Welsh Secretary mocked by English MP for not using Welsh place name

Emily Price 

The Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens has been mocked by a senior Tory in the House of Commons for not using the Welsh name for Anglesey.

MP for Tonbridge Tom Tugendhat was greeted by cheers from back benchers on Wednesday (November 6) when he pointed out Ms Stevens should refer to the north Wales island by its proper name – Ynys Môn.

The language correction by the former Tory leadership hopeful was unusual given that he does not represent a Welsh consistency.

Nuclear

Speaking during questions to the Welsh Secretary, Mr Tugehdhat said: “May I ask the secretary of state who is newly in her place – what is she going to do to make sure that the power that brings our union together comes out of Ynys Môn – that’s Anglesey to her – so that she is able to make sure that the nuclear projects that keep us safe are actually properly invested in and not dropped as they have been by this Labour government?

“They control both sides of the M4 now it’s about time the delivered.”

The Welsh Secretary responded asking if the Tory MP had “ever been to Anglesey – or Ynys Môn as he describes it.”

Mr Tugehdhat visited Ynys Môn in August during the Conservative leadership race to canvasses for votes with Tory members across the UK.

The parliamentary constituency was lost by the Conservatives at the General Election to Plaid Cymru’s Llinos Medi.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Stevens said: “I’m very eager to see new nuclear developments in north Wales which will provide high quality jobs across the region and drive economic growth.

“We recognise a nuclear future at Wylfa could help deliver several of our strategic objectives – achieving zero, energy independence and restoring economic prosperity across our nations and regions.

“Great British nuclear completed the purchase of site in June 2024 and we will make announcements about it very soon.”

Welcome

Mr Tugendhat also welcomed the new Shadow Welsh Secretary Mims Davies – a Tory MP from England who has no connection to Wales aside from attending Swansea University.

In her first contribution in the role,  Ms Davies, claimed Labour’s deal for Tata Steel workers is “identical” to the one brought forward by the now-Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch during her time in government.

Speaking in the Commons, she said: “The facts are simple, despite the protesting, this is the same deal as previously negotiated by the last Conservative government, involving the same amount of money to build the electric arc furnace, the same cash for that transition board.

“It’s ludicrous, frankly, for her, or others to continue to claim there is no support in place and that it has somehow appeared that she found it down the back of the sofa.

“She’s fully aware the cash had been sitting there the whole time. Perhaps an apology is needed?”

Ms Stevens replied: “I think if an apology is due, it’s due to the people of Port Talbot, for promising £80 million for a transition board that operated, I think, for nine months under the previous secretary of state for Wales, and delivered not a single penny to the people of Port Talbot.”