Tory Senedd member speaks out on racism row
Emily Price
A shadow cabinet member has spoken out about the row over racism within the Welsh Conservatives saying there are “a few with totally warped and unacceptable views”.
Muslim MS Natasha Asghar made the comments after two allegations of racism were aimed at the group within 24 hours.
Yesterday Nation.Cymru published a text message sent by Conservative MS Laura Anne Jones in which she branded the Chinese owners of TikTok, “chinky spies”.
She apologised for the offensive slur – but has not yet had the party whip withdrawn.
Earlier this year several other messages surfaced from a chat overseen by Ms Jones which included offensive remarks about “multiculturalism” and “gays” as well as cruel jokes about Ms Asghar.
Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies also hit the headlines yesterday after he was accused of “dog whistle racism” by the Muslim Council of Wales.
Their comments came after the Tory leader demanded answers from Welsh councils about non-Halal options and penned an opinion column headlined, ‘Children SHOULD NOT be forced to eat Halal school lunches’.
He went viral on X, formally Twitter, after the issue was amplified by far-right figure Tommy Robinson.
Mr Davies says he is following up on the concerns of his constituents.
The Muslim Council of Wales said: “Andrew RT Davies is engaging in Islamophobic race-baiting, at a time when we require politicians to be the voice of reason and show moral leadership.
“The hamfisted attempts at dog-whistle racism may lead to more engagement online for Mr Davies, but have real consequences on our streets and in our mosques.”
Abrasive
Tory MSs have become uneasy in recent days about their leader’s trademark abrasive social media style.
This morning, Nation.Cymru contacted all Welsh Conservative politicians except for Andrew RT Davies and Laura Anne Jones asking the following:
- Are the Welsh Conservatives institutionally racist?
- Do you still have confidence in Andrew RT Davies as a leader?
- In light of the racist slur from Laura Anne Jones – do you think your leader should take action?
The shadow transport minister was the only person to respond although several got in touch to ask whether anyone had broken cover.
In recent days, Ms Asghar’s Newport constituency was daubed with Nazi symbols and racist messages.
Responding to our questions, she said: “I cannot speak on behalf of others, but I can categorically say that I have never experienced any form of racism within the party and do not believe the Welsh Conservative Party is institutionally racist.
“Whilst there might be a few with totally warped and unacceptable views, the majority of us are decent, tolerant, and accepting people.
“Let me be clear, anyone caught making racist slurs should absolutely face full consequences. By not acting, it sends a repugnant message that we support those ignorant views.
“There is absolutely no place for racism in our society and we must all unite together to stamp it out once and for all, now so more than ever in light of events unfolding across the UK.”
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Sorry Natasha Asghar you might now be calling out those Islamophobes and racists within your own Welsh Conservatives party like Andrew RT Davies but you’ve supported these xenophobes when they were racist towards other minorities. Bit too late. If you really care leave the Conservative group and sit as an independent MS. Will you? Hell no. You have no loyalty or principle bit like your late father. You supported Welsh Secretary David TC Davies even though he made disgusting inflammatory remarks about Gypsies in leaflets. You supported from Cardiff Bay PM Rishy Sunak who made a sick trans joke during… Read more »
Asking a school if their children are only offered Halal meat with no other option is NOT racist; it’s a fair question.
Forcing children to eat Halal meat against their parents’ wishes IS racist and should be resisted.
Netasha Ashgar and the Muslim Council for Wales are conflating two issues – parents’ choices for school dinners, and stupid racist comments from other Toraidh. So either they’re mistaken and should retract, or they’re playing the race card, and should be castigated.
Airing the issue in public for twitter likes is the issue just as it kicks off in the UK with racists looking for targets. Reading the timeline and reply from the school, he didn’t deal with it in confidence or wait for a reply before firing off twitters. He still has his piece up on gbeebies. Seems he wont answer emails promptly for serious issues but quick to fire off questions demanding answers yesterday. Two tier politician. And the tictok messaging, that is grounds for an interview with HR and the potential for managed out a company. But seems the… Read more »
I agree Jeff, the timeline was very questionable, and smacks of opportunism, but that doesn’t make the initial enquiry racist or unfair – parents are entitled to know what their kids are eating in school.
He had several options to deal with this correctly, through the office, not in public without all the answers at a febrile time when it could inflame the riots. That was the route he took, also on a platform that was actively pushing racist hate with the riots, even the platforms owner was in on it. That leaves very few options to his intentions. This bloke has backed braverman in her hateful campaign and even after she painted targets on the backs of many vulnerable. It will be interesting to see if he appears on gbeebies anytime soon after what… Read more »
Do you really, seriously think it likely that schools are ONLY offering Halal meat with no other meat options in our schools? It isn’t a fair question because IT ISN’T AN ISSUE.
NOBODY is forcing schoolchildren to eat Halal meat, this whole ‘issue’ has been made up by right-wing extremist looking to stir up trouble, nothing more.
And by the way, Asghar has made it perfectly clear that she believes in pupil choice, be it Halal, Kosher (that’s right, a Muslim is advocating the choice of a Jewish meat option), non-Halal/non-Kosher meat or vegetarian.
We didn’t know it wasn’t an issue until the question was asked, Barry.
RT says the issue was raised to him by concerned parents.
If that’s true, you might ask whether or not they had raised it themselves with the school and had not received a satisfactory reply, so turned to their MS – a perfectly sensible move – we are not privy to that information; but it doesn’t mean he was wrong or racist to raise the question.
It’s his manner that should be called into question, not his motives.
IF a parent suspects that it was an issue then: 1. Raise it with the school. If no satisfactory answer then: 2. Raise it with the local authority’s education department. If no satisfactory answer then: 3. Raise it with the local councillor. If no satisfactory answer then: 4. Raise it with the council leader. If no satisfactory answer then: 5. Raise it with the local governmentombudsman. If no satisfactory answer then (and only then): 6. Raise it with the MS. MS’s are supposed to be responsible for the overall strategic direction of the country, not get bogged down in the… Read more »
Looks like she’s the next leader
The Tories are rife with racism, it is disgusting. Always has been, always will be. You will also find racism in other political parties, right and left wing parties. How is that? Just ask people of colour who are members of all parties and I can assure you that a substantial amount have experienced racism within their party. Even though I don’t support Natasha Ashkar’s politics, to see in the comments page there hasn’t been an ounce of support or sympathy for the racism she has suffered with these nazi graffitis on her office is simply deplorable. All well and… Read more »