Quasi-Colonialism in Wales from both Tories and Labour

Oh dear! Labour politicians are  having more than a whiff of hypocrisy  when it was revealed that the Conservatives had appointed an MP from Yorkshire, Stuart Andrew, as a minister in the Welsh Office.

Because they at the same time were making  the insulting move of replacing  outgoing MP Stephen Kinnock on Westminster’s Welsh Affairs Committee was another Yorkshire MP, Thelma Walker.

At least Mr Andrews has some Welsh credentials  He grew up in the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, and later attended Ysgol David Hughes in Menai Bridge.(about the same time as Plaid AM Rhun ap Iorwerth.


He  was first elected as a Conservative councillor in Wrexham in 1995. He then stood as a Conservative candidate in the 1997 Parliamentary election in Wrexham. In 1998 whilst still serving as a councillor he defected to the Labour Party, citing issues with the "direction of the party".^[3]
Two years after losing his council seat, he rejoined the Conservative Party and moved to Leeds. He served as a Leeds City Council Councillor from 2003–2010, initially representing the Aireborough ward, and following boundary changes representing the Guiseley and Rawdon ward. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Pudsey in Yorkshire the general election on 6 May 2010.

Labour AM however is right when he tweeted

  Lee Waters AM‏Verified account @Amanwy

It's not about where you are from, but where you represent and who you are accountable, that matters

For some reason Hh seems to be silent on tha appointment of Mrs Walker, a former headteacher,  who does not seem to have any Welsh connections whatsoever  and seems to see her remitas  including her native Yorkshire

She said:

 "I believe that my Yorkshire constituency and many Welsh constituencies face lots of the same issues. From farming and the impacts of Brexit, to issues with transport and broadband speeds.
"I will be a voice for Yorkshire, but also for communities in Wales who are equally affected by this government's austerity driven agenda.
"I would be more than happy to step aside if one of my Welsh Labour colleagues would like the opportunity to be on the committee, but in the mean-time I felt it was important the committee had full membership."

Though she seems reluctant to share this news on her Facebook page. 

I wonder what the Yorkshire Party feel about it. I suspect they would prefer their MP to represent Yorkshire rather than pretend to represent the  interest of Wales.

Mind you  at least they at least  showing some interest in Wales unlike Stephen Kinnock


Plaid Cymru parliamentary leader Liz Saville Roberts said:

"It is disappointing that the Labour Party, with 28 Welsh MPs, can't fill four seats on the Welsh affairs committee.

"Stephen Kinnock didn't turn up to a single meeting in this Parliament, so he has set a low bar for his successor. But to replace him with an MP from Yorkshire to serve on a committee dealing with the affairs of Wales is an insult to the people who voted for the Labour Party in the election.

"Serving on the Welsh affairs committee is a privilege and I find it surprising that not a single Labour MP from Wales felt able to take up the opportunity to represent their party and their country on the committee."

As Nation Cymru points out .

Although perhaps shorter of Welsh MPs than Labour, the Conservatives have little excuse. A Welsh MP, Guto Bebb of Aberconwy, made way for Stuart Andrew.
But Welsh Labour’s inability to find another Welsh MP to sit on the Welsh Affairs Committee is inexcusable. They are in possession of 28 of Wales’ 40 constituencies.
There are at least six Welsh Labour MPs that only sit on one committee in the House of Commons:

• Jo Stevens – Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
• Stephen Doughty – Home Affairs Committee
• Chris Evans – Public Accounts Committee
• Susan Jones  – Petitions Committee
• Ian Lucas – Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
• Albert Owen – Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee

It should be noted that Thelma Walker is already on the education committee, so she is taking the second committee on despite the fact that six Welsh Labour MPs are only on one.

However it is our fault for electing  Politicians like Stephen Kinnock Wales  for whom their constituency is merely a vehicle for starting their Parliamentary  career.

How much longer can we put up with a Quasi-Colonialist  attitude from the two major unionist parties and give both Labour and Tories  the boot.