Dirty Tricks

Ben Wildsmith

The closed-list system was always going to elevate some strange fish to the Senedd, as voters had little to go off aside from party lines and the appeal of their leaders.

That is compounded if a party has no history in Wales and is led from London with its Welsh officials externally appointed.

Under those circumstances, it is impossible for voters to judge the personal politics of the candidates for whom they vote. In the Caerphilly by-election, held under the old rules, Lindsay Whittle’s strong local profile could be weighed against Llŷr Powell’s personal appeal, with predictable results.

The subsequent Senedd election, however, saw a slew of unknown Reform UK representatives elected with their personal histories scrubbed from the internet, leaving only what had been approved by their party.

Here’s what’s available on Wikipedia regarding Joe Martin MS: ‘Martin attended the University of Exeter, where he changed degree subjects frequently, studying history for his first year, then Arabic and Theology with History in his second, and Middle Eastern studies and Theology with History in his third.

He then worked in finance at Lloyds Bank and other financial businesses.’

What a nice young man! Maybe he’s a bit scatty and unable to stick at something for long, but that’s not a crime. Admittedly, he’s never taken any interest in Welsh politics before, but perhaps the ‘other financial businesses’ have granted him some special insight into affairs here that he can bring to bear.

Wait a minute! How come he’s spouting the Great Replacement Theory on the floor of the Siambr? Surely, if I were voting for Nick Griffin’s murine nephew, I’d have been given some advance warning, wouldn’t I?

Let’s cut through the bullshit to what’s actually going on here and why it matters. Reform’s position in our democracy is based on a fundamental lie. It is officially supportive of Welsh democracy and devolution. In action, however, its representatives are doing everything they can to bring the Senedd into disrepute and undermine faith in its integrity.

Subvert 

As the official opposition, the party has committed to vote against every government measure, regardless of merit. Martin’s pearl-clutching about the sanctimony of debate is performed against the background of his party’s refusal to be persuaded of anything at all. His priapic excitement at becoming the latest GB News ‘free speech’ martyr belies the reality of his party’s clear intent to subvert democracy in Wales altogether – evidenced by his and other members’ increasingly cosy relationship with overtly anti-devolution MP Rupert Lowe.

The effect of this is as if our politicians were trying to organise the office Christmas party and include several employees who are militant atheists. No good-faith debate can be conducted with people whose true intent is to close it down.

We risk affairs in the Senedd becoming overwhelmed by continuous Reform stunts designed to undermine its legitimacy and hold it up to ridicule outside Wales and within. To allow them the illegitimate moral position of silenced participants, however, is a tactical mistake. This week’s pantomime was clearly planned to play out exactly as it has, with English commentators harnessed to portray Wales as a repressive outlier that requires discipline from London.

Ignorance

Martin and his colleagues, however, are blunt instruments. It would be more effective to foreground their ignorance than their offensiveness when countering future stunts.

Raising matters that cannot be addressed by our devolved government provides a clear target for defanging these interlopers, particularly when, like Martin, they use debunked UK-wide statistics and apply them to Wales. ‘I’ll defend my opponent’s right to spout obvious nonsense’ was not a foundation of the French Revolution.

Defenders of our democracy, both within and outside the Senedd, must wise up to the sad truth that Reform’s cohort want to be accused of racism. Some of them are fools, others are knaves, and most are both, but it’s being factually wrong that is the key to their undoing.

At a time when Welsh Labour is happy to collude with Reform when it suits the party, Plaid Cymru must ensure that ridicule is focussed where it belongs.