Tory MP claims too many Welsh speakers in poll.

The Wasting Mule  has reported that a Tory MP has more or less claimed that  poll findings used by a commission that is recommending extra powers for the National Assembly, saying opinions were sought from too many Welsh speakers and therefore inaccurate..

Monmouth MP David Davies, who chairs the Commons’ Welsh Affairs Committee, said he found it “ridiculous” that as many as 40% of those who participated in a poll paid for by the Silk Commission said they could speak Welsh.

Last night the commission stood by the poll findings, saying the proportion of Welsh speakers surveyed – with 16% identifying themselves as fluent speakers of the language and a further 24% as “non-fluent” Welsh speakers – was broadly in line with other polls.

The poll – undertaken by Cardiff-based Beaufort Research and published last month – found 70% believe renewable energy projects of over 50MW capacity should be decided on in Cardiff rather than London, 63% said that policing should also be devolved while 58% also favoured broadcasting and media regulation.

Altogether, 62% of those surveyed said they would like to see increased powers for the Assembly, including the 9% in favour of independence, with 24% in favour of the status quo

Mr Davies said: 

“I am very concerned that the proportion of Welsh speakers who were surveyed for the Silk Commission is significantly higher than what we know about the numbers of people who identify themselves as Welsh speakers.

“According to the 2011 census, the ‘gold standard’ of national statistics, 16% of over 16 year olds speak Welsh. And the National Survey for Wales 2012-2013, which interviewed 14,500 people, found that 10% of the adult population are fluent in Welsh.
“The Silk Commission should not be bandying around figures based on a sample of the Welsh population that is not accurate. Successive surveys have found that Welsh speakers are more likely to support more powers for the Assembly than non-Welsh speakers, and in my opinion it’s clear that these results are skewed.

Last night the commission stood by the poll findings, saying the proportion of Welsh speakers surveyed – with 16% identifying themselves as fluent speakers of the language and a further 24% as “non-fluent” Welsh speakers – was broadly in line with other polls.

And that rather than the Sample being skewed as  "source" close to the Researchers pointed out  also suggested that non-fluent Welsh speakers were less likely to identify themselves as such if they were simply asked whether they could speak Welsh or not. Non-fluency, said the source, covered a broad spectrum from those who could say a few words to those who weren’t quite confident enough to describe themselves as fluent. 

Indeed  as this may relate to the Number of people in Wales relate to being Welsh not British as shown by the  Syniadau  Blog today.

If you were allowed to choose the nationality that appears on
     your passport, which of these descriptions would you choose?

     

There are far more people who can carry out more than a reasonable conversion in Welsh and much of the data on the ability to speak Welsh is because many do not se themselves as Fluent because they don't speak like a BC or S4C presenter.

Indeed if English speakers were to use similar criteris were to use a similar criteria . How many of us monoglot English speakers could claim fluency?

As some have indicated in coments about this blog not me.