Tories stance on Welsh language thrown into turmoil after Andrew RT Davies blast
Emily Price
Conservative support for the Welsh language has been called into question following an outburst by the party’s former group leader in the Senedd.
Earlier this week, the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru announced that the new large constituencies planned for the Senedd will mostly be referred to by Welsh-language names.
Recently ousted Tory leader Andrew RT Davies described the move as “quite wrong”.
‘Pro-Welsh’
In a post to X he said: “Wales is bilingual, and these names will disenfranchise English-only speakers.
“Welsh-only names may suit some parts of Wales, but places like the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend are majority English-speaking.
“Constituency names must reflect this.”
He later shared a Daily Mail article titled, ‘Fury as Wales plots to drop English names from Senedd seats under Welsh-only plan despite amid warning it will ‘disenfranchise’ voters’ which featured his image and comments.
The former leader’s remarks have clashed with the stance of his new leader, Darren Millar, who only two weeks ago said his party was, “pro the Welsh language and culture.”
Agenda
In an interview with the BBC’s Vaughan Roderick, Mr Millar said: “We need to define ourself as a party by what we are for – not by what we are against.
“In recent years we may have been too focused on the things we are against and rather than what we are for.
“We are pro freedom of choice, we are pro personal responsibility, pro farming, homeownership, pro the Welsh language and culture.
“These are the things that we are for and that’s why I will put a new team in place and begin to set out our agenda.”
Problems
Mr Davies’ anti-Welsh comments also appeared to be at odds with a reform bill committee report which showed Mr Millar didn’t disagree with a recommendation for Welsh language constituencies.
Sharing the report to X, Plaid Cymru MS Heledd Fychan hit out at Mr Davies saying: “It is very clear which recommendations Darren Millar didn’t agree with in the report. The Welsh language recommendation wasn’t one of them.
“You’d expect elected members to be aware of views of their own group.”
We asked the Welsh Conservatives to confirm whether the group was against the new Welsh name constituencies – but we did not receive a response.
Rebellion
Less than three weeks into his tenure, Mr Millar appears to be facing problems reuniting his party.
The Clwyd West MS was confirmed as the Welsh Conservative Senedd leader after a rebellion by seven MSs which saw Andrew RT Davies resign.
The group united behind Mr Millar who was crowned unopposed following fears by some MSs that a drawn out leadership contest would see Mr Davies remain in post for several more weeks.
Mr Davies has continued pressing culture war talking points on his social media channels despite the group indicating they wish to move away from “woke issues”.
In another headache for Mr Millar this week, shadow cabinet secretary Joel James published comments to social media calling for the Senedd to be axed.
The group had only recently re-clarified it’s stance as a pro-devolution party.
Mr James swiftly deleted the post on X and a Welsh Conservative spokesperson said the party’s views on the Senedd were “not fully conveyed” in his comments.
Charity
In addition, the BBC revealed today that Mr Millar’s charity had previously sent a suspended politician abroad to an American religious event.
Rhys ab Owen was removed from Plaid Cymru’s Senedd group after he was found to have grouped two women on a night out.
The BBC reported that whilst he was suspended from the party, Mr Millar’s charity – the Evan Roberts Institute – invited him to attend the Washington DC National Prayer Breakfast.
Mr Millar has so far not commented on the story.
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It’s clear that having had a taste of how much malice he can spread and the notoriety it gives him on social media, Andrew RT Davies is rapidly running out of control. Mad dogs are either muzzled or else they’re shot. I wouldn’t wish the latter even on ‘Blanket’ Davies – or his tame neophyte Joel James – but the ‘Welsh’ Conservative party needs to get a grip on its wayward member before he starts to do serious damage to its image
“Before he starts to do serious damage.”?
Don’t you just wish he’d hold his tongue, fade into the woodwork and spare us his ‘wisdom’.
His own lot don’t want him – and I’m sure we all feel the same.
Leave him where he is and let him get on with it. The more ludicrous he is the more damage done to the image. The Nasty Party deserve all they get for the 50 years of misery their policies have wrought and continue to harm.
Nid gwlad ddwyieithog yw Cymru, ond gwlad lle mae prin deunaw y cant yn ddwyieithog, ac yn siarad Saesneg trwy orfodaeth a grym gwladychu.
As usual, Andrew RT Davies is talking through his hat. On the other hand, I worry sometimes that with the Senedd’s current policies we’re on the way to being a country where all the placenames and roadsigns are in Welsh but no-one actually speaks it. I wouldn’t mind so much if the constituencies and national parks had English names, so long as the education system taught Welsh properly so that pupils left school completely fluent, and the economy was buoyant enough that young Welsh-speakers didn’t have to leave the country to find work. Substance, not symbolism. But neither the Conservatives,… Read more »
Nid drwy ei het, drwy ei drôns!
Gwlad, LOL…
The Assembly of God, not the new name for the Senedd but give them chance…
Read all about it, our American Christian Right Conservative Party
Reform underwritten by Musk,
Labour hold the keys to the UK safe,
Welsh Tories with a blank cheque from the USA…
That £5 million sick money could have funded Plaid’s David and Goliath battle to stay in the ring…
I wonder what the Church in Wales thinks about all this US pressure…
The true ugly face of Welsh Conservatism revealed. They cannot hide their anti-Welsh anglophile views anymore out of desperation because of the threat of fellow English extremists Reform UK who are breathing down their red necks.
How many of us goto other countries & pick up a few word’s?
This isn’t “learn the whole Welsh language”. It’s pick up a few more Welsh word’s.
I simply don’t see the problem with being able to use 100 worlds of the native language of the country you are living in
Top comment.
But the English went to other countries first to create their empire, remember they and their quislings actually invented concentration camps to kill off the locals.
So it’s ingrained in them, another reason for us to uphold our own indigenous identity, language, culture, morals, ethics, and respect for others.
As I understand it to be disenfranchised is to have your right to vote removed. Is he suggesting English speakers will have their right to vote taken away if they live in a constituency with a Welsh name? I know it’s a bonkers theory but to be fair ARTD started it and it’s in the Daily Mail so it must be true.
The Fanny Hills are alive with the sound of wisdom
Thank you for being so complimentary about my Fanny.
I have been mulling this issue of bilingual names over a bit recently. I grew up a Cymraeg speaker in Welshpool, a town where “nobody” spoke Welsh. However, many of the houses, streets and estates in the town have Cymraeg only names. Bron y Buckley, Cae Glas, Bronwylfa, Erw Wen, Gungrog, Bryn Glas. My monoglot friends used these names without so much as a second thought, in the same way as they used the Cymraeg names of the villages Meifod, Llanfair Caereinion, Pentre’r Beirdd etc without getting lost. The Gymraeg really does belong to everyone here, even if they dont… Read more »
The most popular new name for a boy in England is Muhammad, so if the English and their quisling believe in immigrant power over indigenous history maybe they should all be given muslim names?
Yeah, about that top ten etc. It tops the latest 2023 list but when you add up all the others in the top 10 it is a small number. That is around 4.6k with Muhammad then 32.5k that are oscar and freddie and so on, in the top ten. Thats the problem with lists that people cherry pick.
Not Wales’ problem. The article is about Senedd constituency names.
This man genuinely has zero morals, no intelligence, his dignity has long gone and now he’s using the usual vicious cowardly tactic of slagging off the native languages.
All the signs of a perfect Tory.
The Senned chooses to represent minority groups not the majority of Wales population. It does not matter which area of Wales you talk about the majority are NOT Welsh speaking. English is the first language in Wales spoken by virtually 100% of the population.
The polls also clearly indicate that the vast majority do not want the Senned enlarged anyway !