Telegraph regards Wales ‘with contempt and disdain’ says Senedd Member after devolution attack
A Senedd Member has said that the Telegraph newspaper regards Wales “with contempt and disdain” after another article attacking devolution.
Blaenau Gwent MS Alun Davies was responding to an article in the newspaper claiming that the “Covid storm has exposed both the flimsiness and the pettiness of devolved rule across Britain”.
In the article, Madeline Grant said that under devolution Wales had “offered disproportionate influence to many average Joes with little prospect of finding it elsewhere” and that the country had descended into a state “of Pythonesque surrealism”.
“Before the pandemic, few would have registered Mark Drakeford’s existence,” she said. “To all but the most avid political junkies, this mumbling sociology professor turned Welsh Labour leader would have remained, at best, the answer to a pub quiz question.
“But the prospect of emergency has inspired Drakeford and others like him – those whose idea of leadership consists of looking at whatever England is planning, then doing the opposite. They have assessed the situation and see only a welcome opportunity to indulge their puritanical fantasies.”
Alun Davies, a former Cabinet member in the Welsh Government, responded to the article by saying that the newspaper was “talking to itself”.
“Virtually no-one in Wales actually reads this rag,” he said.
“The reality is that they look down on us. They regard us with contempt and disdain. That’s why this nonsense gets commissioned and published. It’s thinly-disguised prejudice.”
‘Disaster’
Madeline Grant was responding to the decision by Boris Johnson not to introduce tighter restrictions in order to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, which is more transmissible but thought by scientists to be milder than the Delta and Alpha waves.
Meanwhile, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have introduced some restrictions of their own – in Wales’ case, a rule of six at tables in bars and restaurants and a ban on crowds at large sporting events.
Madeline Grant added in her article that devolution “seems to result in similar pettiness, and differentiation for its own sake” and was “almost inherently biased towards failure and authoritarian politics”. While financial costs and the nuances of decision-making are outsourced, political capital accrues at home.
“With luck, these real-time experiments will remind voters at the Westminster polls that Left-wing politics, even when paid for by other people, ends in disaster,” she said. “Devolution has marooned millions of UK citizens with leaders they don’t deserve, but it may prove a gift to Boris Johnson.”
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The Daily Torygraph gets more farcical by the day, but we must remember that that is how their Home Counties readership likes it. “Pythonesque surrealism”. Have they looked at Downing Street?
That is very true- Nation Cymru is one of the most biased rags around which allows blatant racist comments against English people- they delete all comments that do not agree with them ( Reminds me of The Soviet union) This comment will obviously self destruct in 60 mins LOL
Show us evidence of this racism otherwise you are talking bs.Also, get a dictionary and learn what racism actually means like a big boy.
Er who has said ‘england hates wales’? Youre the only one saying that. England as a whole doesnt hate Wales – but the english ruling class certainly hate the welsh, and centuries of bitter experience shows us this (and the telegraph is of course the bible of the english ruling class).
“….this mumbling sociology professor turned Welsh Labour leader would have remained, at best, the answer to a pub quiz question.” Well: (1) “Mumbling” might be the lady’s way of saying that Professor Drakeford doesn’t do much bombast and shouting; (2) “Sociology professor”: A serious (and successful) academic grounding in society, its problems, and how citizens suffer, react, and respond to them is actually an impressive preparation for dealing with just those same matters; and (3) the “pub quiz question” which we wanted to ask Boris (Peppa Pig to CBI, “I’m James Bond” to world leaders at COP26) Johnson, could well… Read more »
And it is in Social Policy that he lectured not “Sociology”. She clearly hadn’t done any research, so spot on for a Fleet Street hack.
Obviously she thinks that Bojo’s background in the Classics is a far superior preparation for high office (or perhaps that should be orifIce) than a firm background in an academic discipline that is actually relevant.
As for mumbling, as she not heard Bojo the Clown actually talk? At least Drakeford doesn’t tell a whopping lie as soon as he opens his mouth.
