Monday 31 October 2016

Is it now Tory Policy to describe any form of Welsh Nationalism as Anti-English.



I am beginning to suspect that the LEAVE vote in Wales, has encouraged the Tories in Wales to portray themselves as the Anti-Establishment party and devolution and the Assembly as the Establishment.

But it may be worse than that it may be they are trying to equate any form of support for devolution,  as being  a form Anti-English immigration.

Wales Online claims that

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies has attacked politicians, who accuse critics of further devolution of being anti-Wales.

The South Wales Central AM used a speech to party officials held in private. to spell out his belief that there is nothing contradictory about being both Welsh and British.

And he said that opposing further devolution of powers does not make a person “any less Welsh”.

It doesn't seem to be that private if we know what he said however

The Wasting Mule's website say that

"He is understood to have said:

“Promoting the enormous value of the Union in no way diminishes the pride and endless belief we have for Wales"“Our relationship within the UK is one based on a healthy exchange – a relationship where each country plays to its strengths, working side-by-side to shape a strong United Kingdom.“For unionists of any political colour, it can be all too easy on occasions to retreat, shy away, and cow to the nationalist tune when singing the virtues of our great Union.

“There is no embarrassment in calling yourself Welsh and British – quite the contrary; it is something we should cherish given the deep intertwinement of our rich histories.“Westminster is not the demonic force Plaid Cymru and their ilk would have you believe – they are servants to the Welsh people as much as they are servants to England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

Mr Davies went on to accuse First Minister Carwyn Jones of seeking “solace in the nationalist crutch afforded to him by Leanne Wood and Plaid Cymru, which scandalously allows him to slip away from having to confront and address his government’s failings”


“Their relationship is one bred out of toxic interdependence, and it’s the people of Wales who are left paying the price,” he said.“And as proud unionists we have a duty to stand up to this weakness that threatens the United Kingdom, to fight against the subtle, dog-whistle politics Plaid Cymru seek to instigate when we attempt to promote the mutual benefits of the Union.“We need to stand up against this ‘cosy nationalism’ - we should not fall into the trap of viewing Plaid Cymru as the harbingers of cuddly, so-called progressive politics.“Plaid’s ultimate aim - what they live and breathe for - is an independent Wales - a politics engineered to divide our great nation.”

He went on to say that criticising devolution of further powers was not anti-Welsh.

He said:
“If there is opposition to the devolution of a particular power, it doesn’t make that individual any ‘less Welsh’ - in fact it’s quite the opposite.“This misplaced rhetoric is, on occasions, guilty of creeping into our political discourse and as proud Welsh men and women we have a duty to rally against it.”
Note Mr Davies seems to be saying rather than the views of a minority, this Anti-English attitude is mainstream.

Plaid’s Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards said: 

“It’s sad to see the leader of the Conservatives in Wales resorting to sensationalised ranting in the hope of being heard.“His distorted view of Plaid Cymru’s relationship with the Welsh Government shows that he has little understanding of how a robust and responsible opposition party works.“This was demonstrated time and again during the last Assembly when the Conservatives in Wales were happier issuing hollow criticisms than forcing the government to raise its game whilst properly holding it to account.“The Leader of the Tories in Wales should be demanding a formal role for the National Assembly for Wales in the Brexit negotiations. Like all unionists however, he is far happier being told what to do by London, rather than putting the interests of Wales first.”


A spokesman for Carwyn Jones said:
"The Tories, under Andrew RT Davies, have gone backwards in recent years and their Assembly election result was abysmal."They would be better off spending some time together as a group considering why the public don't trust them, rather than making lazy and nonsensical attacks on other parties.


It seems to me that the Tory Welsh leader is trying to create an impression that similar to his Westminster colleague Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns

In a recent Question Time programme, as recorded in Neath on Thursday evening,

"when there's a migration into Welsh-speaking communities, the integration in those communities, and I'm a passionate Welsh speaker... isn't necessarily as it is and many of your members have taken direct action in the past, many have broken the law to that effect"."I would hope (Leanne Wod) that you'd condemn them bearing in mind the standpoint you're taking now," he said.

Ms Wood protested:

 "Who are you talking about? What are you talking about?"

Later Ms Wood accused the Welsh secretary of "distorting history with smears and insinuation", saying he was "in denial over the divisive rhetoric coming from numerous voices in his own Tory party".

"‎The secretary of state for Wales is guilty of peddling the exact sort of myths and smears which breed hostility and turn people against each other," she said."Such comments and insinuations are not what you would expect from a government minister. If he had any integrity, he would withdraw what he said."

I now wonder if Mr Cairn's disgraceful outburst was not now a one-off and together with Anrew RT Daives there is a deliberate Tory campaign to label all supporters of further devolution, let alone Independence as Anti English racist.

A Policy that is being used in Scotland by a Unionist Media, the latest example being exposed by Wings Over Scotland

Are both Mr Cairns and Andrew RT Davies  hoping for a backlash to their ridiculous statement? 

Where they are hoping that there will be a number of abusive responses on social media, and they together with their media allies can pick out the worst and present them as mainstream Nationalist thought therefore proving their accusations.

So be careful how you respond to this idiocy, you might be playing in their hands,

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It could be that the Tories are chasing UKIP/Abolish the Assembly voters who make up 15- 20% of the Welsh public and are hostile to devolution, would abolish the Assembly are ardently pro British and aggressively anti Welsh language and any Welsh nationalist.

Its a winning strategy as Roger Scully's latest poll showed 28% of Plaid Cymru members are very hostile to English migrants in Wales and if Welsh cybernats keep attacking the Tories and the Union they'll have a never ending supply of anecdotes to feed to the Daily Mail, Sun and Express to 'prove' anti English sentiment is rife in Wales.

Anonymous said...

The likes of Andrew RT Davies are pulling out all the organ stops in order to convince us of the benefits of the Union to Wales. They constantly blow the Unionist trumpet to announce the benefits to Wales of this partnership of equals.

After decades of neglect by successive Westminster governments, Wales still languishes in the unenviable position as one of poorest regions of Europe, a fact that Davies chooses to ignore.
Instead he prefers to defend his precious Union at every opportunity even it it means talking down Wales.

Perhaps he's feeling guilty that his vocal support for Brexit will ultimately lead to Scotland leaving the UK. All the more reason therefore, for him to sing the praises of this rapidly failing state in the hope that the people of Wales will still be happy with the crumbs that fall from the Westminster table.