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The houses are blind as moles … as Captain Cat there in the muffled middle by the pump and the town clock, the shops in mourning, the Welfare Hall in widows’ weeds. And all the people of the lulled and dumbfound town are sleeping now
Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood
Long ago, I ran a research unit at Cardiff University on law and policy affecting Gypsy and Traveller communities. My PhD thesis was about how they’re invisible and ignored until presented as a ‘problem’, when they’re stigmatised, discriminated against, and worse. This dreadful dynamic will be familiar to all marginalised communities. But I believe it can also apply to nations with a troubled history of occupation and exploitation.
Many in England forget Wales until they go there for weekends or holidays. It’s not uncommon to see “in the UK” in a headline, when the story only involves London, or the Midlands. Too few know which powers are devolved to the Senedd, or the extent to which Cymru has its own ancient culture and language.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch just called Senedd members (MSs) “MSPs”, while addressing the Welsh Conservative Conference in my hometown of Llangollen.
Without being martyrish about it, you can justifiably say Wales is generally overlooked by Westminster and status quo media — folded into ‘Britain’ or ‘England-and-Wales’. When you suddenly see Cymru all over the media and social media, you can be sure there’s a race for power in the offing. The next Senedd elections are under a year away. So guess what?
Britishness … is a political synonym for Englishness which extends English culture over the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish
Gwynfor Evans, 1980
Wales, under Labour leadership in one form or another since 1999, was widely weaponised before the 2024 UK General Election. The most aggressive trope in the “you don’t want a UK Labour government, look what they’ve done to Wales” campaign was the default 20mph policy applied to some roads from September 2023. This got caught up in manufactured ‘culture wars’ over other roads policies, like London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ).
A 20mph limit in built-up areas is common around England, and was originally a Welsh Conservative initiative with cross-party support in Wales, but such truths were conveniently forgotten. Fervent ‘Welsh’ anti-20mph Facebook groups were found to be run by English people with Conservative connections, backing 20mph in their own areas.
Now it’s being pushed again – often by social media accounts with numbers in their ‘names’ — despite data showing its first year saw around 100 fewer people seriously injured or killed, and other benefits.
Reform UK has jumped aboard, saying it would get rid of the limits if it won the Senedd. That this would result in more emissions, accidents, and fatalities, and higher costs for NHS Wales, insurers, and the insured is totally cool.
Welsh Conservatives were censured for repeatedly and dishonestly calling 20mph a “blanket policy”. Now ‘Reform UK Wales’ is doing the same, while denigrating said Conservatives.
Another culture war is over Wales aiming to be the world’s first Nation of Sanctuary. A Twitter account called Doge Wales has appeared, named for the unelected Elon Musk’s drive to reduce US government ‘waste’.
The Magafication of UK politics by Reform is amplified by English Conservative interests. It’s unclear whether there’s any Welsh involvement in ‘Welsh’ ‘waste-finding’; Doge UK is English.
As with all rancid American imports, Doge Wales output manufactures outrage and division. Claims the Nation of Sanctuary policy has cost £55 million draw comments about inability to find a dentist.
Then Reform UK Wales says the Welsh Government puts the interests of immigrants over those of Welsh people — though immigration isn’t devolved. Global, timeless, divide-and-rule tactics, with loadsamoney behind them.
Other confected conflict to watch for includes the increase in Senedd members from 60 to 96 next year, a ‘war on farmers’, Net Zero, ‘woke nonsense’, education for the Welsh language in … er, Wales, and calls to abolish the Welsh Government and return devolved powers to Westminster. (With the usual — English — suspects like Daniel Hannan and Arron Banks chipping in).
There’s already a party, Abolish, campaigning for the latter. It was registered in 2015, going quiet between elections. It has had two MSs, not via election wins but due to UKIP defections, so has similar DNA to others seeking to remove power from Wales.
Both Abolish seats were lost in 2021. However, the far-right message of ‘putting Welsh people first’ and reducing ‘waste’ will fall on fertile ground.
Welsh Labour used to be able to blame Westminster and underfunding for the nation’s ills. But it turns out that having red governments at both ends of the M4 doesn’t serve Welsh interests either.