing up and speaking out on behalf of my constituents, and those further afield, who are sick to the back teeth of Labour’s 20mph speed limit policy.
“With around 97% of former 30mph roads dropping to 20mph following the introduction of this policy, it remains my opinion that this is a ‘blanket’ approach.
“Trying to censure me for expressing an opinion – which I believe fairly reflects the situation – sets an extremely dangerous precedent.
“I look forward to setting my views out in more detail when this matter comes before the chamber and I will continue to fight against this costly policy, which is set to deliver a £9bn blow to our economy.”
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Conservative Shadow Transport Minister Natasha Asghar actions were wreckless to say the least. We all know this law was implemented wrongly by Welsh Labour, mistakes were made, and yes you can disagree and debate the pros & cons in the Senedd, that’s what it’s there for. But to spread lies and insight those hotheads on social media along with “Captain Clueless” Andrew RT Davies of a blanket ban when not true resulting in damage and thousands spent replacing road signs that could have caused accidents & fatalities absolutely moronic. She has no place in Welsh politics if her only avenue… Read more »
When she was making those comments was it made clear by the then Transport Mi sister that it was down to the Councils across Wales to impose it or not?
Council responsible for lowering the speedlimit is one thing, spreading lies & disinformation for political gain another. The comments made by Natasha Asghar were false. You know it. I know it. She & Andrew RT Davies stated that the default speed limit was blanket when clearly not. There were still roads with 30 mph limits. And you cannot travel on the motorway in Wales at 20 mph. As you know the speed limit is 70 mph. So please as a Tory don’t defend the indefensible.
NOT a Tory
Wrong again!!!
I don’t live in Wales, thankfully and I don’t visit either since this 20 mph blanket default speed limit was imposed, However, you you would certainly get my vote Natasha.
So you don’t visit London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Liverpool and numerous other places across the UK too – that have 20mph zones? That must be hard going…
There are many places in England that do not have 20mph zones. Some places in Somerset have got rid of theirs. But what you don’t see are dual carriageways with 20 mph zones (Western Ave Cardiff), speed humps, road narrowers and 20mph,
road signs blighting the landscape,
20mph signs on small cul de sacs dead end roads, and 40mph motorways. I visit Yorkshire, the West Country and the Midlands on a regular basis and you do not have to constantly watch the side of the roads for the money spinners .
You dont live here and dont intend to visit, but you must have some sort of fascination with our country, to take the time to find this site and post on it. I take it that there are no 20 mph driving zones in your country, so that rules out you are living in England.
I used to take annual holidays in Wales and breaks 2/3 times a year. Wales is a wonderful country with equally wonderful people. I do not advocate breaking the law or speeding. I read that a high percentage of drivers who reside in Wales are disregarding the 20 mph limit and carrying on as before. As a consequence drivers could lose their driving licence and this would impact on their livelihood. A 20mph limit in hazardous areas is sensible I don’t think anyone would argue with that. However people/tourists think twice before risking visiting Wales, and the imposition could well… Read more »
The 20 mph default speed limit, good or bad, wasn’t blanket. Stop lying. Get your facts right! And how ironic you have an opinion but don’t live in Wales. You also state that you haven’t visited Wales since the law was implemented. Oh, so there is a positive then to the default speed limit. No doubt you were trapped dodging bricks in England where there were race riots thanks to the English Conservatives whipping up hostility & hatred towards Muslims & asylum seekers.
Just keep your head down if you hear a Ukrainian drone.
she ain’t going to sleep with you.
“I don’t live in Wales,”
Are you one of those who signed the online petition?
What are you doing here reading about Welsh news then? Troll.
Please, please continue to stay away.
We have more than enough vile and disgusting attitudes here.
Also, please don’t breed.
The Conservatives are not playing this 20mph game for their constituents – just for political gain. Why are they not calling for a scrapping of 20mph zones across the whole of the UK? It’s the production of false information, like this, and the stuff that resulted in the recent summer riots that need to be clamped down upon. Yes, we want freedom of speech but not when it affects other people’s lives. We all know that reducing speed limits saves lives.
Unfortunately they’re also playing it on behalf of RefUk and others who are milking it for all they’re worth. How long before Ashgar and Davies jump ship.?
Exactly, Tory councilor Lyall Reed of Sunderland England , ran several Facebook accounts campaigning against the 20 mph rule here, while simultaneously campaigning for it to be implemented in his council ward in Sunderland, pure opportunism and or hypocrisy , but definitely nothing to do with the well being or safety of people here.
How many ‘Welsh Blankets’ could have been bought with the wages of all concerned involved in this nonsense…(not as many as one would think, Cymru’s best investment of the last three decades…)
Can you, the Senedd members, not see why a third of the country think you are a waste of space, real estate and millions of tax dollars…
I ask Mr Shipton to list the many examples of Welsh Labour’s fiscal and managerial incompetence one of these days just for the record…
I’m happy to second that motion. 20mph of itself isn’t bad just the deployment in daft places was cackhanded. Too many big spends on virtue signals while communities get dragged into collective poverty. This is 1980’s student politics coming to haunt us in the 2010’s and 20’s
Certainly no tory but not surprised & it seems 2 tier justice rules in the Senedd…
Isn’t it amazing she gets a slap on the knuckles for referring to the balnket 20mph speed limit, while vaughan gething has no action for taking £200k from a convicted criminal??
Ah but, says the easily offended, VG’s donation was made openly without ulterior motive, (cough, splutter) !
No action? He was hounded out of politics for following the rules that, you’ll notice, haven’t been changed or clarified. It’s still possible to accept donations from people with speeding points.
How much money has the investigation into the word ‘blanket’used by Asghar cost?
“Blanket” or “Default” speed limit. It’s just semantics.
If only the “Standards” committee were as keen to hold the former First Minister to account for his lack of standards.
If it were “just semantics” Asghar and co. would use the term default rather than blanket
It’s not semantics, it’s gutter politics because it’s an attempt to portray the policy as something it isn’t (every road in Wales at twenty mph including the motorway) in order to generate anti Wales headlines in the populist English media and further their own careers in London.
Very dangerous when an unaccountable individual tries to control the speech of any elected politician. Who polices Bain? Nobody. A big barrier to a sovereign Wales is the Bay set up. Time to wake up.
Regrettably, I find myself in full agreement with you for once! This is massive over-reach by Bain. Having said that, if the censure is simply for not recusing herself from the Standards Committee’s consideration of a previous complaint (when she was aware that a similar complaint had been made against her) then that would be reasonable. But the censoring of political terminology (and there is a case to be made that it was a blanket change to the previous default) is a slippery slope. I speak as a Plaid Cymru and Yes Cymru member who is generally in favour of… Read more »
The Standards régime is corrupt beyond reform. I listened to hours of so called deliberations through my secret recordings. Some of the stuff was appalling & it was interesting to find out what complaints did not see “the light of day” (their words). If I had not done a job of self-defence, I’m pretty sure I would have been kicked out before my term ended. Rhys ab Owen (whatever you think of him) had no opportunity to appeal the findings about him. That cannot be right. The agenda I believe is that Cardiff Bay is so bad, that it will… Read more »