Row as Culture Minister is ‘disrespected’ for having been an apprentice

Martin Shipton

A Plaid Cymru Senedd Member and the party itself have been criticised for praising an article that condescendingly referred to Welsh Government’ Culture Minister Jack Sargeant as a former apprentice.

Richard Morrison, The Times’ chief culture writer, wrote a column accusing the Welsh Government of letting down the nation’s creative industries by imposing bigger cuts on the sector than the other UK nations.

Morrison began his article by asking: “How have things gone so wrong with culture and sport in Wales?”

He continued: “‘I wouldn’t describe it as a crisis myself’, says Jack Sargeant, a 30-year-old former engineering apprentice who now finds himself improbably elevated to culture minister in the Welsh Government. Really, laddie? He would be better advised to emulate the passionate anger of Dylan Thomas, Wales’ most famous poet: ‘Rage, rage against the dying of the light’. At least he could then say : ‘I tried to save them’ as his nation’s most prized assets came crashing down around him.”

‘Laddie’

Later, The Times removed the patronising term “laddie”, but kept the reference to Sargeant “improbably” becoming a minister.

The article was reposted in its original form by Heledd Fychan, the Plaid Cymru MS for South Wales Central and by Plaid’s own X account.

Nation.Cymru was contacted by someone who described themselves as “a prominent advocate for apprenticeships” who didn’t wish to be named. They stated: “Last week Plaid Cymru Members met apprentices from across Wales during a cross-party celebration of National Apprenticeship week. It is a real shame that less than a week later they are dismissing apprentices as under qualified for positions of power.

“This demonstrates a total lack of respect for young people working hard to further their careers and exposes a deep rooted bias against those who do not take what they consider to be a traditional route to success.”

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson responded: “The Times headline claimed that Welsh politicians don’t care about the death of Welsh culture and sports. Plaid Cymru politicians do care, so we shared the article.”

Engineering apprenticeship

Sargeant was born in 1994 and attended Connah’s Quay High School. He studied for an engineering apprenticeship at Deeside College (now Coleg Cambria) before completing a degree course at Glyndŵr University in Wrexham, then working for the DRB engineering group.

He was first elected to the then National Assembly in a February 2018 by-election, replacing his father Carl Sargeant who had taken his own life in tragic circumstances. Aged 23 at the time he was first elected, Sargeant became the youngest ever Assembly Member.

In his Times article, Morrison referenced the temporary closure of the National Museum in Cardiff because of serious maintenance problems, cuts to the Welsh National Opera, the plan to shut down Cardiff University’s Music School, the lengthy closure of St David’s Hall in Cardiff, the National Concert Hall, the closure of National Theatre Wales and the continuing closure of Cardiff City Hall, described as “a magnificent Edwardian edifice”.

He contrasted the level of cuts to the culture budget imposed by the Welsh Government with the funding arrangements in the other three UK nations, including Scotland, where the budget has actually risen slightly, recognising, Morrison argues, “how boosting cultural life also boosts its economy and citizens’ morale”

The final sentence of the article is addressed to Jack Sargeant: “Yes, Mr Culture Minister, this is a crisis.”