Tuesday 20 October 2020

Welsh opposition Parties should be constructive not destructive during pandemic.

 It has been difficult for Plaid Cymru to gain much needed air pace during the Covid 19 pandemic as Labour and the First Minister are constantly on the media  issuing updates.

To their credit although it may not be politically expedient , rather than ape the "Welsh" Conservatives in constantly criticising  the Welsh Government  Plaid have been constructive nad gven support when needed.


It is reflected  by the news that Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price has welcomed the announcement by the Welsh Government of a ‘firebreak’ lockdown from Friday to attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus across Wales, and called for the nation to come together to protect the NHS and save lives.

At a press briefing earlier today First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed the lockdown will start at 6 pm on Friday and will last until Monday 9 November.

:“A fire break is a last resort and should only be used in an emergency. We are now in an emergency,” Mr Price said.

“The time the fire break buys us must be used build up a resilient test trace and isolate system in Wales which means we can prevent being in the position we’re currently in where the case numbers have risen to the point where they can overwhelm an already exhausted NHS.

“We also need to ensure the safeguarding of workplaces, and that sufficient financial support is available for businesses and their employees who will be directly impacted by this fire break.

“It’s time for us as a nation to come together once again – as communities, as Government and as Opposition – working together to protect our NHS and save lives."


 The Welsh Tories however seem to have a Donald Trump attitude



At the last lockdown Wales lost 30,000 jobs and thousands more suffered through cancelled operations and late/missed diagnosis in life-threatening conditions such as cancer. It’s a difficult situation for governments but we can’t allow the cure to be worse than the disease.


No responsible opposition can ignore the weight of scientific evidence that states that such a fire-break will only delay matters for a number of weeks and we'll then be back to square one. Lockdowns don't kill the virus, they suppress it temporarily.

Paul Davies, Welsh Conservative leader, accused the first minister of "failing to be open and transparent about the evidence".

He added:


 "The main concern is that this national lockdown is not proportionate.

"The impact on businesses in areas such as Powys, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, who have the lowest rate of Covid-19 cases in Wales, will be severe at a time when they are desperately struggling to recover from the pandemic so far this year."

Mr Davies earlier seems to have suggested  that  somehow travelling does not spread the virus .

I wonder what both Davies's think of the UK government approach and how effective that is going to be and since the heaviest measures have ben applied to the North of England whilst the affluent South East of England  and what Boris Johnson will do to aid these areas?

The Welsh opposition parties have a duty to task the Welsh Government and to exam and constructively criticise their proposals

It is not  to however to oppose for the sake of opposition and certainly not to so so to promote the policies of another government in Westminster.




1 comment:

dafis said...

It is evident that the default "position" for most Welsh Tories is to say whatever they think will please Boris and his crew in London. That is a tough position to adopt as it moves like a hopping frog, and is well nigh impossible to anticipate due to its volatility, unless of course someone from HQ sends a message with instructions on how to appear slightly ahead of the game. And they treat it like a game, and a kids' game at that.