A colonial mindset

Gwern Gwynfil

In his maiden speech as leader of Reform UK in Wales, the hitherto unknown Dan Thomas, demonstrated the colonial mindset that underlies his appointment.

By comparing Wales to Barnet, and the role of First Minister to being a council leader in London, he made it clear how Reform UK thinks of our nation. To Reform, Wales is an administrative region of greater England.

I am not surprised that this is the case but I am surprised at this uncharacteristically naked truth from them. So febrile is their understanding of Wales that they seem blind to the reality that this will alienate anyone who has any true sense of Welsh identity – whether that be by birth or by adoption after living here and coming to understand the deeper truths of Welsh nationhood.

The war on motorists

Some early dissonance for poor Thomas too as one of the defining features of his tenure in Barnet was the use of planters on streets to create traffic restriction zones in the borough. With Farage boldly claiming that 20mph ‘will be no more’ in a Reform led Wales (presumably a declaration that all 20mph zones will be abolished), the new Reform leader in Wales will need to scrap his own road safety credentials and brace himself to argue in favour of more death and injury on Welsh roads.

Not only will Reform UK in Wales have a declared policy which will result in killing people but they will also be adding an average £50/year to every motor insurance policy in Wales. Quite a challenge to sell this one once you get into the detail – notwithstanding the noise and idiocy of social media.

Redundant policies for a redundant party

Flagship policies deserve the deepest scrutiny and as the election approaches I look forward with interest to seeing how Reform defends its position on 20mph.

I suspect they will backtrack their position to ‘rolling back to 30mph on a case by case basis’, when and where it makes sense to do so. As this process is already well underway, and will essentially be completed by May, doing so will make this flagship policy utterly redundant.

No doubt they will dress it up as being ‘sensible’, doing what’s right to fix things, and other spurious claims.

The truth is that Reform UK in Wales will have to decide whether they will have a policy which will kill people or whether they must concede the status quo is actually very sensible, saves lots of money, has already saved lives, and the majority of its teething troubles are already ironed out.

Perhaps they will add more redundant policies in an attempt to grab some attention and obscure the reality that they haven’t got the first idea of how to govern in Wales or what to do to improve the lives of Welsh people.

Reform UK are certainly not the only clueless party in Wales, but when you promise everything and can deliver nothing, not even a vaguely sensible or remotely feasible policy platform, then only the very foolish, the stubbornly and wilfully ignorant or the vain and self-serving will support you – a notoriously fickle bunch.

If you are currently thinking of voting for the metaphorical bag of piss and wind which is Reform UK in Wales then you need to ask yourself in which of these categories you fall.

Talking of the wilfully ignorant

Poor James Evans, newest Reform UK Member of the Senedd. I suspect that James is that most peculiar of animals, a right of centre, principled, and broadly honest politician. His honesty makes him naïve, his naivety makes him vulnerable to empty promises and misapprehensions about the intent and intentions of his new compatriots.

Will he bend his principles and beliefs, overlook the nasty rhetoric, embrace the prejudice and bigotry which goes with his new territory? In short, will he stop being an honest politician and look only to his own interests, moving neatly from wilfully ignorant to vain and self-serving?

Or will he be early to the exit, falling out with Reform UK when they show their true colours, their chaos, their intemperance, and the truth of how unfit they truly are for office or opposition as part of a mature democracy?

Debasing the media

 In his new role, Evans made his first speech an attack on the media, presumably under instruction or ‘guidance’ from his new master manipulators. It was an indiscriminate broadside too, attacking every media organisation and an entire profession.

For Reform the calculation must be that they wish to deny all scrutiny, knowing the weakness of their position. In a Trumpian masterstroke they wish to set themselves as the arbiters of truth, the only bastion of reality in a world full of deceit.

Perhaps we should add the terminally paranoid as a category of Reform UK supporters?

Trump is not Welsh

The miscalculation for Reform here is that Trump is not Welsh, and Farage is not Trump – what the orange one across the pond can do is a product of his unique brand and potent mix of chaos, celebrity, and confusion. Turning against the media invites the media to turn against Reform, unleashing an onslaught of scrutiny which will shine a light on all the party’s many deficiencies and weaknesses.

I have no doubt that there are already Reform party members in Wales, potentially even councillors, who are squirming at Reform becoming the last life raft for failed Conservatives.

As time passes political exposure will bring political maturity for some – it will dawn on many members and voters that they have been wilfully ignorant, the principled will leave, and they won’t look back.