The politics of division has arrived in Wales – and we should be worried

Alun Smith

I haven’t read what Nigel Farage has written on his latest Substack, and I’m not going to. I’m not going to pay to read what he has to say, frankly.

I want to be informed but I’m not going to oil the wheels of his rancid machine in order to do it.

I did, however, read and watch proceedings at the Senedd on Tuesday, and, as I understand it, what Nigel Farage and Joe Martin MS have said about events over the last week or so amount to the same thing. Division. Chaos.

Two Reform UK figures, two clarion calls to racism, division and violence.

Joe Martin was confidently, but ignorantly, talking about Wales’ Nation of Sanctuary scheme and saying that it should be scrapped because most of the beneficiaries of the scheme were Ukrainian and, as yet, no Ukrainian people had attempted to behead anyone on the streets of Wales.

Dan Thomas nodded along with his minion. Smug. Superior. Sickening.

Martin warned that the scheme should be scrapped before a Sudanese man beheaded someone on a Welsh street. Hey, don’t shoot the messenger, that’s what he said.

This is the language of fascists. There is no debate to be had about that. History teaches us that.

Never mind, by the way, that prior to the election, armies of Reform voters took to social media to scream at us that the N.O.S was the vehicle used by immigrants of all colours and creeds to somehow besmirch our Cambrian homeland.

That battle was won by reasonable people pointing out the truth. Now, Reform, finally understanding that truth, have flipped it and are using it to sow yet more hate and yet more division. You couldn’t make it up. Well, you could, and they do. All the blessed time.

Jo Cox

Rhun Ap Iorwerth simply reminded the chamber that we’re currently remembering Jo Cox and her brutal murder at the hands of a Neo-Nazi, Britain First, activist. Ap Iorwerth did this whilst soberly and somewhat sadly telling the Llywydd (speaker) that he supposed we are going to have to get used to this type of contribution from the other side of the Siambr.

He reminded the chamber that Reform’s first contribution to the political life of Wales was to call for the Ukrainian flag to be removed from the Senedd, whilst also noting that the former leader of Reform in Wales was currently sitting in a very different, rather smaller chamber, on account of him accepting bribes from Ukraine’s tormentors.

In case you’re wondering if the words of these Reform figures carry any resonance, believe me, they do. I see them repeated on social media ad nauseum.

The words are like little snowballs of hate, set in motion from the top of a hill, in this case the Senedd, and they get bigger and more outlandish as they undertake their journey to the bottom of the internet.

Once there, they’re melted down and imbibed by the destitute, the desperate, the uneducated and the lost, who gulp it down, thirsty for something to cling to, something they believe validates them. Then, quenched, they beat their chests and head out into the night, angry at, they know not what, and ready to commit all manner of atrocity in the name of their freedom, in the name of their heroes.

There are other consequences too, of course.  The Llwydd has issued a warning to Mr. Martin over his conduct and his language. Much more of this please Huw ( Irranca-Davies).

I understand, however, that there’s very little that the Llwydd can do about figures such as Llyr Powell, another Reform MS, who in response to the outrage over Mr. Martin’s contribution, assured us that this “is the new norm” and we should “get used to it”. Sigh.

That is the language of the bully, the narcissist, the abuser, and no, Mr.Powell, we will not “get used to it”.

The political conversation on social media has descended into a football-terrace style shouting match, where it doesn’t really matter what you believe inside, it pays no attention to the health of your moral compass, it only matters how many ‘likes’ you get and that you support your team.

Sadly, what we’ve seen in the last few weeks is that the hooliganism of social media has spilled onto our streets. The difference is, there are no real-world consequences to you leaving a laugh-emoji on my comments, but there are life-changing consequences to real-world actions. And these actions are instigated, facilitated by certain sections of our political class.

What Farage, Tice, Anderson, Thomas, Powell and Martin say today, plays out in real time tomorrow.

Pawns

They all get paid a lot of money to do it. And even they feel that they should be doing something to warrant that cheque. The problem is though, the only thing they have, the only thing they can ‘do’ is sow division and hate. That’s how they get into power and keep the money-wagon rolling.

Guys. Think about what you’re agreeing to. Think about what you’re sharing and what you’re willing to believe. You don’t have to be pawns in their little game. You don’t have to play draughts with them. You can play chess, you can be Kings and Queens and Knights.