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Wrexham Tory candidate criticised for saying it was ‘sensible’ to exclude Welsh from campaign material

04 Dec 2019 2 minute read
One of Sarah Atherton’s monolingual pamphlet. Picture by @ConservativeWxm/Twitter

The Conservative candidate in Wrexham has been criticised after saying that excluding the Welsh language from her campaign material was the “sensible call”.

Sarah Atherton, who is the bookies’ favourite to win the seat from Labour at next week’s election, was responding to a complaint from the member of the public about the lack of Welsh on her campaign material.

“Having done some research into the amount of people who speak welsh in the area it seemed like the sensible call to make,” she said.

She did, however, say that the decision was because of time restraints and if elected she would make an effort to ensure that all material would be bilingual.

“This was a tough decision that the campaign team sadly had to make,” she said. “Due to the limited amount of time/resources we made the decision to distribute English only material in order to widen the reach of our message.”

She said she was “sorry to hear that you were disappointed at the lack of welsh on the election material you received”.

 

‘Insult’

The correspondence was published online by a Plaid Cymru councillor, Marc Jones, who had received the message from the correspondent, who he said was not a member of the party.

The seat’s Plaid Cymru candidate, Carrie Harper, said that the decision to cut the Welsh language from the Tory candidate’s literature was a “deliberate decision”.

“It’s an insult to the thousands of Welsh speakers, the many adult learners and the thousands of school pupils currently getting a bilingual education in Wrexham,” Carrie Harper, who is a Welsh learner, said.

“The decision speaks volumes about the Tories’ contempt for the Welsh language but specifically for the local candidate’s attitude to our heritage and culture. She should apologise.”


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Michael Jones
Michael Jones
4 years ago

This is my shocked face. Tories in not giving a fig about Wales shocker.

Dorcas Jarvis
Dorcas Jarvis
4 years ago
Reply to  Michael Jones

Michael, its not Tories not giving a fig about Wales it is Sarah Atherton.Sge says irs because of time constraint/expences but all parties had the same time to prepare. No excuse

Ann Swindale
Ann Swindale
4 years ago

Only received 2 leaflets in Aberafan constituency so far, Labour and Tory, both entirely English!

David Roberts
David Roberts
4 years ago
Reply to  Ann Swindale

I’ve got the Plaid Cymru one……the bulk of the info is in English only!!! :S

David Roberts
David Roberts
4 years ago
Reply to  Ann Swindale

And can confirm, Labour (Kinnock), Tories & UKIP……not a single word in Welsh! 🙁

Catherine Cole
Catherine Cole
4 years ago
Reply to  Ann Swindale

I’ve just checked the Labour Campaign shop and campaign materials are available in Welsh. The Conservative shop hasn’t got a word of Welsh anywhere on the site.

Rhosddu
Rhosddu
4 years ago
Reply to  Ann Swindale

Likewise the Brexit Party electoral bumf. Imagine my surprise!

A prophecy is buried in Eglwyseg
A prophecy is buried in Eglwyseg
4 years ago

30 Anglo place-names scrubbed out for each such insult. If this is our beginning, better things will come, I see them.

Sibrydionmawr
Sibrydionmawr
4 years ago

Similar attitude amongst Labour towards the language here in Cardiff Central too, though thus far only received election bumpf from Labour and the FibDems. Indeed, our local Labour representative in the House of Clowns never sees fit to communicate with their constituents in anything but ‘yr iaith fain’ despite over 10% of the population in the constituency being able to speak Cymraeg. So it’s not just a case of the Tories being alone in their anti-Welsh stance. All the mainstream UK parties seem to treat our national language with contempt. The Tory candidate’s excuse is pathetic, there is always enough… Read more »

Alwyn J Evans
Alwyn J Evans
4 years ago
Reply to  Sibrydionmawr

Don’t MPs come under the language measures for public bodies that ensure communication is in the citizens first language?

Catherine Cole
Catherine Cole
4 years ago
Reply to  Sibrydionmawr

Labour campaign materials are available in Welsh. I’ve just checked the shop.

Paul ap Ioan
Paul ap Ioan
4 years ago

Wrecsam am byth. Ble mae’r Cymraeg? Dw i eisiau byw yn Gymraeg!

jr humphrys
jr humphrys
4 years ago

“………widen the reach of our message………”.
And the message is, cultural deprivation, ever more settlers, fracking, destruction of the health services……………

Penderyn
Penderyn
4 years ago
Reply to  jr humphrys

Her excuse is an lie too

Androw Bennett
Androw Bennett
4 years ago

Sarah Atherton needs to improve her English. She says: “Having done some research into the amount of people who speak welsh in the area …” NOT “amount” but “number” should be the word. Go back to primary school Ms Atherton! And where is the capital W for Welsh?

