Cymru is already great

Gwern Gwynfil

I read Reform’s Wales wide mailshot this week. I found it deeply insulting to Wales and the people of Wales.

Disappointingly, there wasn’t a single policy statement or clear value proposition, but there were clear and straightforward insults to Wales and to the people of Wales.

A strange way to try and attract and maintain support.

I confess that the leaflet triggered a surprisingly strong reaction from me (read that in full here). Here are some highlights from my initial reaction, perhaps an explanation of why this, the first Senedd election leaflet I have received to date, annoyed me so deeply and thoroughly.

Wales

It is when the leaflet turns its focus to Wales that the contents become an insult to all of us.

Cymru is not ‘broken’ Mr Farage – you correctly identify that it is a proud nation, one that is full of amazing, talented, and capable people, and one which has vast potential, were it ever freed from the fetters by which it is chained. As a nation it is held back in a myriad of ways, the vast majority of which are beyond its control.

Meanwhile, Labour have indeed overplayed their hand and stayed in power in the devolved administration for too long – they are visibly tired and the public eruption of internecine warfare across their ranks is just one indication of this.

The wider civic atrophy that comes with a stagnant administration that has served too long is also holding back innovation, bright, fresh thinking, and generally suppressing enthusiasm and vigour across much of Wales.

However, Reform has no constructive answers to this – ‘Nige’ll Fix It’ is not an adequate platform, sorry.

Misinformation

Not content with insulting Wales, the leaflet goes on to deliver some blatant misinformation:-

Only a part of the Welsh NHS is in special measures (whilst there is a good argument for fewer divisions across the Welsh health service we currently have seven health boards and three trusts – do your homework please RUK).

Crime isn’t skyrocketing at all. Trendlines are actually falling when considered over any reasonable timeline – this is just a flat out untruth.

Yes, almost a third of Welsh children live in poverty – this is an absolute scandal and is inexcusable. It is a scandal for Wales and it is a scandal for the whole of the UK. In the year to April 2024, 31% of children across the UK were living in poverty. If you have real solutions for this endemic poverty Mr Farage, please share.

Old Chestnuts

Next up, an attack on the ‘worse-than-useless national 20mph speed limit’. Bear with me on this as, although this was an unpopular measure when it was introduced, it has shown itself to be a ‘better-than-expected’ success story.

Firstly, it’s not a national speed limit and applies as a default baseline in residential areas only (believe it or not, most of Wales is not a residential area, with vast tracts of open land, mountains, hills, and a lot of roads with national speed limits set at 60mph [70mph for dual carriageways and motorways]).

The impacts of the policy have already reduced the annual insurance bill for Welsh motorists by an estimated £72M – this is a lot of money back in people’s pockets right across Wales and is over twice the cost of the scheme’s introduction. It will also be an annual saving. It is estimated to have saved between £40-£50M in costs to emergency services and other associated impacts arising from road traffic incidents, also annual. Fewer accidents also means fewer road closures and less congestion.

Best of all, the policy has undoubtedly saved lives, including the lives of Welsh children, and has significantly reduced harm and the number of incidents which lead to ‘life-changing injuries’.

Presumably Reform UK, like the Welsh Conservatives, will be arguing for and seeking to roll back this positive change. Something which literally means that they are arguing in favour of more death, more costs for Welsh motorists, and to increase the burden on the emergency services in Wales.

I’m not sure I see this as a vote winner.

More Old Chestnuts (it is almost Christmas after all)

The point in the leaflet about ‘Nation of Sanctuary’ is either deliberately misleading or once again exposes that Mr Farage hasn’t done his homework (I’d expect basic research from someone who apparently has all the answers and thinks he can ‘fix’ everything).

Money being spent on housing asylum seekers is not Welsh government money as it has to come from the UK government, where all the power and responsibility on asylum and immigration lies.

Not sure either how the UK population growing by 10 million has pushed Welsh people to the back of the queue (the population of Wales isn’t growing – in fact we seem to be importing old people from England whilst we export our young people to help drive the economy over the border.

Perhaps we should see some policies to help reverse these trends and provide better economic balance to Wales? Ideas Mr Farage?

Ignorance

I struggle to see any real understanding of Wales in this document. It’s very striking that ‘country’ for Farage is most definitely England, with little knowledge or understanding of Wales. With over 80% of the people of Wales having a favourable attitude towards the Welsh language and one in five actually speaking it, not having a single word of Welsh on a mailshot to households across Wales is just one obvious demonstration of this lack of understanding.

Insults and Empty Promises

I disagree with Mr Farage’s closing statement on two counts: he says ‘Reform can make Wales a nation to be proud of once again’ – we’re already proud of Wales, there is no ‘once again’ about it, so stop talking us down and telling us we’re no good. Nothing that Reform has said or done to date, literally nothing, has suggested to me in any way, shape or form, that Reform UK has anything at all to offer Wales.

Let’s be thankful

However, I would still like to thank Mr Farage and Reform UK for injecting focus, vitality and a new vigour into Welsh politics and the anaemic Welsh media – the external spotlight, increased interest, and wider coverage across UK media is a direct result of Farage’s very successful self promotion and capacity to fire people up with empty populist promises and meaningless slogans.

There is no doubt that this has increased political engagement across the spectrum and we should give credit where credit is due for this positive development for anyone who believes that democracy is the least worst option.

Hopefully, here in Cymru, we will use this energy and engagement wisely as a nation, turning it into positive and successful efforts to grow our civic society, expand our own media in ways which provide clear, unbiased news from a distinctly Welsh perspective, and to energise and catalyse a transformation in the way we see ourselves and run our country.

There’s a lot we can’t do at the moment but there is a lot that we can do.

We’ve got this

First and foremost is to approach our collective national future with ambition, bravery and confidence. We don’t need or want you for this Mr Farage, I don’t think your party has what it takes either. Caerffili did the whole of Wales a great service by stopping you in your tracks and giving you the bloody nose you needed and deserved. I have no doubt that Reform needed Caerffili.

The long version of this essay (which includes some profanity) first appeared on Substack and can be read in full here