Tories complain about ‘incredibly aggressive’ Drakeford after he blasts their questions as ‘tired and inaccurate.’

The Conservatives have complained that Mark Drakeford has become “incredibly aggressive” after he blasted their questions in the Senedd chamber as “tired and inaccurate”.

The Welsh Conservative interim leader Paul Davies said that the First Minister’s attitude was “not only a disservice to the Senedd and the people of Wales” after the two clashed in the chamber.

Mark Drakeford had earlier become exasperated after Paul Davies asked him three questions about the Welsh NHS.

“First Minister, it’s quite clear that you need to prioritise tackling these backlogs, and if the Welsh Government wanted to prioritise this issue we’d have seen some commitment to addressing the problems in the NHS in your coalition agreement with Plaid Cymru,” Paul Davies said.

Mark Drakeford fired back by saying that Paul Davies hadn’t understood the Plaid Cymru agreement.

“Llywydd, the Member would do better not to read out his pre-prepared scripts for us, because then he would have had a chance to listen to the answers rather than reading out what he was going to say, whatever the answer happened to be,” Mark Drakeford said.

“I’m afraid his questions today are tired and inaccurate. He hasn’t read—or if he has read, he hasn’t understood—the agreement that we have struck with Plaid Cymru.

“I’m very happy to dare to explain to him that when he says things to me that are clearly inaccurate, it’s part of my job here to help him to understand a bit better than he does the nature of that agreement. The agreement, as others who’ve taken more trouble will understand, is a limited and specific agreement on a range of very important matters that we have agreed with another party in the Chamber.

“There are many, many other things that Government does that are part of our programme for government that we will move ahead with, and any party in this Chamber will be entitled to take a contrary view on those matters should they choose to do so. That’s the nature of this agreement—a specific Wales-only made and bespoke to Wales.”

‘Accountable’

Responding outside the Chamber, Paul Davies said that the Welsh Government had become “arrogant”.

“The attitude of the First Minister during FMQs has become incredibly aggressive of late, which is not only a disservice to the Senedd and the people of Wales, but the families left bereft due to Covid, who’s search for justice is so casually dismissed,” he said.

“The Labour Government used wide-ranging powers in tackling coronavirus, so it is only right that its actions are scrutinised and ministers are held accountable through an inquiry that specifically looks at them. The Welsh Government should not be allowed to hide behind a sole UK-wide inquiry.

“For the First Minister to discount the concerns of medical experts that the Labour-run NHS has been responsible for hundreds of preventable deaths and blame the pandemic as if his government was completely helpless is a dereliction of duty.

“It’s also a shame that the Leader of Plaid Cymru fails each week in his duties as a supposed opposition leader, failing to hold the Labour Government to account and instead focussing obsessively on Westminster.

“Only the Welsh Conservatives are holding this arrogant Welsh Government to account – and we will continue to do so at every opportunity.”