Plaid Cymru’s new leader accuses Welsh Conservatives of ‘contempt for devolution’
Rhun ap Iorwerth has criticised the Welsh Conservatives and the Welsh Government in his first appearance at First Ministers Questions as Plaid Cymru’s new leader.
In the Senedd on Tuesday (June 20), the newly elected leader accused the Welsh Tories of showing “contempt for devolution” and said that Labour had demonstrated a “clear lack of action”.
Mr ap Iorwerth, who was announced as Plaid Cymru’s leader last Friday, laid down a challenge to the First Minister, stating that the Wales he is “striving” for is “more ambitious, fairer, greener, and more prosperous.”
The comments from the Plaid Cymru leader were met with outrage from Welsh Tory MS’s who shouted out and jeered during questions to the First Minister.
Devolution
On the matter of HS2, water and devolution of justice and policing, Mr ap Iorwerth said that Welsh Government’s “has to offer more than words” and called on the First Minister to acknowledge that his government has not made any formal request for its devolution, despite it being a policy position for nearly a decade.
Mark Drakeford said his government had made “tiny bits of ground”.
Leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, said: “Westminster’s drag on Wales’s potential has been abundantly clear to increasing numbers of people.
“As a party, the Tories can barely hide their contempt for devolution. That’s why it’s important for Welsh Government to use the powers they have now to initiate positive change, particularly on issues they’ve stood for election on.
“While Labour in Wales might agree with Plaid Cymru on matters such as HS2 and the devolution of water, their lack of clear action is speaking louder than their words.
“This is no more apparent than with the devolution of justice and policing. Despite this being an apparent policy position of the Labour Welsh Government for nearly ten years, thanks to the work of my colleague Lord Wigley, we hear that no formal request has been made by Welsh Government for the devolution of justice and policing.
“The First Minister may dispute this fact, but we’ve seen no evidence that the request has been made.
“The UK Labour Leader Keir Starmer won’t promise to deliver on these issues, therefore it’s incumbent on the First Minister to hold his own party’s feet to the fire. Until he fights for the full powers to forge our own future, we in Plaid Cymru will keep making the case for our own future.”
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Da iawn Rhun. Cadw ati. Don’t forget….. never end up like one of the run-of-the-mill politicians who think they have a job for life whilst doing very little for Cymru. Go for it!!!
A well balanced contribution by Rhun that highlights how far the Welch section of the Conservative Party has moved over the last few years. Nic Bourne and the likes of David Melding and Glyn Davies plus Jonathan Morgan and Johnathan Evans MEP had a clear vision of what they wanted for Wales in context of the 22 to 25 per cent their Party spoke for. Now all we hear of is negative stuff, arguments and how wonderful Boris is:was ;Liz Truss is/was and RS is ( well at least untik he is replaced) While the current two Davies who lead… Read more »
Most Tories don’t know what you’re talking about – you might just as well be writing in Welsh or double dutch
Welsh = Dutch x 2 ?
Plaid leader Rhun ap Iorwerth is right. The Tories have zero respect Welsh devolution. And I’ll go further. They have no respect for Wales. Ever since the inception of devolution have undermined Wales at every opportunity. Serving England has always been their priority not Wales. And the sooner the Welsh electorate realise this we can consign this treacherous party of little Englanders to the political dumpster where they belong.
Gwych Rhun. In fact it is high time Wales’ government campaigned for devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to be standardized. Currently, the different degrees of devolution in the 3 countries clearly causes great confusion amongst civil servants in London, whereas consistent devolution for the countries ought to be advantageous by leading to far less chaos. Moreover, Scotland now has the greatest degree of devolution which evidently means unacceptable discrimination against Wales in this respect.