Shrewsbury MP deletes anti-devolution comments after backlash
An English Conservative MP has deleted comments calling for the Welsh parliament to be done away with and all power returned to Westminster after an online backlash.
Daniel Kawczynski, is an MP for Shropshire bordering Wales and worked as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones MP between 2012 and 2014.
In the comments, he said that he “looked forward to the day when we return to one Parliament and one policy for the whole United Kingdom”.
He said that autonomy for Wales was “a massive additional expense” and “just another layer of red tape”.
His views are at odds with the Welsh Conservative leader Paul Davies who has said that it is the Labour Welsh Government, rather than the Senedd, that needs replacing.
The most recent poll on the question by BBC/ICM in March showed that 83% backed the Senedd while only 14% wanted to abolish it.
‘Ridiculous’
Neal Hockey responded to Daniel Kawczynski’s message saying “If we were going to get rid of a layer of government to save money, wouldn’t we get rid of the most expensive layer?” referring to Westminster.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said: “Ridiculous comments by Daniel Kawczynski, who clearly doesn’t understand devolution and the huge support it has across Wales.”
Gavin D. J. Harper said: “Unfortunately, a democratic vote means that we are also saddled with the massive additional expense of Daniel Kawczynski. Democracy… we got to take the rough with the smooth…”
Steve Peers said: “Brexity MP wants to ignore result of two referendums,” referring to the 1997 and 2011 referenda in support of devolution.
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“Look at me, look at me….” . Muppet.
seriously shallow idiot. For starters although he’s a “neighbour” what happens in Wales is no business of his. He should look to sort out the s**t in his own back yard before venturing to comment about other peoples’ business.
Mid wales is a drain on the Shropshire health service and they use all Shrewsbury services so it is his business
The Welsh government pays towards the health service provided by Shrewsbury so they are not a drain
Having had family in Montgomeryshire use the excellent Shrewsbury hopitals, the Welsh NHS (Powys) was charged for that service, unlike the 2nd home owners who are using the health facilities here but no charge to the English NHS. What’s new? When are we going to learn
Well then let us go, form our own government and we can improve our health services. Mind you, we might want to take back those parts of Shropshire which are actually Welsh. Could include Oswestry. Those who don’t like it could resettle in Shrewsbury.
If he so interested in reducing unnecessary expense then he could think about a campaign to get rid of the unelected house of lords .I m all for more power for Wales to the same level as Scotland once the general Welsh public and politicians grows a backbone and self belief .
This is just another person who thinks we should be dictated to by an English government
Very well put, always going on about the expense of our Senedd and Scotland’s Parliament but never mention the House of Lords which is unelected and therefore undemocratic.
All valid comments. But I somehow doubt he reads Nation.cymru. As I say above, post something appropriate on his website as well.
Comments like this, as well as expressing the genuine prejudices of the politician concerned and those of his political party, are, I think, often made to test the water and to see what kind of reaction he gets, in the hope of building up some momentum for his anti-devolution fantasies. He need only to browse the responses on social media and on independent Welsh media like Nation.Cymru to see that his strategy didn’t work. My advice to him: Refrain from sticking your fork in someone else’s dinner.
Sticking your fork in someone else dinner 😁
I have a strange take on this sort of comment from these newer breed of conservatives across the boarder; I don’t mind it that much. Let them bemoan all things Cymraeg (the signs of our difference from the ‘British’ paradigm), I think he and his ilk have very little power to exact change, the opinion itself is unpopular (thus highlighting the gulf in mentality in our two nations) and they are one step away from saying ‘Well, why are we still in this messy, expensive union anyway?’ – Great! See Rishi Sunak’s comments pre-pandemic for evidence of this. Old school… Read more »
Mr Kawczynski might do better to address himself to the problems of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals which have been in a right mess recently. He and they are no advert for Westminster Government.
Fine old English surname there, isn’t it? On the beach to greet the Romans as they landed.
What kind of hypocrite is this?
Still carries some of that old central/east European authoritarian virus always looking to stick itself into someone else’s business.