I guess BoJo’s classics education may include Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ as a model for establishing and retaining power
Mr John: I initially misunderstood your opening words. When you wrote approvingly of a “spot on analysis”, I thought that you meant this Nation Cymru report on Madeline Grant’s piece in the Telegraph, rather than Ms Grant’s piece itself. That shows that our opinions differ. (And does your word “equally” mean that you see the Telegraph as “a thinly disguised propaganda rag?) I think though that we agree that there are differences in perceptions between daily news on life in Wales that emanates from London and that which comes from Wales.
Quite the opposite – far from being a gift to Boris Johnson it will be his downfall. Scientists are predicting an Omicron surge in January, Johnson will see just how foolish, slow and out of step he’s been and will be forced to act – it will be too late and people in England will see it. Lives first.
To act in such a manner when losing the last of their empire, apart from scattered bank-islands, exposes any dignity and civility the cloak we always knew it to be.
Well, if that is true, there has to be an outlet for the views of many Welsh people who feel like that. Who can blame the sentiment? We’ve had years of neglect and ridicule – enoughs enough.
“Virtually no-one in Wales actually reads this rag,” he said.
“The reality is that they look down on us. They regard us with contempt and disdain. That’s why this nonsense gets commissioned and published. It’s thinly-disguised prejudice.”
Couldn’t agree more with the guy. Its a rag with a superiority complex writing pure dog stool from their ignorant little London bubble in a foreign country on behalf of their racist overlords in Wastemonster.. `
You totally deserve all those downvotes for writing that pure garbage.
Nation.Cymru merely highlight the ramblings of an English Rag mentality press, government, and representatives. They see (and feel) their world influence contract, and to their horror now, those peasant nations (in their view) along its borders as well.
Private Eye always lampoons the far-right lie factory as ‘The Daily Torygraph’; Madeline Grant gets paid too much for shovelling sh*t.
Could you post, as an example, some articles or comments of “England hates Wales ” made by the Welsh Government, please. In the above article there is no mention of “hate” by the MS.
About. Effing. Time.
Am always dismayed as to how our elected politicians never ever speak up for Wales whenever we are attacked by these right wing papers. Diolch Alun. These papers often regard us as being inferior, always have, always will, that of course is their right, but they must expect something in response, we Welsh are (at times) far too passive and polite.
I don’t hack, I just have a great rack” rent-a-gob Madeline Grant’s attack on Gina Miller is uncalled for and below the standard of what one expects from ‘The Telegraph’
The Telegraph’s Madeline Grant uses the nickname ‘Madz’ on Twitter and that moniker definitely reflects her acerbic personality.
Madeline Grant: “Devolution has marooned millions of UK citizens with leaders they don’t deserve, but it may prove a gift to Boris Johnson.”
I for one am laughing at that stupid comment ….. and the rest of her ridiculous nonsense.
By this “trainee” journalist ‘s reckoning we Welsh “average joes” should readily acknowledge that England always knows what’s best for us. It has always so. Why question it!!
Their expression of contempt is largely manufactured in a desperate attempt to save the union. If their readers truly hated Wales they would buy fewer 2nd ‘homes’ here.
Anyway – I’m they are also aware of how much contempt we have for the them and their unspeakable readership.
It’s not called the Torygraph for nothing. It’s well known for its anti-Welsh rhetoric and has written some of the most disgusting disparaging remarks about Wales and Welsh in its time.
We in wales have got to stop reading English newspapers and stop watching English news stop being little Englanders and and be proud to be welsh kick all English party’s out of wales 🏴 it’s time for a new wales 🏴
This sort of offensive anti-devolution twaddle is now occurring on an almost daily basis, in the right-wing press, in Westminster (on the part of Tory MPs), and even in the Senedd itself (courtesy of the Tories’ Welsh branch). The last of these three has simply picked up where the defeated ‘Abolish’ gang left off. It has to be concluded that this is a concerted effort by the unionist establishment and that its war of words on Wales will continue indefinitely. It is important that Nation.Cymru and any other Welsh media continue to report instances of it, and it is a… Read more »
I regard the Torygraph with utter contempt and disdain, along with all the other rubbish unionist rags, the Daily Heil, and of course the Scum
The Grauniad’s not much better tbh
Wales and Scotland deserve better than this!
The torygraph treats most people with distain.
along with the times, the guardian, the sun, the mirror and any other inglish owned media outlet you care to mention.