Alwyn
Alwyn
4 years ago
Reply to  Androw Bennett

Agree entirely Androw

Gwenllian Ross
Gwenllian Ross
4 years ago

Taflenni yng Ngorllewin Casnewydd:

Geidwadol x 2 – dim Cymraeg
Labour x 2 – dim Cymraeg heblaw ‘Standing up for Newport West’
Brexit Party – Does dim angen dweud mwy am hyn…

Mae’n warthus

Rhosddu
Rhosddu
4 years ago

Percentage of fluent Welsh speakers in Wrecsam Maelor: 12.9% in 2011.
Percentage with some knowledge or ability (including learners): 20.63% in 2011, and growing.
Welsh medium primary schools oversubscribed, and with a demand for more such schools.

This is the constituency in which this woman feels it sensible to exclude Welsh-language electioneering pamphlets. This is a very graphic symbol of the colonialist attitude of the type of person she represents.

By the way, vote Carrie Harper/Gyda llaw, pleidlieiswch Carrie Harper. See what I mean, Sarah — bilingualism!

Penderyn
Penderyn
4 years ago

When will this 1000 year reich over the British Celts end?

Simon Gruffydd
Simon Gruffydd
4 years ago
Reply to  Penderyn

When the Celts say ‘enough is enough’. The power has always rested with us. We just need to wake up.

Penderyn
Penderyn
4 years ago
Reply to  Simon Gruffydd

Truth is most welsh are soft english nationalists by actions or conditioning…. stuck in 17th century….. need grassroots revolution for the individual and community empowerment

Penderyn
Penderyn
4 years ago

Tories do not lack resources…. they have raised ten times more funds than Labour…. many millions

Ann Owen
Ann Owen
4 years ago

Y Toriaid heb ADNODDAU ar gyfer taflen ddwyieithog?? Faint o bres maen nhw ei angen?? Chwerthinllyd a chwbl anerbyniol. Dim hyd yn oed W fawr ar gyfer Welsh! Efallai eu bod yn ei chael yn amhosib rhaffu eu celwyddau yn iaith y nefoedd!! // Tories don’t have the RESOURCES for a bilingual leaflet?? How much money do they need?? Laughable and completely unacceptable. Not even a capital W for Welsh! Perhaps they find it impossible to spout their lies in the language of heaven (i.e. Welsh)!!

Alwyn
Alwyn
4 years ago

She can’t even speak correct ENGLISH – ‘amount’ of people? did she pile them up in a pile? – NUMBER is the right word she’s NOT thinking of using

Simon Gruffydd
Simon Gruffydd
4 years ago

I’ve only received a Plaid Cymru leaflet so far. 50/50 English/Welsh. But the Welsh is identical to the English as if it’s been translated from the English. A bit wooden. Considering everybody can read English, why waste half the leaflet simply repeating it in Welsh? They could say something else in Welsh of more interest to those of us who can read Welsh. But no. Like a bureaucratic machine they just repeat themselves. At least with the English only leaflet mentioned in this article, it allows twice as much to be said in the same space. Repeating the identical thing… Read more »

Ted Maul
Ted Maul
4 years ago

Why is Welsh spelt with a small ‘w’ many times in this article?

Dave Brooker
Dave Brooker
4 years ago

Women tells truth, language hobbyists go mental, rest of Wales ignores teacup storm…

Rhosddu
Rhosddu
4 years ago
Reply to  Dave Brooker

I’m frankly amazed that our handful of anti-Wales trolls haven’t seized on this one with more enthusiasm.

I think it’s far more likely that the rest of Wales is unaware of the content of election leaflets in constituencies other than their own, don’t you?

Have you been under the illusion that people speak Welsh for a hobby?

Penderyn
Penderyn
4 years ago
Reply to  Dave Brooker

Typical smug colonialism…. many families still speak it as a first language

David Roberts
David Roberts
4 years ago

The Plaid Cymru one in Aberafan…….the bulk of the info is in English only!!! :S

Derek Edward Jones
Derek Edward Jones
4 years ago

An illustration of the part indifference plays in the process of cultural erosion. A harbinger of what is to come.

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