Come on Welsh Conservatives, break free! Form a Christian Democrat party for service to us, your own people.
just out of curiosity (as you have mentioned it on more than one occasion) what do you mean by christian democrat? I just don’t get it as an atheist. What has your personal religious belief got to do with politics?
See CDU Germany.
I can’t see Christ as a capitalist somehow. Threw the money lenders out of the temple and suggested rich people sold all their belongings and gave the money to the poor. Sounds a bit of a lefty to me. Then again the clue would be His initials!
An independence supporting Christian Democrat Party, Popular Right, Traditionalist/Welsh Culture party, Free Welsh Conservatives – As long as they were inside the Overton Window, I’d welcome it. Let’s show the world that freedom for Cymru is not tied to political stance or base Ideology. If any such party started looking like a good option, hell, I may even be swayed! (Although a truly Welsh Liberal party would be my choice….I think). On the issue of any faith influencing one’s political stance, of course it does! Many people of faith derive their values from their religion. People will often vote in… Read more »
No surprise, as nearly always with those who hold anti-devolution opinions, they are expressed by far-right British nationalist politicians, be it the National Front during the 1979 referendum; BNP in the 1997 referendum where the President of the No campaign was led by the disgraced Referendum Party campaigner Speaker Thomas; UKIP and the BNP in the 2011 referendum and now with the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party (all of whom are x UKIP or are of the far-right), what is left of UKIP and now Daniel Kawczynski who is a fellow traveller with anti-semites, racists and homophobes -https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/06/daniel-kawczynski-tory-mp-told-by-party-attendance-at-far-right-event-unacceptable
Strange, very strange, Wicki entry. Perhaps a clever, but troubled, individual?
I’ve just left an appropriately polite message on his website. Perhaps another 3 million of you should do likewise.
Why do we give a toss what some Polish Tory says about Wales, but it’s strange that like Priti Patel he should side with the most rabid anti immigrant sectors of society.
Would that ‘the honourable member for Saudi Arabia’ was so ready to publicly rebuke his friends in the murderous Saudi regime over their appalling human rights record https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/daniel-kawczynski-honorable-member-for-saudi-arabia-up-in-arms-over-prison-training-reversal-a6694471.html
All round dud, bit of a screwball on most aspects of contemporary politics and social affairs.
Everything he said was true, while England funds wales and it votes to be part of Britain it should tow the line. Mid wales relies on Shrewsbury which makes Cardiff rule a mockery. My heritage is in the borderlands and Powys and Shropshire have much more in common with each other than Powys does with the north or especially south wales.
I think if you looked into it in depth Jase you’d find that England doesn’t fund Wales.
London and the south east subsidises every other part of Britain
Every other part of Britain subsidises London
Probably because London and south east has taken from all corners of the UK in the first instance ..
London itself has no natural resources but has built itself on greed by the aristocracy of years gone by
Jase you seem very anti Welsh
My hope is that one day we will find some good unionist voices to lock horns with. It’s a battle I’m sure we can win, but it needs to be hard-fought to guarantee the outcome Cymru desires. When it’s comments like the ones seen above though….fish in a very shallow barrel. Unfortunately for us, fish-filled barrels make very good echo chambers.
Also, Ystradgynlais is in Powys. So is Machynlleth. Not too many people in Shropshire can pronounce these places, let alone have anything more than the fact they are ‘places that exist in the world’ with them.
You’re getting confused between cultural/racial ties and communication links, I think, Jase/Pete. While Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire are obviously very closely linked culturally (they’re neighbours, and both are Welsh), they each have had roads driven through them enabling direct communications from Cheshire/Merseyside in the case of the former, and Shropshire in the case of the latter. Equally obviously, they each have little or nothing in common with those two English areas, with one exception: Croesoswallt.
MPs in English border constituencies should be taking an interest in what happens in the Senedd and even lobbying the Welsh MPs and AMs in their neighbouring constituencies since their own constituents are affected by decisions made in Cardiff Bay. Sounding off and then deleting his own comments is not uesful or productive, let alone serving the interests of his own voters.
He wanted devolution from Europe (aka Brexit) and the natural conclusion of that is the complete devolution of the UK, so this just shows what a hypocrite he is, unfortunately he’s my MP 😞😞