Price calls for inquiry into structural racism in Wales

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price has called on the Welsh Government to establish a wide-ranging inquiry into the roots and remedies of structural racism in Wales.

Mr Price said that if we “truly believe that Black Lives Matter”, then structural racism should be acknowledged and addressed in Wales too.

Wales is not exempt from structural racism, he said, and according to Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre, the incarceration rate in Wales is more racially disproportionate than England and the United States.

The First Minister confirmed he would consider the Plaid Cymru Leader’s proposal.

On the 25^th of May, George Floyd, a black man, was murdered by police officers in Minneapolis. His murder has triggered a wave of Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the US and in countries across the world.

On Sunday, over 500 people joined a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Cardiff.

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price said the murder of George Floyd had “reignited the debate” around racism on “both sides of the Atlantic”.

‘Reform’

“The cruel murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in the United States this week has reignited the debate around racism on both sides of the Atlantic,” Adam Price said. “Structural racism lies at the heart of this injustice.

“Wales is not exempt from such structural racism. According to the report by the Wales Governance Centre, we have an incarceration rate that is more racially disproportionate than England, which itself is more racially disproportionate even than the United States.

“And that structural racism could be one of the reasons we are seeing a much higher incidence of deaths from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities as result of COVID-19.

“If we truly believe that Black Lives Matter, we have to acknowledge and address structural racism here in Wales too. The Welsh Government must commit to a wide-ranging inquiry into the roots and remedies of structural racism here in Wales.

“From ensuring better representation in Welsh public life, ensuring BAME voices are well-represented as we Build Back Better, and reforming the justice system here in Wales – we all have to do so much better.”