Are we heading towards an independent Wales?

By Ella Groves – ICNN Senedd Reporter

Opposition party leaders have clashed with First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth in the Senedd, following his meeting with nationalist leaders from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

On Monday, Mr ap Iorwerth met with the leaders of Sinn Féin and the SNP at the first Celtic Summit to affirm the right to seek independence from the United Kingdom.

However, the First Minister faced a backlash from Reform UK, the Welsh Conservatives, and Welsh Labour, during Tuesday’s First Minister’s Questions - the first session following the summer recess.

“Best for Wales”

Reform UK leader Dan Thomas was absent due to “personal reasons” that were later confirmed as him stepping down, with deputy Helen Jenner stepping in.

Ms Jenner accused the First Minister of misleading the Welsh public.

She said: “Despite you repeatedly saying that the election was not about seeking independence, on your first day back from recess you met with the leaders of Sinn Féin and the SNP to discuss plans to break up the United Kingdom.”

Mr ap Iorwerth told the Siambr that his government’s mandate was to pursue “the best for Wales”.

Ms Jenner called on the First Minister to focus on pressing domestic issues and questioned the handling of emergency alerts sent out during recent wildfires.

The Bangor Conwy Môn MS said: “Whose idea was it to send an emergency alert in two separate messages, rather than one bilingual message to avoid confusion?

“The alert was meant to avoid disaster, but in and of itself it created disaster. It sent some people into panic and sent some people to ring 999.”

Responding, Mr ap Iorwerth clarified that the responsibility for emergency alerts lies with the UK Government not the Welsh Government.

The First Minister acknowledged a technical issue with the message and said he has spoken with COBRA to insist the issue is solved.

He added: “But doesn’t it say everything about Reform and its attitude towards Wales that your position on this is to blame the Welsh language, which wasn’t at fault?”

“Integrity”

Welsh Labour Ken Skates also criticised the First Minister’s involvement in the Celtic Summit, arguing the break-up of the UK was a move that would please only “Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin”.

Instead, Mr Skates suggested a focus on the ongoing pay dispute affecting health visitors in Wales.

The Fflint Wrecsam MS said health visitors are “questioning the integrity” of the Plaid administration after “being promised an end to their dispute over pay within days of May’s election”.

Noting the pay dispute is something his government inherited from the previous administration, Mr ap Iorwerth shared that his health minister - Mabon ap Gwynfor - is working to influence the health service into reaching a resolution.

The First Minister clarified, however, that the dispute can only be resolved by the health service itself.

Mr Skates also urged the First Minister to introduce a £2 bus fare cap in Wales - a pledge from the Labour manifesto.

He said: “If you implement that policy, it would demonstrate to the people of Wales that common ground that we can occupy to make people’s lives better.”

The First Minister reiterated that he aims to lead a government which can work in a “consensual way” which serves the Welsh public.

“Plotting”

Echoing the words of his Labour and Reform counterparts, Welsh Conservatives leader Darren Millar accused the First Minister of “plotting the break-up of the United Kingdom”.

Mr Millar also referenced a Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report into the emergency department at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s Glan Clwyd Hospital.

He told the Siambr the report noted patients being left in corridors, out-of-date medicines, and paediatric areas being left unattended.

The Tory leader called for the First Minister to stop “hatching plans to break apart the UK” and to focus on his “day job”.

Agreeing with Mr Millar’s concerns, the First Minister said the health minister recently met with the chair and chief executive of the health board and set out expectations for making improvements.

Mr ap Iorwerth criticised the “stagnation” demonstrated by Reform, Welsh Labour, and the Conservatives with regard to “moving Wales forward”.

The two leaders continued to clash as Mr Millar accused the First Minister of “sunning” himself on a beach and “burying [his] head in the sand” on his government’s 100-day anniversary.

He called for the First Minister to share when the people of Wales can expect to see change.

Responding, Mr ap Iorwerth questioned when a change will be seen in the Conservatives and the “whingeing” heard from their benches.

He called for Mr Millar to work constructively with his government on the future of public services in Wales.

Concluding his response, the First Minister said: “This government set out a programme that was given a mandate, not with a majority, but with a clear mandate to deliver for the people of Wales.

“And that means on health, which is why my health minister worked so quickly to pump that money in, which will bring down those waiting times that the people of Wales deserve. 

“It’s why we moved quickly to put that national numeracy and literacy scheme in place, which will drive up education standards, because I agree with you: it is scandalous, the way that we have allowed standards to drop here in Wales, with our proud record of educational achievement. 

“We do this at the same time as setting an ambition for having more control over our own future here as a nation in Wales.”