Welsh Government accused of ‘SNP-like agenda’ over opposition to British branding at Royal Welsh

The Welsh Conservatives have accused the Welsh Government of “pursuing an agenda which is more at home with Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP” after a row over the use of the Union Jack at the Royal Welsh Show.

The decision to replace Welsh branding with British branding at the  Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwedd in July was criticised by some politicians.

The Welsh Government’s Environment Secretary, Lesley Griffiths, clashed with former Welsh Tory Leader, Andrew RT Davies, in a Welsh Assembly Committee over the matter.

“I, personally, want to see the Welsh dragon all over the food hall,” Lesley Griffiths said during a meeting of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee.

“My view is that we do not want to see the union jack on the Royal Welsh Show food hall. For me […] is our big shop—it’s our big shop to the world.

“I don’t think the majority of people would share that concern, because I think we have fantastic food and drink producers who can absolutely fill that hall. We don’t need anybody from outside of Wales. “

‘Proud of the union’

Andrew RT Davies AM said that it “remarkable and worrying” that the “Welsh Government policy is to take down the union flag at all costs.”.

“You’d expect such sentiments from the nationalists such as Plaid Cymru but from the governing Labour Party which used to be a proud party of the union?” he said.

“People are proud to see the Welsh and Union Jack fly side by side, and we should be utilising the strengths and qualities of both to further Wales’s interests.

“The First Minister must immediately clarify these remarks and whether his government is now pursuing an agenda which is more at home with Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP in Scotland.”